top of page

The Sages

The Sages are a powerful and esteemed group within Khemani society, renowned for their dedication to the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. Rooted deeply in Kheman's cultural heritage, they are the custodians of history and wisdom, operating primarily out of the Great Library in Ti-Bastit. Their mission is to safeguard the accumulated knowledge of humanity and the continent, a task made more tricky by the oppressive Imperial control over knowledge.

​

​While very renown and almost universally respected in Kheman, their fame and reputation, while certainly extending in the neighboring lands of Messalya and the Black Dome, decreases in more distant or isolated lands, to the point where very few inhabitants of the Nodthlands or Yuwei are likely to have ever heard of them.
 

​

Sages_01.jpg

The Great Library

The origins of the Sages trace back to the foundation of the Great Library, as the institution needed a well-structured organization of archivists, scholars, and scribes for its maintenance. The Great Library of Ti-Bastit stands as the largest and most comprehensive repository of texts and artifacts in the known world, documenting the entire history of humanity and even other races, but also containing more technical sections about engineering and agriculture, geography, religious texts, poems, and fiction: so much so that scholars and intellectuals from across all the Empire come seeking the wisdom stored within its walls. The place is rumored to have a ‘forbidden section’, where sensitive and forbidden knowledge is kept hidden from anyone outside the Tribunal and few selected of The Hundreds, and where Inquisitors come to conduct part of their studies all the way from Annoria. Their cooperation with The Tribunal does not end there, as Sages are often directly recruited to help with investigations as experts and scholars.

Sages_02.jpeg

Structure of the organization

 

The Sages are organized into two main divisions: those who preserve and teach knowledge and those who hunt for new knowledge.

 

Preservers and Teachers: responsible for the meticulous work of archiving, maintaining, and teaching the vast collections within the Great Library. They include both archivists and librarians, tasked with managing the Great Library and its archives, ensuring the protection and organization of texts and artifacts, but also mentors and lecturers, focusing on ensuring that the knowledge would not remain only in the books and helping with their study and interpretation.

​

Hunters and Researchers: focusing on the active pursuit of new knowledge, whether through exploration, research, or acquisition. They include researchers and scholars focusing on advancing specific fields of study, but also those that do ‘fieldwork’ of collecting knowledge about objects, phenomena, places of historical or naturalistic importance, or people, as well as buyers responsible for seeking out texts and cultural artifacts across the world.

 

Both men and women can be part of these two main sections, reflecting the mostly egalitarian Khemani view, though women, more often than not, focus more on either the ‘fieldwork’ or, even more commonly, on being buyers, possibly due to the more diplomatic oriented role they occupy in Khemani high society. Women Sages can act as the equivalent of diplomats, negotiating with other groups and nobles to further the interests of the Sages. Though they are not officially recognized by imperial law and might not be allowed in a trial or hearing of either a Fatebinder or an Adjudicator, it is not uncommon that in Kheman, Sages act as ‘lawyers,’ as to represent the interests of a wealthy citizen in one of the noble courts, and as experts in the rule of law. A similar role is often still granted even in the regions neighboring Kheman, especially as the reputation of Sages is still of being respectable and dependable, and they do still act according to the law, even if at times offering an interpretation of it that is more beneficial to who has hired them.

Sages_03.jpg

The dilemma of knowledge preservation in the Empire

 

The Sages face a significant dilemma in their quest to preserve knowledge while under the scrutiny of the Empire, which seeks to erase cultural identities that do not align with Annorian ideals. They often navigate this complex situation through covert operations, diplomatic compliance, and selective knowledge sharing, more often than not, even between themselves, since many of The Hundreds are even selected to be Fatebinders.

 

While in appearance all of the Sages perfectly comply with the Empire’s regulations, and most often they are loyal imperial subjects, some of them, especially outside of the main hierarchy of The Hundreds, engage in covert activities to preserve the knowledge that the Empire would want to be erased, independently from it officially forbidden or not. These groups rely on smaller, local, and very much private and hidden collections, and on top of the usual members, include not only what are effectively smugglers, but also people tasked with copying manuscripts that are currently available to the public and are thought to be ‘at risk’ of being eventually made to quietly disappear. Indeed, over the years, the Great Library has seen a subtle, slow, and gradual yet consistent change in what books are present in some of its sections.

Sages_04.jpg

Another way sages are said to be attempting to preserve and even pass on some form of secret knowledge is through subtle references and allegories, if not cipher-like notions, passed through specific texts: historical accounts that might be written in such a way that they contain hidden messages or double meanings, revealing deeper truths to those who know how to read between the lines. Similarly, allegorical tales and parables may transmit philosophical ideas and ancient wisdom without attracting undue attention from the authorities.The Black Dome, in particular, represents a unique challenge for the Sages. It is, first of all, rich in opportunities to access numerous cultural artifacts and tomes for relatively cheap if not for free, thanks to the more chaotic post-conflict environment. Secondly, it presents a moral and ideological dilemma between saving, studying, or at least documenting the vast and very much still alive culture of the Domite people, and on the contrary, contributing to the massive effort of erasing it carried out by other imperial forces.

Sages_05.jpeg

Stance on Non-Humans and heresy

 

The Sages’ rich academic curiosity extends to other races, documenting their histories and cultures. While still maintaining the same disdain or at least cold distance to non-humans, as other imperial citizens do, they are still interested in studying them, and some might present themselves as an unlikely ally for the preservation of their race’s cultural identity. Given the past ‘interactions’ with Kheman, Sages have, in particular, been in contact with Ilthir to trade some limited knowledge, especially as the Dark Elves do not see the benefits of sharing information about them and their culture to humans, if not even believing it to be potentially seriously damaging to them.

 

While a straightforward and direct connection with the deity of knowledge Astaroth might seem to be an obvious worry of the Inquisition, the Sages’ close ties and even often physical proximity with the Tribunal greatly dissuade them from temptation. The rare few that would have some interest in the deity remain extremely cautious and particularly difficult to ‘detect’, thanks to their scholarly education and discipline.

 

How to play

 

The main theme of playing a Sage of Kheman is the constant dilemma between preserving knowledge and complying with the Empire’s ideals of control over knowledge and wanting to cancel any trace of other cultures or anything that might be detrimental to the current order of things. Being a lawful citizen of the Empire, what compromises will your Sage make between these two?

Notes:

  • A Sage must be from Kheman

  • Characters can not be part of The Hundreds, but can only be ‘normal Sages’.

  • Sages do not receive a salary, however, depending on their background, they might have important contacts in Kheman and might request some funding for specific, well motivated purposes related to their order.

  • Sages can be nobles (and receive salary because part of the nobility)

Author Rashan, thanks to Arrakeen for the proofreading

bottom of page