The Order of the Stone

The Order of the Stone was an organisation that preceded the Zodiac Society in the Empire as the governing body for magicians and magical practice. It was widely considered to be corrupt and fell from power in the 1600s in a bloody revolution. In fact, it is considered one of the leading causes for the fall of the monarchy at that time. The Order of the Stone was made up of twelve (or more) powerful families, called Houses, which took their names from birthstones. They were: The most powerful family in the Order at the time of its fall was House Ruby, and its members were massacred at their estate in Alba. Most of other members of the Order fled to the four corners of the Earth, like House Garnet, though some remained, like House Opal. John Opal is a descendant of House Opal through his mother.
 * 1) House Garnet
 * 2) House Amethyst
 * 3) House Pearl
 * 4) House Diamond
 * 5) House Emerald
 * 6) House Turquoise
 * 7) House Sapphire
 * 8) House Carnelian
 * 9) House Peridot
 * 10) House Opal
 * 11) House Topaz
 * 12) House Ruby

The members of Order of the Stone were diverse and egalitarian, formed as it was of found families. This proved to be the source of their downfall, however, as their enemies sought to assert themselves under more homogeneous identity. In the aftermath of their fall, they were labelled wicked and corrupt, with a long list of crimes that could be traced to House Ruby and its aether magicians. This directly led to the subsequent persecution of the aether magicians and the repression and murder of the enslaved magicians in the colonies.

It was long believed that the Order of the Stone held on to power for centuries due to their possession of five magical treasures: The Book of Earth, the Dagger of Air, the Water Mirror, the Fire Staff and the Philosopher's Stone. The only source of information for the existence of these objects is an old legend, in the style of those of cities of gold and fountains that kept one eternally young. As the Empire seeks to reassert themselves as a force in the world, ruling trade and enlightenment and war, the old legend is given a second look, which eventually leads to the event of the novels.