Pan-national society of the wealthy and influential · Headquarters: Krona Peak, Mror Holds · Meeting halls in most major cities · Ranks: Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum Concords
"Gold is civilization. Gold is power. Gold is justice. Gold is the only god that never fails." — attributed to an Aurum Concordian, source unknown
Walk into the Korranath — the grand temple of Kol Korran in Upper Central, Sharn — and everything you see speaks of money. The interior rises in a grand dome a hundred feet across, covered with gold leaf and studded with precious gems. The tiles in the mosaic floor are made of precious stones, and every sacral object inside the temple is solid gold. Sightseers and pilgrims mill under the watchful eye of temple soldiers employed to protect the fabulous wealth within. The high priest, Kalphan Riak, is appointed by the mayor on an annual basis and is rarely a cleric — he carries out rote ceremonial functions with the practiced ease of a man whose real religion is influence. His mansion sits at the top of Andith Tower, with open pavilions, sprawling quarters, and even a small garden growing on the towertop. He holds controlling interests in six of Sharn's ten banks and maintains close relationships with the city council and the King's Citadel.
Riak is a member of the Aurum. He wears eight rings, one on each finger — a tradition derived from the dwarves — with the metal indicating his rank. To most of Sharn, he appears to be simply a wealthy, successful businessman with excellent taste and broad interests. Those who understand the deeper currents recognize him as one of Khorvaire's most dangerous people.
When you spot someone wearing eight rings, you know they are in the Aurum. But are they secretly plotting to throw the Five Nations into chaos? Are they fighting a secret battle in pursuit of economic innovation? Or are they a casual member who just enjoys a good game of Conqueror at the club?
The Aurum is not a secret society, and its meeting halls can be found in most major cities. Many powerful people openly wear the eight rings that label them as Aurum members. The organization frequently engages in acts of philanthropy, and some members are celebrated by their local communities. When members gather, they discuss shared interests, especially in history and archaeology — one Concordian collects relics of the Cul'sir giants of Xen'drik, while another pursues artifacts of the dragons of Argonnessen. It is a place where people with different political and religious beliefs can set those differences aside and talk; according to its dwarven founders, many of the most important negotiations of the Last War took place around a golden table.
Push farther, and some Concordians will acknowledge that one of the founding principles of the Aurum is that the existing system within Khorvaire is oppressive: the dragonmarked houses have tyrannical economic monopolies and the monarchies of the Five Nations are outdated. The Aurum brings together the finest and most capable people outside that structure and helps them to achieve the opportunities they deserve.
But ultimately, at the end of the day, it is an organization that exists to increase the wealth and power of its members. Members are encouraged to assist one another and exchange favors. Individually, Aurum Concordians may not have the power of royalty or dragonmarked barons, but acting together they can accomplish great things. And that is both the promise and the danger of the Aurum.
"The Aurum is a social club. Last night we had a delightful performance from the Diva Laria. Provost Salar gave an impromptu lecture on the Sulat League and Councilor Evix discussed a Xen'drik expedition they're funding. No one tried to conquer the world." — attributed to an unnamed Concordian, deflecting questions about the organization's agenda
The Aurum was founded in the Mror Holds; long before the dwarves' declaration of independence, various families had already joined together in a fraternity to increase the wealth and power of all their members. The driving philosophy came from Clan Soldorak, whose founding principle has always been that power must be earned and that the common concept of "honor" is a trick that serves those already in power. It was this principle that led Soldorak nobles to found the Aurum — originally as a nexus for acts of rebellion against Galifar. When the Kingdom of Galifar collapsed and the dwarves suddenly had a nation of their own, the members of this collective began to look beyond the Ironroot Mountains. To this day, the Aurum is headquartered in Krona Peak.
Over the Last War — a century of chaos and opportunity — the Aurum flourished. While kings exhausted their treasuries and populations fighting one another, Aurum members financed war efforts, supplied armies, maintained infrastructure when governments could not, and bought up devastated lands at catastrophic discounts. Some became warlords themselves. Others accumulated wealth beyond measure by stepping into the economic voids the war created. The organization grew through the simple truth that money is a universal language: a wealthy dwarven artificer, a Karrnathi slumlord, an Aundairian merchant-prince, a Brelish industrialist, and a half-elf scholar from the Eldeen Reaches all found common cause under the banner of the Aurum.
Now, amid the war's cooling ashes, the Aurum's power is fragmented. On several occasions during the war, investments and gambles that paid dividends in money and power to one Concordian sapped the fortune of another, because each was unknowingly working against the other's interests. Huge collections of art, historical artifacts, and precious tomes were destroyed or lost, and the Aurum's leaders salivate at the thought of recovering some of those riches.
Despite a general image as a society of the wealthy and powerful, the Aurum rarely admits members of major noble families or dragonmarked heirs. Founder Antus ir'Soldorak maintains that members must earn their place in the world, not simply stumble into it. The organization does admit excoriates — dragonmarked heirs who have been cut off from their houses — as these individuals bring insider knowledge and have already proven their willingness to operate outside the established order.
The Aurum is organized into four ascending tiers of membership, each conferring greater influence, access to resources, and participation in the organization's innermost councils.
The Copper Concord comprises the newest and least influential members — merchants, scholars, and ambitious individuals with sufficient wealth or talent to earn sponsorship from a higher-ranking member. Copper members wear copper rings and have access to Aurum halls and the basic amenities of membership: networking, access to some sponsored expeditions, and the prestige of the name itself.
