The Order of Arcadium was established for those adventurers most committed to discovering the secrets and mysteries of Arcadium.

Since the earliest days of the Order, the first curious adventurers that set foot beyond the world of the familiar were enthralled by what they found and came back with tales of magic and mystery and always the hint of something more from the Realms of Arcadium.

The Realms of Arcadium are three; the Realm of Mystery, the Realm of Magic and the Realm of Fantasy. In truth, these three Realms are actually three islands that exist within the known World of Arcadium; the names being merely a remnant of a former period. From the expeditions of prior Adventurers, we know that it is in fact possible to travel from Realm to Realm across the seas of Arcadium. It is not known if there may be other islands that have not been discovered however it is believed that if there were, portals to these places would have been discovered already. The Realm of Mystery is the eastern most isle with the Realm of Magic to its western coast and the Realm of Fantasy further west again.

While the geography of each island is fairly constant, they are all associated with their own particular characteristics. Most notably, throughout the history of Arcadium, more portals to the Realm of Fantasy have been recorded than to the Realm of Magic and again to the Realm of Mystery. Likewise, more occurrences that cannot be explained by any science that we know have been recorded by Adventurers in the Realms of Fantasy and Magic than in Mystery. While some mysteries have been explained over time, there is no doubt that some of these are of a kind we do not understand. In fact, there is no question that there is something at work that we do not understand in the World of Arcadium. Of the many mysteries beyond the portals, this is among the greatest. In the Order, we have taken to calling this ‘elios‘ – the unexplained magic of Arcadium.

Some of the Locals (the Laesser, Arkadites) have even discovered ways to harness elios to perform  small acts of magic by casting ‘spells’ which are more akin to wishes in their nature. That is to say, the spells used by magic users rely upon ‘wishing’ for certain things to occur. In the Realm of Magic these spells often occur as desired although are certainly more predictable with some individuals than others. In the Realm of Fantasy though, the very same spells have somewhat unpredictable outcomes. Nonetheless, even the most powerful spells we know of from the Locals have only relatively limited effects. The true power of elios is not well understood. The Artefacts that we seek to study in the Collection are often lost relics and forgotten objects thought previously to only exist in myth and legend. They get their status in the Order of Arcadium by the spectacular tales of elios that surround them. It is believed that by studying these Artefacts, we may be understand elios and, in turn, perhaps the nature of Arcadium itself.

The Order of Arcadium exists to collect and understand the mysteries and secrets of these Artefacts. At our Chapters of the Order, teams of Adventurers (AOs) meet to venture through the Portals to Arcadium and attempt to discover and retrieve Artefacts for the Collection. Our Analysts or Scriveners (SAOs) busy themselves in the task of researching the whereabouts of even more Artefacts  and some, in our Department of the Obfuscated, are specifically tasked with the re-discovery of Artefacts long ago stolen from the Collection.

I look forward to having your assistance on this next great adventure…

Stay curious,

ELL, MCAO

The 24th Lore Master