House Sivis: The Mark of Scribing

Members of the jury, the case before you is clear. This is no simple accident, no story of a merchant unwittingly purchasing faulty goods and passing them on. Benn Grennel performed the ritual that charged his tokens with an aura that could deceive simple divination, making the coins appear to be properly enchanted. But this isn’t a simple case of fraud, no. If Grennel’s tokens were supposed to protect the bearer from evil spirits or bad luck, we might just urge the buyer to beware. But Grennel was selling feather tokens, and now five people are dead. The defense may argue that ‘Sharn chicken’ is a dangerous pastime, that those who participate inherently accept risks. But this argument falls flat when it reaches those innocents killed and injured when the Telrin brothers fell from the sky. The Telrins may have been fools. But it was Benn Grennel who set these tragic events in motion when he chose to sell false feather tokens. The dead cry out for justice, members of the jury, and only you can see it done. 

For those who carry the Mark of Scribing, language is a dance. Whether spoken aloud or written on the page, there is a beauty to the way that words fit together. Every conversation is delightful, and there is joy to be found in simply writing a sentence. Consider the paths typically chosen by Sivis heirs. The barrister delights in crafting an argument, in finding the words that will see justice done. The translator takes the words that are keeping people apart and builds a bridge to bring them together. The stonekeeper sends words whistling across the world, carrying knowledge to people in distant cities. 

All Sivis heirs love language, but most have an innate affinity for either written or spoken words. Those who prefer speech love to be around other people, to have a chance to engage in conversation. There’s a popular stereotype of the Sivis heir who never stops talking, who feels a need to fill every moment of silence with new words, and this has some basis in reality. But there are also Sivis heirs who love to listen as well as speak; such an heir will happily sit in a crowded room and never say a word, enjoying the conversations of those around them. On the other hand, heirs who prefer the written word are often solitary, preferring the company of books and scrolls to people. Among these heirs, some love to read and delight in the endless knowledge waiting to be discovered. Others prefer to write, bringing new words into the world—whether creating stories to entertain, recording facts to enlighten, or working with numbers and balancing books. When making a Sivis character, consider where you fall on this spectrum. Are you a gnome who likes to talk to a gnome who likes to talk? Are you working on the great Khorvairian novel, or recording facts for the benefit of future generations? 

House Sivis is best known for facilitating communication. Speaking Stones are a crucial part of everyday life, playing a vital role in commerce, politics, and civilian life. But Sivis heirs do far more than just operate Speaking Stones. The arcane mark of a Sivis Notary is the standard for assuring the authenticity of a document. Sivis accountants count coins across Khorvaire. Sivis mediators and barristers settle disputes, whether through conversation or in court. And as bearers of the Mark of Scribing, House Sivis has long driven the publishing industry. If a business deals with words, there’s likely a Sivis heir tied to it somewhere. 

House Sivis helped establish the structure that most of the Dragonmarked Houses have adopted, the system of baron, viceroys, senseschals, and enclaves. For Sivis heirs, bureaucracy is a delightful puzzle to play with. Because of this, the structure of House Sivis is more complex than any other House. The Sivis guilds, families, and enclaves all have countless small positions and honors that can be easily gained or lost; competition over these titles is a delightful game. The exact rules of this game are hard for outsiders to follow, and it’s up to the DM and players to decide exactly what titles a Sivis adventurer is eligible for and what they must do to maintain them. Just keep in mind that every Sivis heir is part of a greater game, and know that the stonekeeper taking your message isn’t just a stonekeeper; that’s Lord Canto Corralyn d’Sivis, Second Stonekeeper of Ardev, Gilded Listener and Keeper of the Month for five months running. Lord Canto isn’t a Wordsmith yet, but he’s really trying to make fetch happen! 

As a House that regularly handles the secrets of others, it is vital for House Sivis to maintain its reputation for neutrality, integrity, and security. House Sivis doesn’t share the contents of the messages it sends. For a little extra gold, you can work with a stonekeeper trained to forget your message as soon as it’s been sent. Of course there’s conspiracy theories—House Sivis preserves every message ever sent! They can even spy on messages YOU send when you cast your own Sending spells! They’re just a front for the Trust—or, it’s the Trust that’s a front of House Sivis! But over a thousand years of service, House Sivis has managed to maintain the public’s confidence in the confidentiality of its services. There’s no proof that Sivis is tied to the Trust, but the house arm known as Oversight fills much the same role within the House itself. Oversight protects Sivis secrets from all threats, protecting the House from prying eyes and swiftly dealing with any Sivis heir who threatens the reputation of the House!

