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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 4002872" data-attributes="member: 2012">ARCANE LEAGUE OF THE MONARCHY, THESymbol: A balanced scale weighing magical effects against time.PurposeThe Arcane League of the Monarchy is the official arcanist guild of the kingdom known as the Monarchy of Avion. It controls all arcane research and teaching within the Monarchy’s borders and protects its own from all that would destroy it. The league recruits members vigorously and those homegrown arcanists that refuse to join the league often are forced to leave the country, and they are refused even the simplest arcane knowledge.The league does help with the protection of the Monarchy, but only under the direst of circumstances. Normally, it remains neutral to internal conflicts and uses subtle methods when dealing with overt threats to the Monarchy. This neutrality means that the league stays out of political matters, which was agreed upon by the league and the Royal Family of the Monarchy.The league is often accused of being dispassionate about the welfare of the Monarchy and its people, but this isn't true. The arcanists of the league do care about their homeland, but they refuse to let the passions of others dictate their actions. One must think before acting, especially when the livelihood of an entire nation is at stake. People live and die, often violently, and one cannot risk the future of the whole for only a few desperate souls.Leaders: Zhako Ashford [LN male human, Wiz15], Aregund Hammel [NG female elf, Elm7/Elemental Savant5], and Lothar Roland [NE male half-orc, Wmg9].Notable ActivitiesThe Arcane League prefers to work behind the scenes within the borders of the Monarchy of Avion and prefers that the rest of the world stay out of its magical concerns. They know that when those concerns extend beyond the borders of the Monarchy they risk the ire of other arcanist guilds, but they really don't care or even acknowledge these rivals. To call the arcanists of the Arcane League arrogant and self-righteous is an understatement. (It can also be said that many of them suffer from megalomania and paranoia.)Often, the league will use its extensive resources to interfere in the lives of anyone who might have something magical that they need. Lothar Roland lead the charge, regarding this unseemly practice. Only the Royal Family of the Monarchy is considered safe from this behavior, but, in truth, the league has confiscated many magical items and arcane discoveries it deems “dangerous” from the Royals, in the past. Nobility below the Royals have very little protection from the predatory nature of the Arcane League.Magic is power, and these arcanists tend to view magic as something to be controlled, but only by them. They will even go so far as to steal magic from other arcanist guilds, a practice that has gained them the enmity of arcanists in Anthmoor, Eversinki, Halandra, Izmer, the Old Sword Lands, and even the powerful arcanists of the City-state of Caloric, far to the East. The league has heard of the Arcane Order, but knows almost nothing about its activities, or the location of Mathghamhna.The league is always conducting new magical research, and its successes and mistakes are the stuff of dreams and nightmares. Its members are obsessed with spelljamming and sky-ships, which is what brought it into direct conflict with the various arcanist guilds of Caloric. The City of Spires is a spelljammer captain's  dream come true, and the city-state has everything to offer to arcanists that sail the skies and beyond.It is this fact that drives the Arcane League to interfere, in every way, in the lives of the arcanists of Caloric. Privateers in the employ of the Arcane League often raid Caloric sky ships, and several pitched battles have been fought over shipping rights, cargo manifests, and taxes. It is important to note that the Royal Family of Avion and the ruling elite of the Spire Kinships of Caloric play little or part in this conflict. They are not at a state of war, and the regular citizens of both kingdom and city-state know very little about each other. This is an war between magical elitists.The league is also known for its members that go out of their way to explore old ruins, monster-infested dungeons, and hidden, ancient tombs. The guild seeks to uncover relics of the past and powerful magical spells believed to exist from before the time of the Divinity War. The league's members believe that the world is much older than is generally believed by scholars and they go to almost any length to prove their collective theory.  Aregund Hammel considers it her personal mission to prove to the world that civilization and magic existed on Harqual before the time she refers to as the Second Ice Age.The league has a standing order to discover new, magical waypoints connected to the Way of Eilendar — a group of magical standing stones. The Way of Eilendar connects to many other notable locations throughout the Sword Gulf Region, including the Onan Territories and Crystalmist in the Cadra Forest. It has long been known that these waypoints existed during the time of the Old Sword Imperium, but the Arcane League believes that they are much older. They have lost several prominent members who became lost in the Ways.Campaign NotesThe Arcane League is as old as the Monarchy of Avion, and its roots are tied to the Old Sword Imperium; a fact that they go to great lengths to downplay in their homeland and speak of in hushed tones while elsewhere. The exact beginnings of the league aren't know and its current members do not wish to delve to deeply into their own history. The last thing they want the High Queen to learn is that there are more skeletons in the league's collective closest than she'd be willing to ignore.The League has many bastions of arcane power scattered throughout the Monarchy — as well as some beyond — and the league's members go to great lengths to hide these locations from the citizenry and those they consider their enemies. Some even go so far as to hide their most powerful magical sources from each other; a practice that is frowned upon by the league. However, everyone does it, even the league's highest ranking members. (Zhako Ashford, the de facto head of the guild, is infamous for this unethical behavior.)Since the start of the Tabaxi War, the league has been forced to play a greater role in the protection of the Monarchy. This new mandate bothers the old guard, while the newer, younger members of the league wish to become more involved with the wider world. The Aerie Holds, east of Avion, has always been a close ally of the Monarchy, but the league has always separated itself from the arcanists of its capital, the City of Nasundria. Now, there is a moment within the league to extend membership to the arcanists of that city, which has led to a rift, of sorts, between the league's membership.Relations with the arcanists of Izmer improved after the Queen of Izmer and a host of her knights (including many powerful arcanists) came to the rescue of the City of Avion, just as it was ready to crack wide open during the beginning of the war with the tabaxi. An official alliance now exists between the two kingdoms and many old grudges have been set aside due to the threat of the tabaxi — a new, common enemy that the arcanists of both lands despise more than they did each other. One can only hope that the goodwill continues to last.</blockquote>

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