Knowers
| Type | Order of scholars |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Galecrest Library |
| Notable members | Seely, expelled |
| First appearance | Sacred: Eslura's Calling |
The Knowers are an order of scholars seated in Galecrest, which is known as Eslura's "capitol of knowledge". They keep safe many of the secrets of Eslura and are said to hold a special, god-like power to collect and retain information.[1] Seely, expelled from the order over research it would not sanction, is the only Knower named.
The order
Knowers spend their lives studying inside Galecrest, among the rows and rows of books in its most famed library.[1] It is rare to find a Knower anywhere else, and rarer still for one to be released from their duties.[1] When Seely slips away from a crowded table, Beatrice Tidal presumes he has headed back to the Galecrest Library, where he once worked as a formal Knower.[2]
Outside the library they are not universally admired. Tabitha Glowdish calls them incredibly annoying, and Aero Ellisvat, surrounded by his own books, says plainly that the Knower lifestyle is not for him.[3]
Seely refers to himself throughout in the third person, as "a Knower of Many Things" and "an asker of many questions", and waves away any more formal address.[4] Whether that habit belongs to the order or to Seely alone is not established.
Expulsion
Seely was forced out of his position at Galecrest for seeking out information that Eslura would rather keep quiet, on the reasoning that Eslura could not risk her people discovering such knowledge.[4] Nordwelg refers to it bluntly as having been expelled from the Knowers, and treats it as common knowledge.[5]
The knowledge in question concerns the Olphins. Seely could not believe that a people so peaceful and so gentle had turned to hatred and greed of their own accord, so he set out to find what had happened to them.[4] In exile at Treenode he got further than he ever would have at Galecrest.[4]
The Olphin research
Seely learned of the Olphin Stones and held one of the pair until a purple-finned Olphin broke into his home, put a blade to his throat and took it, leaving him a faint scar on the neck.[4] He had heard tales of the people of Veskadoth contacting their god Nelazgus and channelling his power through objects, and he wrote to Pemadee of Ovallia, with whom he had been researching for many moons.[4]
When Barnaby Britto brings him the other of the pair, Seely demonstrates on Barnaby himself: he rubs the stone until it glows, and Barnaby stands blank and obedient, fetching a candy on command and remembering nothing afterwards.[4] Seely's conclusion is that Obellius Kalaar struck a deal with Nelazgus, as others of his kind had before him, and so obtained the power to control the Olphins.[4] Asked outright by Alpin Loomin whether that means the Olphins were innocent, he agrees that it does.[4]
He later argues that a second piece of the stone exists which would restrain its power and free the Olphins of their ailment, and urges the party to find the Olphin who robbed him and recover it.[5] He intended all along to lay the theory before the Sacred Rulers.[4]
Known members
- Seely, expelled
Behind the scenes
Chapter 17 of Sacred: Eslura's Calling is titled "A Knower of Many Things".