Guardians of the Weave
The Guardians of the Weave is a loosely allied group of spellcasters who oppose evil spellcasters, evil gods of magic, and those who would damage or destroy the Weave. Founded recently by concerned agents of Mystra, the group quickly gained support from other churches and is now a widespread organization of heroes who try to undo the damage caused by evil spellcasters. What binds the Guardians together is a love of magic and the desire to protect it against all threats, and in this cause poeple of many countries and styles of magic set aside their differences to defend their common joy - the Weave. They believe the greatest threat to magic in Faerun is the Shadow Weave, for if Shar gains enough power from worship through the use of the Shadow Weave, she may eventually challenge Mystra, consume the Weave, and force all who would use magic to obey her whims, making it nearly impossible for good magic to exist. The Guardains try to find ways to hinder, convert, or destroy this corrupting rival to their beloved magic.
The Guardians come in many shapes, size, and temperaments. Some are far-traveling, some remain in their home city their entire lives. All keep alert for signs of harm to the Weave and its good users, whether a phaerimm plot, a new wild magic zone, witch hunts by non-spellcasters, or rumors of someone active in the Shadow Weave. They aid each other as best they can, whether by providing a place to rest, spell trading, or even and emergency teleport spell if possible. The Guardians recognize that the practice of magic is a bond between brothers and sisters of power, and believe that protecting that bond and its source is more important than life itself.
History
The Guardians of the Weave was founded in 1372 by Aluvauna Thornym, a high ranking wizardess and priestess of Mystra at the House of Wonder in Waterdeep. Aluvauna was troubled by an encounter with a Zhent wizard whose magic was difficult to identify, resist, and counter. Her special sense of the Weave, couple with research into the wizard's spellbook and certain divinations, revealed his use of the Shadow Weave to her. Disgusted at this affront to Mystra's magic, she gathered several of her allies and told them of her concerns. They concurred that Faerun needed good-minded spellcasters to join to protect the source of pure magic, and the Guardians of the Weave was born. Due to her position within the hierarchy of the church of Mystra, an official church blessing for her endeavor was easily acquired. Within a month, a dozen more interested Mystran and Azuthan casters joined the ranks, hailing from as far as Halruaa, and within a year representatives of Deneir, Isis, Savras, Selune, and the elf and gnome magic deities pledged solidarity with the Guardians. Aluvauna found herself in charge of a network of activist mages spanning much of the known world. Quickly adjusting to the position of leadership, she designated a lieutenant in each city served by a Guardian, trained her associates to recognize the signs of the Shadow Weave, and circulated magic to help them observe and report on dangerous spellcasters. Far more public than the Harpers, the Guardians are starting to earn a positive reputation among the common folk of Faerun.
The Guardians Today
The Guardians is a young organization, and as such is suffering some growing pains. With such rapid growth, a wide network, and language difficulties, there was some chaos in the ranks of who reports to whom and the establishment of common badges and signals - but Aluvauna's efforts in the past months have stabilized the organizations numbers and provided a stronger hierarchy for passing information. Some lieutenants are concerned that spies have infiltrated their group, and they're trying to find a subtle way to identify potential enemies without offending or alarming existing members. Aluvauna is working to make peaceful contact with individuals in two key areas: non-evil necromancers who choose to worship Velsharoon instead of Azuth or Mystra, and progressive Thayan wizards who seek magic for is own sake rather than for the power to dominate others. She feel that these Velsharoonite and Thayan contacts would allow her people access to information otherwise blocked to them; so far all but two (one from each group) she has reached were either openly hostile of Shadow Weave users.
Aluvauana and many other Guardains are practical enough to accept that ideology isn't enough to convince opposing spellcasters to turn away from evil and destruction, so they study common techniques used by evil mages and practice magical strategies that block or counter those styles. When not seeking out and fighting evil spellcasters, they catalogue wild magic and dead magic areas, offering a small reward for tips that lead to the discovery of a new location not in their records. Their small library is expanding quickly in this specialized area, and they do what they can to mark these dangerous areas or repair them. Other Guardians explore ruins and unearth tombs looking for dangerous magic items and artifacts so they can be locked away, destroyed, or otherwise kept out of the hands of those who would abuse them.
The Guardians of the Weave has outposts in Silverymoon, Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter, Arabel, Shadowdale, Selgaunt, Darromar, Heliogabalus, Velprintalar, Mulsantir, Alaghon, Cimbar, Skuld, the Great Rift, and Halagard. When members convene, they usually hold small meetings at a local residence or temple, though they have built a shrine outside Silverymoon that they consider the spiritual center of their organization; some have reported unusual beneficial magic effects near the shrine. Many members have never met each other, and some have met only through projection or telepathic communication.
