It is lack of perspective not awe that makes me hesitant. We have so little information to work off that it is hard to be confident in any judgment. Thus any judgments we make would have to me so extremely provisional as to be near worthless.
It is my opinion extraordinarily presumptuous to judge the Archmage, much less claim to know his motives. We don't know that much in character or out about him and the environment he is working in. Although apparently most of my fellow voters disagree.
To be fair, something like 90% of the archmage's current screen time has been him being awful. I will say that he does have at least one redeeming quality however. And as for the environment he's working in... Well, I'll grant you that it's hard not to be evil when you're powerful in Diadem. The city council doesn't like do gooders hanging around.
Actually, on the topic, let's do some random common knowledge exposition on the city council.
The Chairman: No one has ever seen him. Or her. Or it. No one even knows for sure that the entity that either is referred to as or refers to itself as the Chairman exists. What can be said is that the Chairman's word is absolute, even to the other members of the city council. No one disobeys the Chairman, and if the Chairman wills that something be done it is done.
The Black Dragon of Wealth, Diana: Treasurer Most High of the City Council. An ancient black dragon, she's been around since long before Diadem was even an idea. It's said that her hoard contains so much wealth she could buy out half the kingdoms in the world, and she's known to have gone to incredible lengths to acquire unique treasures that interest her. Despite her age and the vast hoard of powerful artifacts she possesses, it's always been whispered even among the common people of Diadem that she's a terrible coward. Never seen in public without her bodyguard Viola. She exerts considerable influence on the markets and trade in Diadem and any exchange of goods carries a tax that goes directly to her hoard.
The Archmage of the College of Jewels: To the average citizen of Diadem he's essentially a nonentity. He does not effect public policy, and will rubber stamp any other council member's proposal so long as they leave him to run his college and study magic. To someone like Saphira, who seeks to learn magic, his writings and research are almost unavoidable. It's said in Diadem at least that he's possibly the greatest mage to have ever lived, and outside of Diadem, there's only one other person in the world who could be compared. Of course, the Archmage has banned all of his research from the city, so whether or not Colm of the Solemn Vale is truly his equal is beyond Saphira's knowledge. Though influence from the rest of the city council is impossible to avoid in it's entirety, he spends political capital and his own power like water to keep the college his own personal fiefdom.
Morgan Blackreach: Current head of the Blackreach family, which has been a part of Diadem since it's founding. He is old (decrepit, his detractors would say) now, and it is rumored that he may soon retire and cede his place on the city council to his eldest son Marcus Blackreach. In his younger years he was often absent from the city seeking out rumors of fallen
Glory but eventually gave up his quest to find the once goddess, and is considered by the citizens of Diadem to be the ideal city council member. I.E. He really doesn't see the point in oppressing random peasants and mostly just carries on his business of being rich and powerful and staying that way. There was a cloud of rumors about what caused him to give up his quest for
Glory seventy years ago when he returned to the city for good, most centered around the timing of his return, being just after the
Listener's almost conquest of the city, but that's all ancient history now.
Astrea: She is the one in charge of law and order in Diadem. It's said that she takes the letter of the law extremely seriously, and many common citizens of the city view her as something of a hero; she has been known to often publicly make examples of lawkeepers who break the law themselves or take liberties with the common citizens. It is even rumored that she regularly patrols the city herself in disguise, always with a pen and notebook in her hand, noting down violations and breaches of the law to be dealt with at a later date. Beyond being in charge of the lawkeepers, she is also the leader of the disciplinary committee of the city council, where she deals with the few occasions when nobles and even once every blue moon a council member over steps their bounds. In this role she answers only to the chairman and her verdict can only be countermanded by a direct pardon from him.
Annnnnnd this is getting somewhat long. I'll cut it off here, but I might do some more of these random common knowledge write-ups with more council members and random other Diadem things.
