The Eldritch Lords of Rel Deven

This society was founded in the second of the three great Aerdian cities of the
"Enlightenment" (the first being Rel Mord, which later became the capital of Nyrond, and the
third and final being Rel Astra, the imperial crown jewel and one time capital of the whole of the
Kingdom of Aerdy, before Nasran I established Rauxes following his imperial ascendancy). The
Eldritch Lords are a most enigmatic group about which little is currently known outside their
own city. This isolation began long before the recent wars which made it thorough and complete,
however. They were once a consortium of skilled mages and artificers that guarded, developed,
and duplicated some of the ancient secrets of High Oeridian magic for the Overkings of old. In
this role over the centuries, they created heroic weapons, staffs and symbols of office, and even
ensorcelled whole buildings, fortresses, ships, and towers. That role changed during the Turmoil
Between the Crowns, when the (largely Cramden) Eldritch Lords refused to pledge allegiance to
the first Naelaxian Overking, Ivid I of the North. The Eldritch Lords spirited away much of the
Malachite Throne's magic that was still in their possession and closed their ancient and
prodigious archives to his Celestial Supremacy's heralds until as they intimated, "a true heir of
Nasran sits upon the Celestial Seat of Heaven". Their collective power enforced their
determination, and despite a few unsuccessful skirmishes over the decades between CY 446 and
the recent wars,they remained intact.
Their organization evolved somewhat (rarely do they don the stiff, high-backed lacquered
collars of office that once towered a foot over their shoulders), and their direct influence in the
City of Rel Deven has grown over the last century and a half (they abandoned all ties in Rauxes).
They've undoubtedly become one of the most dominant power nodes in the city. The Eldritch
Lords, obviously, refused the summons of the Overking during the great war and for that, Ivid V