In the Empire of Man, the Order of Light, or White Order, comprises those Magisters who study and wholly embrace the White Wind of Magic, Hysh.
Hysh is the magic of illumination and holy radiance. It is the Aethyric manifestation of light, including the uses light can be put to and the abstracts that light sometimes represents to mortals, like enlightenment and purity. Hysh could be seen as the light that banishes the darkness and keeps the unknown horrors of the darkness from our doors. Though diffused, Hysh can be compared to a constant and steady luminance completely opposite of Chaos’ randomness. It is also said to be the most difficult of all the fragmented Winds of Magic to channel into a spell.
Symbols & Appearances
The Serpent of Light, the Tree of Learning, the Tower of Isolation, the Candle of Enlightenment, the Arrow of Purpose, the Mirror of Self Knowledge and the Pillar of Wisdom.
Magisters of the White Order tend to dress in simple robes of pristine white. These robes often bear silver and gold motifs of the Serpent of Light and never seem to dirty or dull. Their ceremonial garments are more elaborate, consisting of pleated white robes with silver embroidery decorating the hems and little mirrors of supernaturally polished silver affixed to their belts and stoles.
Older Hierophants tend to bear the marks of Hysh, with eyes that seem to glow with a faint luminosity, or perhaps even have no visible pupils or iris, being just the purest white. Also their skin grows ever paler, along with their hair, until they are almost albino-like in appearance.
Overview
Hysh has many potent applications, and its Magisters are renowned for their abilities to heal, protect, and banish darkness—in both a literal and more occult sense. The White Magisters of Hysh, or Hierophants as they are sometimes known, are amongst the wisest and most disciplined of all Magisters, vehemently opposed to the Chaos in all its countless forms. Where Hysh is steady and constant, Chaos is random destruction, and where Hysh stands for controlled grace and self-understanding, Chaos promotes confusion, insanity, and a total lack of control. It is with good reason that the Magisters of Hysh are particularly renowned for their abilities to banish from the Mortal Realms the malevolent entities of Chaos.
The Crusade of the White Order
Of all the aspects of magic the humans were taught to embrace, Hysh was the hardest to corrupt and therefore its users and advocates were more difficult for Chaos to prey on, making theirs the hardest existence of all. Darkness was simply the absence of light, so Teclis told them, and so they must take their light to the very darkest corners of the Empire and the darkest corners of Humanity’s soul, and banish the shadows that dwelt there.
The Hierophants were to devote their lives to hunting down and casting out Daemons and evil spirits that plagued the lands and minds of men. They were not to follow the ways of Witch Hunters, slaying and burning all they found corrupted. Instead, the Hierophants were to destroy only the darkness within and save the man if possible.
Outside of their Order, the life of a Hierophant is a lonely one. They spend their lives travelling secretly from place to place, dealing with hauntings, possessions, and other supernatural phenomena caused by daemonic influence or Dark Magic. Because of the nature of their calling, the Hierophants often appear in places unexpectedly. If a possessing Daemon were aware of the Hierophant’s presence too soon, it could cause harm to its host and flee to a new one.
The goal of the White Order is to rid the world of the taint of Chaos, Daemons, and Dark Magic — a never ending, largely thankless, and frequently terminal task. It is rumoured creatures and objects the Hierophants cannot destroy or banish are instead bound and captured. The Hierophants then trap the dark objects in a magical prison somewhere in the Empire, to which only they are the keepers.
Philosophy of the Order
The Magisters of the Order of Light are the most accomplished and insightful philosophers in the Old World; it’s why they’re called the Order of the Wise.
The White Order also studies philosophies that examine the nature of reality, including the pursuit and understanding the principles, relations, and nature of existence. In other words, the Hierophants of the College of Light are also metaphysicians of the highest order, studying the interactions between the Aethyr and mortal thought, and they seek to understand the nature of sentient existence.
Duties & Contracts
The White Order is usually good standing at the courts of nobles who live along the northern border of the Empire. Such rulers often seek the council of Hierophants because the White Order’s wisdom and ability to see truth aids those who fear the contamination of Chaos, like the nobles of many of the Empire’s northern regions do.
The Order of Light receives large financial endowments from the Emperor, and it’s rumoured theirs is the largest granted to the Colleges of Magic or even the Engineers’ School. Some whisper this is because the Emperor knows the White Order’s darkest secret, and if this secret is if exposed or destroyed, it could prove the undoing of Altdorf and perhaps even the Empire itself. Few know the truth of this.
Because their ability to banish the powers of darkness is legendary, Hierophants are often employed by the Imperial armies that fight against followers of the Dark Gods. In addition, it is not uncommon for Hierophants to be asked to screen soldiers, militiamen, and sometimes even Witch Hunters who have had contact with the emissaries of darkness, to make sure none have been secretly harmed or corrupted by Daemons. In the wake of the recent war in the north, the Hierophants find themselves exceedingly busy with such tasks.
Famous Hierophants
- Verspasian Kant - Current Magister Patriarch.
- Volans - First Patriarch of the Order of Light.
- Egrimm van Horstmann, the Traitor - Previous Magister Patriarch, now a powerful Chaos Sorcerer in the service of Tzeentch.
Source
- Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd ED -- Realms of Sorcery (pg. 81-89).