Ordo Chronoplex
The Ordo Chronoplex is an ancient, mysterious, and largely unknown organization within the world of Farforth. The order welcomes and serves the interests of an elite group of arcana users - specifically, those capable of entering accelerated or decellerated timestreams adjacent to the 'material' stream most non-mages experience.
Structure
The Chronomages, as members of the Ordo Chroplex are known, are drawn exclusively from those users of Arcana capable of accessing a Chronoplex Sanctuary (see Assets) through non-destructive means. Such mages are rare in the world of Farforth; even the mighty Transmuter of Gulderry is only a junior member of this august fraternity.
Rank within the Ordo Chronoplex is established almost entirely by seniority - an unusual concept, considering that the order exists almost entirely on a separate, accelerated timestream which does not neatly match up with that of the rest of the material world. Because the arcana matrices inherent in the creation of a new sanctuary require knowledge adjacent to that of the achievement of cross-temporal biological stasis, experienced Chronomages often appear younger than even new members of the organization despite having hundreds of subjective years of accrued seniority.
The Ordo Chronoplex features a cellular, relatively flat organizational structure. While some members of each cell will be more senior, and thus more respected in administrative positions, than others, the members of the order regard one another as peers in the obscure science of arcane chrononautics. The cellular structure of the organization, similarly, is less due to any concern or infiltration than a function of the fact that the ability to traverse time streams might spring up among any ethnicity, nationality, or creed, regardless of where within the Fimbulmist boundaries of the world a prospective neophyte might be found.
Culture
The Ordo Chronoplex combines aspects of an academic symposium and a social club, given that all members of the organization show their pedigree by nearly appearing before the organization within their own strongholds. Regardless of moral or political considerations, Chronomages are united by their immense magical power and desire to expand human knowledge with regards to the unique physics of Farforth.
Public Agenda
The Ordo Chronoplex does not advertise itself and even enjoins its members to keep mum about its existence. In the minds of the Chronomages, anyone who can actually percieve their works is already a potential member, making such advertisement superfluous.
Assets
The Chronomages maintain a number of secret libraries, meeting halls, and even safehouses scattered throughout Farforth. These generally appear to be follies on private property, natural rock formations, ruins, or other locations where no ulterior purpose is generally assumed.
The entrance to an Ordo Chronoplex base might resemble a decorative doorway carved or sculped onto a surface, as one might find in religious structures; indeed, they are often inset with symbols relating to various deities the Farforth Pantheon, as many high-ranking members are more than cognizant of the existence and powers of the gods. Importantly, however, these 'false' entrances are actually useable for those with the right magical skill. The 'solid' face beyond is 'twiddled' between timestreams, like the frames of a rotoscope animation or objects seen frozen in flickering lights as seen through spinning clockwork cogs, too fast for human sight or even touch to percieve them as anything by a continuous solid. For those who have successfully entered a faster timestream, however, the twiddling slows or halts, rendering the doorway temporarily void when it passes into the slower timestreams. Thus, anyone who can even pass through the doorway is immediately greeted by any Ordo Chronoplex members within and, if not a member already, offered a position as a neophyte.
The accelerated timestream in which the Ordo Chronoplex is situated has a number of useful properties. For example, when a member of the order needs to do research, complete an arcane or alchemical process, or craft an item, they can enter the timestream to get it done in a tiny fraction of the usual time as percieved by their non-magical peers. The drawback of this ability is that, unless at least as experienced as the Transmuter, doing this also causes a chrononaut to age an appropriate amont. Using the proper arcane rituals can dramatically slow this process, though only a vanishing few chrononauts can stop it entirely.
By entering into a slower timestream, a chrononaut can survive seemingly indefinitely in what appears to be suspended animation, requiring no food, water, or air in the meantime. Unfortunately, this also carries risks, as no known means of entering a 'reverse' timestream exist, even among the most powerful chrononauts. An unwary chrononaut might 'overshoot,' watching their loved ones, surrounding city, or even whole civilization grow, wither, and fade away in what seems to the time traveler a blink of an eye. Among the Ordo Chronoplex, research is ongoing on this topic to make the 'slow stream' safer to explore as they had the 'fast stream' they are most accustomed to. Most order bases have a small laboratory dedicated to this research.
History
Somewhat ironically for a group of arcane scientists, the history of the Ordo Chronoplex is muddled by the fact that it isn't necessarily colinear with that of the 'outside' world of Farforth. What is known is that the order's earliest members were born shortly after the invention of writing, though there is evidence to suggest that people were traversing the time streams long before then.
Time Is On Our Side
Type
Guild, Mages
Demonym
Chrononaut
Leader Title
Location
Controlled Territories
Related Species
Comments