The Arcana Obscura is a fractal. Those who peer into the visage of the faction find repeating layers of subtlety and nuance. It is not a monolithic entity despite its inscrutable outward appearance. Beneath the enigmatic facade lies a clandestine network of covens, within which lie even more esoteric cabals and arcane cooperatives.
The Visages
What exists of a central hierarchy or overarching authority in the Arcana Obscura are the Visages, the Faces in the Maze. These figures bear titles and roles stemming from the visions that have guided the Obscura for decades. Their masks are passed down from one bearer to the next as a badge of office. Many forgo their given names to embrace the duty they now bear with the role of Visage. Their number fluctuates, and some masks go years without a bearer, but the most active and recurrent leaders include the following:
Visage of the Sphinx
Visages of the Sun and Moons
Visage of the Ancients
Visage of the Hierophant
Visage of the Hermit
Visage of the Quaestor
Visage of the Fateweaver
The Journey and the Paths
Though they do not speak of it to outsiders, members of the Arcana Obscura consider themselves to be on a journey through a maze, what they call the Labyrinth Unending or the Maze of Aeons. They hold that the purpose of this Journey is to discover the Hidden Truths within the Maze. In the years since its formation, the Obscura has identified several Paths that one may take to explore the Maze, and learning which Path to follow is often the first task of new initiates. That is not to say that the members of the Arcana Obscura must remain on that single path; it is not uncommon for initiates to move between them as their Journey unfolds and as new truths are learned.
Those who follow the Path of Vision focus on being seers and ritualists, honing their magical craft and acting as the eyes and ears of the covens
Those who follow the Path of Volition often act as investigators, eldritch knights, and the illusive inquisitors of the covens as they believe action must follow foresight.
Those who follow the Path of Voice are among the covens' greatest judges and leaders, as their philosophy of tempering ability with discernment mark them as administrators and diplomats as well as procurers and merchants.
Those who follow the Path of Vitality tend to their covens as healers and caretakers. The trials of the Obscura's activities are not for the frail or timid, and the Path of Vitality teaches that the Journey is not just one of mind or body alone
Those who follow the Path of Veracity seek to push the boundaries of their covens' understanding as researchers, teachers, and crafters due to their singular focus on rendering truth verifiably plain.
Steps of the Journey
By examining the common imagery experienced in the visions and prophecies of those who glimpse the Labyrinth Unending and begin to walk its paths, the Arcana Obscura identified what seem to be marks of progress on the Journey. These steps have become bywords for "ranks" in the membership of the faction, but their nature is not one of strict of authority. Rather, those who are known to be on further steps are expected to act as guides and teachers to newer travelers.
These steps have entered into the culture of the Arcana Obscura as common motifs. Many cartomancers adapted them as images in the oracular decks of their art. Many members choose to alter their masks to reflect the rank they have achieved and change them as they progress on their Journey.
Initiate (The Fool)
newcomers to the Arcana Obscura
Mystic (what cartomancers divide into the Magician and the High Priestess)
those that have learned the first mysteries of their covens. For many this is their encounter with the Labyrinth Unending
Maven (what cartomancers divide into the Emperor and the Empress)
those who have completed their training and are full-fledged members of their covens who can operate on their own or contribute to their group's goals by undertaking quests directly.
Mentor (The Hierophant)
those who have demonstrated a certain level of mastery of their coven's ways and can act as teachers and guides for newer members. Visions of the Labyrinth are more regular and lucid.
Seeker (Strength)
those who have overcome the Test of the Twinned Hearts (the Lovers) by harnessing the drive of the Chariot but not being overcome by it by virtue of their own Strength. Those who have learned to enter the Labyrinth under their own power.
Solitaire (The Hermit)
those who wander the Labyrinth, often alone in their pursuits.
Elder (Justice)
those who have deciphered the Rota Occulta (The Wheel of Fortune) and not been turned back. The discernment shown by these individuals often draws them back into roles of responsibility within their covens.
Paradox (The Hanged Man)
those who have once again withdrawn into the Labyrinth to understand its inverse and face themselves.
