Cobalt Soul

The Cobalt Reserve in Westruun is home to a monastic order so old, enduring, and tirelessly dedicated to the preservation of knowledge that most people in Tal’Dorei simply take it for granted. Just as birds have always flown and grass has always grown, the Library of the Cobalt Soul has always sent its agents across the world, taking minutes at public trials, archiving broadsheets, exploring ancient ruins, and copying scrolls. To all but the most dedicated scholars, the work of the Cobalt Soul seems like dreary, banal stuff.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Beneath the veneer of being a dopey order of bookish librarians, the Cobalt Soul is one of the most dogged espionage organizations in the world. The secret agents of the Cobalt Soul, its expositors, are spies who wield the truth as a weapon more potent than any blade. The Cobalt Soul was born in Wildemount, just after the end of the Calamity, when The Knowing Mentor was maimed by an evil god. Her most loyal followers went into hiding and vowed to continue her divine work in knowing all there is to be known—and most importantly, to use the truth as a holy weapon against lies and propaganda.
Each archive of the Cobalt Soul has a common hierarchy, and higher-ranking members of the Cobalt Soul can command their lower-ranking comrades from another archive.
Curator. The curators of the Cobalt Soul are their most visible members, for they travel the land in search of knowledge both modern and archaic. Not all curators are engaged in fieldwork, especially new recruits. Those who work entirely within an archive aid in the organization and preservation of information. Most don't pay any attention to curators of the Cobalt Soul; the common opinion in Tal’Dorei is that they are ascetics, obsessively dedicated to the chronicling of knowledge.
Expositor. Trained in the art of espionage, the expositors of the Cobalt Soul use their infiltration expertise to uncover the secrets of governments, world leaders, and obscure cults. In times of great crisis, undercover expositors have even incited revolutions by sharing the knowledge they discovered with people toiling under evil regimes. This true mission of the expositors is a secret even to low-ranking curators, who see them simply as well-trained field agents.
Archivist. Though they are not involved in field work, archivists play the vital role of organizing the overwhelming flow of information that the curators and expositors return to their archive. They also train new curators and perform administrative tasks, like negotiating with sellers of artifacts and with government officials to ensure the stability of their archive.
Director. A small group of three to five directors manage the top-level operations of each archive. One of their number is given the special designation of High Director, to whom all other members of their archive must ultimately answer.

Goals

The public mission statement of the Cobalt Soul is to archive knowledge for the betterment of all peoples of Exandria. The secret mission of the Cobalt Soul is to use their accumulated knowledge to root out tyranny and ensure the freedom of all people.
The Cobalt Soul in Tal’Dorei makes their archives available to everyone, so that knowledge can be used to improve and enrich the lives of all. Despite this, the directors of the Cobalt Reserve privately determine what knowledge is too volatile to be freely disseminated. Typically, this privileged information is magical in nature, but it also includes secrets recovered by expositors that must be strategically employed as a weapon against unjust leaders, cults, and power-hungry factions.

Relationships

The Cobalt Soul is an international organization with archives in the Dwendalian Empire and Clovis Concord of Wildemount, the Republic of Tal’Dorei, the Dawn City of Vasselheim on Issylra, and the great city of Ank’Harel on Marquet. Each of these archives acts independently under the orders of their commanding High Director, though they must ultimately answer to the joint leadership of the Cobalt Soul: the High Directors of the Rexxentrum and Vasselheim archives.
Though Tal’Dorei is a freer society than the Dwendalian Empire, the Cobalt Soul knows better than to think that means it is free of corruption. From the Cobalt Reserve, their archive in the city of Westruun, the Cobalt Soul keeps close tabs on members of the Tal'Dorei Council, the leaders of Syngorn and Kraghammer, and other powerful individuals across the land.
The Cobalt Soul actively oppose cultists of the Betrayer Gods, in particular followers of The Chained Oblivion, the diabolical god who is responsible for grievously wounding the Knowing Mentor during the Calamity. They are also concerned by the meteoric rise of a guild of arcanists called the League of Miracles, whose political maneuverings have made puppets of dozens of delegates to the Tal’Dorei Council and political leaders across the land.