Preamble

Order of Vim

Also Secret Order of Vim, The Circle, The Emerald Guard as detailed in appendix 4b of Annals of the 5th Age
Tagged as: Myth, Legend, Of dubious historical value

Used to refer to minor order of wizard warrior monks said to have existed in the golden period of the Age of Light. The order disappeared without a trace after The Great Wizard War. There is no reference to The Order after the 6th Age. The Order importance during the Age of Light is unknown, the most significant reference appears in “The Crimson Chant”:

“…As the Red Fist raises
The Emerald shatters,
its place taken by The Ruby,
the crimson, the scarlett.
The balance is broken,
the future uncertain,
Who shall now guard the kingdoms of Terra?”

The Order of Vim was said to have attained communion with The Pattern. Using a mysterious and rigorous training, they developed a secret technique that allowed them to tap directly into the threads of existence and achieve near miraculous feats of magic. Aside from vague references in a handful of texts, there is no proof that the Order ever existed. The few references we can find in other works of the same period are hazy, more akin to myths, legends and the product of a colourful and imaginative mind.

From Myth and Legends Of The Age of Light, A Humble Essay
Harvastin, The Scholar
Guardian of Chronicles of The Library of Sallas
12th Age

A Note From a Friend

Ey Harv, I found this book in that backwater hole of Gigia in the island of Asturi. In a flea market of all things! It was dusty and full of dirt but I think it is in pretty good state considering the circumstances. I think it is missing some portions as well… The cover seems to be wider than the pages it contains. Well, I think you’ll find it very interesting anyway.

I’m not an expert on the Age of Light as you are but after perusing the pages of this tome I think it could very well constitute the first solid proof of the elusive Order of Vim. Exciting, isn’t it?

I suspect that this book, The Book of Vim, was a writing cornerstone to the very essence of The Order and part of the training material used to indoctrinate its members. A part of the very secrets that made them so powerful, famed and prominent in the Age of Light (at least in Myth). I get goosebumps just to think that these, my friend, are the same pages that would be read and practiced by the heroes of old, The Emerald Guard (You know I’m always daydreaming about these things, that’s why I focus on Mythology and leave you the boring History).

Oh, one last thing. The book is no easy reading. Its pages are filled with strange archaisms long forgotten that make the text hard to decipher. You’ll find numerous references to “the keyboard” (a board full of keys?) or “the text editor” as if these were commonly understood words like water or bread. So many millennia after, we can only wonder as to what these words may refer to.

Anyway. I must go now. Adventure awaits and all that…
Hope you enjoy it! (I know you will)
Your friend, H.

P.S. I’ve found a deep cave complex in the entrails of the Misty Mountains. There, miles and miles under stone and earth I found the remains of a titanic battle. All very strange and exciting! Who, What and Why would clash with such ferocity in this far away and meaningless island? I have no idea. I’ll keep you updated. Bye.