History

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

— The Bible, Genesis 2:8

In Mythic Europe, scholars trace the origins of humanity to the Middle East and to the final acts of creation undertaken by God, when Adam and Eve were created to tend the Garden of Eden at the junction of the Pison, Gihon, Euphrates, and Hiddekkel (or Tigris) rivers. They ate of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge and were driven from the garden. Worse was to follow, with the casting-down of the Tower of Babel and eventually the Great Flood, which destroyed almost all of humanity.

13th-century sahirs believe their powers originated in the marvels wielded by Solomon (Suleiman), King of Israel, prophet, and builder of the first temple in Jerusalem. It is said he commanded hosts of jinn and other spirits, could speak with animals and the elements, and possessed magical devices that focused his power over the supernatural world. Among sahirs, tradition holds that the great king learned many of these secrets from a mysterious sage known as Al-Khidr ("The Green Man"), a legendary figure who, according to the Qur'an, taught Moses, traveled with Alexander the Great, and attained immortality by drinking from the Water of Life.

In the years after Solomon many claimed to possess his powers, and some could indeed summon up spirits and speak with beasts as he was said to have done. The Art of Solomon did not die out but, as the years passed, groups of sorcerers began to practice dark and corrupted versions of his power — some say this Infernal version was initially spread by a pair of angels named Harut and Marut tasked with this as a test of mankind's faith — that allowed sorcerers to summon and enslave spirits to their will. Other traditions developed educated and more refined forms of summoning that allowed them to command the elements, animals, and nature as Solomon was said to have done. In Persia especially, this latter version of the Art flourished under the influence of Zoroastrian priests, who perceived its practice as learned and wise.

The birth of Islam changed the Mythic Middle East dramatically. Some sahirs believe that the great caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, friend and son-in-law of Mohammed, also received guidance from Al-Khidr. He was said to be friendly to magicians and knowledgeable about the natural sciences associated with the Art of Solomon. Some tales describe three wise men who served him, travelers from far-off lands whom he met on pilgrimage, and who joined his court when he became caliph, sworn to support his rule and devout in their adherence to the teachings of the Prophet. Many of the followers of Solomon tell variations on this tale to justify their belief that there is nothing sinful or worldly about the practice of magic. As Ali trusted his advisers, so too may his holy successors trust the wise magicians that succeeded them.

Some years later, during the Umayyad dynasty, another trio of summoners swore lifelong service to the caliph; many hold that the legend of Ali's magical advisers derives from this event instead. They were each given an official title, wazir ("vizier"), which at that time meant "bearer of magic in service to the caliph." At first they were trusted no more than any other men under his command, and possibly less so by those who fought beside them. As the caliphate began to expand its influence into Persia, Africa, and Europe, however, the warriors began to encounter other magicians — wizards who could rain fire upon the armies of Islam, or cause the seas to rise up and drown them, or cause the men to forget everything they were doing and suddenly the wazirs became especially valuable, for the spirits they summoned could resist this magic. The foreign wizards served the armies that opposed the caliph, and so it became essential for the caliph's wizards to train others who could assist them in the same way.

Soon the three wazirs became thirty wazirs, as they sought out and trained promising students in their Art, and those

thirty became more than a hundred. Their powers developed further as Islam spread, so that, in addition to the spirits of the fallen, they learned to summon and control other spirits such as jinn (see Chapter 4: The Jinn), and led waves of them into battle. With their help, the Umayyad caliphs were able to overcome the other wizards who opposed them and ensure the safety of their troops. Meanwhile, the Umayyad armies conquered their foes, and the caliphs came to rule an enormous empire, including all of the Middle East and Persia, Northern Africa, Iberia, and even parts of France. It is most likely stories of these summoners, from before the time of the Founding, that magi and other European wizards equate with the members of the "Order of Suleiman."

The downfall of the wazirs came from their callous dealings with the beings they summoned. Their powers essentially allowed them to enslave the jinn who served them, even though many of these beings also followed the teaching of the Prophet, which forbids such treatment. These practices tainted and ultimately undid their holy war, and turned many denizens of the supernatural realms against them. By about 720 AD the wazirs became desperately preoccupied defending against attacks from within their homelands, fighting a magical war waged upon them from other worlds. This prevented them from lending their support to the invading armies, and was one of the leading factors that slowed and eventually halted the expansion.