Truesighted (Temperance)
those who have overcome the Mirrored and freed themselves from the Labyrinth Inverted by cutting their bonds with the Fated Blade (Death) but not lost themselves in the process.
Illuminate (the Star)
those who have passed the Trial of the Sphinx (The Devil) atop the Tower of Revelation (The Tower)
Awakened (Judgment)
those who have seen through the Enigmas of the Moons via the Enlightenment of the Sun
Ascendant (The World)
those who have been to the center of the Labyrinth and glimpsed a Hidden Truth
The Covens
The Obscura maintains covens in every Enclave that abides their presence. While some communities host many such collectives, there tends to be one or more covens in every Enclave that wield the most influence. These major covens end up taking their more obscure neighbors under their wing, being the most visible to outsiders, and the ones that locals turn to when it comes to magical matters.
Because of the nature of their work, the Obscura's covens often reside in seclusion. Within the settlements of the Enclaves, this usually takes the form of tall, fortified towers--occasionally and mistakenly called "wizard's towers" in common parlance. Some covens instead choose to cloister themselves away on the outskirts of the Enclaves in mountainside hermitages or woodland refuges. In such circumstances, those seeking the Obscura's services must make the pilgrimage to find their hidden lairs.
Major Covens
Nest of the Ouroboros (Aquitalia)
Once the most influential coven for those following the Path of Vitality, seers of this coven often experimented with venoms and poisons produced by serpents and marine life to produce visions. The dangers of these substances and their collection necessitated many of the coven's members being trained as healers. The interpretation of fever dreams and delirium became another common practice for the coven's seers and healers, while its eldritch knights found other uses for the venoms and poisons their fellow mages studied.
Wyrd of the Painted Beast (Balroch)
The foremost practitioners of osteomancy and scapulimancy, including casting knucklebones or burning bones in fire. Members of the coven were noted for a peculiar practice of sitting on hilltops overnight wrapped in animal skins to experience visions. Rumors of lycanthropy and other forms of shapeshifting plagued its members and even prompted several visits by agents of the Visages.
The Jade Observatory (Brechilinn)
Foremost practitioners of astromancy since the fall of Starngard, the stewards of the Jade Observatory are some of the most prominent followers of the Path of Veracity as they seek to stabilize the wayward magic of the surrounding forest. Moreover, the coven's Realmwalkers see themselves as mediators between the mortal plane and the realms beyond. Many members carry special lenses, crystals, or looking glasses meant to focus their observations and sense the ambient magics of their environment.
The Coven of Sword and Sorcery (Castellum)
The most renowned grueling training ground of those who follow the Path of Volition. The wartime-footing of the Enclave has likewise influenced the coven's interests and focus. Their Warweavers spend less time puzzling the mysteries of magic and more time utilizing those mysteries to provide intelligence, rain destruction down from afar, and otherwise support the defenders of Castellum.
The Children of the Elder Scale (Dholrim)
This coven has been shaped by its proximity to such an immensely magical creature as the Emberheart. Its members are particularly fond of lepidomancy (reading scales) and Dragonspeaking. They meet with Daedalix and attempt to glean the course of fate and fortune from the patterns in the dragon's scales and from which ones fall from their skin. Some of the coven even gather these fallen scales to mark and use for conventional fate-reading. Meanwhile their spellcraft has attempted to replicate the magical abilities of Dholrim's draconic guardian. More than once, inquisitors of the Obscura have had to intervene and stop mages seeking to bond with the great dragon. The Emberheart's presence in the Enclave has even affected the initiation rituals of the local Arcana Obscura, as many new members adopt masks with subtle draconic features.
The Anchors in the Tempest (Estilmor)
Many seers of this coven often take refuge in small fortified towers along the coast. Within these "anchorholds" they try to divine secrets from the lightning and thunder common to the area. For many of these Stormseers this involves attempting to capture lightning in a bottle both figuratively and literally. The mystical glow that their efforts generate serve as beacons for travelers. Inquisitors of this coven assist the local Stormwatch in their efforts and are often seen in the company of Lanternward Striders as they move about the Enclave to check on the Stormseers. This coven is the major source for information and forecasts concerning the ever-shifting winds of magic on the continent.
