The Order of Magi

Seven moons following the eruption of the Megacrystals from the earth and the subsequent discovery of magic, the various nations on the Sisters sent their foremost scholars to Aetherspire for the innaugural Council of Magi. There, they established a politically-neutral order to help all nations acclimate to the presence of magic in the world. They also established the calendar currently used on the Sisters, marking the first day of the preceding winter as the beginning of Year 1 of the Age of Discovery. All previous years would be counted backwards, including the Age of Man, which included all recorded history, and the Dawn Age, which was of unknown length.   Aside from advising their nations' leaders on the ethics of magic use, the Order of Magi also inadvertantly created a new pantheon from the various folk religions and patrons of their homelands, resulting in the establishment of the Faith of the Wardens.   The Council of Magi met semi-annually, compiling research and generally working for the advancement of humanity as a whole, guiding the ever-expanding world through over three millennia of prosperity. Unfortunately, not everyone shared the same vision for progress. Within the Order, two schools of thought emerged: the Devout believed that magic had been given to mankind as a gift from the gods, Their way of revealing themselves to the world; the Enlightened believed that magic had come from the universe itself, and was therefore meant to be conquered just as much as the rest of the earth for the advancement of humanity. For a time, these two philosophies could coexist, but in 3500 of Discovery, the conflict ignited into the War of the Magi, a thirteen-year war that would bring an end to all major civilizations and change the world forever. 3513 was the end of Discovery and the following 1200 years were known as the Age of Darkness.