The caliphs were furious at this turn of

events, but they did not blame their wazirs; instead, they blamed their people. Some of the Umayyads' opponents took these attacks as indications that the nation of Islam was not rightly guided, and that the Umayyads were not true caliphs. A few even began to declare rival caliphs. To make matters worse, when wrathful spirits abused by the wazirs attacked, they focused upon the summoners themselves, not the common people, forcing the caliphate to defend them. For example, in 746, while Abbasid opponents of the Umayyads were mobilizing their forces in Khurasan, it is said that more than a hundred jinn laid siege to Damascus, demanding that the city turn over two wazirs who they knew hid within. After many such retributive acts, the population of summoners in the Mythic Middle East was dramatically reduced, and the term wazir ceased to be associated with wizards. Their ruthless tradition of summoning mostly died out everywhere but on the fringes of the empire.

As a result of these and other events, the Umayyad caliphate broke apart, and a new line was established in the Abbasids, with their new political center in Baghdad. One of the greatest Abbasid leaders was Harun al-Rashid, who came to power in 786. His mother, named Al-Khayzuran, was originally from Yemen and skilled in the magic of enchanting music and stories. At her urging, the new caliph agreed to assemble a council of wizards to advise him on mystical matters and help him secure his rule. He was convinced that having magical viziers devoted to the empire was a necessary thing, though he preferred to recruit great thinkers over great warriors.

The head of this council was his grand vizier, Yahya ibn Khalid, also known as Yahya the Barmakid, an unGifted scholar who had dabbled in magical potions and elixirs in the court of the previous caliph, and who served as tutor to Harun al-Rashid from a young age. On the new caliph's behalf he wrote to invite the finest minds in Islam to join this "Solomonic" council, explaining Harun's vision of a

magical brotherhood that would make his caliphate paramount in learning and culture. This dream was realized by five great men, who with Yahya and Al-Khayzuran formed the original "wise council" of Harun. These famous sahirs were:

• • Jabir ibn Hayyan, an alchemist, summoner, and scholar blessed with The Gentle Gift and a voracious thirst for knowledge. He was a master of the art called Sihr, first learning at the feet of one of the few surviving Umayyad summoners, and later studying everything the others knew. He was responsible for the discovery that allowed the First Council to incorporate their different styles of magic into a single tradition.
• • Muhammad al-Fazari, philosopher and astrologer, collector and author of many magical tomes. He constructed the first armillary sphere to aid him in his seasonal calculations. His father Ibrahim is said to have transformed himself into a spirit to watch over and assist his son with his magic and, as al-Fazari's guardian spirit, Ibrahim first showed al-Fazari how to initiate himself and the other unGifted sahirs into their magical secrets.
• • Bakhtyshu, a Persian physician and Nestorian Christian. His father, Jurjis ibn Bakhtyshu, had served the previous caliph, but being non-Muslim the son was invited to join the council only provisionally and at Yahya's insistence. He later proved his worth by exorcising a powerful shaitan ("demon") that plagued the caliph. It is said he knew the True Names of hundreds of spirits, and taught many of them to the First Council.
• • Al-Zill Habib, "the beloved shadow," a popular and inspirational highwayman who led revolts against the Umayyads and earned the unswerving respect of many followers, including a loyal band of jinn and several yatus (faerie wizards from Persia, see Chapter 8). He was believed to be a relative of Al-Khayzuran, and constantly remained cloaked and covered to hide his face, even when alone.
• • Al-Hajjaj (or Al-Majnun, "the madman," as he was sometimes called), a

poet and mathematician who wrote of his strange visions. He claimed to have studied from Al-Khidr, and to have traveled into the Magic Realm to drink from the Water of Life. He appeared perpetually as a young man of about 25, and no one could ever determine exactly when he was born.

Together, these seven wise people developed a common language among their different styles of summoning-based magic, and invented the five Solomonic arts (see Solomonic Magic, later). They answered directly to the caliph, and as part of their duties each of them spent time instructing the others or assisting with their magic to ensure that they all knew as much as possible about their different powers. Each of them excelled at a particular aspect of the Art of Solomon, but they combined these specialties so well that their tradition became a unified system, rather than several different abilities.

Al-Khayzuran died suddenly in 789 under very mysterious circumstances. After complaining of a headache, she collapsed in her sitting room and was escorted, apparently unconscious, back to her chambers. There, under the watchful eyes of her son and many of his advisers, her body and possessions simply vanished. Her passing was mourned by the caliph and the entire council. Soon afterward, Yahya retired from court to devote himself more fully to his studies, and his Gifted son Ja'far became Harun's grand vizier and head of the council. Harun moved his palace further north, putting more distance between his court and the sahirs, and from then on Ja'far was the only point of contact between the wizard council and the caliph.

