User:Konig Des Todes/Fan Fiction/The Archivists' Sanctum

Note: This article is complete fanon and mimics the style of official sources. Errors which occur in the original source should be corrected here.

The Archivists' Sanctum

Called "the Sanctum" for short, the Archivists' Sanctum is a guild which has its roots dating back to the Exodus itself, though it itself is only four and a half centuries old. The Sanctum has one sole purpose in its existence: to fully document and know everything.

To the outside, the Archivists’ Sanctum acts as a cross between the Durmand Priory and the Order of Whispers, to which they have ties to both orders. However, how the Sanctum functions, and their intention, are completely different from both – though more similar, an outsider would argue, to the Priory.

The Mage Lords

In the fifth year after the Exodus of the Gods, Afzal Fireblade, last Sacred Guard of Balthazar, gathered the other five Sacred Guards and with them formed the Mage Lords. They were a group of six powerful mages focused on studying the full effects of magic and its influences from the bloodstones. When one Mage Lord passed away, a new candidate was chosen and taught by another. Each Mage Lord was always paired with a second in their studies.

For nearly 850 years, their work went unabated, slowed down only by unexpected disasters such as the Scarab Plague. From the shadows during this time, they guided individuals in protecting the world from magical greed. This lasted until 851 AE, when four of the six Mage Lords died off or disappeared within weeks of each other. The last two Mage Lords, Nerin Fireblade and Tyreek Gosse, decided that change was necessary and expanded their fold. To compensate, they dropped their titles of lords and renamed themselves as the Archivists’ Sanctum.

Political and inter-racial views

“

The actions of the individual never define the intentions of the whole.

— Third credo of the Sanctum

The Sanctum stresses to a seemingly impossible extent that they are neutral in all matters, and their actions back them in this. If a war takes place, they go to extra efforts to avoid being drawn into it while simultaneously being present on each side in order to record what occurs.

Similarly, from the very beginning while most organizations were bent on single racial groupings, the Sanctum was interested in gathering members from any race willing to cooperate. However, due to the danger of giving knowledge that would be used by to better one’s own side in a conflict, the knowledge members knew was often heavily limited. This means of acting has been existent in the guild since its earliest days and is one of the few things which has not been altered.

Just as the Sanctum remains neutral in all fights, merely observing both sides, the Sanctum as an organization holds no interest in the conflict with the Elder Dragons. They hold the opinion that the Dragons neither can nor cannot be defeated. Instead, when it comes to the Elder Dragons, the Sanctum holds the stance of finding the best methods to preserve knowledge – in the case that those who are dedicated to removing the Elder Dragons cannot permanently eliminate them, the Sanctum wishes for knowledge, both on the Elder Dragons and in general, to survive the Dragons’ actions for new life to find.

The Sanctum acknowledges that its own members – even the leader of the guild – cannot be devoid of personal ties or emotions and as such will act in their own interest. It is for this reason that the third credo of the Sanctum exists – while an individual of the Sanctum may perform a deed meriting him or her an enemy or ally of the group, the Sanctum on a whole remains neutral to all situations (and will even forsake their own members to remain neutral, should no better alternative present itself).

Relations to the Order of Whispers

The Sanctum was formed only a decade or two before the Order of Whispers was official, and for another decade until they ever met. However, once the Order heard of the Archivists’ Sanctum, they sent a spy. The third spy to infiltrate the Sanctum (they only had one at a time) was Mahnour Dreihen. Within a few years, Mahnour became convinced that an open relationship between the two groups would benefit both sides and presented this suggestion to the then Master of Whispers (with sufficient backing to his claim). Though initially reluctant, the Master of Whispers agreed and negotiations began with Nerin.

The negotiations eventually became a success, and the two groups joined resources. However, it was agreed that their allegiance must take absolute secrecy – only to be known in the highest rankings of either organization. The reason behind this was simple: if it became known, then there’d be immense difficulty in maintaining neutrality for the Sanctum, and the knowledge the Order has access to would become more public thus leading to harsher times for the secretive order as well. As Nerin was reaching his death bed, he named Mahnour as his successor for this act.

Relations to the Durmand Priory

The Archivists’ Sanctum’s connections and ties to the Durmand Priory are tedious at best. These ties come solely from the fact they both hold an interest in obtaining and maintaining knowledge. The Sanctum had quickly decided that the Priory were trustworthy individuals who would not let knowledge go into the wrong hands, and in turn offered a handful of the knowledge they’ve recorded in exchange for an equal amount (though not always equal quality) of the Priory’s knowledge. Despite what the outside may believe, the ties go no further than this mutual interest.

