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The following exceprts have been taken from Priory histories...

The history of the Priory is possibly the most interesting of all of Mercia, if for no other reason than the Priory’s continuity throughout the ages. No other organization has been as cohesive and lasting as the Priory has, which makes its history and histories so vivid and accurate. Despite ripples in the organization, the Priory claims to be Mercia’s most unified body.

When the Zealans first came to Leanantla, three powerful mages held a conference and agreed that magic must be regulated. The frivolous use of magic was blamed as one of the major reasons for Zeal’s fall from grace. These mages swore an oath that they would never delve into the dark arts, and they would never allow their students either. The mages went their separate ways, each forming his own mage tower. One tower in the foothills of Simos, one tower in the heart of Mercia and one in the city of Avaria. The mages were highly reclusive, keeping to themselves and their research. Students were rarely actively recruited, and the mage towers were rarely of any concern to anyone. Mages stayed distant from the world, slowly rebuilding the knowledge that was lost with Zeal.

In 56 MR, in the darkest corners of Leanantla, the Grey Cult forms. These cultists, the Heralds of Maguun, were quick to dig deep into the dark arts. Wishing to empower Maguun and do all sorts of evil, dark magic was brought to a height never before realized. The Laranians were afraid of this power and mystified that it even existed. It was soon realized that there was no real control over any magic in Leanantla. Mages with no real alliance roamed the lands, using their powers for whatever means they wished. The tribal magics, which were the only magics before Mercia, were radiating out into Laranian lands. In response to all these threats, in 61 MR, the Church of Larani commissioned the three mage towers to form an organization with the stated goal of controlling dark magics and rogue mages. The headmasters of the towers embraced the idea with open arms. The majority of mages outside the towers joined the Priory willingly, which granted more power to the headmasters. Their commission from the Church of Larani granted them legitimacy throughout most of Leanantla. Their mission to contain the dark arts gave them jurisdiction over any lands that dark magic could thrive, which was affectively any lands. Priory Mages were some of the few people who could travel Leanantla freely, which gave them a unique role as messengers. At times, the only sure way to get information across a wide expanse was to hire a Priory Mage. The Priory became rich with coin and with the secrets of all three kingdoms. Despite this new found power, the Priory never breeched its neutrality and never pushed far outside its walls. As long as the Priory was respected and all its needs met, it was left alone.

For nearly 40 years the Priory kept its power and remained mostly unchanged. Research was the Priory’s top concern as rogue mages and Maguunites were rarely cause for concern. This all changed in 97 MR when the Orks first attacked. Avaria was the first kingdom hit and soon Avary was sacked. When Avary fell, the mage tower went with it. Being one of the original three towers, huge amounts of research was destroyed. The Priory realized it could not stay completely withdrawn and several conferences were head to decide how the Priory would react. The mages in the areas were the Orks attacked obviously fought, but the Priory did not formally declare itself at war. The Priory was further shaken in 101 MR when the chieftain Lothrim rose from the tribes of Andal. Lothrim was a powerful magic user and making serious gains, especially when in 104 MR he creates the Gargu. The Priory was appalled, not only was Lothrim a rogue mage, but he was also using dark magics. The Priory was preparing to make a formal decree against Lothrim when Lothrim’s forces attacked the Priory. The Priory was reigned into the Lothrim Federation and turned on its head. Lothrim wanted to use the Priory as a fighting force, but for near 100 years the headmasters had spoken against aggressive magics. Mages who had been able to use magic in aggressive ways were often quelled and never gained rank in the organization. Lothrim took some of these men and appointed them as headmaster. Priory Mages, for the first time ever, began formally fighting.

The Priory at this point was heavily fractured, but held together first out of fear of Lothrim, then out of the need to fight Orks and Gargu. Regardless of what a headmaster felt the role of magic should be, it was clear that Lothrim’s word was the greatest, and utlimately their would be no Priory if the Orks and Gargu were not repelled. With Lothrim’s defeat, the Ork’s fleeing Leanantla and the Gargu being pushed east, the Priory was left without anything to bind it. The old masters had seen the new masters positions as temporary. They were generals; in times of war they had power, when the fighting stopped so did their power. The new masters disagreed, seeing this aggressive magic as the path the Priory should be walking. The old masters refused to stay in an organization where magic was used for destruction, but knew they could not fight the new masters, so they did what they did best and became reclusive. They refused to participate in the Priory, instead each one retreating to a separate tower and teaching their own philosophies on magic. The new masters claimed victory over the Priory. This victory was short-lived, as the new masters began to disagree with each other as well. These masters retired to separate towers, becoming reclusive as well. This event led to the creation of the schools of magic. Each headmaster specialized in his own type of weaving, and this is the type he taught his students. In previous times, each student would be exposed to all the different forms of weaving, never truly specializing. The schools began to developed independently, growing further and further apart. The old masters represented the more peaceful and helpful schools, such as life magics and enchanters. The new masters represented the more aggressive schools, and those supported by Lothrim, such as fire, nature and conjurations.

