Gold Order
The Gold Order, also known as The Golden Order is one of the eight Colleges of Magic which trains Wizards in The Empire. The Lore of Magic they study is the Lore of Metal. [1]
Gold wizards are masters of metals, ores and alchemy or as they term it Alchemical Thaumaturgy. [1b] They are the most skilled in this area of all men in the Old World. As a result Gold wizards are prone to smelting these substances into unruly liquids to aid their magical powers. The Order's headquarters in Altdorf is, more or less, a giant forge that is filled with chimneys and furnaces. It is situated close to the River Reik in order to cool the forges. [1]
Contents
Appearance
Many magisters of the Order are seen in work clothes, leather arpons, skullcaps, gloves and goggles but conversely they can display the infamous wealth of their Order in their clothing. When not working they may dress in fine robes, embroidered with gold brocade and threads and predominately coloured yellow or gold. Older and/or more powerful members of the Order are noted as wearing golden masks and guantlets, leading to much speculation as to what lies beneath. [1b] As they grow in knowledge and power, the magisters of the Order often find themselves transformed in minor or major ways such as a golden sheen to the skin, stiffness of the limbs, mercury tears and sweat or a harsh voice. [1d]
History
For the study of the yellow wind of magic, Chamon, Teclis and Finreir choose the most analytical and studious of the hedge-mages that had come them to learn true magic. As the humans progressed in their studies, the elves did notice that they began to develop characteristics and drives attuned to their particular Wind of Magic but this, they considered was the only safe way to develop their powers and remain free from the corruption of Chaos. [1c]
Soon the Gold Magisters as they called themselves were becoming obsessed with experimentation and rational thought so the elves gave them guidelines how to integrate alchemy and sorcery. The mages were able to create a variety of poisons and potions related to their own wind of magic using it as reagent. The skills and knowledge of the Order was further enhanced with an influx of wizards from Araby who brought carefully preserved skills from ancient Nehekhara. [1c]
The Order now owns most of the alchemy guilds and shops that can be found across the Empire, which also act as a recruiting ground for new apprentices. The Imperial armies also calls upon them to make gunpowder, liquid fire and other compounds of war and they are considered the most competent human manufacturer of magical items in the Old World. [1c]
Storm of Magic
During the Storm of Chaos the Order used their skills to arm the Empire's heroes and armies with powerful magical weapons and armour. [1c]
Life in the Order
The Golden Order mostly chooses apprentices with a background in alchemy, herbalism, or metallurgy; exceptions are chiefly individuals with an exceptional affinity for the Yellow Wind itself. As a result, novices are selected primarily from alchemical schools controlled by the Order. Apprentices are expected to take part in experimentation, review, and critique alongside full members. Older apprentices are usually tasked with instructing junior ones in the basics of the Order, alchemy, and the Yellow Wind. Apprentices study from the College itself, rather than being apprenticed to a single Magister as in the other Colleges, and mainly sleep in overcrowded dormitories. [1c]
Within the College and during experiments, Magisters wear simple, protective clothing such as leather aprons, gloves, and skullcaps as protection against heat, acid, and other dangers of alchemical work. In public and during state occasions, they favor ornate robes in gold and yellow, often adorned with gold thread and heavy brocade, to display the Order's wealth. Elder Magisters also wear golden masks and articulate golden gloves, although the reasons for this are unclear and subject to various rumors. Magisters usually maintain households within the city, and come to the College itself only to study, teach, or experiment. [1c]
Alchemy
The work practiced by the Golden Order is a mixture of magic and mundane chemistry, which are not often strongly distinguished between one another in practice. Common practices within the Order's laboratories include the crafting of potions, metallurgical experiments, the creation of specific reagents or explosives, and chemical research. The Magisters regard the Aethyr as the "ultimate reagent", as it reacts with and alters everything, and some of their experiments revolve around introducing minute amounts of unshaped, undirected magical energy to matter in order to study the ways in which it mutates and if these alterations can be made to occur in predictable ways. As a result of this research, the Magisters have discovered that, instead of the traditional four elements, matter consists of a much larger number of "True Elements", ninety of which have been discovered and cataloged. This knowledge is kept as a closely guarded secret within the Order. [1c]
