The Sages' Legacy

The Sages' Legacy was founded in the aftermath to the murder of the Seven Sages and their artefacts. Founded by the often forgotten eighth sage and the apprentices of the other seven its purpose was to keep the artefacts hidden away from their arch enemy the Order of Morgana. In their nearly 1000 year history have they worked from the shadows in their war against the Order of Morgana, while select individuals outside the conflict knew of it the Legacy intended not to draw those not involved into the conflict.

In the 1850s the Legacy suffered a heavy set back from their own Grandmaster. After ordering artefacts being moved from Hogwarts to stop an assault on the castle, an artefact was lost. The loss caused him to go mad and ended up destroying the original Legacy Hall and with it all their research and knowledge of the artefacts. Their 800 year mission had been set back to nothing, as a result the Legacy knew only where one artefact was for certain but not what it was or any of the others. While Legacy Hall would be rebuild, the loss of this information resulted in the Legacy recruiting researchers and adding the position of Oracle into its ranks in the hope that divination might assist with the recovery of information.

In 1944 much of their doctrine changed with many members suffering direct personal attacks from the Order of Morgana. Named the Zezaia doctrine, the Legacy changed its goals and instead devoted its efforts to recover the artefacts and wipe out any that opposed them, although much of this was hidden from many members of the Legacy. This doctrine would ensure a critical victory over the Order of Morgana in April 1978 with the destruction of the Order's headquarters and wiping out of leadership.

Although this action would later be the ruin of the Legacy itself as they would come under attack in 2011 at the Battle of Legacy Hall where despite their best efforts their headquarters were destroyed and nearly all of the members who fought at the battle killed. While not officially dissolved the Legacy did not recover from this crushing defeat and with no Grandmaster appointed after the battle it was assumed to have dissolved with any surviving members going into hiding and all international branches distancing themselves from the fallen organisation.

Founding and Early Years
The Sages’ Legacy was founded two years after the massacre of the Seven Sages. Widely unpopular and less known than the others, Alfred of Wessex, the 8th Sage, was left alone to care and preserve the artefacts. One day Alfred of Wessex summoned the former apprentices of the Sages at a private graveyard, where they were buried. There, he explained the situation, of the real truth on why the Sages had disappeared and what had became of their creations. Fearful of what would happen if the Order of Morgana ever discovered the artefacts and could make use of them, the 8 of them formed the Sage’s Legacy. The group would meet once a year at the site of the graves to discuss any updates on their efforts against the Order of Morgana.

After Alfred of Wessex died of dragonpox the apprentices formed a Council and decided that they needed a true meeting place. So on the site of the graves of the Sages they built Legacy Hall and transferred the remains of the Sages (including Alfred) into a custom made catacomb beneath the hall and sealed it shut permanently to never again be disturbed and within three generations the catacomb lay forgotten thought only as a foundation.

Slowly one by one the apprentices began to die until only four remained, it was decided that the last of them would become the first Grandmaster and they would appoint a High Invoker who would take over upon their death. This turned out to be Hilga Redheart who only ruled as Grandmaster for eighteen months before Richard Vanton assumed the role as Grandmaster. It was under his stewardship that the process for appointing the High Invoker and their role was firmly laid out. The High Invoker would oversee the day to day runnings of the Legacy from Legacy Hall and would be selected by the majority of the members with the Grandmaster having the right to veto, this would only be used once in the entire history of the Sages' Legacy.

Also under Grandmaster Vanton what would later become to be known as the Omegas was founded, the Grandmaster was determined to see the Order of Morgana defeated he wished to know their every move and for that to happen he would need eyes in the field. Appointing a Spymaster they would oversee all operatives in the field who would report directly to the High Invoker and the Grandmaster themselves. While the role’s title would later become Omega Prime by 1106 the Legacy would be entirely recognisable in how it operated for its duration.

12th to 19th Century
WIP

Yellowblossom and Candleheart
Other than the occasional skirmish between the Sage’s Legacy and the Order of Morgana there was no change in the balance of power between the two until the Legacy learned in 1849 that the Order intended to make an assault on Hogwarts in an effect to recover the artefacts, to ensure this didn’t happen then Grandmaster Orlando Quillian ordered that the artefacts be removed from Hogwarts and to be hidden across the world, so should Hogwarts fall minimal losses would occur in regards to the artefacts.

