Architects of the Future

The Architects of the Future- sometimes also called Spiders- are a Legacy from the Seers of the Throne or the Acanthus, dedicated to the exploration of time in order to shape the future. The goals of these mages are two-fold. They seek to examine the details of the future and then to prune it like a bonsai. Their goal is to allow only those events to occur that further their particular aims. In addition to shaping the future to meet their needs, the Architects also attempt to quest deep into Astral Space, exploring the edges of the Anima Mundi for clues as to the wishes, desires, and ultimately the nature of the Exarchs. They then incorporate any insights they gain about the Exarchs into their plan for the future. They deal heavily with Time.

History
The Spiders were founded in Florence in the late 15th century, when travelers brought back many previously lost or unknown texts from the Middle and Far East. A few of these seemingly mundane texts were actually long-lost grimoires that the founders of this Legacy used as the inspiration and basis for its Attainments. When it first began, the Architects were exclusively focused on learning to shape the future in a precise and exacting fashion so as to advance their founders' agenda. The Legacy was crafted so as to provide members with both the knowledge and understanding needed to examine the future and discern the actions needed to obtain their desires. Short time later, the Legacy was restructured to divine the plans of the Exarchs in order to bring their wished agency into being.

Several of the founding Architects believed that the best way to contact the Exarchs was to explore the further reaches of the Astral Space. To enable them to more effectively accomplish this, they forged a path to the Omphalos of the Anima Mundi that was only open to other Architects. From here, they could explore out to the furthest edges of the Anima Mundi, looking for clues and hints as to the Exarchs' plans and desires. Definitive answers are effectively impossible when exploring the Astral Realms, and Architects frequently argue about the nature and meaning of any discoveries one of their number makes when exploring the furthest depths of the Anima Mundi. However, they still treat these experiences are worthy of consideration and all Architects take an oath to record all of their journeys into the Astral Realm. In order to keep clean records, the Architects maintain expansive libraries about every divination of the future and every travel into the Anima Mundi.

Among the Seers, the Architects are one of the most strictly and tightly controlled organizations. Only the most powerful members gain the knowledge and insight needed to divine the pattern of the future, create the plans needed to change it or to attempt to learn the Exarchs' desires. Less powerful and experienced members learn how to vastly increase their effectiveness in performing various tasks, but gain no special insights into how best to apply their efforts. Members begin as agents or foot soldiers and work their way to becoming leaders and planners.