The Starkeepers

About:

The Starkeepers are a special information-gathering organisation tied closely to the Elleneic Church and the Astrellos Academy of Arcane Arts. Usually devout worshippers of Ellene who give their lives to their purpose, they are archivists of knowledge of the Known World, striving to collect and protect information to ensure that it is not lost to time as it was during The Ruination. During Middle History, they formed the Elleneic Calendar System which is used in most cultures and countries across the Known World to measure years and ages. 
Archiving is not the only role available to a Starkeeper. The organisation has many important roles, including but not limited to:

• Head Archivist: oversees and manages other archivists and keeps archive systems and processes in check
• Astrologist: Documents and records stars, and predicts star patterns. Maintains and observes the orrery. A role held to very high regard and esteem, and often takes hundreds of years to learn.
• Archivist: Sorts and reads documents, cleans and maintains books and scrolls. Ensures all scraps of information are organised and catalogued in an orderly fashion
• Scribe: Writes new information, takes information from verbal to written, and consolidates scraps of separate writing, ensures information is cited and correct
• Binder: Cleans and binds books, ensures that fragile papers are protected and maintained

All members of the Starkeepers are of pure high elf blood. This rule originally began as a logical one; the basics of the cosmos were only teachable over the full extent of an entire human lifespan, and it was much more efficient to use the entire lifespan of an elf to learn and continue the work of the last generation. Part of this rule seems to be based purely in tradition, however, as they do not accept other long-lived races such as other elven variants to be among their ranks.
The Starkeepers reside in the Astrellos Orrery, and protect and expand the library surrounding it constantly. The library is ancient and has powerful inbuilt defences to protect it from harm. Pristine copies of the most key and central pieces of knowledge, surrounding important milestones and history of the world, are kept in an even more secure vault beneath the library, magically designed to be sealed with lead and magic should a catastrophe like The Ruination occur again in future.

Appearance:

Starkeepers are fairly easily identifiable. They are all high elves, and are more common in Astrellos than in other locations, though are sometimes spotted travelling and collating information on the roads or in other cities. They wear long blue-black robes covered with intricately embroidered silver constellations and tend to be incredibly well-kept. They always travel in pairs when out of their bases or Astrellos, and are often very quiet and observant. The starkeeper insignia- an intricately embroidered silver starburst pattern - is always visible on the left side of their chest. 

Initiation and Duties

Most Starkeepers become part of the Order following training in Astrellos Academy. Because of this, they are almost all wizards, with a few sorcerers by class. During their training in the Academy, they are selected by lecturers and are poised with the suggestion that they may do well in the organisation if they think they are skilled enough. Most Starkeepers are selected because of their connection with the stars, a deep interest in astrology or a talent for information gathering. They pick up new recruits as rarely as one every few hundred years and take a similarly long time to train each one.
Students are interviewed by the Head Archivist and offered a traineeship if they are accepted, in which case they will be trained and live on-site. They are supplied with clothes and food as well as comfortable private lodging, alongside a fairly substantial pay for other needs. This makes the position quite attractive to many young elves.. However; Starkeepers, once brought into the ranks of the order, are very rarely given enough time or freedom to maintain good friendships and family connections. They are usually subjected to incredibly lonely and secluded lives, enveloped and promised to their work, and almost become one with the library walls around them.

Religious Affiliation:

The Starkeeper organisation is closely affiliated and in a large part funded by the Elleneic Church. While it is not written in their guidelines that one must be an active member of the church to become a Starkeeper, it is thought to be a fairly important bias in their screening process, and an initiate is rarely selected without also being a devout follower of Ellene. 
Because of their selection criteria requiring that their members be of high elf blood, they do have some close ties to Aenar also. Their practices are also reflective of the importance of innovation, creativity and invention by followers of Aenar, and the Church of Aenar also support the organisation financially, particularly funding a large portion of the library devoted to Aenar's history and lore, engineering and tinkering.
In Astrellos' largest Elleneic church there is a large crystal-studded gallery at the back of the church where the Starkeepers stand for their evening prayers and receive special blessings from the head cleric. The church and the order is very much intertwined and are important to one another. Spirituality and connection to Ellene remains very important to modern-day Starkeepers, and the church of Ellene revere the Starkeepers to their devotion of Ellene's most treasured values.

Type

Research, Council

Allied

The Grand Council of Sedia

100

The Starkeepers

100

The Grand Council actively funds and supports the Starkeepers at this time.