The Collatoriate (Ko-lay-tor-ee-ay-t)
The Collatoriate are the highest ranking members of The Cartographical Society. The identities of The Collatoriate are unknown to any not among their ranks. When making appearances of any kind The Collatoriate wear shrouds that appear to be made out of cartographer's parchment, spashed with ever-shifting ink that swirls into land masses which resemble facial expressions when seen together. Their robes resemble the pages of ancient tomes, gilded at the edges, with a colored tabard draped over the top. The color of their tabard is the only way for outsiders to tell members of The Collatoriate apart. Each member of the Collatoriate carries with them a personal seal, and an array of enchanted pens at all times. It is believed that the Collators are chosen by The Grand Atlas itself, and called to its chambers where it transforms them in strange ways, and even erases the memories of those who saw them enter.
Duties
Collators are the keepers of The Grand Atlas . The first duty of a Collator is to keep The Grand Atlas in pristine condition. Collators labor over the Altas endlessly to ensure its continued existance. The second duty of a Collator is to parse and organize all information collected by cartographers through-out the society. Once the information has been reviewed in meticullous detail and inspected for quality a collator will perform a secret ritual to integrate that information into The Grand Atlas. It has been said that The Collatoriate are the personal servants and guards of the atlas itself, but the same notion has been rejected by some for its implication that The Grand Atlas holds some level of sentience. The Third duty of a collator is to see to the organization's finances. They continue to pay out rewards to cartographers for their work, incentivizing the mapping and cataloging of every inch of ground. On ocassion a Collator will put out a request for a specific region or place to be mapped. Its unclear where the desire to have these particular places mapped come from, but such requests always pay handsomly. It's believed that most of the money for the organization comes from selling maps to cartographers among its ranks as well as adventurers, travelers, and political entities.The Siege of the Grand Atlas
The Siege of The Grand Atlas is a legend about an alleged conflict between The Colletoriate and the royal family of Makereva . After the Colletoriate refused the head of the family access to the maps of Umbrethorn jungles; requested so that Makereva could invade the capital city Jericho ; the Sultan was so incensed that he orderd The Grand Lodge to be razed. When the soldiers began their attack, the then-seven collators stood atop the roof of The Grand Lodge and defended it with never-before seen magic for three days as a scribe read aloud continuously from a seemingly never ending scroll. Common variations of the legend have the scribe reading out some great magic spell, while others have the scribe reading a list of crimes the royal family had committed, or favors The Cartographical Society had done for the nation of Makereva over hundreds of years. By the time the scribe had finished reading from their scroll, every soldier the Sultan could muster had been defeated. Once the reading stopped three Collators marched from The Grand Lodge through the streets of Makshir , completely without impediment on their way to The Palace of Makereva . When they arrived at the foot of the palace once said to be one of the greatest wonders of the world, they began to chant another unknown spell in unison. As if only ever a mirage the entire palace and its many gardens faded away, leaving nothing but the foundation that it had once stood on top of. The palace and its inhabitants are said to have never been seen again, though those who pass the legend on often offer their own speculative thoughts as to where it went. After the events its said that the Sultan's brother took over the throne, and had a new palace built on the old foundation.Organization Is Everything
Founding Date
3117 ADE
Type
Educational, Society
Demonym
Collator, Collators
Parent Organization
Location
Comments