The Blood of the World Weave (L'moranna)
The oracles and seekers from the Tree of Worlds. Many are adept in the art of theriomancy, reading patterns in the seemingly chaotic movements of swarms of beetles or the weavings of spiders. One example is gossamancy, in which the readers will examine the veins of a selected insect's wings as an augury. Others turn to the hallucinogens provided by the native fungi, flowers, and mosses. The coven as a whole has a long tradition of trying to coordinate with their fellow mages across the continent. Since their typical methods-- like dreamwalking-- still leave much to interpretation, they often work closely with the Lanternward Striders to send word to their comrades in other Enclaves. As a result of this collaborative spirit, the Blood of the World Weave has garnered a reputation among the Obscura for being pioneers on the Path of Voice. Would-be leaders and teachers of the covens often confer and train with the World Weave, and the chaotic inhabitants of L'moranna make for quite the test of leadership skills.
Ollomain of the Fatesong (Lochglenn)
Seers from this coven were known to burn special combinations of mosses and peat from the bogs and inhale the vapors, or drink from the waters. However they received them, resulting visions were usually in verse that then had to be interpreted. A not commonly known practice of the coven was to preserve the heads of their greatest seers after death. In doing so, the spirits of these departed oracles could return from the Afterworld to a waiting vessel and speak new prophecies.
The Chorus of the Phantom Quill (Mer'thalass)
The seers of the Phantom Quill experience waking dreams that compel them to write as they prophesy. Thus their visions often take the form of written verse or narrated scenes. The fragments of their various divinations are collected and scoured over by the researches and seekers of the coven to find connections or recurring themes. From this practice, the magical tradition of Dramaturgy was developed, as members of the coven sought to convert many of the written scenes into connected narratives of ritualist theater in an attempt to discern possible meaning. The coven experienced great tragedy during one of these attempts as the ritualists were apparently driven mad by a particular script. All extant copies of this text have been locked away by the Visages, and so its exact nature remains a mystery even to many of the Obscura.
The College of the Obsidian Hourglass (Solkharah)
This coven specializes in using sand for their spellcraft and rituals, from hourglasses to colored mandalas. It is not uncommon for members to carry vessels of sand of different hues and qualities on their persons. The use of hourglasses as a focus has drawn the concern of other covens who worry their Solkharan colleagues are delving in chronomancy to overturn the Rule of Time and their own laws regarding the flow of fate.
The Coven of the Glittering Void (Susisaari)
Some members attempt to read the auroras in the region, while other members of the coven practice a method of sensory deprivation (sitting in utter darkness and silence), some have also taken to divination via cryomancy (reading cracks in the ice or the way frost spreads on the surface of a focus)
The Secret Garden (Westhaven)
A coven whose members experiment in many food-based forms of divination such as tyromancy. One of their prized artifacts is an ancient cauldron used to make divinatory soups and stews. This cauldron has been a point of contention with the Runewrights, who wish to study and possibly replicate the magical properties of the vessel. Other members of the coven have taken to apiomancy, seeking wisdom from the flight patterns and droning of the many bees in the Enclave.
The Watchers in the Wood (Willowglade)
Secretive even by Obscura standards, this coven was marked for the quiet demeanor of its members and their active practice of the Gallowsight, a ritual whereby seers suspended themselves upside down from trees to induce visions. At its height, the Watchers often trained seekers and inquisitors from other covens in the survival skills that they themselves learned from the local rangers.
Minor Covens
While the covens above are the most prominent and well-known, they are hardly the only collectives at work in the Arcana Obscura. Many smaller and more esoteric groups also contribute to its overall mission. Your character may very well be from one of these Minor Covens, perhaps one of your own design, perhaps one that works alongside one of the major covens or with other smaller groups. An example of such a Minor Coven is below:
The Spirefall Pact
A curious alliance of mages whose preferred method of divination was to throw lots from the top of their tower onto sigils and geoglyphs in the gardens around their home. The mages of the Pact would then attempt to glean information from the location and manner in which these lots landed. In some instances, their members themselves were seen jumping from the tower heights into the ponds below to divine hints about their own fates.
