Organization
The Silver are a group of magimystical individuals who, by following the eponymous Path of Silver, were able to discover magiq.
Description
The general history of the Silver was discussed by Sullivan Green in his entry “The Incomplete Mundane History of Neithernor.” The Silver first came from the court of Anne of Brittany, who had a secret court guild of artisans. When she passed away, her body, entrails, and heart were wrapped in the silk, metallic thread, and wool of the eighth Unicorn Tapestry. Anne’s body was wrapped in a shroud made from the silk thread of the tapestry. Her entrails were buried in a bed of the tapestry’s wool, and a gold reliquary was forged for her heart, which rested inside, protected by a veil of silver. The tapestry’s materials rested with Anne until sometime in the late 17th century, when they were stolen by the Silver, who were amassing enchanted works of art.
After Anne of Britanny’s death, the court artisans split into two different groups, each searching for illumination, beauty, and magiq in their own ways. These two groups created two trails of clues, built so they could be found by anybody with a strong-enough desire to find them. These two paths were the Path of Silver and the Path of Wool. The people who followed these roads were known as the Silver and the Wool (also known as the Monarchs).
After the split, the Wool discovered a small but verdant place connected to the mundane world through secret entrances, but wholly hidden from most. Many Monarchs lived normal lives in the mundane, then secreted away to rule and explore their hidden kingdom. This place was called Neithernor. Meanwhile, the Silver also discovered the existence of Neithernor and became desperate to share in its wealth. The Wool allowed them entry. The Silver chose a remote place to call home within Neithernor and kept to themselves, as was the agreement. There was peace for an untold time. But then, something unknown happened, pitting the Wool against the Silver. It escalated into “The War of Neithernor.” Many were lost, but the Wool drove the Silver out of the land and barred all entrance back. The Silver scrounged for power in the mundane world, trying to use everything they had to get back in, to no avail.
Years later, The Council of the 18 Gates sent The Book of Briars to the Wool, and the Silver scrambled to take it from them. They had grown strong in their own secret place in the mundane, using what they learned from Neithernor and gathering artifacts and objects from the old time. They had also created the Storm. Once they realized the Book was not for them, they sent the Storm, and in doing so all but wiped away any memory the Wool had of Neithernor. Aside from the Silver, and a few whispers and stories, Neithernor was forgotten again. The paths fell into ruin.
Since the dawn of the modern age, the Silver has fiercely defended all knowledge of magiq, while amassing a horde of magical objects in the Palace of Doors. Using the Storm, the Silver was able to displace those who knew of magiq, trading them for useful magical objects, as well as erasing and manipulating the minds of whomever they wished. The Silver was barred from one place, however—Central Park in New York City. Central Park allowed Sullivan and The Council of the 18 Gates to grow their power and prepare to take on the Silver.
History
The Silver, like The Wool, emerged out of the craftsmen who lived and worked in Anne of Brittany’s court. At some point, they reached a state of intense disagreement with The Wool. The events of the next several centuries are currently shrouded in mystery.
By Sullivan Green’s time, The Wool and The Silver were considered to be the two viable paths for discovering the truth of how magiq was lost to the world. However, Sullivan was dissatisfied with both of these options and decided to form his own path.
The Silver was first mentioned by Reader, after the Devoted had been infiltrated by the Silver. According to Reader, the group had spread through the Devoted like a virus, and its leader, Sacha, felt like she was being controlled by someone else. Later in Fragment Four, in Brandon Lachmann’s farewell message, he mentioned that a darker storms were coming for the books. After Fragment Two, Ascender went to visit Augernon and learned of the Storm’s existence. He then went off to warn Mountaineers of “a machine [that] churns in the dark places of the world. Growing in size and power. An old machine that wants to separate us. Crush us.”
In Phase Three, the Mountaineers were again warned of the Storm, the Silver’s lapdog, by Aether, who said “there’s a storm coming” in his first livestream. When Martin Rank went to visit Augernon at the Go-Getters mental health clinic, Augernon warned him of the storm that had come for the '94 Mountaineers, and that the same thing would eventually happen to the current generation of Mountaineers.
Mountaineers first encountered the Silver through the Storm in Fragment Twelve, when it cut off Aether’s livestream. While in the process of assaulting Kemetic Solutions, it left a message mocking the Mountaineers and claimed it would soon destroy the Council of the 18 Gates, banishing them to the Fray. As a result of the encounter, the Book of Briars was badly burnt.
During Phase Four, the Mountaineers were able to connect to the past, where they learned what happened to the '94 Mountaineers after the Silver sent the Storm to destroy them. It was revealed that the Storm could travel through technology, like computers and telephones, capturing Mountaineers en masse if they were connected to each other. In addition, the Mountaineers who were captured by the Storm became stuck in a zombie-like state, their bodies being used by the Storm. In Fragment Fifteen, when Martin Rank went to interview Theodore Fallon, he learned that the Silver was collecting adepts and feeding them to the Storm, their abilities becoming consumed as well. Nate Fallon was one of these adepts, and after he was consumed by the Storm, they told him stories so that he would use his abilities of time displacement to recover magical artifacts. Teddy seemed remorseful of his work at Kemetic Solutions, telling Martin Rank that “they are so far beyond your comprehension, Martin. This world is theirs. You work alongside them or…[else].”
On The Day of Change, the Mountaineers attempted to use the Storm to bring the 1998 Book of Briars to the present, in exchange for the Little Red House. The Mountaineers were successful, and briefly commandeered the Storm, but the Silver soon realized what they were doing and killed Nate, the portion of the Storm they were speaking to. The Silver regained control of the Storm, but Deirdre Green was able to strike it down with Gladitor, the sword from The Myth of Elainnor.
After the Book of Briars was opened, Martin checked in with the Mountaineers in a post titled “A Quick Check-In,” pondering “what happens when someone breaks an all-powerful shadow-society’s favorite toy.” He feared that the Silver would eventually attempt to retaliate against the Mountaineers.
The Churning Storm
The Silver has long exerted a great deal of control over The Churning Storm, and it is assumed that they might have created it.