The Wise

The Wise were a powerful order of mages, based on the isle of Eyevea, in the Abacean Sea. They first appeared in Tamriel in the fifth century of the second era, eighty years before the Alliance war. They prided themselves on their neutrality in the wars of mortals, while keeping a vigil on the machinations of the Daedra.

As Eyevea served as a sanctuary for mages, the Wise were often consulted on magical matters, by numerous magic users, and eventually made a permanent home there. They were, for a short period, drawn into Sheogoraths' realm of madness, during the Alliance war, in 2E 580, and fought against both Dark Seducers and their Golden Saint counterparts.

After Eyeveas' return to Mundus, the Wise continued to dwell on the island, occasionally venturing forth to all corners of Tamriel, and in some cases, beyond. At the beginning of the fourth era, the Wise assisted with the founding of the Order of Julianos, who also took up residence on the isle.

The Wise were eventually forced to engage in open war for the first time in centuries, when the Blight came to the surface of Tamriel.

History
The Wise first appeared in Tamriel at the beginning of the fifth century of the second era. They settled on the isle of Eyevea, at the invitation of arch-mage Shalidor, though they seldomly remained there. Their leader, at the time, was an Altmer woman, by the name of Erethrya the Silver, a master of mysticism magics. She, along with her fellow mages, believed that the Wise should seek to spread knowledge among mages, though not elevate themselves above others, as the mages guild and other, more common magical institutions at the time had done.

The Wise spread throughout Tamriel, sharing their knowledge among the various guilds while tutoring those that sought them out on Eyevea. Throughout the years, the Wise kept themselves apart from the wars of mortals, such as the Alliance War, that commenced eighty years after their appearance. However, the order of mages made enemies of the Daedra when Shalidor traded their base of operation, to the Daedric prince of madness, Sheogorath. The Wise refused to abandon the island, banding together to combat the Daedric forces that infested the isle.

As the isle was eventually returned to Mundus, the Wise received reinforcements in the form of the Mages Guild, who assisted in destroying the last of the Daedric forces on Eyevea. Eventually, the order built a permanent residence on the island, where mages of all walks of life went to learn from them. In addition to their tutoring duties, they watched for signs of Daedric activity throughout Tamriel. Throughout the Alliance war, the Wise appeared wherever Molag Bals' Dark Anchors appeared, fighting against his minions.

The Oblivion Crisis
Centuries later, Mehrunes Dagon, in an attempt to conquer all of Nirn, and Mundus, had his agents in the Mythic Dawn assassinate the current emperor, and began opening Oblivion gates all over Tamriel. The Wise, were forced to seperate, as fighting broke out all over the continent. In many cases, the powerful mages turned the tides of battle throughout Tamriel, closing gates, and cutting of the Daedric advance. However, the fighting was not without loss, as the current head of the order, Erethrya, was killed at the battle for the Crystal Tower, on the Somerset isles.

Tristan the Grey, was nominated as the new leader of the Wise, and began concentrating on driving the Daedra out of regions of Elsweyr and Morrowind, leading to their absence during the final battle at the Imperial city.

Return to Eyevea
At the dawn of the fourth era, and end of the crisis, the Wise returned to their home, For much of the fourth era, the order remained in seclusion on their isle, as fewer and fewer mages were willing to travel to Eyevea. Sorath the Black, participated in fighting the undead from the floating city of Umbriel, in 4E 49. Much later, during the closing stages of the civil war in Skyrim, Salthar Vivarian visited the Wise on Eyevea, speaking almost exclusively with Sorath.

Several years after the end of the civil war, Sorath the Black, in an unprecedented move, relocates from the island to Skyrim. He then begins overseeing the construction of a great tower, which, upon its' completion, takes up residence in, and names it the Tower of Sorrows.

Members and positions
The members of the Wise were near-immortal, keeping themselves alive through the ages with powerful magics. They never numbered more than eight, one to embody each school of magic, and an eighth to lead the order. They had no known uniform, rather picking a colour of robes, and adding it to their title. For example, a member of the Wise wearing blue robes, would be titled, 'the Blue'. Should a member of the Wise be slain, the others would select a replacement from the most powerful mages throughout Tamriel. The candidate would take up the fallen members robes and responsibilities.

As of 4E 204, members of the Wise were as follows:

Tristan the Grey- A Breton male, and leader of the Wise.

Sorath the Black- An Imperial male, whose sphere of expertise was necromancy, and the school of conjuration.

Amgril the Gold- An Altmer male, whose sphere of expertise was destruction magics.

Hassar the Blue- A Redguard woman, whose sphere of expertise was restoration magics.

Talomar the Red- A male Dunmer, whose sphere of expertise was illusion magics.

Baudhel the Green- A female Bosmer, whose sphere of expertise was alteration magics

Saibhann the Violet- A female Breton, whose sphere of expertise was mysticism magics

Dormen the White- A male Nord, whose sphere of expertise was shadow magics.