The Servants of the Hidden Tower

Factia Powers are the composite elements of Magic. There are eight Alignments of Factia Power, and each are governed or controlled by a Facta or order who devotes itself to that Factia alone. The Factas are; Facta Necra (Necromancy). Facta Divia (Divination). Facta Cala (Conjuration). Facta Invocata (Invocation). Facta Pria (Abjuration). Facta Tria (Alteration). Facta Encantata (Enchantment). Facta Mettia (Illusion). Each Facta or School is comprised of the Facta Magic that is the Specialization of the School’s Disciples, the Disciples themselves to include the Schools master or as well as all the items of permanent or harnessed magic operating on or partly with the alignment of the Facta.

The only ‘specialists’ of Magic are Servants of the Hidden Tower, or more correctly, the Tower Magus. Surely there are those who use magic that to not serve the Tower Magus but they are not Specialists. They are Hedge Wizzards for whom the deepest truths of Magic have eluded them.

All those who learn the art of Factia Power are able to sense all things of their Factia. Other casters, potions, scrolls items etc. Their acuity at this is determined by their own primordial rank or ‘Closeness’ to the Factia. Of importance also is the fact that when casters of the same Factia sense each other, they can determine who is closer to the Factia and hence, more powerful. It goes without saying that a caster who is closer to the Factia or ‘Higher Level’ will sense the ‘lower level’ caster before the lower level caster senses him. While items of Factia Power can inflate the power of a caster and indeed make that Caster more powerful, High Level casters can discern between Level and Independant Power. Finally, the master of each Factia, as the most powerful of all the disciples of the Factia is connected to each and every caster below him in a way yet that grants the Master an elevated level of influence over the Casters though it is hard to put this in written terms.

If left to spell craft alone, a Caster of greater level will never lose to a caster of lower level. Because of this, low level casters have a predisposition of questionless loyalty to Casters who are greater then they are. This is so much so that it gives the impression that there is rank and advancement among those of the Tower and that the Low level Casters are students of the Higher level ones. While this is true in a way. There is no school as far as courses enrollment or duty is concerned. There is no loyalty to position, only to power. Low Level casters adhere to those who are greater so that they may learn from them and so become greater themselves. They ingratiate themselves with their superiors out of their respect and desire.

Though servants of the Tower are often abroad to procure items and entities for their betters, the Servants often have their own lives and goals and dominions apart from the Agency of the Tower. There is no better example of this then the Sages Guild. The Primerium of Facta Divia is none other that the Venerable Obend Fouge. Highest counsel to the King, Chief Administer of the Kingdom of King John and High Seer of the Sages Guild. Currently the most influential humanoid, non-Deity being known.

Servants of the Tower are ever seeking items of independent Power of their Factia. Either for themselves or as gifts to their betters, these agents are powers of there own.

Two more anomolouse relationships must also be discussed here. The first is the relationship between Facta Necromanta and Malfator. Malfator is the Archenemy of Facta Necromanta as the God wills to control all negative planar energy on the Prime. He is in direct competition with the Facta because of this. For this reason also, those Necromancers not of the Facta are accluded to Malfator and so are mortal enemies of the Facta. The Facta hunts them with a zeal because every Necromancer slain frees up Factia power, retrieves several factia items and weakens the enemy significantly. It also puts a stop to the Necromancers animations which can only be beneficial to Malfator. Necromancers of the Factia are not necessarily pro-undead, in fact many are undead hunters as each undead that is destroyed furthers the Goals of the Factia. To be accurate, little of Factia Necromanta has do with the generation or propagation of undead.

The Second anomaly is Facta Invocata and the rise of the Elementalist sect. The sect was born in Westfolden under Inmianan III. His death at the hands of the Finhorns did nothing to bring about the decline of the sect which up to that point had been an army of Invokers in the making and after his death, a cult manipulated into a powerful sect by the return of the Heroiphant from Iloudia or The Northern Province, where they had been in exile for nearly half of their 1900 years outside the Fold, thank Leahdah they took no followers while they were in exile there.

The Druids saw the Elementalist as vital in their plans for the elimination of the humans and the Final Conquering which is their term for the enslaving or killing of all the post Factioning Elves. Iloudia holds a special place in their hearts as it is one of three places where their origins are traced. The other is Westfolden and the Third is not known. It is said that before they left they took measures for the preparation of their eventual return to the northern province and laid growth in the wild places. What those preparations are is not known.