 Note: The version of the Mark of Scribing presented here differs from what will be presented in Forge of the Artificer. This is the version I am using in my campaign, but it is not official! My reasons for these changes are described later in this article. 

While this Dragonmark is called the Mark of Scribing, a more accurate term would be communication. Comprehend Languages is the most basic gift of the Dragonmark, and the one that is typically used during the Test of Siberys. Any bearer of the Mark of Scribing can cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual; given time, any word will surrender its meaning to a Sivis heir. 

Scribing is a key element of the Dragonmark. Everyone who carries the Mark of Scribing has the ability to inscribe a mystical sigil on any surface. This arcane mark is as unique as a fingerprint. The heir doesn’t choose the design of their arcane mark; they touch the surface and draw on the power of the Dragonmark, and their arcane sigil appears. House Sivis keeps a record of the arcane mark of every known heir, so documents can be tracked. After mastering their arcane mark, Sivis heirs learn who to imbue writing with arcane energy. The simplest trick is the explosive rune, an unstable glyph that immediately explodes in a burst of energy. By working more carefully, an heir can weave stable, safe illusions onto a page, creating Illusory Script. Those with a talent for this work become scroll scribes, crafting permanent Spell Scrolls. However, even those who can’t produce permanent scrolls can learn to temporarily bind magic to ink. Known as Tasker’s Swift Scribing, this gift allows a Sivis heir to jot down exactly the spell needed for a difficult situation. 

Beyond scribing, the Mark grants a range of powers associated with the spoken word. All those who carry the Mark of Scribing have the ability to cast their words onto the wind, sending a message to any location within ten miles. This is the fundamental principle harnessed by the Speaking Stone. The Stone allows messages to be sent much faster and farther, but it draws on that key power of Whispering Wind. This power played a crucial role in the Last War; while Speaking Stones aren’t extremely mobile, scouts accompanied by a Sivis heir could use Whispering Wind to report back to their commanders. Heirs with the Lesser Dragonmark gain the gift of Tongues; not only can they understand any language, they can speak to any creature. Silence reverses this, allowing a Sivis heir to prevent communication within their sphere of influence. And then there is the remarkable power of Command. When using this, a Sivis heir draws on their Dragonmark and speaks a single word—a word in a language that no one knows, yet everyone understands. Sivis scholars believe Command allows the caster to momentarily speak the language of the Progenitors themselves; it resonates on such a primal level that the creature targeted by the word is compelled to obey. 

The most dramatic powers of the Mark of Scribing go beyond mere words. Sending allows the caster to instantly transmit a message over any distance, while Telepathic Bond lets an heir forge a mental link between a group of individuals. Both of these gifts bypass language, allowing the recipients to directly understand meaning. Some Sivis heirs are able to reverse this, scrambling a creature’s internal communication and blocking their ability to understand their own thoughts; this manifests as Confusion. While Telepathic Bond is the power most often associated with the Greater Mark of Scribing, there have been a handful of individuals throughout the history of House Sivis who have instead learned how to communicate with others through the medium of dreams. Because of the rarity of this gift, it has never been incorporated into the services offered by the house, but Tasker’s Dream is always searching for heirs with this ability.  

Kanon vs Canon. In general I prefer to work with existing canon, but it’s important to me that the Dragonmarks feel consistent and support the role of the House within the world. House Sivis was built on two spells that don’t exist in Fifth Edition. Arcane Mark drove the idea of Sivis notaries, while Whispering Wind was the foundation for the Speaking Stones—with the idea that the Speaking Stone carries the message faster and farther, but it’s still working off the basic effect of Whispering Wind. Beyond this, the Mark of Scribing feat felt distinctly more limited than many others. Compare Scribing to Sentinel. Sentinel gets bonuses to Insight and Perception, two consistently useful skills; Scribing gets History and Caligraphy. Sentinel gets Shield, a spell that’s useful in almost every adventure; Scribing gets Comprehend Languages and Magic Mouth, again both very situational. So, looking at key changes…

• I’ve expanded Gifted Scribe to include Cartography and Forgery, and added Tool Proficiency with one of these. They’re all situational, and compared to Making having a bonus with ALL Artisan’s tools, it feels reasonable to me. 