Age of the Asura

The Age of the Asura is a term used only within the Sanctum itself. It refers to the 216 years (1090 AE to 1306 AE) in which the vast majority of the highest positions within the Sanctum were held by asura. The Age of the Asura began with the fifth leader, Flimm, who had felt all other races incompetent in fulfilling the Credos and maintaining knowledge accurately. After promoting all other asura within the guild to the highest rankings underneath him, and demoting all non-asuras except the most extraordinary individuals, he enforced a newly made sixth Credo:

"Those who cannot match an asura's ingenuity cannot be trusted in keepsaking that which must not be lost."

Many of the members were against these changes, however Flimm provided arguments and “evidence” (though any of this evidence seems to be missing from all records) for why he was right. None was capable of beating his argument (more due to his complex means of arguing rather than how infallible it was), or would not bother to so they could save themselves from dealing with Flimm’s stubbornness.

Flimm’s methods continued on until the eighth leader, Scrux, having died before being able to name a successor. This allowed the Sanctum to vote for a new leader, producing the sylvari Ethna as the ninth leader and ending the Age of the Asura.

Masters of the Sanctum

“

All knowledge must be preserved. The loss of knowledge is inexcusable.

— First credo of the Sanctum

Since its establishment, there have been only ten leaders – referred to simply as Masters, or Master Librarians. The first of these and founder of the Sanctum was Nerin Fireblade, one of the two last Mage Lords. Under his rule and utilizing his contacts from his time as a Mage Lord, the Sanctum went from two members to 89 with access to the most well known libraries within a few decades. By the end of his leadership, the Sanctum held firm establishments in both human and centaur lands.

With the exception of the first two Masters, each Master is put into power at a young age (typically in the mid twenties), and barring unexpected deaths (which happened twice to date), each Master is such until an old age. It is most common for the Master to only give succession formally upon his or her deathbed, though a successor is often named in advance, though it still takes decades after one is made a Master before a successor is chosen.

The Masters

1. Nerin Fireblade (led from 851 AE to 978 AE): Sole centaur Master and co-founder of the Sanctum
2. Mahnour Dreihen (led from 978 AE – 1023 AE): Former member of the Order of Whispers
3. Shira Allyn (led from 1023 AE – 1065 AE)
4. Gahmir Lenon (led from 1065 AE – 1090 AE): Commissioned the Tyrian Sanctum, died in the Foefire, left no successor
5. Fimm (led from 1090 AE – 1176 AE): Began the Age of the Asura, added the sixth Credo
6. Sukko (led from 1176 AE – 1251 AE): Created the "Sukko's Pith"
7. Rikk (led from 1251 AE – 1298 AE)
8. Scrux (led from 1298 AE – 1306 AE): Assassinated unexpectedly, left no successor
9. Ethna (led from 1306 AE – 1323 AE): First sylvari Master, removed the sixth Credo, put into power by vote, later found out to have rigged voting and was behind Scrux’s assassination
10. Steingrimr Varorson (1323 AE – present): Current leader of the Sanctum and the one to discover Ethna’s actions

Rankings of the Sanctum

The Sanctum has a very elaborate yet simple dual-ranking system. The first system is an internal rank that determines the amount of authority and access given within the guild itself. There are four tiers to this: Master Librarian, Curator, Archivist, and Disciple (from highest rank to lowest). The second system goes into external political ties, and has no above or below from the guild’s perspective – each position is tied to a different political or racial faction; only the Master Librarian is exempt from this system.

Individual rank names are made by combining the two ranks. For instance, a member who is to act within the Iron Legion of the charr while being an Archivist would be referred to as “Iron Archivist” while those who are placed in Ebonhawke of the same ranking would be “Ebon Archivist” and in a similar fashion an Curator spying on the Sons of Svanir would be a “Svanir Curator.” Other than the external rank being first and internal second, there is no convention for the individual rank; however, the most easily identifying word from the external position is often used in the individual rank.

Credos of the Sanctum

The Credos of the Sanctum are the core roots and beliefs of the guild. Without them, the Sanctum would be without policies and in turn without guidance, and would risk falling to the “foolishness” (as they call it) that political groups fall to. The Credos were established by the second master of the Sanctum.

In total, there are five Credos:

1. All knowledge must be preserved. The loss of knowledge is inexcusable.
2. Never pass an opportunity to gain new knowledge. One's life is expendable so long as knowledge is gained and kept.
3. The actions of the individual never define the intentions of the whole.
4. Knowledge will never be common, however those who benefit from spreading or restricting knowledge must never be given the opportunity to do so.
5. Neutrality is a tool. Forsake it and you forsake means to gain knowledge.