The Gordian Armaments were taken successfully by the Omegas and hidden within Ilvermorny in the United States however their second attempt moving an artefact ended in disaster. For reasons unknown the Order of Morgana was aware of efforts to move the Casket of Dreams to Beauxbatons. As it travelled through France the Order and Legacy came to blows, by the end of the battle all the ambushers and the escorters lay dead and the casket as a result went missing.

On learning about the failure and loss of the artefact, something snapped within Quillian. In his madness the original Legacy Hall was burned to the ground including the library which had the information on the locations of the artefacts and what the artefacts were themselves. Many members of the Legacy also perished in the flames, the single greatest loss of life the Legacy ever suffered. It is unknown what became of Quillian, a body was never found but it was assumed he too perished in the flames.

Times change
For the remainder of the 19th Century the Legacy sought to undo the damage their own Grandmaster had done to them, they rebuilt Legacy Hall and recovered whatever they could from the ruined library. The Legacy had been set back nearly to the foundation of their order in less than twenty four hours. From that point on in addition to recruiting warriors, the Legacy sought the aid of Seers as well as academics in an effort to recover the knowledge lost on that night.

Hostilities between the Legacy and Order began in earnest again during the 1940s as the Muggles fought the Second World War and the Wizarding World opposed Grindlewald. It was the perfect cover for strikes against each other to go unnoticed by those not involved in the conflict.

In 1944 then Grandmaster Wilma Zezaia returned home to discover that the Order of Morgana had first tortured and then wiped out her family in an effort to get information. As a result Zezaia called the Legacy together, many of who had suffered from similar attacks and put it to the Legacy that they should no longer just protect the artefacts but instead study them in an effort to create a weapon to use against the Order and furthermore that the Legacy from that day forward would focus on achieving victory at any cost. The Legacy voted in favour with not a single objection. In secret however, the Grandmaster informed her High Invoker Thomas Dermantery that she wanted to find the artefacts to then use on the Order of Morgana.

20th and 21st Century
After the death of Zezaia, Thomas Dermantery became Grandmaster under his rule he sought to expand the reach of the Legacy to beyond merely the United Kingdom. He ordered an outpost be set up in the United States to monitor any information in regards to the artefact he knew had been moved there. He also sought to use these tactics to draw the Order of Morgana away from Hogwarts to make them believe that they had truly been successful in removing all the artefacts from the castle.

Also under Dermantery’s stewardship the Legacy achieved their first major victory in nearly three hundred years, he had uncovered the then headquarters of the Order of Morgana and ordered a strike on it. They successfully killed the majority of higher ups in the Order.

He firmly supported the Order of the Phoenix in their efforts against Lord Voldemort however would not actively enter the war unless the Order of Morgana threw their support openly around Lord Voldemort. However he knew that they wouldn’t as they were still recovering from the heavy defeat they had suffered only two years prior.

On his death, Thomas Dermantery was succeeded as Grandmaster by his daughter Annabelle. She adopted many of the same tactics and beliefs of her father, given the number of Hogwarts staff departing the school after the Second Wizarding War she ordered Legacy members join the staff in an effort to see if they could locate any of the artefacts that still resided in the school. She also repeated the same orders to the group in the United States and ordering what had become known as Switch Groups to start ‘leaking’ messages that efforts to recover artefacts in South America and Asia were going better than expected. It was her aim, like her father to split apart the Order of Morgana by forcing them to go to many fronts and they would not know which ones were real or not.

When the first of the artefacts began appearing at Hogwarts, she ordered her members at the school to aid the students but not to reveal themselves as members of the Legacy. While she believed in victory at any cost, did would not actively seek to harm children.

The End
In 2011 the Legacy fought its final battle against the Order at the Battle of Legacy Hall where it was defeated, most of its membership was slain. The Order never officially dissolved but never recovered from this defeat and had no more activity.

Headquarters
Built on the site that the Sages were buried, there have been two Legacy Halls in the history. The original was very much a building of its time made of wood and holding a thatch roof on top. While originally a hall it grew over time including adding a library tower to the east side of the original hall and on the west adding a planning room with the Grandmaster’s quarters beyond. It sat upon a stone foundation which in truth is the catacomb built to hold the remains of the eight sages.