As Harun's reputation increased, the stories tell that he became more introverted and mistrustful of Ja'far and the sahirs he represented. He sought out the advice of other so-called wise men, including a young Hermetic magus sent (supposedly) by the court of Charlemagne called Christopher Coronus, a famous Sufi teacher and holy man named Fozail-e Iyaz, and a strange miracle-worker and representative from the far east who they called Dawud al-Kharita. Under their influence, it is said, Harun began to resent the independence and power wielded by the grand vizier and his family. He ceased consulting with Ja'far in private, but often did so with his new counselors.

Vicious rumors began to spread about Ja'far: that he was a wicked sorcerer who consorted with evil spirits, and that he craved the caliph's seat for himself. Ja'far begged Harun's sister, whom he loved, to speak with her brother on his behalf, in the hope that her voice would soften his heart — but when she did, the easterner Dawud accused Ja'far of beguiling the lady with his magic, and as punishment the caliph had Ja'far executed and the rest of his family imprisoned or killed.

Another version of these events is less sympathetic to Ja'far: as one of the first students of the new Art of Solomon, Ja'far was incredibly skilled and powerful, but too ambitious to be worthy of the title of grand vizier. He was not happy merely advising the caliph, and tried to force Harun to adopt him as his heir. The caliph proved surprisingly resistant to Ja'far's enchantments, and so the crafty sahir took control of the caliph's sister instead, plotting to gain his seat by marriage. Yahya suspected his son, but did not realize how far he would go, and it was only because of the fortuitous intervention of Harun's other advisers that Ja'far's designs were foiled.

Because of this sudden turn of events, the five remaining leaders of Solomonic magic became very frightened, and unsure of what to do. It seemed their council ties to court and caliph had been severed. Months passed and there was no word of a new grand vizier being appointed, and they worried that their alliance would fall apart, their great achievements lost. They decided to travel in secret to the prison where Yahya (who had been mercifully spared by the caliph) was held captive, and met with him to discuss how they could keep the wise council from collapsing.

At Yahya's urging, they decided that they must form their own organization, one independent of the caliph. They realized how dangerously vulnerable to court intrigue and political maneuvering they were as a group of wizards who served Harun and the court directly, and instead chose to divorce themselves from magical service to the worldly authority, and become a self-governing and somewhat informal alliance of sahirs. They called this the Suhhar Sulayman ("Summoners of Solo-

mon"), and over the course of several seasons they developed a plan for how they could function and ultimately prosper. (See Organization, later in this chapter.)

When they had finished their founding document, the former viziers humbly presented it to Harun, and begged him for his permission. Once he was convinced that they were not plotting against him, the caliph gave this independent council his blessing, provided that the sahirs who belonged to it continued to serve him as

Many sahirs have attempted to learn what became of the members of the First Council, for completeness or inspiration. Most of what survives them is stories and legends.

Al-Khayzuran

Al-Khayzuran died, but her memory haunted the building that had once been Harun's palace. A strong feminine presence is often recognized by sahirs sensitive to spirits in her chamber, and many claim to have been visited by her in dreams. Some speculate that the many tales about her brought a powerful faerie to live in her place, a queen who visits sleeping travelers and grants them power in exchange for stories.

Yahya ibn Khalid

Yahya the Barmakid was forever disgraced by his son's actions at court, though he lived long enough to see the foundation of the Suhhar. It is said he had a collection of permanent Arcane Connections to the other members of the First Council, though no one knows what became of it when he died. It may have been on his person and buried with him in Baghdad, or he may have hidden it in his house or even his cell. The prison still stands in the city, though it has long since been abandoned and has an evil reputation.

Jabir ibn Hayyan

Jabir went to Kufa, where he wrote many books on the Solomonic arts. He was said to have become friends with Christopher Coronus, magus and ambassador from the Order of Hermes and the court of Charlemagne, though few details about him survive. Christopher corresponded extensively with Tremere the Founder, he was especially interested in using magic to produce visual art, and he once threatened to slay Jabir in a duel but later said this had been a misunderstanding. It is probable from their conversations that early magi and sahirs heard the first accounts of each others' organizations. Legends say that Jabir had a crisis of faith later in life, and that he sacrificed all of his magic just before he died for the right to walk in paradise. This story is controversial, as it suggests that Jabir believed he could not both be a faithful Muslim and practice magic, an idea that has been hotly debated among sahirs ever since.

Muhammad al-Fazari

Muhammad stayed on as the court astrologer for the rest of his life, and also wrote several exceptional books concerning his fields of expertise. He is said to have drawn a series of prophetic pictures before he died that predicted many future events, including the separation of the Iberian sahirs and Baghdad's invasion by Mongols. He had no children, though he taught many followers, including the great Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who is generally regarded as one of the most talented astrologers that the Suhhar has ever produced. While many believe that al-Fazari did not die and instead transformed himself into a spirit like his father, no one has yet demonstrated publicly that they are able to summon him.

