Organisation

Order of Nus’ar

CanonOfficial lore from the booksSSGp. 41BoDp. 35

The Order of Nus’ar is an order of scholars. Its members are the greatest historians of Teneris, and their only passion is to record time itself.1

Beliefs

The scholars of Nus’ar held that Arcaneus, whom they called the "dragon of time", was the only true god. They addressed him by names of their own giving and asserted that the only true master was time. According to the dogma of the Empire, by contrast, Arcaneus is no more than a god tasked by Alarath with protecting the flow of time and the Grand Hourglass.1

Many scholars, members of the Order of Nus’ar above all, believe that Arcaneus, a dragon deity, is in truth a manifestation of Orphus, the very essence of time. The Empire and the Church have violently suppressed this belief.2

Persecution

Long ago the Empire hunted the order, seeing it as harmful and heretical, and because of the ideas they spread its members were either killed or forced to flee. When the last of the fugitives were found, killing scholars so eager to record and classify historical moments was judged impractical, and the members were offered an agreement instead.1

They would be allowed to live on condition that they engaged only in scholarly duties and spoke to no outsiders, and they would spend the rest of their lives without leaving the White Library in the capital.1

The order today

The scholars of Nus’ar, each of whom has read thousands of books, memorised hundreds and written dozens, are now considered harmless. They have a little more freedom and may recruit young historians, but they still wear symbolic chains and are not allowed to leave the capital.1

Notes

  1. ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 41
  2. ↑BookBook of Dead, p. 35

Sources

This article draws on:

  • SSGLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide(Bad Badger Games, 2024), p. 41
  • BoDBook of Dead(Bad Badger Games, 2024), p. 35

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DeityArcaneusThe god of time, one of the Draconic Gods, whose domains are time and knowledge and whose symbol is the hourglass. The Empire counts him a guardian of time set by Alarath; the Order of Nus'ar held him the only true god.DeityOrphusThe very essence of time, of whom many scholars, especially of the Order of Nus'ar, believe the dragon god Arcaneus to be a manifestation. The Empire and the Church have violently suppressed this belief.RegionThe EmpireThe human realm at the heart of the Lands of Exile, an absolute monarchy heavily shaped by faith, ruled from Marble City by the unbroken line of the Red Eagle and divided into five provinces under their Sovereigns.PlaceWhite LibraryThe library in the imperial capital where the scholars of the Order of Nus'ar were confined to a life of scholarly work, in exchange for their lives.RegionTenerisThe ancient world in which the Lands of Exile lie, with two great continents, Caligran in the east and Canarque in the west, divided by the Great Western Sea and the vortex called the Eye of Aquaron.OrganisationHigh ChurchThe religious power that stands above the temples of the Empire and binds them together, seated at the First Cathedral in Sanctuary and led by the Supreme Patriarch; its influence on people, wealth and politics is unmatched.OrganisationHoly InquisitionA fanatical order of witch hunters that hunts illegal sorcerers, cultists and cursed creatures across the Empire, judging them by the verdicts of the Magnus Malus.OrganisationOrder of PalanthorA prestigious secular order of knights, older than the Empire itself, founded after the Exodus to oversee the refugees and guarantee the agreements made with them, and known for its holy standard and its tablets.OrganisationSir Vernon's partyThree armoured church members of the Yeni Dünya campaign, a knight named Sir Vernon and his two apprentices bearing Earth Temple symbols, who claim the ancient inscription carried by the band as the church's sacred inheritance.OrganisationWitch hunters of Sınır SapıThe band of witch hunters working in the quarantined Sınır Sapı district in the Zincirsiz campaign under Master Otto, one of the three parties investigating the sickness there alongside the Empire and the elves.