The Silver Concord consists of established merchants, successful military officers, talented artificers, and similar figures of genuine accomplishment and means. Silver Concordians wear silver rings and exercise real influence within their cities, commanding respect from peers and resources from the organization. A Silver member might sponsor an expedition to Xen'drik or acquire a rare artifact for their collection with Aurum backing.
The Gold Concord represents the organization's true elite: the wealthiest merchants, the most powerful industrialists, successful warlords who've stepped back from active command, and figures who command the respect of multiple nations. Gold Concordians wear gold rings and sit in councils that determine the direction of Aurum policy. A member of the Gold Concord can move markets, topple businesses, and reshape the fortunes of entire districts. The Boromar patriarch Saidan is a Gold Concordian, as is Kalphan Riak. Borian Haldorak, who serves as intermediary between the Aurum and the Boromar Clan in Sharn, also holds Gold rank.
The Platinum Concord is the highest rank openly acknowledged within the Aurum — the absolute pinnacle. Platinum members are historical figures in their own right. There are perhaps a dozen across all of Khorvaire. Antus ir'Soldorak chairs the Platinum Concord itself.
Artifact Acquisition and Patronage. The Aurum's most visible public face is its sponsorship of expeditions to ancient ruins, particularly in Xen'drik. This is one of the most common ways adventurers cross paths with the organization — members of the Aurum often fund expeditions to exotic lands or newly discovered ruins, interested in expanding their private hoards. Occasionally a Concordian tries to acquire prized relics through less honorable means; adventurers could be employed to acquire an exotic prize from a rival through any means necessary, legal or otherwise. The Aurora Gallery in Sharn's Platinum Heights is the finest auction house on the continent, where items worth tens of thousands of gold pieces change hands monthly.
Commercial Consolidation. Aurum members have financed or acquired controlling interests in banks, shipping companies, airship lines, mining operations, and manufacturing concerns across Khorvaire. The Kundarak Bank includes Aurum members in its leadership. Similar arrangements exist in Sharn's other major financial institutions, as well as in trade guilds, mercenary companies, and legitimate mercantile ventures throughout the Five Nations.
Industrial Ambition. Unlike the dragonmarked houses, which guard their monopolies jealously, Aurum Concordians actively seek to break house dominance in key economic sectors. Artificers sponsored by the Aurum have developed competing innovations, undercut house-licensed services, or funded ventures that replicate or circumvent house-granted powers. These ventures are not always successful — the houses have centuries of infrastructure advantage — but each represents an attempt to prove that merit and capital can challenge established power.
Political Influence. Concordians on city councils vote with Aurum interests in mind, though rarely with the crude uniformity of criminal syndicates. The influence is real but diffuse — spread across enough members with enough individual agendas that observers often fail to recognize the pattern. Several city councilors in Sharn maintain direct relationships with Aurum members or are themselves Concordians.
Espionage and Intelligence. Members maintain networks of informants, operate in diplomatic circles across Khorvaire, fund scholarly research that uncovers secrets, and employ intelligence operatives. These networks are not centrally coordinated but are occasionally directed toward shared objectives.
Dark Works. For the most sensitive objectives, Concordians contract with mercenary companies, criminal organizations, or independent agents. House Tarkanan has worked for Aurum payroll. The Boromar Clan has accepted Aurum commissions. The organization does not maintain its own violence apparatus — that would be inefficient and expose too many members to risk — but outsources brutality to specialists.
The Aurum does not form tight alliances the way criminal syndicates do. It is not a tightly knit conspiracy like the Lords of Dust or the Dreaming Dark; it is mainly a way to further justify the power of a few very powerful individuals. Members have to pay for favors with favors, and there are members who are not friends with one another. The connections of the Aurum make a Concordian a dangerous enemy or a powerful ally, but the organization's loose structure means that low-level adventurers can deal with individual members without confronting the whole.
The Dragonmarked Houses. The relationship is complex. Some Aurum members are excoriates or scions of lesser lines within the houses — they bring insider knowledge and legitimate connections. Simultaneously, the Aurum actively funds ventures designed to undermine house monopolies. A Concordian might simultaneously have profitable business dealings with a house and be funding competitors designed to weaken it.
Criminal Organizations. The Boromars and the Aurum have a working arrangement in Sharn — Borian Haldorak serves as liaison — where Aurum gold finances Boromar operations in exchange for intelligence, muscle, and the occasional delicate task. The relationship is transactional and not particularly warm, but functional. House Tarkanan has also worked for Aurum payroll when the objective requires deniable violence.
Mercenary Companies and Adventurers. The Aurum is perhaps the single largest employer of adventuring parties on Khorvaire. Concordians fund expeditions, hire skilled operatives, and reward competent agents with coin and opportunity. An adventuring party that performs well for an Aurum member may receive multiple contracts, introductions to wealthier patrons, and access to resources that lesser employers cannot provide.
Scholarly Institutions. The Aurum funds research programs, maintains arcane libraries, sponsors collectors of rare tomes and artifacts, and employs mages whose inventions might break dragonmarked house monopolies. Morgrave University has Aurum backers. The Arcane Congress in Aundair includes Aurum members. The relationship is natural: both organizations value knowledge, and Concordians are willing to pay substantially for it.
Political Networks. City councilors, nobles with marginal power, and ambitious merchants all find the Aurum useful. The organization does not own these individuals outright but rather offers advancement, opportunity, and the immense prestige of Aurum membership in exchange for political support.