THE FOUR MAIDENS
A Neutral Secret Society

espite its innocuous name, The Four Maidens is a powerful society of elementalists who operate in great secrecy in Mordent. For the most part, the Maidens resemble many wizardly organizations, being primarily concerned with the expansion of their members' knowledge and magical skill. It is the nature of the membership, however, that makes the Maidens unique. All of the Maidens are Mordentish noblewomen.

A combination of curiosity and boredom with courtly lifestyle has lured these women to the wizardly arts. In the ancient past of Mordent, six female elementalists, each hailing from a different noble family, swore an oath to perpetuate their knowledge and protect one anothers' interests. Unbeknownst to their fathers and husbands, the descendents of these women have gathered together for centuries to study elementalism, which they view as purer and more natural than "traditional" magic.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Maidens is open only to women born into one of six noble families in Mordent. The existance of the Maidens is highly secret, and thus prospective members do not seek them out. Rather, the oldest woman in a family—called the Matriarch—selects young women who exhibit high intelligence and a certain restlessness within the confines of courtly society. Thus, not all women in a family are necessarily members of the Maidens. For instance, the membership of one family might consist of two sisters, one of their daughters, and three of their great-granddaughters.

Each family has an elemental association which is their legacy. All women of a single family devote themselves to that element. This is done not so much out of any particular affinity, but rather as tradition. The Ballentraes are air elementalists, the Nettlehams are earth, the Weathermays and Somertons are fire, and the Andovers and Folkestones are water.

RECOGNITION

Maidens of the same family are a tightly-knit group, and all members know one another personally. To enable recognition of fellow Maidens from other families, however, all Maidens wear a silver ring on the middle finger of their left hand. This ring is usually of fine quality, and incorporates an infinity symbol in its design.

ACTIVITIES

The Maidens primarily concern themselves with activities typical of a wizardly college. The group acts as a self-contained way to teach young women the arts of magic and the supply them with resources for their continuing studies. As a whole, the Maidens are an inquisitive and creative lot, and are deeply occupied with the more dynamic aspects of magic, such as developing new spells, constructing magical items, and researching such esoteric topics such as magical and extrplanar theory. Their only true enemies are those who would try to put a stop to their studies, or anyone who wreaks havoc on their family lands.

The activities of the Andovers and the Somertons have become more sinister in recent years. These families have begun to secretly worship and serve elemental beings of great evil (Olhydra and Imix, respectively) in exchange for promises of power. The other families maintain an attitude of dark disapproval of these women's suspicious deeds. The Folkestones, however, have uncovered the true purpose of their rivals, the Andovers. Rather than reveal the Andovers' treachery, the Folkstones have taken a patron of their own: an arrogant but supposedly righteous being named Ben-Hadar, who claims to oppose Olhydra.

(For more information on the Elemental Princes of Good and Evil, see the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Volume III.)

HEADQUARTERS

Each family of the Maidens has a secret magical study of modest size located somewhere in its family estate. There, members can devote themselves to their studies while the other women of the house go about their weaving and gossip. The Weathermays are the wardens of the largest such study, and Maidens from other families often come to their estate to partake of the knowledge secreted away there. Once a month, on the night of the first lunar quarter, all six families gather formally at the Weathermay estate. The older women are accorded respect and given deference by younger members, regardless of family. At these meetings, most of the Maidens try to put aside their differences and discuss issues that affect their organization as a whole. Recently, however, the gatherings have increasingly devolved into bitter squabbles, mostly about the use of magical resources.