During the Age of the Asura, there was a sixth Credo which was removed by ninth Master, Ethna. Some in the Archivists' Sanctum, especially asura, claim that it still remains in the guild but is not one of the official Credos.

The five Credos are summarized into a singular phrase for easy remembrance referred to as the "Way of the Sanctum":

"Preservation, Opportunism, Individuality, Regulation, Neutrality. This is the Way of the Sanctum."

The Sanctum

The main guild hall of the Archivists' Sanctum is simply referred to as "the Sanctum," alongside the nickname of the guild. However, when dealing with international matters (as rare as they are in modern times), it is referred to as "the Tyrian Sanctum" (similarly, the supposed guild hall of Elona and Cantha are called "the Elonian Sanctum" and "the Canthan Sanctum" respectively). Lying near the coast of the large lake in the northern reaches of the Maguuma Jungle, its location is kept hidden to most, only being known to those of Archivist and higher rankings. This secrecy is kept by the use of asura gates (the Sanctum holding two, one to the east of the hall and one inside).

There exist rumors that claims the creation of the Maguuma Wastes were not the doings of an Elder Dragon, but magic experiments gone awry by the Sanctum during the Age of the Asura. Whether these rumors are true or not is as known as the truth behind any other rumor.

The Sanctum that lies to the northwest had construction begin in 1076 AE, initiated and designed by Gahmir Lenon and Xaphan Sariel, an Archivist at the time. It was designed in the styles of Vabbi, Ascalon, and Kurzick, taking what is said to have been the "best aspects" of those three architecture designs. Xaphan oversaw the project until 1083 AE, though the project was not complete in its initial form until 1095 AE. The building was renovated by almost every master since Gahmir Lenon, leading it to contain asuran designs throughout.

Within the Sanctum lies the guild's grand library, made in the shape of an eight-pointed starburst. the library is said to reach 100 feet in its diameter with several rows of tomes and scrolls along each corridor from the center. In the center of the library holds the Sanctum's personal pride - a feat of combining asuran magic with the knowledge of the ancient seers and crafted by Sukko gave birth to a giant magical sphere. Swirling black and dark blue in color, this sphere levitates a few feet off the ground over a pool of water and it alone makes all the tomes in the library completely obsolete.

This sphere, dubbed "Sukko's Pith," contains all of the knowledge of the Sanctum - recorded magically into the sphere by Curators and the Master Librarian himself. All members of the Archivists' Sanctum is given knowledge of how to tap into the sphere's database of knowledge, shown in text (language of the user's choice) on the surface of the sphere, though their rankings determine how much knowledge they can observe.

The Elonian Sanctum

The original Sanctum, now called the Elonian Sanctum, has been lost to the annals of time and is considered the Sanctum's greatest shame. During the chaos of Nightfall, the Elonian Sanctum had to be evacuated (assumingly due to holding artifacts of interest to the Margonites and demons) and, in this evacuation, documentation of its location was lost. With Gahmir Lenon's death in the Foefire as well as the unexpected death of other Curators, its location was completely lost.

It is said that it could not be found again due to being behind magical wards in Vabbi. Rumors, however, claim that members of the Archivists' Sanctum did return to the Elonian Sanctum's location, however the building itself was... missing - simply missing. What the truth is has been lost when Joko returned and took control of Elona.

The Canthan Sanctum

It is unknown whether the Canthan Sanctum ever truly existed or not, except to the Master Librarians and select Curators. When the Archivists' Sanctum was originally intending to spread its members into Cantha, the Empire of the Dragon began closing off trade and communications with the northern kingdoms in 872 AE. When trade was re-opened by Ermenred of Ascalon's aid, the Archivists' Sanctum without hesitation traveled to Cantha. However, they were unable to find permanent foothold.

Until they met Xaphan Sariel in Tyria. House Sariel was one of the minor houses of the Kurzicks and had the most extensive collection in Cantha, priding themselves to a fault on their desire to get knowledge (it is said that House Sariel was cursed generations ago to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that led to this). Xaphan Sariel was to open up the House Sariel library for use by the Sanctum, however, he disappeared in 1083 AE before this event could be finalized. The rising of the Ministry of Purity and eventual isolation of the continent prevented any further attempts.

During the isolation, however, some members of the Archivists' Sanctum were entrapped in Cantha and their status unknown. It is hoped by many that, due to the previous contact with House Sariel and other Canthans, that the members were not hunted down and found sanctuary somewhere, creating a Canthan Sanctum of their own (if not using House Sariel for such).