Council of Wizards¶
Contested
This page is named in the open question First Wizards: the sources number the Archwizards who led the council as twelve (S208), twenty (S372, S384) or thirty-two (S434), and one names five elven first wizards (S429).
"Now a rarity, Wizards were once governed by the Wizard's Covenant, before the fall of the Council of Wizards." — The Nature of Magic (S208)
The Council of Wizards was the first order of wizards, ruled by the Archwizards, the casters whose staves drew directly on the Worldstone. Its members, the Order of Wizards, were bound by the Wizard's Covenant. It governed the practice of magic from the end of the Demon Wars until its Archwizards were dead and it broke apart, and every later order of wizards descends from its remnants: "The Acadian Order was born from a splinter from Nexa-Vinian order, which was a splinter from the original Council of Wizards (ruled by the Archwizards)" (S358). The lore of Arcane magic calls it "now defunct" (S304).
Also called: the Order of Wizards (S304, S372, S386); the wizard council (S372); the council of arch-wizards (S386).
Origins¶
After the Demon War, the 2020 history says, "the High Elves were declared custodians of the Worldstone and the Primal Dragons as their protectors. The Einar formed a council of arch-wizards that controlled access to the Worldstone and trained many others in the art of this magic" (S386). The lore of magic places the Archwizards in the age of dragons, when "great power was granted to the twelve Archwizards and their disciples who were able to tap directly into the power of the Worldstone. This was the birth of Arcane Magic," though "limited to High Elves, Dark Elves and some breeds of Draconians and Dragons" (S208). The sources differ on how many Archwizards there were and of what race.
Power and the Covenant¶
The council's authority rested on the Archwizards' staves, which "allowed them direct access to the vast magical reserves of the Worldstone" (S208, S304). "Initially, the staves channeled magic through the Anthu'Mithius and conferred god-like power. At that time, only wizards with staves were able to work magic through the stone" (S372). Below the Archwizards were the many they trained, and all wizards were "once governed by the Wizard's Covenant" (S208, S304); the sources do not give its terms. The arcane language Antusil was "developed by Arcantus and taught to the first Arch-wizards" (S304). The council's members were largely Magicians, the casters who work "with complex Arcane formulas and algorithms" (S304, S208).
Its politics were not free of the gods' quarrels. As the Einar split into Kalari and Izhtarus, the Izhtarus "recruited many Primal Dragons and a few arch-wizards to their cause, granting them Ascendancy and other power in return for their loyalty" (S386).
The Shattering undid the council's monopoly. The power of the Archwizards "was tremendously reduced (they used it both as a focus and power source)," and the dust of the stone "now made magic possible for many mortals" (S386). After the stone was destroyed "the power of the staves was greatly diminished, but they still remain the most powerful mithius channeling devices in existence" (S372).
The suppression of Mithi'nulias¶
The one act of government the sources record in detail is the council's ban on the mage-hunters' art. After centuries of study it was found that Mithi'nulias combined with Mithius to make Chaos magic, Mal'thias, "unpredictable and extremely difficult to control," and that the change "was one way and not reversible." "The council of wizards decided the practice must be abolished, however useful some of the outcomes. They also outlawed the creation or use of Chaos Magic. The elves immediately implemented the wizards decision in their lands and the order of Mithi'nulias came under immediate political attack." Its renegades "were eventually hunted down and destroyed or imprisoned by the wizards, elves and their mercenaries" (S372).
The fall¶
The newest account is brief: "The Council of Wizards fell apart after most of the Archwizards fell in the demon wars (all except one, Lothos). After some power struggles, an alliance between two of the remaining apprentices of the Archwizards reorganized the remnants" as the Nexa-Vinian Order (S358).
The older histories tell it at length. "Now that the council of arch-wizards was down to four, it began to flounder. They became bitterly divided over how to deal with issues" (S386); the Compendium adds that "eventually the council failed several hundred years later" (S372). The arch-wizard Methusial and a large group of followers announced that they would leave the Order of Wizards, and in the civil war that followed Methusial's preparations "destroyed or imprisoned much of the leadership of the order, including the current head arch-wizard, Erazmius." Methusial was killed soon after, and "the remaining members of the old order were scattered and leaderless" (S386). Methusial's apprentices founded the Nexa-Vinians from his splinter; the war is told on the Nexa-Vinian War page.
The Archwizards outlived their council. In the Second Rift War, the arch-demon was "slain by King Turic of Dunmir, with assistance from the last two arch wizards, one of which died in the fight" (S386, S372). The survivor is Lothos, "the last known arch wizard" (S372), whose White Fire carries on its fight against demons.
Successors¶
- Nexa-Vinian Order: formed from Methusial's splinter, it "initially ... followed along the same guidelines as the wizard council" (S372).
- Acadian Order: the splinter of the Nexa-Vinians that kept to Nexagar's view that wizards were "meant to serve and protect" (S358).
- The White Fire: the society of the last Archwizard.
Earlier accounts¶
The Compendium (S372, S384) has the council "down to four remaining arch wizards" well before the Nexa-Vinian War and failing "several hundred years later"; the 2020 history (S386) has the four-member council's collapse begin the war directly, and the 2026 outline (S358) has it fall because most Archwizards died in the demon wars. The newest reading leads above.
Gap
The sources do not say where the council sat, the terms of the Wizard's Covenant, how its members below the Archwizards were ranked, or when in the setting's calendar it fell. The Compendium places the Nexa-Vinian War, which followed the fall, in 1864 to 1895 MA, a date itself contested.