Circle of Founders

The Circle of Founders is an ancient and secretive organization; it is among the biggest secret societies in Temma. = History = The origin and history of the Circle is not accurately known; however, it is known that it is an old group, that has existed for well over a century. Some of the stories regarding the Circle claim the society's origins go back to the foundation of Temma itself. It is claimed that the first Founders were powerful Elementalists, Wind & Water Masters and Metal Empaths who participated in harnessing the Seven Rivers of Temma. They built the great dams that allowed the city to exist in the first place. The stories claim the corner stone of the first building of Temma was laid by the first master of the circle.

= Operations = At various times, the society can boast between 40 and 70 people, living and working in the underground complex the Circle maintains. The society also has contacts and relationships with people outside this complex, and has a wide reach to various fields of interest and spheres of influence in the city.

The Founders get most of their income from a lucrative magical metals smuggling operation. Their two main competitors are the Sisterhood of the Nine Gates, which tries to put fingers in all the pies, and the Ungers. While turf conflicts due arise from time to time, they are usually contained and small, as the demand in Temma for cheap materials is much higher than even these three societies can provide. For the most part, though, the Founders are interested and invested in magical research, collecting and verifying ancient tomes, refining Elementalist techniques and discovering new magical mysteries. Due to these interests, many occult members of the criminal world in Temma consider the Founders honest brokers of information, and they even have many mundane contacts in the criminal world.

= Leadership= The Founders are led by the Circle of Seven Masters. While in theory the Seven Masters have equal positions in the society, in reality there are always Masters with more influence and more involvement in the management of the society than others. Each Master has his own duties to the Founders, and is expected to head his own Circle, gathering acolytes and disciples, and passing on his techniques and secret knowledge.