The Aerial Wardens

The Aerial Wardens were formally recognized after the First Updraft Collapse of 812 TF, when an expanding air rift swallowed two canyon monasteries and changed local weather for an entire generation. For their first century, they operated as a loose fraternity of observatory monks, repairing ancient instruments and warning settlements of dangerous currents. In 947 TF, they completed the first Atmospheric Array, allowing them to predict minor rift flares days in advance. Their greatest triumph came in 1031 TF, when seven stations coordinated a synchronized sealing ritual that closed the Maw of Qasr, a planar tear large enough to draw entire caravans into the upper sky. The victory made them a respected regional power. Their defining setback arrived in 1188 TF, when the Hushed Meridian Observatory stopped transmitting. A recovery team found the station intact, its instruments functioning, and every living Warden missing. The official report blamed an elemental surge, but the surviving telemetry contained a deliberate sequence of numbers that still appears in current readings. Since then, the order has become more austere, more secretive, and increasingly divided over whether the rifts are wounds to be healed or doors that must be understood before they are closed.