Arcana Pansophical

All of Tal’Dorei’s greatest mages fought at the Battle of the Umbra Hills. They saw the incursion of demons and devils firsthand, and were rightly terrified that the spawn of the Betrayer Gods could ever return to the world. It was clear that the Divergence had not wholly prevented supernatural evil from infringing upon the world, and that the mages of Exandria must prevent future “surprises” of this nature. The mistakes of the Age of Arcanum must never be repeated. In light of this, Yurek Windkeeper, high enchanter of Syngorn and a well-respected arcanist, reached out to the realm’s most trusted and capable mages, and together they formed a private society called the Arcana Pansophical.

Goals

The chief priority of this fellowship of powerful arcane specialists is to maintain the Truth of Magic, a strict code enacted to never again allow the rampant misuse of magic seen in the Age of Arcanum. General members are referred to as Guides, while the higher circle of members who deal in judgment and oversight are called Makers. At least one member is established at each place of arcane learning.
Membership is largely kept secret unless out of necessity, though the existence of the order is relatively common knowledge. Anyone found to be practicing magic is logged and routinely checked up on, as misuse of magic is grounds for arrest, judgement by the Makers, and punishment outside of the local law. Even so, the reach and sight of the Arcana Pansophical are not without limits, and many dark and terrible dealings manage to escape their notice.

Relationships

The Arcana Pansophical is respected, if somewhat feared, throughout the Republic of Tal’Dorei. Syngorn and other elf-founded settlements see the Pansophical as allies, as the roots of the society began within Syngorn itself. The people of Kraghammer are suspicious of the Pansophical’s legalistic Truth of Magic, and they fear that its members hold more loyalty to the Pansophical than to their homeland.
Recently, the rise of a group of self-proclaimed "arcanomancers" named the League of Miracles has raised red flags in the eyes of the Pansophical. Their involvement in the for-profit reconstruction of Tal’Dorei has made them popular among mages who see the Pansophical as a stodgy, elitist institution. The Pansophical, however, sees the League of Miracles as a distasteful upstart that will soon buckle under its own ambition.

The Truth of Magic

The Pansophical’s myriad rules on the use and misuse of magic are innumerable — detailed at length in centuries of amendments made to the full text of the Truth of Magic. The Truth’s preamble establishes three unbreakable edicts:
“In the Eternal interest of the Preservation of Harmony within the realm of Exandria, we the Arcana Pansophical establish the Truth of Magic, and three Edicts from which none shall stray. Those Arcanists found in gross violation of the Truth will be punished by the full extent of this Order—outside of any local law.

Though the school of Necromancy shall be restricted to none, in the interest of magical study and Understanding, the animation of the dead is a Violation of the Truth.

The Arcane is a tool to be wielded for the good of the People. To use its Power in the pursuit of wanton Destruction or unjust Murder is a Violation of the Truth. In addition, though the Jurisdiction of the Pansophical supersedes the power of local laws, a mage who willfully breaks the laws of the land is in Violation of the Truth.”