Chronicle Keepers Foundation

Overview

The Chronicle Keepers Foundation is an order of scholars and explorers dedicated to retrieving and cataloging the knowledge of the world.  

Operations and Goals

The Chronicle Keepers work to rediscover, collect, and archive existing knowledge and new discoveries. They also strive to make that information available to anyone who wants it, for the betterment of the world.  

Organizational Structure

• The 5 Librarians: Chosen by the founder for their talents as rune scribes, they run the faction in concert.
• The Archivists: Chosen by the librarians, their task is to go out into the world and collect the knowledge the Foundation desires. To that end, they are empowered to hire Adjuncts to get the job done. They also often hand deliver responses to information requests received by the Foundation.
• The Adjuncts: Local, temporary members of the faction. These adventurers, hired thugs, and random riffraff are often just looking to make a quick buck or learn something new. The turnover rate is HIGH.

 

Culture and History

Once the first Librarians were chosen, the grand halls of the Archive were constructed to hold the chronicles of the world and everything in it. Soon after, packages arrived at various seats of power across the land. These simple wooden puzzle boxes were sealed in wax with the mark of the intended ruler. No one has ever revealed what was inside, but Pelolia, The Guilds of Piccarda, and the Barons of Folan Hegemony responded swiftly. They acknowledged the Foundation, allowing Archivists bearing Runic amulets to come and go as they pleased in the pursuit of knowledge. These amulets are simple metal tags who's runes both identify and block forgery. The Masked Emperor agreed to a conditional arrangement for the Lotus Empire; through it, the Keepers have access to the territory so long as they don’t share their findings with its citizens. As for the The Kafervolk Caravan and the Marshhelm League, their response was slow, but yielding. In the end, everyone agreed to open borders for the faction.   Today, the Archivists spread across Aldwa to recover and record knowledge by whatever means necessary. They often hire locals as Adjuncts who function as temporary members of the faction and are sent into the more dangerous corners of the world to gather guarded artifacts or clear pesky magical traps. On at least one occasion, Adjuncts were recruited to see if a group of Kilderbeests could be negotiated with; the incident resulted in multiple casualties. Adjuncts have also made themselves valuable in discovering whether or not objects are Ashtouched, usually by picking them up to see what happens. The pursuit of knowledge is often very dangerous; the Archivists have certainly never forgotten to honor their Adjuncts’ sacrifices, but their families might beg to differ.   Home to all the knowledge the Chronicle Keepers Foundation has collected, the Grand Archive itself is a wonder of Runic construction. Few have seen it or know where it is, and even fewer have been inside. Built into the cliffside behind an unassuming stone door, it’s much, MUCH bigger on the inside. While its contents are shared freely, it's troublesome to access, located months away from the nearest settlement by foot. Requests for information are often met with recommendations on how to better submit an accurate request. Eventually, you’ll get the information you were looking for, or you’ll receive a visit from an Archivist to let you know the archive has yet to contain information on your topic of request.  

Territories / Assets

• The Grand Archive: From the inside, a vast, impressive building adorned with Runes. From the outside, an unassuming stone door in a cliffside.
• Runic Tags: Non-fungible badges of office.
• Collected knowledge: Much has been archived, and they're not afraid to use it.

   

Foreign Relations

How do other factions/cultures feel about them?   The Foundation freely shares its collected knowledge, thus making it a boon to “civilized” societies. Responses to inquiry are famously protracted and requests are often answered with additional paperwork, but the Foundation always responds and their information is always accurate. They are also a great way for local unskilled labor to make honest money. The Foundation always pays its dues, if mostly to next of kin.   How do they feel about other factions/cultures?

• The Lotus Empire: “They tolerate our presence but demand that we don’t share our findings with their citizens. This makes trouble for those citizens that would join our ranks. Though tensions are high and the paperwork is deep, what can be found within the Empire’s borders cannot be lost.”

• Piccarda: “We deal primarily with Maestri Scrivantico and the Ash Gleaners within Piccarda, as these are the most academically-minded of the Guilds. The faction is assisting with the ongoing excavation of the Ribaton.”

• Folan Hegemony: “The Barons hope that the Chronicle Keepers Foundation will one day make good on their offer to study Hightower. They are eager to learn and exploit its secrets. Maybe one day we will have an archivist who’s interested, until then we will gather what we can from their social experiment and gift them what we learn about channeling.”

• The Stewards: “We hate ‘em, but are sometimes forced to work together. They believe knowledge that challenges the church's teachings must be suppressed. This is in direct opposition to our goals, and the destruction of knowledge is abhorrent. We will never fully trust the book burners.”

   

Costume Look and Feel

• Librarians: Full robes that almost completely hide the wearer, decorated to reflect the person within. They almost NEVER leave the Grand Archive.
• Archivists: Blue short capes ending just above the elbow with the symbol of the Grand Archive embroidered on them. They all bear Runic tags that cannot be faked or copied as a badge of office.
• Adjuncts: With no uniform or badge of office, they rarely live long enough to warrant them.

   

Notable Individuals

• The 5 Librarian Master Rune Scribes
• Archivist Chell: Obsessed with documenting the many cultures of Aldwa and their history.
• Archivist Dixie: Determined to catalog all undiscovered and undocumented creatures of Aldwa