Arcane Eyes
Red robed summoners appeared in Wehnimer's Landing during the Beyond the Arkati storyline which took place from 2010 to 2011. It was revealed that these summoners were members of the group the Arcane Eyes out of Mestanir. The summoners came to the Landing seeking Mirayam, a urnon golem, who was masquerading as a woman in Wehnimer's Landing. The townspeople befriended her and fought for her when the summoners Albright and Raznel came for her.
Members
Some of these members of the Arcane Eyes later turned against the group.
- Albright, deceased
- Arleasta/Odilia, deceased
- Chambeli Malatina, deceased
- Elithain Cross, deceased
- Grishom Stone
- Mirayam, deceased
- Nysorm
- Raznel, deceased
Affiliated
These individuals, known as the Outlaws of Wehnimer's Landing, were banished at one point for purportedly helping the Arcane Eyes.
Enemies
History
In the capital city of Mestanir, magic was heavily restricted by decree of the Hall of Mages, and so it was only natural that an underground movement of rogue spellcasters who practiced and taught their art outside the observant rule of the Empire sparked to life. Many subversive groups flourished in the shadows, one of them being a wealthy group of summoners called the Arcane Eyes.
Many of the notable members of the Eyes were influential and wealthy nobles and merchants within Mestanir who knew full-well that their passion for the dark arts would lead to their imprisonment or execution. So during the days, they spent their time in the affairs of politics and entertainment, and at night, they retreated to their extravagant manors and the evil secrets of their magic.
They spent countless decades perfecting their summoning art, whether it was calling forth demons to bend to their will, or breathing life into golem minions. It was only a matter of time until their sight went beyond Mestanir and, in time, beyond the Empire. Small groups of the Arcane Eyes began to form in many nations and cities from Ta'Illistim to River's Rest.
Many of the branches of the Arcane Eyes were diversified in their minor objectives, but overall their major goal remained the same: power. They did not desire to overthrow rulers and wear crowns of gold, but instead they sought to use their power to manipulate, influence, and further their own knowledge.
During this time, a powerful summoner by the name of Sebasation Stone, who also dabbled in dark magic, was gaining influence among his noble peers. His power and wisdom was seemingly unmatched, but his philosophy troubled many of the founders. Having originated in Mestanir, most of the founders had at least a loose devotion to Koar. So it did not bode well when Sebasation Stone began to sway minds into believing that great power lied beyond the Arkati. He took time to remind the others that in an age long ago, the Arkati themselves were servants to the Drakes. Even their idol Koar was rumored to be the last living Drake.
Despite the truth of Sebasation’s words regarding Koar, he was still seen as a heretic among his brethren. So it was that Sebasation’s secret rival, Elithain Cross, hatched a plan to end Sebasation. Elithain convinced his daughter Madelyne to seduce Sebasation’s son, Grishom, and get close enough to murder Sebasation.
Elithain’s plan took months to come to fruition, as the naïve and noble Grishom eventually fell madly in love with Madelyne and became enraptured with her, never thinking for an instant that she had ulterior motives. It was late one evening when Madelyne, who had earned passage into the Stone’s inner sanctum, confronted Sebasation while tending to his garden of sirenflowers. Not suspecting his son’s lover, Sebasation was murdered with surprise in his eyes. His death was not silent, and Grishom was soon there and bore witness to his father’s murderer, clutching the bloody dagger in her hand. Fully enraged, Grishom attacked Madelyne. They struggled, and in the end, Grishom disarmed her and killed her with the same bloodstained weapon.
Unfortunately, Grishom’s mind was shattered and was unable to handle the burden of his loss. Seeing no harm in Sebasation’s death, the elders of the Arcane Eyes defended Elithain, and in fact, helped to frame Grishom for the murder of both his father and Madelyne. Supporters of Grishom’s father quickly came to his side, and a full conflict was about to escalate when another outside force struck Mestanir.
In the year 5092, Baron Hochstib of Jantalar launched an invasion into the barony of Mestanir and conquered the land, annexing Mestanir, its capital, and other cities into its control. During this time, facing the alarming Mandis Crystals, many of the members of the Arcane Eyes fled the city and barony of Mestanir, regrouping and merging with many of the smaller branches throughout Elanthia.
It was the Jantalar invasion that kept the Arcane Eyes from dragging their conflict into the streets, but it did not keep them from breaking off into two different schools of thought. In 5107, Baron Hochstib was killed and Emperor Aurmont Anodheles appointed his sister, Lady Delphinuria, as Baroness. Upon the change of rulership, the Baroness relinquished Jantalar’s control over Mestanir, and they were once more their own barony.
It was not long after that the small force of Arcane Eyes, still in Mestanir, began to increase in both size and influence once more, especially in light of the new Baron of Mestanir declaring an open mind to a variety of arts of magic. The faction of the Arcane Eyes were old supporters of Sebasation Stone, so it was no large feat for his son Grishom to rise in the ranks.
But living in the shadow of a legend was not easy for Grishom, on top of his already fractured mind. So Grishom sought to achieve fame and power that outdid those before him. It was then Grishom discovered many of his father's old rituals and possessions, among them a large chunk of the ever-chaotic urnon.
Using his father’s musings, which had been untested, Grishom began to seduce women to fall in love with him, and in the end, he would murder them before conducting a ritual to channel their spirits to power his magical creations. Knowing the irony of his situation, and that now Grishom was perpetrating the very betrayal of love that had happened to him, he sought to find some comfort by being selective in his victims. Madelyne, his father’s murderer, had black hair and emerald eyes. So too, were all of Grishom’s victims.
Years passed and Grishom’s attempts at creating a perfect golem, one to serve and destroy at whim, continued to fail. His peers began to speculate whether to continue their support or not. Finally, Grishom came to the desperate opinion that in order to gain any control over the urnon, he would need a very significant sacrifice.
Grishom, along with some of his fellow summoners, orchestrated a massive human sacrifice of women, imbuing their spirits into the urnon block. The dark ritual was successful from a creation perspective, and soon the urnon began to calm and take on the form of a featureless woman. However, still chaotic in nature, they were unable to control the urnon golem and it turned on them, striking out in fear and even killing some of the summoners present before escaping into the night.
Losing face among the Arcane Eyes, Grishom had squandered an incredible amount of influence and power. Not only had his magical creation escaped, but it had cost the lives of other summoners, as well. Seeking to regain his greatest construction, Grishom enlisted two of his old allies, the summoners Albright and Raznel.
Albright and Raznel set off on the golem’s trail, following her for nearly two years. Meanwhile, Grishom Stone began to build his presence elsewhere by purchasing an island on Mist Harbor and funding the renovations of the Bathhouse and Museum in Wehnimer’s Landing. Little did Grishom know that his urnon golem, with no memories of her past, and now believing she was a human named Mirayam, would arrive in Wehnimer’s Landing and forever alter the city’s course.
In present day, the Arcane Eyes are all but a scattered group of individuals, their power and influence seeming to have waned over the recent years of being hunted down and conflicts arising from internal unrest. Time will surely tell if this organization's activity and membership ever returns to its once former glory.
Their symbol is of a silver eye.