The Elementalist Movement received little attention from the Sages guild and still does not. It is only since the Work of Posmussen has been published that it has been given serious consideration by the Sages Guild. It is not likely that anything will come of his treatise however. The result is the legitimization of the Elementalist Culture in the Northern Province as Humans have natural aptitude for Invocation. That and it appeals to the raw, destructive power always sought after by the short lived races.

The Philosophy of Elementalism is revolutionary in that they preach and believe not in the balance of the Inner Planes but in the Dominance and the enveloping nature of the Plane of Fire. They hold that the three pillars of the elements stand in the all engulfing power of Fire and that Fire is not an element at all but the force that directs all the elements. They believe in the hierarchy of the Plane of Earth below the Plane of Water below the Plane of Air, not as corners of the prime as preached by all contemporary Planer Cosmologists.

Instead of equality of power and attributive portion, Elementalist believe Heirarchy and so pursue and justify actions of evolution towards that end. Basically they believe they increase their power through destruction. Though some have butted heads with the Kingdom and the Sages guild, they have lost. They are not targeted as a group because their ideology does not threaten the kingdom as the sect is a manifestation of and from society, and hence they do not seek the destruction of society, just destruction of life. Though many elementalists argue against this interpretation of their intentions, it is the closest to the truth of any interpretation of their beliefs that exists in written form as of yet.

Elementalists tap into Factia Power and so technically are servants of the Tower were it not for this fact. Elementalist show allegiance to their own order and it is political and social and has no loyalty to raw power nor does it regard such power as right or governing. It is one of the best loved ironies of the World of Magic as the Invocata who are without arguement the most powerful of all the Factas of the Hidden Tower cannot compel the Elementalists. The fact that the Elementalist value gold, bought and voted rank and heraldry above the raw power they wield is source of much humor in the world of Magicians at the sport of the Hidden Tower.

This is plainly why Invocatas relish the destruction of Elementalist. To the untrained eye it is a revolution in the world of magic but to those in the know it is merely survival of the fittest. The elementalist care nothing for the servants of the Hidden tower and consider them nusances or trophys to be killed for sport while the Invocata despise the elementalist above all else for their refusal to acknowledge to inherent superiority of Factia Power and the power of the greatest of the Facta.

In final irony, the ability of an elementalist to throw a more powerful fireball ends up having nothing to do with how powerful they are in theri own society and it makes them more powerful then their greatest adversaries in that they do not care that they are. But this is covered better under the section on Peytah.

Each Master of the Facta has a term as the Primerium of the Tower. It is the Primerium of the Tower who is responsible for directing the general goals fo the Tower but more importantly is responsible for it’s protection and it’s future as well as the cooperation of the different Factias of the Tower. As the Allignments have oppositions they also have allies. Parallel schools are close and work together often to pursue mutual ends. Opposition schools must be kept from attacking each other though this is hardly possible. All out faction war is the responsibility of the Primerium to avoid and keep from occurring. The Primeriumship is decided by cosmological events and the length of each reign is determined the same way. Before Fouge, Facta Pria ruled and it is precisely that Primerium who is responsible for saving the Tower from Mok-Turosh. His protections keep it safe from all but the invited. His Rule was the most brief in the past 3000 years. Before it, Facta Necromanta ruled and it’s Rule was the Longest. It is thought Facta Necromanta ruled shortly after it’s discovery by the First King John, many centuries ago. Before Primerium Teltus the Necromancer, Facta Mettia ruled. The next Facta slated to rule is Facta Invocata but it is not yet clear when this will occur but it is likely to happen when the kingdom of King John falls to the Kords. Though many do not accept this as a possibility it has already been seen by the seers. They fight this fact because the fall of the Kingdom of King john is the end of their Reign. It is certain by no means as no events of the future are but it is fixed and little can weaken it as every day it’s certainty becomes a little more solid in the foggy sight of the Oracles of the Observatory of Gray Heart.

To Prepare for this, Factia Invocata is ever hunting for a series of artifacts it will need to successfully rule during it’s time. Most of these items rest in the coffers of the Liches in Shiboa and their Drow Allies. One is thought to lay in the Northern Province but Lakiwan, a servant of the Tower in the North has looked for it now for 6 years to no avail.

Agents of the Tower are not Citizens of any country and include all types able to ply the arts of Factia Power. Their races include all those living. Several of them are WC some Drow from Shiboa, others still Gold, High, Wild and Gray elves in origin but Casters all the same. All Human kinds are servants there but kords are not known among them, nor are the gnomes, dwarves or halflings.