The Philosophes

The Philosophes (formerly The Cavaliers) were a powerful fraternal organization based in Paris, France. It was originally founded as the personal bodyguard force of Cardinal Richelieu, but after 1632 their role expanded to achieving Transcendence by utilizing the mechanism of the state. Along with The Lords Of The Silver Twilight, Zweihander, and The Golden Cockerels.

The Day Of Dupes
In the year 1630, Cardinal Richelieu was on the ropes. In November of they ear he had been accosted before the court of King Louis XIII, his lord, by The Queen Mother, Marie de Medici. In a vicious, stormy attack on Richelieu's character, Marie called for the cardinal's dismissal, demanding that he choose between him and her. While no immediate decision regarding The Cardinal was made at this conference, it was clear that Richelieu's career was in immediate jeopardy, and that if he didn't find a quick solution, his influence within the royal court would be liquidated.

Being something of an amateur magician, Richelieu was well-acquainted with and well respected among the magicians of Paris. Immediately after leaving the Luxembourg Palace, Richelieu fled to the home of Hugh Carre, acknowledged by most at the time to be the most powerful and sophisticated magician in France, a country known for its magicians. The two of them quickly put together a ragtag team of Paris's finest magical talent and stormed the king's hunting lodge in Versailles, where he had retired for the day. The team killed the king's bodyguards and forced him to make an assurance of his continued support for the cardinal, as well as the exile of Marie. The day had been won for Richelieu but his confidence in his position never remained the same.

Foundation of The Cavaliers
After The Day of Dupes, Cardinal Richelieu's paranoia grew daily. He feared the king, he feared the government, he feared that all of France was against him. As a result, he never really disbanded the group founded by Carre. Instead, he would continue to use them as his personal bodyguard, giving them increasing power and influence in the city of Paris. This group of magicians working in the service of Richelieu came to be known as The Cavaliers.

Yet it might be more accurate after a point to say that Richelieu was working in service of The Cavaliers. Their unique position as the protectors of Richelieu's position gave them an ever-increasing amount of influence themselves. Carre, using his newfound influence, created a network of influence for himself using Richelieu's connections. Within a few years, his power eclipsed that of Richelieu himself, whose distrust and paranoia plunged him further and further into irrelevance. While Richelieu continued to be an important face in French politics, real power lay with The Cavaliers.

The Dream of Nyarlathotep
In the year 1632, the Outer God Nyarlathotep visited four people separately in a dream. These four: Carl Stanford of England, Hugh Carre of France, Johann Reuchlinn of Germany, and Valerian Malinin of Russia were among the most powerful magicians in Europe at the time. In this dream, Nyarlathotep showed the four a vision of the dark star Ghroth. Ghroth, Nyarlathotep foretold, would arrive on earth in about four-hundred years time, awakening the Great Old Ones slumbering on the earth. Unless humanity transcended, Nyarlathotep posited, they would be wiped out. Nyarlathotep then told the four magicians of a means to Transcend. First, they must find the Spell of Transcendence, an ancient Hyperborean spell that would allow the user to Transcend. Second, significant blood sacrifices would have to be made. Thousands of people would have to be sacrificed to the Outer Gods for the spell to work, their souls harvested immediately after death and stored inside great magical artifacts to be used when it was time to perform the Rite of Transcendence. The four magicians vowed to seek out the tablets, no matter what the cost.

The Philosophe Charter
Carre awoke and immediately began work on reconstituting The Cavaliers towards achieving Transcendence. To this end he renamed the group, calling them "The Philosophes" (French for 'Philosopher'). He drew up a charter for the new organization, which divided the organization into four branches for research, exploration, defense, and statecraft. These four branches would meet every year for a 'dialoge,' where the leaders would meet a reconstitute their means towards Transcendence. The original members of The Cavaliers continued to exist as an elite section of the defense branch of The Philosophes.