• I replaced Message with Sivis Sigil. While I like Message, I feel that Arcane Mark is an iconic part of Sivis; and I added the Explosive Rune element to give it a little practical punch. 

• In the base feat, I replaced Magic Mouth with Whispering Wind, and replaced Animal Messenger with Magic Mouth on the Spells of the Mark list. Animal Messenger is something that makes sense for the Mark of HANDLING. Whispering Wind has specific elements that mirror its expansion by the Speaking Stone: a short message delivered to a particular location. This further means that with the base feat, any Sivis Heir can notarize (Sivis Sigil), translate (Comprehend Languages), or send a message over a distance (Whispering Wind). 

• In the Spells of the Mark, I replaced Arcane Eye with Lyrriman’s Swift Scribing. I don’t see what Arcane Eye has to do with words. Swift Scribing gives a Sivis heir a fun, versatile effect that is driven by the act of SCRIBING. It’s inspired by Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron and Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer. 

• Finally, I added the option of Telepathic Bond at 5th level, with the idea that it’s the standard gift of the Mark. Dream is interesting, but assigning it as the sole power of the Greater Mark is problematic on many levels. If Sivis had access to Dream as a standard ability of the Mark and had it for thousands of years, I’d expect it to play a major role in the House and in history, and we’d need to sort out how Sivis dreamshapers had interacted with the quori. I like it as a rare gift and interesting new development, but Telepathic Bond is a simpler spell that fits well with the other gifts of the Mark. 

FOCUS ITEMS

The Speaking Stone is to House Sivis what the Lightning Rail is to House Orien—a vital tool that drives the core business of the House. But Sivis has developed a number of tools associated with communication. A few examples…

• A Listening Stone appears to be a standard spellshard. However, when activated by a creature with the Mark of Scribing, it records conversations as words on the shard. When activating the shard, the user decides whether it will record all speech that originates within 10 feet of the stone, or just the speech of the creature holding the stone. 

• A Sivis Slate is a sheet of metal. If a creature uses a Lyrriman Quill or a Scribes Pen to write on the Slate and then places the Slate on a sheet of paper or similar material, they can take a magic action to duplicate the contents of the slate on the page below. They can also use a magic action to clear the current contents of the Slate. 

• A Wordbinder is a pillar of metal and engraved wood. When a Sivis Slate is placed on the Wordbinder, it can be used to transfer the contents to multiple pages simultaneously; this is the basis of Sivis printing.

• The Sharn enclave has been experimenting with Echoers. A central Singer works off the premise of Whispering Wind, but rather than directing sound to a single location, the Singer produces multiple gusts that deliver the sound to nearby Echoers, which serve as repeaters transmitting the sound to additional Echoers. In addition to drawing on the Mark of Scribing, the Singer relies on the manifest zone of Sharn to amplify the winds; currently the system is limited to the City of Towers.  

Here’s a few additional items. 

Lyrriman Quill

Wondrous Item, Uncommon 

If you possess the Mark of Scribing, you can use this pen to write on any surface; it draws vivid, purple-blue lines reminiscent of a Dragonmark. You decide whether the writing is visible or invisible, but any creature with the Mark of Scribing can always see the writing. Any creature with the Mark of Scribing can use a magic action to touch invisible writing created with a Lyrriman Quill and render it visible. If you use the quill to write on a living creature, the writing fades after 7 days. 

If you use a Lyrriman Quill while creating a Spell Scroll, the time required to create the Scroll is cut in half. 

Windcaster

Wondrous Item, Uncommon 

A Windcaster is an amulet that bears a small Siberys shard. When made, a Windcaster is bound to up to twelve Wind Stones, engraved stones the size of a chestnut. While a creature with the Mark of Scribing is wearing the Windcaster, they can take a magic action and speak a message of up to 25 words. Any creature carrying one of the linked Wind Stones can hear the message and immediately respond with a 25 word message of their own, which is heard only by the wearer of the Windcaster. A Windcaster has a maximum range of one mile. 

That's all for now! Thanks to Matthew Johnson for the seal of the Notaries Guild and to the Chronicle of Echoes for the concept of the Sivis Echoers!