Many years ago, while the Last War raged on, a revolution of sorts took place quietly behind the closed borders of Zilargo. For years, gnome spellcasters of all sorts believed that elementals were merely manifestations of the raw elements of which they were composed. Certainly they had languages and exhibited behaviors that indicated some amount of intelligence, but most thought the creatures were mindless drones capable only of receiving orders or serving in some other capability. Only after researchers had observed the creatures on their native planes directly did anyone suspect that elementals were as sentient as any human. None of Zilargo’s casters dared suggest that their exploitation of elementals cease, however, but one wizard made a daring suggestion.
This wizard, a gnome named Harkra Loivaerl Lonadar, felt that more could be accomplished with the art of elemental binding by negotiating with the elementals. Her theories, which began to gain strength only toward the end of the Last War, were not popular.
Most of the nation’s spellcasters and elemental experts felt that the system in place was fine. They saw no need to tamper with something that worked, and especially felt no compassion for the creatures they were binding to service in their airships and weapons. Harkra managed to convince a small coalition of merchants in positions of influence within Zilargo that her ideas had merit, however, and the Power of Purity was founded.
The Power of Purity in the World
“You attract more flame with tinder than ash.” —Power of Purity saying
The group exists today as part of the elemental binding industry in Zilargo. The initial skepticism of their ideas has since been overcome by their results. In 991 YK, an elite group within the faction, called the Inmost, was founded by Harkra Loivaerl Lonadar, who had grown tired of the increasing bureaucracy required for running a rapidly growing business, which is what the Power of Purity had become. Harkra gave up control of the larger organization’s interests to more fully dedicate herself to her ideas on binding research. The Inmost is primarily composed of elemental scions (see the elemental scion of Zilargo prestige class, page 68) and other eccentric individuals. Combined with the knowledge of the Power of Purity, which includes some of the foremost experts on elemental binding in all Khorvaire, the Inmost’s members have made the organization quite powerful. These individuals act as agents, guards, and even repositories of elemental knowledge. Many elemental savants (a prestige class found in the Complete Arcane supplement) also number among both the Power of Purity and the Inmost, and the group has gradually become responsible for filling a large number of Zilargo’s elemental vessel contracts.
Power of Purity Lore Characters with Knowledge (history) can research the Power of Purity organization to learn more about it. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs.
DC 15: The Power of Purity has two basic goals: to more fully understand elementals and their power, and make that power their own.
DC 20: The Power of Purity believes that it will find more success in dealing with elementals through parley than through brute force. It frequently negotiates with the elementals it binds into vessels and other items before the binding process begins, gaining permission, or at least acceptance, from the creatures.
DC 25: Some say that some members of the Power of Purity bind elementals to more than items—they bind elementals, or parts of them, to their own flesh.
The Power of Purity in the Game
The Power of Purity’s goals make an interesting foil to the traditional role of good and evil in the game, and NPC “purists” can add color and interest to what could otherwise be uninteresting encounters.
Purists who take too much interest in PCs who call or bind elementals might even attempt to interfere with the party’s goals, perhaps going so far as to kidnap a “guilty” party member and keep him or her captive in a Power of Purity research facility.