Also of interest with regards to The Philosophes was their method of expansion, which was more informal than regimented. The Philosophes would establish clubs and salons throughout the nation, each one having representation at the dialoges. The system proved wildly popular and spread quickly throughout France. As a result, The Philosophes appreciated huge support both among the nobility and among other educated individuals throughout France.

Mazarin and The Frondes
Initially after the ascendancy of Louis XIV, The Philosophes were able to retain power through Cardinal Mazarin, as they had previously through Cardinal Richelieu. Mazarin was the key member of the young king's regency council and helped to control matters of state for young Louis for many years. During this time, The Philosophes worked hard to destroy their opposition, the most important of these being the Fronde, in which Philosophe-loyalist fought a coalition of forces controlled by anti-Philosophe interests. The rebellion was crushed, but with the indirect effect of raising the king's authority over the nobility. This would come back to bite them in ensuing years.

The new king, throughout these events, became conscious of his key role in what was happening and began taking steps to consolidate his rule. This increased consciousness began when an attempt on his life was made after Mazarin's attempt to levy taxes against the Parlement. After this he began to rebel against The Philosophes, distancing himself from Mazarin and arresting certain Salon leaders as political dissidents, though he never went so far as to ban Salons entirely.

A second Fronde was initiated by The Philosophes to overthrow the king, who they viewed as out of line. However, this Fronde was crushed too. While the involvement of The Philosophe's leadership was covered up, this event further hardened Louis's resolve to oppose The Philosophes.

Attack on Dialoge XXIX
After Mazarin's death in 1661, King Louis assumed complete control of the state apparatus, keeping The Philosophe-controlled nobility first by rejecting rule alongside a chief minister and second by indicating that all members of the nobility were to report to him daily. After members of The Philosophes, including Carre protested, the king had them ejected from the room. An emergency Dialoge was called with regards to the king's "tyrannical" actions. This Dialoge, the first of the year, would be known as Dialoge XXIX.

This conference was stormed by members of the army loyal to King Louis. Taken by surprise, the Cavaliers were unable to put up an effective resistance, and many of their number were either killed or arrested. This represented a turning point in Philosophe relations with royalty, as they grew increasingly distrustful of the king. Subsequent confrontations with The Philosophes ensured their continued existence throughout France; the nature of their command structure and the Salons made them difficult to root out entirely, but they would never have the king's ear to the same degree as before the death of Mazarin.

Remainder of Louis's Reign
For the remainder of Louis's reign, The Philosophes kept a low profile, acting on the edges of government, preparing for the time when they would rise again. They expanded the Cavaliers to more then double their original numbers, drawing from magical talent throughout France and her colonies. While the Salons of Paris fell into disrepair, Salons in Orleans, Marseilles, Nice, and Nantes were expanded despite interference by the king.

Return to Paris
After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the Philosophes were primed to take advantage of the newly crowned king. The young Louis XV turned out to be the perfect tool for Zweihander to achieve its aims. Described as a "perpetual adolescent called to do a man's job." While Louis XIV attempted to check Philosophe influence on the young Louis XV by installing a number of anti-Philosophe agents onto the regency council that led the country during Louis XV's youth, the Philosophes were able to easily worm their way into the young Louis's mind.

As a result, the Philosophes were able to worm their way back into Paris, re-establishing salons that had previously been destroyed under the reign of Louis XIV. These salons became important centers, not just for political power but also for art and culture, all of which developed under the engineering of The Philosophes, who hoped that control over France's art might grant them greater control over its people.. The most influential of the Philosophes in engineering this triumphant return to Paris was Jeanne-Antionette Poisson, known also as the Marquise de Pompadour. Daughter of a powerful family of Paris financiers and the mistress of Louis XV, she was instrumental in the connection of the newly reformed Paris salons to the state.

Expansion Into Germany
Meanwhile, events in the German state of Prussia were conspiring to make the Philosophes even more powerful.