Silver Mask

When magic first returned to the world there was fear and uncertainty. Rumors ripped through villages of strange powers coming back into the world. Fear rose of monsters and creatures of darkness coming back as well. Stories said that after the heroes of old ended the shadowfall, magic slowly drained from the world. Would it’s return signal a new shadowfall? Best to find those with powers and snuff them out before they cause real trouble. Towns would gather together only to find that the person who was rumored to have these strange powers was gone, never to be seen again. The Silver Mask had come for those with powers, gathering them up, keeping them safe, and stretching the magic to its very limits. Before long, the group was sanctioned by the empire, viewed by some as a safe-haven to understand more about the return of magic, for others a leper colony to keep the darkness away.

As time has passed, magic has come back more and more; it’s nearly commonplace, as it was in the old days. The Silver Mask has only grown in strength. Referred to by many as the Arcanists Guild, they are headquartered in the distant Tower of Vorai, where the archmage Archimedes Silverblade still collects some promising mages to continue research within the tower, but far more attention is paid to influencing the courts on the use of magic within their realms. Too many people have the gifts now for the Silver Mask to collect them all, and so their secrets are reserved for the few who meet their unknowable criteria.