Warlocks of the Blue Flame¶
Contested
This page is named in the open question Warlocks of the Blue Flame or Blue Rift. The post-Sancturi lore notes call the Rift warlocks' secret society the Warlocks of the Blue Rift; every Proturan document calls it the Blue Flame. The page uses the newer name and treats the two as one society.
The Warlocks of the Blue Flame are "not the only group of warlocks, but by far the most powerful and organized group of them" (S078). They hold two seats on the Proturan Council of Proturas in 834 AL, in the Fifth Age, rule Conclave City, the Cleft of Fire and the Lower Reaches of the city, and "operate many sites inside the Rift", where legend puts their true seat. "No one really likes the warlocks. They are seen as a necessary evil and few dare to maintain open rivalry" (S078).
Also called: the Blue Flame (S051, S074); the Warlocks of the Blue Rift (S112).
Dominion and forces¶
| Areas of influence: | Conclave City, the Cleft of Fire and the Lower Reaches of Proturas; "many sites inside the Rift" |
| Leadership: | the Grand Warlock and the Cerulean Conclave of seven members |
| Military units: | "Warlocks & Summoned Demons" |
| Symbol: | "A black background with a blue fireburst" |
(S078)
The Wardens' oversight¶
The Blue Flame "was forced to accept policing from the Wardens due to several high profile demonic incidents. Still doesn't much like the idea, but the council forced it on them. They have secret underground areas in the lower reaches away from Warden oversight" (S078). The Wardens are described with the Children of the Light.
The Cerulean Citadel¶
"A secret city of warlocks hidden deep inside the Rift. Rumored to be their true seat of power" (S078). The older note on the Grotto calls it the Blue Flame's "sister city in the Rift" (S026), and the post-Sancturi notes say of the society that "it is whispered their headquarters is inside the Rift itself" (S112). The citadel is described on the Rift pages.
History¶
Warlocks came to Proturas about 645 AL, two decades after its founding, and "The Warlocks" were a member of the Proturan Federation (S107). In the Frontier Wars "the Warlocks of Proturas were especially effective at countering many of the elves' Fae-magic and territorial advantage", and early in the Great Guhvil War "the first Riftborn were created by Proturan warlocks" (S107). Harald Pallidine rose to power as "the council representative for the Warlocks" before he made himself High Lord Councillor (S107). The sources do not say whether "the Warlocks" of the federation were already the Blue Flame.
Members¶
The Blue Flame reaches into every other power in the city:
- Eksuru is "one of 2 representatives for the WARLOCKS" on the council (S040); to most of her followers she "is a warlock", though in truth a red dragon (S061).
- Marcella, "one of the most powerful Warlocks of the Blue Flame", is the Witch-Queen of Urdhar in the Rift, "a VERY old Human", and Eksuru's spy within the Circle of Eternity (S061, S068).
- Galaphile, head of the Circle of Eternity (S068), "is a blue flame warlock" and in 834 AL became Count of Claydun when the Warrens was annexed (S051). A "powerful warlock of the Blue Flame (member of the Circle)" killed the elder sister of the mystic Isador, whose spirit is now the source of Isador's power (S039).
- Valtor, betrayer of the Raven Concord, "has officially become a member of the Warlocks of the Blue Flame and is Mayor of Claydun" (S051).
- Eliron hired diggers and soldiers to excavate a warlock's tomb in the marshes beyond Tugard Pass, under a council writ granted once he showed "evidence the warlock had stolen a valuable artifact from him"; his household included an apprentice of the Blue Flame, a demon-hunting alchemist who "works for the Warlocks of the Blue Flame", and a former Lorsythian captain he owned as a slave (S073).
- Oxar kept a Riftborn child as a slave, "who did not treat you well"; at his death the child fled to the Concord (S074).
Warlock practice¶
The Blue Flame's own rites are not described, but the notes on Eliron's expedition record how Proturan warlocks are thought to cheat death: "warlocks speed up the reincarnation cycle by allowing their souls to transition in a matter of decades. When the full transition from body to vessel, a sacrificial child will be brought to the tomb and possessed by the warlock's spirit" (S073).
The Warlocks of the Blue Rift¶
After the fall of the Sancturi Empire and the Redemption, "warlocks that make deals with demons for magic are much more common", and among the rising powers of the age are "the Warlocks of the Blue Rift. Experts in navigating the Rift, they have built a considerable secret society and the demand for membership from prospective warlocks is high. It is whispered their headquarters is inside the Rift itself" (S112). The society's description fits the Blue Flame of the Proturan documents, and the page treats the names as one society pending a ruling.
Earlier accounts¶
The first plot notes for the Proturan campaign imagined "civil war among the warlocks of the Blue Flame" as part of an opening crisis, an idea the author set aside as "a bit too BIG / Grandiose" (S076). The Grotto note lists the "Warlocks of the Blue Flame (sister city in the Rift)" among the seven factions of the Conclave (S026).
Gap
The Grand Warlock and the seven of the Cerulean Conclave are not named, and nothing records how a warlock joins the Blue Flame or what bargains its members make.