Following the original halls destruction a new hall was eventually built, this time out of brick and very much in the Victorian style. While still built on the foundation that is the catacombs the new hall is much bigger than the original with four separate areas. The Hall is the largest room which is at the centre of the entire building, it is often empty and serves as a place of gathering should the Grandmaster wish to address the Legacy. The library sits to the north east of the Hall, it like its original is a circular tower and it consists of four floors, the basement, ground level, first floor (which truly is two floors in one as it requires a ladder to reach the upper areas) and the guard post which sits on the top. Just to the west of the Hall is the War Quarters, it is divided into two rooms the first being a general meeting room where any member of the Legacy can meet. The second is the private room, only those with special permission or the Omega Prime, High Invoker or Grandmaster can enter. It is in this room that they discuss strategy. The fourth area is the Grandmaster’s Quarters, these quarters are private to the Grandmaster and magically update themselves each time a new Grandmaster takes office meaning that no office is the same.

Structure
Grandmaster

High Invoker      Omega Prime         Oracle 

Omegas       Researchers    Guardians   

Initiates

Grandmaster - Leader of the Legacy, commands all Legacy forces and responsible for strategy. They also oversee all foreign subgroups.

High Invoker - 2nd in Command, runs Legacy Hall on a day to day basis. Oversees the Researchers and Guardians.

Omega Prime - Head of the Omegas and all field operations.

Oracle - Responsible for using divination for studying the artefacts, it is their job to advise the Grandmaster of any developments they might have seen.

Omegas - The Spies and Field Agents, they conduct the covert missions and objectives.

Researchers - Based primarily out of Legacy Hall, they are responsible for finding out more information about the artifacts and the Legacy’s own history.

Guardians - The protectors of Legacy Hall and researchers that are not at Legacy Hall.

Initiates - The new recruits to the Legacy, they themselves are split into two categories the Unoathed and the Oathmakers. Before they can progress within the Legacy they will need to pass a test set by either the High Invoker or the Omega Prime.

Sub Groups
While the Sage’s Legacy primarily deal with matters arising in the United Kingdom, they do handle matters on the European continent as well. They have two headquarters one in Brussels, Belgium and the other Prague, the Czech Republic. However as these groups are directly overseen by the Grandmaster they have no need to be considered a separate entity.

All subgroups’ leaders are appointed by the Grandmaster based on the recommendation of those operating out of the country. The leaders report directly to the Grandmaster based out of Legacy Hall.

The names of the groups were designed to ensure that there could be no immediate link drawn between the subgroups as the Legacy should either be compromised.

The Wolfguard - The American subgroup of the Sages’ Legacy, their primary task is to observe Ilvermorny and think up a way to recover the Gordian Armaments. Their secondary task is to recruit members for the Sages’ Legacy. Their headquarters are Boston, Massachusetts. They are led by Kilaran Wormwood.

The Earthbound - The Australian subgroup of the Sage’s Legacy, their primary task is to make the Order of Morgana believe an artifact exists somewhere in the country. Their secondary task is recruit members for the Sage’s Legacy. They also have a secret task given to them directly by Thomas Dermentery, should the Sages’ Legacy fall the Earthbound were to be the successors to the order and continue on the fight. Their headquarters stand in Perth. They are led by Janet Broxer.

The Green Vipers - The Brazilian subgroup of the Sages’ Legacy, their primary task is to make the Order of Morgana believe an artifact exists somewhere in the country. Their secondary task is recruit members for the Sages’ Legacy. Some of their members are members of staff at Castelobruxo. Their headquarters are in Rio de Janeiro. They are led by Paulo Estabez.

The Open Sky - The African subgroup of the Sages’ Legacy, their primary task is to make the Order of Morgana believe an artifact exists somewhere on the continent. Their secondary task is to recruit members for the Sages’ Legacy. Given the size of their mission, they have two operatives in every African country and are the largest of the sub groups. They are officially based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They are led by George Zimmermann.

The Dragoncallers - The Chinese subgroup of the Sages’ Legacy, their primary task is to make the Order of Morgana believe an artifact exists somewhere in the country. Their secondary task is to recruit members for the Sages’ Legacy. They are based out of Shanghai. They are led by Xi Ze Zhung.

Trivia

 * The Sages' Legacy was not always going to be so morally questionable. This however was changed during the writing process.