The Hand

The Hand is a secret organisation established by some high-ranking and influential wizards.¹

Origins

Wizards have always protested the pressure placed on them, but they soon learned that open diplomacy and raised voices never worked. After the disasters of history, fear of magic had taken such root among common people that breaking the prejudice seemed impossible. For this reason some powerful wizards founded The Hand.¹

Activities and members

The organisation's exact workings are not fully known. Its actions may not be violent, but it is wanted for its secret agendas and manipulations.¹

It is believed that its members include people of very high rank who hide that they are wizards, and powerful magic users whose abilities are known but who appear harmless.¹

When Emperor Falkred allowed wizard towers to reopen in the realm, some conspiracy theorists suspected that The Hand had pulled the strings behind the decision. The truth cannot be known.¹

In Mürekkep ve Çelik

In the campaign Mürekkep ve Çelik ("Ink and Steel"), the wizard Castor belongs to The Hand. He received its invitation after opening his mind to Kırmızı, one of the five great masters of the Archon. The Hand is presented as a guild organised inside and outside the Archon that seeks more political rights for wizards.²

Signs and messengers

Members know one another by a ring. When the ring on Castor's left hand warms and its stone glows, contact is near and he must be alone; a black-robed wizard he has never met, wearing the same ring, then appears in his room, greets him as "brother" and hands him a magically written paper.³

The master Traumir, who is responsible for the safety of the Archon's students, has worked for The Hand for much of his life. He speaks of a dark prophecy made by the organisation's true founders, who stand above Kırmızı.⁴

Aims as members tell them

Castor argues that the organisation does nothing unlawful and stays hidden only because wizards are oppressed. He holds that educated wizards make more rational decisions, that they should have more say in politics and be free to train more of their kind, and that the Hand's members want to make the Empire stronger. The ignorant who malign magic, he says, may be found among witch hunters, the temple, knights or nobles.⁵

Traumir believes that an unnamed enemy is waging war on the values that hold the Empire together. He claims that no organisation except the chain wardens and The Hand itself has escaped infiltration, because the Hand takes in only gifted wizards whose minds it knows.⁶

Oaths

No one who could not use magic had ever joined the circle. When Castor brings his friend Leonard, a warrior, Traumir asks of him only a magical oath of secrecy, which would cost him his life if broken, and has him swear never to reveal anything about The Hand. Castor's apprentice Glanfall receives a ring of his own, and Traumir tells the two that ring-bearers are among their own but must never be exposed.⁷

Traumir also tells them that others working in the same way will not know one another and should expect neither help nor acknowledgement.⁸

The Grandmaster

Late in the campaign a figure speaking as if with many voices tells Castor that his deeds have surpassed expectation and that their cause is advancing: wizard towers will open in every province, and wizards will be able to live freely with their families. Fewer than a hundred wizards are bound to The Hand directly, many more serve it unknowingly, and those who have seen the leader's face are fewer than the fingers of two hands.⁹

Spoiler: The GrandmasterRevealSpoils: Mürekkep ve Çelik #13 · Say what you have read

The Grandmaster steps into the light and shows Castor his face. He is the Empire's current archmage, Loren Opsus, who is constantly at the Emperor's side and is remembered for many articles arguing against the opening of wizard towers. He is not The Hand's first founder, but he has led it for a long time, and many of its members hate him as "the Emperor's dog". The Hand, as it is explained, wants to protect the Empire by putting its wizards' interests first: not to seize power, but to let wizards live without being torn from their families or facing prejudice.¹⁰