Luminaries

The Luminaries are a secretive organisation working out of Alta Vahr. They are lead by Zargo, an accomplished Divination wizard.

The Luminaries believe that everything in Alta Vahr is an illusion, and that this is the work of a group of powerful wizards "with seemingly infinite resources". Their main aim is to see the 'real world' for what it is, undoing the illusion once and for all.

Formation
The Luminaries were formed about 200 years before the beginning of Grand Delusions, by a wealthy landlord whose name has since been lost. This man was known for an insatiable curiosity - he used his wealth to build libraries and fill them with the works of scholars. He was particularly interested in the workings of the human spirit, and would eventually begin his own studies.

Little more is known about his work, but he was the first to discover the Makers and their illusion. Immediately, he used his vast resources to build the Sanctuary and form the Luminaries - named so because they aimed to 'bring the light to the eternal darkness of the Makers'. They wanted to free and rebuild the world.

206 AE
Roughly a century after the initial formation, the Luminaries were on the verge of collapse. Membership was starting to slow, and bases were routinely being destroyed or work disrupted by paid mercenaries. This is why, Zargo believes, they accepted the lich Sarthus into their ranks.

Many Luminaries were immediately disturbed by him, having likely achieved his undead status through 'unspeakably evil means'. Some members deflected over the matter - but this did not stop the group from accepting him. He spoke cryptically and his intelligence was clear, so the dwindling group believed that he could help them.

Sarthus' proposal was a device created to destroy the Makers - an amulet that would grant the wearer total immunity to illusion magic, which they would use to find the Maker headquarters and work towards a new, real world. Zargo and the other Luminaries recognised that Sarthus saw this simply as a stop on the quest for power, but they were glad to help him in return.

He began working on the Beacon almost immediately. His notes were meticulous, but ciphered so that nobody else could read them. Upon the project's completion, Sarthus gathered the Luminaries to witness its completion.