Hand of Mana
The Hand of Mana is a secret society comprised of many of Faerun's most powerful wizards and magic users with the goal of keeping Faerun safe from the effects of dangerously powerful magical items.
Structure
The Hand of Mana is a decentralized organization, owing both to its secrecy and the natural egos of high level magic users. However, there is an expectation of transparency among its members concerning the retrieval and sealing of powerful magic items, with the other members of the group expected to punish members that misuse information or knowledge to use these items for personal game.
Modern day members of the Hand of Mana include Vajra Safahr, the Blackstaff of Waterdeep, Brisk, the court wizard of Neverwinter and one of the organization's founders, and Mogran Oredelver, the head dwarven artificer and hero of Clan Velgrund.
History
THe Hand of Mana was formed in the 9th century CR during the Century of Strife by a collection of some of the world's most powerful magic users to oppose the newly ascended god Bane. Following his ascension, Bane created a magical symbol called the Banesmark, which allowed him to mentally and physically control those marked with the symbol, greatly bolstering his forces.
Following Bane's defeat, the members of the Hands of Mana worked diligently to erase all traces of the Banesmark from history and popular consciousness. The organization dedicated themselves to stamping out all signs of the Banesmark, but over the centuries their mandate grew to encompass world-shaking items and rituals of power in general.
The Hand of Mana is still active today, having most recently gotten involved at the tail-end of the Banesmark Crisis, which resulted from the aboleth S'gothgah utilizing the rediscovered Banesmark as part of a ploy to create an Avatar of Bane in the body of a kraken. However, S'gothgah's plan was foiled by the Heroes of Saltmarsh, and members of the Hand of Mana and their associates again erased the physical and mentally presence of the Banesmark from those afflicted, though S'gothgah is still at large.
Thanks to the Heroes, a common excuse for the presence of the Banesmark is that it is a parasite from the Shadowfell that causes irrationality and requires magical removal.
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