"Moon Mages and Sects"
by Zelaide Dela'mist, Gnomish Gypsy Lass

I shall tell you what it is I have learned of the sects that have come to form the Moon Mage Guild. I would like to say a few things first, though. It's true the Moon Mage Council has disbanded, and there are many Mages who feel this means we are no longer a guild. This, however, is not true. For you see, this "Guild" started out as nothing more than seperate sects that had one main thing in common. That's right, their recognition of the power within the moons. What I'm trying to say is this: We were Moon Mages before Jares Braun brought the sects together and formed the council, and we shall continue to be Mages now that the council has been disbanded. Now, on with the article.

Well, folks, it's official; the Moon Mage sects have finally come forward for Mages of the guild to join if they so choose. Some of you I'm sure are asking yourselves, "Umm...what are sects?" Well, that's what I am going to try and explain to you here, as well as give you a little bit of information on each sect.

What are sects? We are all Elanthians, whether we be Elothean, Olvi, Kaldar, or even 'Tog. We have each chosen, or in some cases not chosen, to learn certain skills by joining a guild and learning the teachings of said guild. Sects can be explained in much the same way. You see, we are all Moon Mages, and within our guild of Moon Mages we have the opportunity to branch out and join sects. The sects allow us to advance in different directions from each other.

Let's use...oh, I dunno...the Progeny of Tezirah and Fortune's Path as examples here. The Progeny of Tezirah teaches things of a darker and shadowy nature, whereas Fortune's Path teaches those of its sect to follow the weavings of the web of fate, to be more carefree. See how they are almost direct opposites of each other? Even though this may be, they are both still part of the same guild, and they still use the magic of the moons to perform their skills and magics.

Now we'll talk a bit more about the sects themselves. Mayhaps you'll learn enough to have some little bit of an idea about each sect.

There are currently five sects within the Guild. First we have the Progeny of Tezirah, known to some as The Progeny, Tezirites, or The Cult. (I wouldn't call them by that last one, they tend to get a bit...umm...upset.) The Progeny practices magic of a somewhat darker nature than the rest of the guild. They are masters of the shadows, as well as masters of dark predictions. They formed around a dark Magess by the name of Tezirah, who was accused of practicing Sorcery and was later executed for this. The Progeny continued on even after her death, in the hopes that one day their Mistress shall return to them. Their wishes almost came true when a rift was opened in the plane of probability, but that's a story for another day.

The Prophets of G'nar Peth are also known as the Pethians or the Sightless ones. Even though the Progeny of Tezirah is the darker of the known sects, they don't hold a candle to the Pethians when it comes to being secretive. The Pethians come from a place known to them as Master G'nar Peth's Garden Paradise. To the rest of us, though, it seems to be a desert wasteland. Pethians are masters of Inner sight. Some of you, I'm sure, are wondering just how this can be since most of them have their eyes gouged out. All I can tell you about this is what the Blind Prophet I spoke with said to me. "The Eye be Empty, The Sight be Full." That's somethin' you'll have to discover the meaning of on your own.

The Nomads of the Arrid Steppes, all called Skindancers, Winddancers, and Nomads, follow the herds across the steppes and the tundra using their knowledge of the moons, stars, and heavens to guide them. The Nomads have been known to speak with the spirits of their ancestors and use the knowledge gained from them as one would use the information of a close council. There's not much I can say about the Nomds really, but I shall leave you with this last piece of information I received when I spoke with the Shaman. "There is an inherent beauty in nature. Beauty is found within the swirling skies above our heads, the earthen land beneath our feet, the running deer and foxes in the woods, the sweeping waves of a wind-swept lake, and the eternity of the stars."

The Celestial Compact, to me, is a bunch of boring, stuffy politicians. Although this may or may not be true, the Compact is also the one sect that has historically had the most members on the council, as well as serving as high placed advisors for many nobles throughout the realms. The Compact is full of scholars and astrologers, and this is how they were able to tell that bringing all the sects together would result in the formation of the guild. Therefore, the Compact can be said to be the originators of the Moon Mage guild, thanks to Jares Braun.

If I were asked to describe the Monks of the Crystal Hand in one word it would have to be...Perfectionists. They are known to spend great amounts of time fasting and questing for something that is not known to many. The Compact spends much time in discussion or in silent study of philosophy, more so than any other point of study. They have pledged themselves to build and uphold the standards of the guild the same way they have everything else they partcipate in, with Purity and Deadly Efficiency.

Finally we come to Fortune's Path. This path is formed of many varying types of people, from scholars, to the roguish fighting type, to those who are just carefree and follow the webs of fate. The one thing I think all of the Fortune's Path has in common, though, is this...they go where fate takes them. Most people try to fight fate, but those of the Path embrace it.

I have heard rumours of yet another sect that is to come forward and allow the students to join its ranks. However, there is no solid proof this sect exists. It is also hard to believe that a sect not affiliated with the Council could possibly exist. If you wish to join a sect, mayhaps you should wait a while to see if the rumours of this sect are true.

The above is what I have learned from my studies on the Sects. Hopefully those of you reading this have learned just a bit more than you knew before. Also, I'd like to state that some of the things above are my opinions, and that there are exceptions to the rule in every Sect. Not everyone will act as you might expect them to because they are a member of this or that sect. If you have any questions, please feel free to find me in the realms if you can. I tend to dance amidst the webs of fate and never know where I may be from one minute to the next.

May you be Blessed with the Luck of the Moons.