Politics
The College has come to own the majority of mundane alchemical schools within the Empire, which are used as a testing ground for potential initiates as they perform basic chemical experiments and manufacture useful compounds and substances. These schools and laboratories produce a large quantity of products, including pigments and dyes, inks, soaps, and glues; more advanced alchemists also create antidotes, medicines, and alcoholic spirits. All of these are sold in bulk to merchants and the nobility in order to finance the Order's experiments, which require large quantities of funds and raw materials. Gunpowder and combustible mixtures are also produced, but are only sold to Imperial armies. [1c]
The Magisters of the Golden Order are also closely involved with the Imperial engineers and Gunnery schools, with whom the collaborate to create more efficient black powders and metal alloys. Gold Magisters are also some of the most skilled weapon-smiths in the Old World outside of the Dwarfs, and their creations are typically distributed to generals, commanders, or soldiers assigned to important missions. [1c]
Notable Members
- Balthasar Gelt, the current Supreme Patriarch. [6a]
- Cas Meijer, first Patriarch of the Gold Order. [5a]
- Haqiqah Al-Hikmah: Lord-Magister from Araby.[1c]
- Theodar Habermas: Third Patriarch of the Order who discovered a way to fold Chamon into semi-transparent golden stone. [1b][4a]
- Albrecht Helseher: Lord-Magister and High Wizard of Middenheim, he leaves much of the running of the guild to his talented deputy, Janna Eberhauer. [1c]
- Gotthilf Puchta: Patriarch of the Order and famously author of A modest Treatise into the Nature of Magic. [1a]
- Benedict Stross: He would become obsessed with replacing his lost hand with a magical golden one. [2a]
- Christa Feldmann: High Gold from Bögenhafen. [6a]
Locations
- Altdorf College: The headquarters of the Order is located outside the centre of the city, overlooking the river Reik. It is a huge building with many towers, forges, laboratories and dormitories that reach upwards up to five stories. River water is diverted through well secured underground passages to fulfill the needs of forges and laboratories alike. Often the great building is cloaked in foul smells or thick vapours and hence its location is well known and often avoided by city residents. [1c]
- Wizards and Alchemists Guild of Middenheim: The oldest place of magical learning in the Empire, the Guild was founded at an unclear point between 1200 and 1600 IC and was made part of the Order some eighty years ago in collaboration with the Celestial Order. Following the Storm of Chaos, the Bright Order has offered to assist in the rebuilding in exchange for facilities of their own at the Guild. [1c]
Relations with others
The Order has attempted to persuade the Dwarf's to share their secrets of runecraft but predictably with little or no success. [1c]
Most of the Order live in or near a city, requring excellent trade links to supply many and varied esoteric ingrediants that they require for their studies. Although they interact with many members of the public, espeically the lower ranks of the Order, they can still provoke suspician when their laboratories emite strange smells, lights or regretably on occassion explode! [1c]
Spells
- Gehenna's Golden Globe: A golden sphere is hurled towards the enemy after the wizard recites the three sacred syllables of transformation. [3a]
- Meteoric Ironclad: The Wizard creates enchanted armour from silver and iron charms. [3a]
- Quicksilver Swords: The blades of the Wizards allies are able to seep between the gaps in enemies armour. [3a]
Symbols
The Eagle's Wing, The Soaring Eagle [3a], The Mortar and Pestle, Smithing Tongs, The Smoking Brazier and Forge Bellows. [1c]
Gallery
college of the Order in Altdorf
A wizard of the Gold Order
Balthasar Gelt
Wizards of the Gold Order in Total War Warhammer III
Miniatures
4th Ed Gold Order Wizard
A wizard of the Gold Order
Sources
- 1: Realms of Sorcery (2nd Edition)
- 2: Liber Carnagia
- 2a: Severe Injury Rules, pg. 12
- 3: Storm of Magic
- 3a: The Lore of Metal, pg. 37
- 4: Winds of Magic (book)
- 4a: High Alchemy, pg. 53
- 5: Storm of Magic
- 5a: Chamon, pg. 66-77
- 6: Realms of Sorcery (1st Edition)
- 6a: Battle Magic, pg. 45
- White Dwarf 355 (July 2009), pgs. 84-85
- Warhammer Armies: The Empire (6th Edition) (2000), pgs. 52, 60, 61
- Warhammer Armies: The Empire (7th Edition) (2007), pgs. 44, 60-61
