Wizards of Lhan¶
The Wizards of Lhan are "an order of wizards that can be found across Numenia," ruling a small island kingdom, Lhan, "on the western edge of the Ruined Sea" (S499). They are "notorious mage-hunters" who compel magic-users to join them or suffer prison or death. About two centuries before the Compendium's present their bid to rule Numenia failed, Lhan was razed, and most of the order's wizards were killed, an event arcane scholars call "the great fire of ignorance".
Organization¶
"Only members of the order are welcome" in Lhan. The wizards "wear a distinctive sigil on their robes, and the color of their robes determines their rank":
| Rank | Robe |
|---|---|
| 1 | White |
| 2 | Brown |
| 3 | Black |
| 4 | Green |
| 5 | Blue |
| 6 | Purple |
| 7 | Red |
"The Red wizards form the Red Council, which rules the order" (S499, S372). The sources list the colours in this order without saying outright which is lowest; the Red, who rule, stand at the end of it.
Mage-hunting¶
"They track down and force magic-users to join the order, or be imprisoned, or in some cases die." They are not welcome in every kingdom, "especially in the empire (which has its own organization for magic-users)," but "still often track unlicensed magic-users on the run into places where they are not welcome, but do so incognito. The penalty for a magic-user to flee into nations not recognizing the authority of the order is death, making their recovery in hostile territory a bit simpler" (S499).
Neutrality¶
"The wizards generally remain neutral in conflicts between nations, though lower tiered magic-users are generally allowed to align themselves or sell their services as mercenaries. Powerful wizards are forbidden from interfering or aligning themselves at all" (S499).
The great fire of ignorance¶
"About two hundred years ago, the wizards of Lhan were involved in a coup attempt to insert themselves as direct rulers over most of the nations of Numenia. The plot was discovered early, and while many wizards sided with the kingdoms, the city of Lhan was razed to the ground and its great libraries burned. Almost 90% of the known wizards were hunted down afterward." Arcane academics call it "the great fire of ignorance", and it "is generally held to be responsible for setting the development of arcane magic back nearly a thousand years" (S499). The event belongs to the Age of Magic.
The coup changed the order's standing. "A few kingdoms" expelled the wizards "and set up their own wizard orders under their own control. The nations that allowed the wizards to remain, do so now with a much more watchful eye, and demand more representation on the Red Council" (S499). The Compendium's copy of the passage says instead that "many demand representation" (S372).
Earlier accounts¶
The Compendium (S372, S384) carries the same notice almost word for word but without the name "the great fire of ignorance". The 2014 gazetteer (S548) is identical to the 2015 one (S499).
Gap
The sources do not name the empire that keeps its own magic-users, the kingdoms that expelled the order, any member of the Red Council, or the sigil the wizards wear. They give no date in the MA count for the razing, only "about two hundred years ago", and they do not say whether Lhan was rebuilt.