In 121 MR, for nearly the entire year, the Priory effectively dissolved. The heads of the schools refused any communication with each other. In winter of the year, in the streets of Medici, local authorities arrested a young mage when he animated the corpse of a chicken and made it attack a peer. Beyond simply using necromancy the boy was also not registered with the Priory, making him a rogue. The Church came down hard upon the Priory, and the headmasters were forced to reopen communication or be taken over by the Church. At a conference, it was agreed that despite disagreeing on the role of magic, every school could agree the dark arts were to remain forbidden and rogue mages were still to be hunted and controlled. Though tensions were still high between the headmasters, the Priory once again existed.

The next century was rather uneventful for the Priory. The schools remained separate and continued to develop, growing further and further from each other. For the most part, the Priory returned to its original stance of reclusiveness. It should be noted that despite the outward appearance of this event being a setback, the division into schools allowed mages to specialized and progressed learning and research greatly. Towards 160 MR the schools even began talking more and exchanging students which may be better suited for a different school. The Priory still saw little action during this period. A few schools were contacted to help during the Cleansing, mages were used to track down and eliminate Maguunites, Noctii and Therians. Other schools act out against the tribal magics present in the lands being conquered, taking it for their own or destroying the knowledge as dark magic. Around 160-180 MR the Priory begins to delve into politics a little. The scholars, for the first time in history, begin to study mundane matters. With new ideas rising out of Simos, mages find themselves talking politics as much as matters of metaphysics. As tensions between the kingdoms rise, it becomes more and more clear that the Priory cannot remain fully neutral.

At the outbreak of the war, the schools begin allying with different kingdoms. A sort of gentlemen’s agreement exists between mages. They will never directly act against other people and certainly never act against other mages. A mage of the fire school would never bring down a fireball on an enemy army, but he may well use his magic to give his army blades of fire. Life mages would be seen granting their troops with supernatural strength, while conjurers could quickly create supplies for a battle. This gentlemen’s agreement was breeched in 217 MR when the powerful druid Rimfiztrik, under an allegiance with the Mercia, unleashes a vicious assault against Salsadin. A massive earthquake rips through the city; the loss of life is astonishing. Following this event, the various schools were furious. There were to be large scale, deadly battles between warring schools, but Mercia’s speed had stopped this. Almost as suddenly as Rimfiztrik unleashed his earthquake, Daagen Feirth conquered Leanantla. Feirth announced Rimfiztrik to be acting under his order, and any mage that wanted to act against the nature school would be acting against him and Larani. It took only a few mages being declared heretics and executed as such before the other schools realized they could not possibly act against Mercia. Just as Feirth had brought the other kingdoms in, Feirth forced the other schools to come together. He, with the help of the Church, pushed the Priory back together. He wished to have one solid organization, more to make it easier to control than any other reason.

The Priory became a tool of the king. Under the Feirth bloodline the Priory takes it modern role. The Priory shall be first and foremost a police force. The Priory begins surveillance over all of Leanantla, keeping close watch of all witchborns. Any that seem to be especially gifted are brought into the Priory, and any that try and pursue magic without the Priory are branded as rogue and dealt with. Those Priory members that sway from the path are also branded rogue and similarly dealt with. Offensive magics work their way into the common school, the magic that it is essential for every mage to practice. From this point forward, research had become permanently subordinated to fighting.

From this reorganization of the Priory in 220 MR to 380 MR the Priory keeps up its policing duties, while still progressing its research. In 380 MR the first real exposure of the Cabal comes. This group was seemingly comprised of tribal shamans and Priory outcasts which delved into the dark arts. The Cabal, with the aid of bandits and mountain tribes, began lashing out against the kingdom. Due to the apathy of the nobles, the King had to rely upon the Priory to stop this threat. In the first time in history the Priory acted as a singular fighting group. The Priory, with some of the King’s army, fought against the Cabal, and their allies. After some dealings, the Priory was able to convince a bandit tribe to betray the Cabal. The bandit lord lashes out against the Cabal, and the Priory finishes up the task and shatters the Cabal. The King was astonished by the Priory’s thorough, efficient work. Much of Leanantla was astonished when the Priory kept it’s promise to the bandit lord and had him made a count. The Priory regained much of it’s old reputation as a force to be reckoned with. The King sets up a Council of Twelve, appointing twelve advisors from the Priory. The Priory gains another task: political advising.

