The Circle of Eight
The Circle of Eight is a plane-spanning secret organization made up of eight powerful beings. Originally, the order was founded sometime in the early years after the Twin Progenitor deities Garenthar and Kormund had fallen. The Founder and head of the organization is the Archmage Mordenkainen. Originally, each position was the name of that specific member of the Circle. After many deaths, and even a betrayal of senior member. Mordenkainen and Bigby set the names of each role and member to be of the founder members themselves, with one change: Drawmij, Leomund, Otto, Tenser, Rary, and Melf.
The Circle's greatest achievements are the following:
Arranging the means to banish Imrys, the Darkheart after Vecna's death at the hands of Kas. Without Vecna to keep Imrys contained, the Dracolich would have consumed the Material Plane.
Putting into motion a series of setbacks that would lead to the Archangel Zariel's capture and eventual corruption at the hands of Asmodeus.
Re-forging of the Ring of Winter after its apparent destruction at the hands of the deity Gond.
All actions can be seen as one-dimensionally good or evil, but the fact of the matter is these events led to the restoration of the cosmic balance for all sides. Some actions of the Circle require great tragedies to occur, while others are mythical victories for the side of good.
Structure
The Circle of Eight is, for the most part, an entirely equal organization between members. Each member holds the name of one of the original eight founding members, with Mordenkainen being the head of the Circle.
[Pictured here: a drawing of the original members of the Circle of Eight] (Image Credit: Sage Advice, https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/11/11/the-circle-of-eight-was-a-post-gygax-addition-to-greyhawk/
Current Members
Mordenkainen - Held by the same man all these thousands of years. As head of the Circle, Mordenkainen is the deciding vote on all matters, and it is he who determines the major threats or responsibilities of the Circle. Bigby - Held by the Elven Wizard Tempest Idylwilde. Tempest is the sole surviving member of The Skywatchers. During the Skywatcher's search for Andurian, the Mad Archfey of Winter, Tempest was tasked with finding Kas, the Bloody Handed. Tempest disappeared into the Planes seemingly never heard from again. Tempest was able to complete her task and find Kas, who brought her to Mordenkainen. Seeing Tempest's skill of the arcane, and want to bring balance to the world, Mordenkainen inducted her into the Circle of Eight as his personal apprentice. Melf - Held by the same member since its founding, Melf continues his work with Mordenkainen and the rest of the Circle, never vowing to rest until the Underlords, who are themselves the very embodiment of evil are put to rest so the balance is maintained. Drawmij - Held by Adam the Wizard. A notable wizard from centuries past known for his unique and unorthodox approaches to situations. Also is the foremost expert on Crystal Sphere travel. Leomund - Held by the Vampire Kas the Bloody-Handed. Kas spent centuries working to redeem himself and restore the balance that he had disrupted due to his alliance aeons ago with Vecna. Continues to hunt for his former friend, but also hunts for the Underlords. Kas is now known as: Kas, the Redeemer. Nystul - Held by the Wizard Orryn, who acts as the leader of Candlekeep in the Calemdarian Tier. Orryn is the foremost expert on scroll and spell crafting. Orryn remains in Candlekeep to hold a watchful eye over the Empire and Calemdar City. Tenser - Held by the Wizard Ulnyra, a former Loremaster in the Alithanaran Empire. Ulnyra left the Material Plane in search of answers after the Overlord's Edict shattered her home continent. Ulnyra was discovered by Adam, who instructed her for a time as his apprentice before bringing her before Mordenkainen. Ulnyra had shed her attachments to the Material Plane after everyone she knew died, she wished to serve a greater purpose, and was inducted. Rary - Currently held by the Lich, Exethanter. An unorthodox recruitment done personally by Mordenkainen, Exethanter was a guardian over an ancient and terrible fortress that held the physical manifestations of several named Dark Powers who exert their will over the Demiplane of Ravenloft. Exethanter bartered and tricked one of the Dark Powers into giving him the secret of Lichdom, which he used to stand as the eternal guardian. A group of adventurers destroyed the temple and the manifestations of the Dark Powers, allowing Exethanter to renounce his promise of watching over the site. For a time he wandered the Planes in search of knowledge, anything that would permit him to destroy the Dark Powers forever. He spent so many centuries wandering that he was reduced to the husk of a Demilich. Exethanter was discovered by Orryn, who instead of destroying him captured him in and spoke with him. Slowly, Exethanter was able to recover his mind and return to normalcy. Orryn learned of his actions in Ravenloft, and took him before the Circle who unanimously voted to induct him.Culture
The core belief of the Circle of Eight is that the balance of good and evil, but also law and chaos must be maintained. There will be times when good triumphs over evil, and vice-versa, but there must never be a permanent change in the balance. If a demon lord emerges into the Material Plane and annihilates a kingdom, this is within the realm of acceptable situations as long as another kingdom or a group of adventures are eventually able to push the demon out. Should it look as though the Demon will continue their incursion and possible conquer a continent, the Circle will step in and assist in maintaining this precarious balance.
The Circle of Eight takes every step possible to never reveal their presence in a situation. There is little care for the glory of being named heroes or the recognition that comes with many of their actions. It would also be a lie to call them heroes, as the balance must be maintained no matter who or what may be harmed. If an army of angels invades the Abyss, and looks as if they may purge hundreds of layers forever, destroying several demon lords in the process, the Circle will once more involve themselves and tip the balance back, which may mean they must arrange the death of hundreds of celestial beings.
Public Agenda
The Circle of Eight's agenda is simple: Maintain the balance no matter the cost.
Assets
Being such an immensely powerful group of beings, the Circle of Eight has ease of access to most assets should they ever be required. Many of the members travel across all of the Planes and often find themselves in possession of powerful artifacts, or coming across massive treasure hordes. Members take what is required and leave the rest, knowing some adventuring band will surely stumble upon it.
History
The Circle of Eight started as a mission of Mordenkainen and his apprentice Bigby after observing countless events in which Good or Evil had disrupted the natural balance, leading to unstoppable changes that could have eventually led to the damage of the cosmos themselves. After realizing that this was not a task they alone could handle, Bigby had recommended they recruit other wizards of renown with the power to balance the scales. The Circle had also grown in membership, including: Drawmij, Leomund, Otto, Tenser, Rary, and Bucknard. For decades the Circle of Eight protected the balance in all of Korrisian Space.
The Circle of Eight would experience several tragedies throughout its existence, and the deaths of several of its members. The Archlich Vecna faced Tenser in a magical duel, shattering his soul and wiping him from existence entirely. The Dracolich Imrys would launch a terrible assault on the Citadel of Eight, destroying the structure and killing the members Rary & Drawmij. Bucknard betrayed the Circle of Eight in assisting the Underlord Sul Khatesh in awakening her sibling, Bel Shalor. Mordenkainen and Bigby would track Bucknard down, kill him, and also work to seal away both Sul Khatesh and Bel Shalor. Seeing that most of the members had died, Mordenkainen honored their names forever by making each name the position in the Circle of Eight, and dispatched Bigby to begin recruiting replacements.
Almost all of the original members have died save Mordenkainen himself. Mordenkainen continues to work with his newly recruited Circle of Eight to maintain the balance, working behind the scenes to ensure that neither Good nor Evil ever gain a permanent foothold over each other. Bucknard's name and role were stricken from the Circle, and replaced with by the Elf Ranger-Wizard Melf who joined shortly after the Citadel's destruction.
The order we maintain, the scales we reset, the balance we preserve
Founding Date
1 DB
Type
Secret, Brotherhood
Leader
Notable Members
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