The Sortians are a faction born from the clergy of Thoth in Ardis Vala in the world of Archontos, holding that the magical spark is dealt by lot, not by blood. Defeated by the Theosophists in the Magical Schism, they later saw the Empire adopt their doctrine.
| Type | Faction |
| Founder | Priscus Pulcher |
| Rivals | Theosophists; in the present cycle, Pope Alejandro Sixto |
| Heirs | Priscians |
| Houses of the Cycle | ☷ House of the Descent · ※ House of the Name |
| Spanish entry | Sortianos — la facción de la chispa abierta |
Doctrine
The name derives from Old Archontean sortianus, from sors (“lot”). The founding formula, attributed solely to Priscus Pulcher (Prisco Electe in a corrupt local spelling), is preserved as a message in Mithric in the octagonal chamber of the Mega-Dungeon. It activates only when rubies fill the eyes of the great statue of Set:
“Todo el que posea la chispa debe ser entrenado sin importar su origen. El Imperio será mejor por ello. Yo, Priscus Pulcher, he hablado.” (“Everyone who has the spark must be trained regardless of origin. The Empire will be better for it. I, Priscus Pulcher, have spoken.“)
The Sortians sought reform from within: they questioned the Theosophists, never the Basileus. A lost book, De Magia Distributa, is attributed to Priscus.
The Magical Schism
About 1,200 years ago by the Decadian count, the clergy of Thoth split:
| Faction | On the spark | On the clergy |
|---|---|---|
| Theosophists | Magic only for initiated nobles | Closed hereditary caste |
| Sortians | Magic for anyone with the spark | Academy open to all talent |
The dispute became the War of the Sortians and Theosophists, or Civil War of Ardisvala (c. 1900–1775 AEP). In 1775 AEP the Archontean city of Agoreon, in Ostralios, was destroyed; the Sortian defeat is dated to that year, though provincial skirmishes went on for decades.
Defeat and silence
The Sortians were dispersed, not eliminated:
- The Sortian chambers under the dungeon were sealed, notably on the Floor of the Great Chasm, where the Arcanum Forge stopped working for centuries.
- Magical doctrine passed exclusively to the Theosophists, restoring a hereditary clergy.
- The Empire withdrew from Irthuin, possibly partly from the exhaustion of the Schism.
Until the Archontean reoccupation of ~2639 AEP (exarchates of Narsileon and Arcturos), Sortian texts circulated clandestinely, including in hidden sanctuaries of Glastumville.
Drusus V
Emperor Drusus V, several centuries after the Schism, imposed theological peace by opening the Order of Thoth, the Empire’s official magical order, to anyone with magical talent. The Decadian archive records this as a posthumous victory of Priscus Pulcher; the Sortians became an unnamed precedent of the Decadian Orthodoxy.
Modern heirs: the Priscians
In the present cycle the Priscians, a secret order of sorcerers led by Nerub Null, proclaim themselves the Sortians’ descendants. From the old Sortian compound on the Floor of the Great Chasm they restored the Arcanum Forge. They are more hermetic and less political than the founders.
After the Defeat of the Varumani and the closing of the valley as a Mist domain:
- With the Varumani gone from the Court of the Thegn, expansion upward is more feasible.
- Nerub Null is consolidating Quintus in the restored complex.
- The open spark is incompatible with Pope Alejandro Sixto’s authoritarian centralization; the conflict is undeclared but recorded as an active tension.
Bayrum, of the Seekers of Ardis Vala, who activated the Mithric message, shows undeclared Sortian leanings; the Priscians receive him courteously.
Conflicting accounts
- Priscus Pulcher was burned according to one version; another holds that he took refuge in the ruins of the valley.
- Some Decadian chroniclers suspect the Priscians’ claim is an invocation of lineage without full doctrinal commitment. Others, among them Arkos, hold that the line is real but mutated: the Priscians still believe in the open spark but no longer need to defend it.
Open questions
- What Quintus is remains unclear; it may be the code name of a Priscian project.