Watchers of Brân
The Watchers of Brân, or simply "The Watchers," is an ancient organization of British magicians and their allies, dedicated to preserving and protecting the mystical well-being of Britain. This entails, among other things, preserving the supernatural (Magical and Faerie) places in Britain and guarding against supernatural threats from overseas.
History and Purpose
The Watchers are named for Brân the Blessed, a legendary giant, wizard, and king who fought against Irish invaders. After Brân was mortally wounded, his head remained alive and talking. It was cut off and buried under a hill near London. According to legend, Britain would be safe from invasion as long as Brân's head watched to the south.
Something must have happened to move Brân's head, because since ancient days, Britain has been successfully invaded first by the Romans, then the Angles and Saxons, then the Danes, then Davnalleous and finally the Normans. Because the magical protection of Brân's head is obviously no longer functioning, the Watchers of Brân were organized at some time, probably during the Anglo-Saxon invasions, to protect Britain instead.
The Watchers are well aware that they have several times fallen short of their mandate to prevent invasion.
Current Members
Most of the Watchers are magicians and their allies. There are at least a dozen magi, most of whom belong to House Ex Miscellanea. The Watchers also include hedge wizards too weak to join the Order, and even some mundanes, including a Cistercian monastery and a Welsh clan chief.
The Watchers include many experts in divination. They also have a good communication network. They are a secret organization, so no one knows who all the members are. The most powerful members of the group have the most knowledge about its members and activities.
The Watchers and Stranggore
There is considerable overlap between the mission of the Watchers and the mission of the covenant of Stranggore. Long ago, all the magi of Stranggore were official members of the Watchers, but when the covenant went into decline after the Norman invasion, its ties to the Watchers weakened. Argus apparently joined the Watchers first and came to Stranggore because of its association with the society.
The following members (and former members) of Stranggore also belong to the Watchers: