The Association of Historicals, Scribes and Explorers
It was only following continual discoveries of unknown and eminently powerful Legacy technology that the people of the Empire began to realise the importance of writing down what was discovered, so that future generations would understand the discoveries made by those who were currently seeking knowledge and deciphering the ways of the Forerunners. The Association consists of those who wish to explore and record both these histories and the ongoing history of the Empire itself and to discover further technologies. Most noble Houses provide a basic education in such arts, but for further study and to undertake research and explorative jobs in the field, the Association provides several academies and bases.
One of the most significant discoveries in recent memory occurred in 558EY, when a large earthquake shook the southern hemisphere of Sala, a farming planet of House Machello. The tremors were certainly detrimental to the crops that year, but also a large crater was discovered under a mountain in the obscure district of Kino. Painstaking excavations by Explorers specialising in architecture uncovered thousands upon thousands of the crystals, which are known to be necessary for the smooth running of Legacy technology of all kinds. Many shapes and sizes were discovered, including those large enough for use in ships, but the majority seemed to have been damaged in the earthquake which uncovered this collection.
The current Grand Library is being copied by hundreds of trainee Scribes and stored in weather proof vaults. Crystals can be broken or fail and it is not know why or how this happens in some cases as they still appear to be perfectly formed. Work is still going on today to investigate which of the myriad of crystals have been left unharmed.
Around the time of the Hollann war, a number of important discoveries were made and new techniques developed by members of the Association. As a result great breakthroughs were finally made in deciphering the Forerunnner script, and much of the language itself. This allowed the Historicals to begin the unlocking of the secrets of the Forerunners.
However, this breakthrough proved to be a mixed blessing. While obviously a giant leap for the understanding of ancient history, it brought more attention from other organisations and the noble Houses. While normally this would be welcome, the politics were complicated. In particular the newly founded Sentinels of the Veils were concerned that access to the knowledge of the Forerunners should be tightly controlled and that the Association, as a unregulated collection of private individuals, could not be trusted to safely handle such knowledge. Whilst serious scholars devoted themselves to the mammoth task of translating the records in Sala's crystal library, a legal maelstrom was developing over the exact rights of the society. With the inopportune death of their long standing leader Larden Zemkiss Truniss, the Historicals entered a period of confusion.
The Cult of Ascension, led by Darval Truniss had taken an early lead in uncovering the mysteries of the Forerunners. However, the cult’s tenet of shunning technology proved a political challenge. With the Technologists being incorporated into the noble Houses, the conflict became even more pronounced. Few Houses were eager to risk alienating their Technologists by encouraging the Cult's activities (House Truniss itself being the notable exception). Nonetheless the so-called 'History at Home' program brought a great many commmoners to the project, across scores of Imperial planets.
Making sense of the crystal libraries has proved to be a huge undertaking, and after the initial enthusiasm of the first few decades, in which previously unimaginable strides were made, the effort has bogged down in the challenges of translating the technical language of the Forerunners. Some scholars who have tired of the endeavour have gone so far as to claim that 'the true language of the Forerunner's is already understood. All that remains is jargon.'
In recent years the political sway of the Sentinels has diminished significantly, and the Association enjoyed something of a resurgence. The new Holy Grail of the society is a crystal explaining the basic principles of Forerunner Science, for to study and translate such a work would ensure fame and honour everlasting.
Members
The Association has a board of directors who allocate funds and organise training in the three separate arts. These are sufficiently disparate disciplines that the members of each speciality may never interact, although they do become less discrete at higher levels.
All members of the board of directors are Masters of their art. Each Aspect of the Association ranks their members similarly, these ranks being; Scholar, Journeyman, Provost and Master (in system terms these correspond to ranks 1-4 in the skill Influence)
The three Aspects of the Association include:
Scribes - who have training in scripture and Law. They are given the task of recording events, both of the forerunners, as the Explorers and Historicals discover it, and of the current affairs of the Empire. All Houses have several official Scribes who track their histories. Scribes may, once qualified, oversee the oaths given between citizens. (Not PC playable)
Explorers - who brave new and unfamiliar territories in search of technologies and evidence of the Forerunners which has yet to be recovered, such as their old cities and other settlements and artifacts. This is a fine profession for any up and coming noble, to continue in the tradition of the founders of the Empire.
Historicals - who are patient and methodical in decoding the information left to us. Although much of the effort of this branch is now taken up by deciphering the information left by the Forerunners, the sheer scale of this task has led some to once again concentrate on the traditional study of artefacts and discussion of history.