Library of the Cobalt Soul
Under the enlightening scriptures of Ioun, the Knowing Mentor, teachers, priests, and monks who have been drawn to the calling of truth and knowledge spend their lives training within the Library of the Cobalt Soul. Rather than a single physical building, the Library of the Cobalt Soul is a collective term for the universal knowledge and philosophies upheld by those who follow Ioun’s teachings. The Cobalt Soul is guided by a central belief that true strength is found in understanding the world around you. Despite their idealism, the pursuit of truth is hampered by the realities of life in the empire: politics, propaganda, and the dangers of the wilderness.
The Cobalt Soul is based in Rexxentrum but operates throughout the empire and across the whole of Exandria. Temples to Ioun under the management of the Cobalt Soul act as massive libraries called archives, usually located in larger cities and cultural centers. Its members come from all walks of life and are expected to assist in the maintenance, organization, and protection of the archives. Its satellite archives collect artifacts and research information both historical and contemporary along the Menagerie Coast and in the distant lands of Tal’Dorei, Issylra, and beyond.
Archivists act as administrators at each Archive, delineating tasks, overseeing the training of new members, and even negotiating for or purchasing artifacts and records — often from those unaware of their true value.
The monks of the Cobalt Soul are the enlightened knowledge-seekers of their order. They research places where ancient knowledge could be hidden and lead large-scale expeditions to these places.
Expositors are the covert agents of the Cobalt Soul. These enlightened infiltrators extract information that others would keep secret and use their newfound knowledge to better the world. As masters of acquisitions, expositors answer only their High Curator.
At the top of each Archive is a High Curator, who dictates the Archive’s goals to subordinates and uses this power to assign marks to expositors, outline allies and enemies to their archivists, and approve the expeditions proposed by monks.
The Cobalt Soul was founded within the Julous Dominion before the nation fell to the armies of the Dwendalian Empire. The Dwendalian Crown permitted the Cobalt Soul to be assimilated into the social hierarchy of the empire rather than destroying it. This was not an act of mercy, but a political maneuver; the Cobalt Soul was allowed to survive only to provide a sense of normalcy and appease the restless populace.
The Library has continued to work with and under the empire out of necessity, but its archivists are savvy political players — whenever possible, they avoid making moves that could put them in danger of being exploited by the Crown or the Cerberus Assembly. Nowhere is this tension more apparent than in the very existence of the militant truth-seekers of the Cobalt Soul: the expositors, rigorously trained to root out corruption and falsehoods. Behind the scenes, a silent war is brewing as expositors bring the dark secrets of the empire’s social elite out into the light.
Type
Political, International
Friendly
The Golden Grin currently is seeking an alliance with the Library of the Cobalt Soul to root out the untrustworthy within the Cobalt Soul and align their interests to aid the people of Wildemount.
Peace
Meanwhile, a small number of volunteers from within the Library have agreed to travel deep into Xhorhas in the hopes of communicating with the Kryn Dynasty to learn more about their mysterious society, and to understand the level of threat they pose to the people of Western Wynandir and beyond. None of the volunteers have yet returned.
Scheming
The Library tries to remain autonomous, but their agents within the empire are under constant siege by Theolocrat Kon Bruda, a once-respected monk of the Cobalt Soul who is now just another corrupt lackey of the Crown. Bruda and the archivists wage a quiet battle of wills and subterfuge, each trying to outsmart and undermine the other. This situation, combined with the empire’s efforts to prevent the education of their people, has created palpable unrest within the Library.
Counter spy operations
The perceptive ears of the expositors often hear rumors of unwholesome practices behind closed doors within the Soltryce Academy and other places under the Cerberus Assembly’s oversight. The Library is concerned about the assembly’s secretive cabal but has thus far been unable to infiltrate deep enough to uncover anything damning.
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