After another century and a bit more, the Priory has not changed. The task of research remains a tertiary goal of the Priory, the real focus on policing and advising. The Priory is well respected as an organization, praised for its knowledge and feared for its power. Priory headmasters are very careful to balance these tasks, and are even more careful to not anger the Church or the King. Despite the outward subordination to these two groups, inside the Priory usually acts as it pleases with a general ‘what they do not know cannot hurt them’ attitude.

The following code is rigidly enforced:

1. Bring not the scorn of the people upon thy brothers, nor make with thine art a place for thyself above them.
2. Keep sacred, and free from harm, thy House of Lore and make tithe to thy House a portion of thine arcane treasure.
3. Spread not thy lore, even among thy brothers, without sanction of thy peers.
4. Succor not a renegade of the art, but strike him down with thy power, else summon brothers to thine aid.

A mage who uses magic to harm the ordinary folk or who bring a House of Lore (chantry) into disrepute, will be opposed by other Priory members, either because they are ethically hostile, or because they believe the organization is threatened by too much visibility.

If enough masters agree, a mage can be declared Renegade. An infringement may prompt only a warning from a master, group of masters, or chantry.

It is the duty of all mages to oppose a renegade. Mages are not expected to commit suicide to oppose a powerful renegade. It is enough to quickly report any encounter or knowledge of a renegade’s location to the nearest chantry or independent master.

Regardless of the outcome, the mages will try to rectify a renegade’s actions. The masters who declared the mage renegade have a primary responsibility to perform this task.

There are four ranks within the Priory.

New entrants become Apprentices to a Master. An apprentice takes an oath to obey the Priory’s laws, conserve its secrets, and to serve and obey his master. The master agrees only to “teach what is deserved”. Apprentices perform menial tasks, assist with reasearch, run errands, and so on. In the beginning, most of what they learn is from watching and listening to their masters. Those who earn their master’s favor will eventually learn some spells. Some apprentices lose a master due to death, misfire, etc. Every attempt to place the “orphan” with another master is made. If the apprentice is a marginal talent or disagreeable personality, an apprenticeship may terminate, often with some bitterness.

When apprentice reaches a certain level of competence, and learn the ways of the Priory, they are released from their bond of apprenticeship and sent into the world as one of the journeymen. It is hoped a journeyman will test and refine their art by observing how magic manifests itself in the world outside a chantry. Journeymen are also expected to gather treasures: items of value and esoteric interest to the Priory and its members. The prevailing custom is to gift the former master with valuable items and new spells the journeyman may discover. If the journeyman fails in this task, so be it; the custom is intended to weed out the weak and incompetent. Journeyman who survives in the outside world for at least a set period of time and gift the Priory with treasures or knowledge, may apply for promotion to the rank of a Master.

The highest rank attained by most mages, masters generally reside in a chantry, engaged in never-ending research and training of apprentices, but some travel far and wide to pursuit of original knowledge. Apprentices are generally indentured to resident master. Mendicant masters are less inclined to take on apprentices, although apprentices with talent and wanderlust are always in demand.

Only the most accomplished Masters reach the rank of Grandmaster, and the Priory has only one Grandmaster at any time. The only way to reach this exalted rank is to be appointed by the previous Grandmaster, or if not possible, the Church of Larani. The Grandmaster sets the Priory’s agenda, and leads the Priory as he sees fit. They are chosen for life, and can only lose their rank and status if they violate the Priory’s code, or are excommunicated and expelled by the Church of Larani. In both cases, it is unlikely that such a formidable mage will be left alive, given the amount of dangerous knowledge he has.

When the Colony was found, the Priory quickly took aims at curbing the practice of magic and its sale across the lands from the Kingdom of Mercia. Establishing their quarters near the barracks of Denshy, the Priory Complex is closed to most visitors but is known to act as a library and place of research. Those members who traveled over from the Mercia continue in an active process of discovery, exploring the new lands in search of lost arcane lore while acting to prevent those same secrets from falling into the wrong hands. Compared to the large following back in the old Kingdom, the Priory in Denshy is quite small and perhaps limited in its capabilities. Those interested in the arcane would be best to seek out its members, or perhaps .. not.