Guardians of the Veil Status ●●●●
The Epopt is the living hub of a Guardian caucus. While her formal duty is to supervise a region’s Labyrinth, she also coordinates the activities of nearby order mages and communicates with Epopts in other cities. Most Epopts are not particularly authoritarian. If a mage makes it through the Veils and into the order, he’s competent enough to work on his own. Instead, the Epopt consolidates local intelligence and caucus members’ concerns into a few general directions, setting priorities for each project.
Cultors help create and maintain the Labyrinth, but the Epopt uses it. When the caucus needs the Labyrinth’s members to act, the Epopt makes a plan and gives the order to carry it out. Epopts also guide the newly Awakened through the Veils. Cultors may assist, but an Epopt is responsible for an honest ordeal; Cultors might get personally attached to a Labyrinth member. Furthermore, there’s always a chance that the Epopt will guide the new apprentice to another order, maintaining the balance of favors that keep Guardians of the Veil respected.
There is almost always only one Epopt per caucus. Guardians protect him well because he often knows secrets that mustn’t leave the stewardship of the order. As a spymaster, he makes sure the individual Guardians don’t blunder into each other on conflicting missions. The Epopt is trusted to hold and disseminate information at will. Not only does he inform Guardians, he determines what they need to know. This is necessary to maintain the caucus’ cell structure. Under a conservative Epopt, a caucus meeting can feel rather disjointed, as members must avoid broaching subjects that the Epopt hasn’t given them permission to talk about.
Still, Epopts trust Guardians to act on their own and keep them informed. In return, Guardians of the Veil must trust their Epopt to share what is necessary, protect mages’ covers and make the best use of what they know. This can be a lonely, morally challenging duty, so it isn’t unusual for an Epopt to confi de in a single Guardian of equal or greater status. This mage traditionally becomes the Epopt’s successor if she retires from the post or dies. It is customary to weave one lie into this confi dence, so that if it gets loose, the Epopt can trace the lie back to her treacherous ally.
Epopts are always respected members of the order, but don’t always have to be the greatest mages or even the highest-status Guardians of the Veil. Epopts choose successors from the best communicators and secret-keepers. This is more important than raw magical ability. If a caucus lacks an Epopt, the caucus usually chooses a new one with a vote. Such an Epopt could even have less status than is normally required, but without it, Epopts from other regions won’t share information.
Former Epopts of Sacramento