Bakhtyshu

Bakhtyshu was the caliph's personal physician, and also helped his son Jabril ibn Bakhtyshu establish himself with the court, setting him up as Ja'far's assistant. Jabril weathered the fall of the Barmakids from the caliph's grace (some say by betraying his master's plans to his enemies), but the stories also tell that Jabril ensured the other members of the First Council were praised and admired by the caliph, perhaps saving them from intrigues that would otherwise have doomed the Suhhar. Jabril had a large family and many children, and his descendants carried the magic of Solomon to the famous House of Healing in Gundeshapur. Some have even suggested that one of Jabril's sons returned with Dawud al-Kharita to the far east, and there established a line of Christian magician-kings who would eventually produce the legendary figure known as Prester John.

Al-Zill Habib and Al-Hajjaj

Both Al-Zill and Al-Hajjaj remained in Baghdad for many years of teaching, but sometime in the mid-800s they suddenly left without warning, instructing their followers not to come after them. This came just after a visit from one of the caliph's advisers, the Sufi mystic Fozail-e Iyaz, and sahirs have often wondered what passed between them, and if their departure was due to his interference. It was said the two sahirs traveled the length of the entire world together, from the Pillars of Hercules to the mountains of the Far East, and there are many stories of those who came upon them and shared a meal with them, always a young man dressed all in white and his companion hooded and wrapped in black. It is even said that the two of them still live, and that they appear no different in the year 1220 than they must have looked four hundred years ago.

loyal subjects. Several of the first council members retained positions at court; perhaps this is why they continued to call themselves "viziers," and their leader the "grand vizier," at their meetings.

In the years that followed, the Suhhar Sulayman flourished, teaching many students the secrets of Solomonic magic and welcoming other summoners into their fold. The house in Baghdad where the former council had studied and taught magic grew into a grand academy of Solomonic learning, called Bayt al-Hikma, and old and new sahirs joined them there and began to share their knowledge. A golden age of magic was born, and sahirs trained in the Art of Solomon began to spread across Muslim lands, bringing their magic to every corner of the empire. The Suhhar's separation from the caliph's court ensured that when the caliphate began to fracture, the Suhhar itself remained strong. Large communities of sahirs were organized around houses for teaching and studying magic in Damascus, Gundeshapur, Cairo, and Cordoba, and every year the viziers from those communities would travel to a grand gathering to represent their people.

So many sahirs lived in these great cities that one vizier could not adequately represent them; Cairo, for example, sent 12 viziers to the gathering of 868, one for each house where more than two sahirs lived. In an important decision of 889, the grand vizier declared that the viziers elected by each community also represented the sahirs who lived alone or in pairs closest to them, and that it was the responsibility of the viziers to seek out their more solitary brethren and speak with them before every gathering as part of their service to the Suhhar. Before then, most viziers had simply avoided those members of the Suhhar who chose to live far from civilization, many of whom had The Gift and were thus especially unpleasant to visit.

Cities were the primary centers of magical growth and learning for sahirs, as the lands of Africa and central Arabia and the borders of Islam remained very dangerous for summoners. Groups of supernatural beings still angry at the treatment they received from the Umayyads prowled the edges of their settlements and vindictively struck at any victims they could catch. Those sahirs willing to live in magical auras outside of the Dominion had to be prepared to summon powerful guardians to protect themselves, or create great magical wards against such spirits that would keep them safe, and so generally did not set up in such places permanently.

Perhaps they became fearful of the long journey across such hostile lands, but the Iberian sahirs began hosting their own gatherings in Cordoba in 912. The Baghdad sahirs tried to reconcile with them for several years, sending emissaries to dissuade them, but by 919 they abandoned these attempts and expelled them from the Suhhar Sulayman. Their Iberian council continued to meet on its own until 925 when the majority decided to join the Order of Hermes. There has been little contact between the two groups since then.

Also during the mid-900s, the rise of the Fatimid caliphate drove many sahirs out of Northern Africa and east into Egypt, as rumor spread that the caliphs fought with the aid of strange Berber wizards that the sahirs' spirits could not defeat. The sahirs who had preferred to live on the frontier either fled back to more populated lands or disappeared and were never heard from again. Combined with the defection of the Iberian sahirs, this reduced the lands occupied and represented by the Suhhar Sulayman to just Egypt, Arabia, and Persia.

The Suhhar during this period was powerful, though introspective, and continued to develop so that by the middle of the 11th century, it had become the advanced magical tradition it is in 1220. For the most part, expansionist ideals had been subdued and deprecated among the members of the Suhhar, and most sahirs simply wanted to study their magic in peace.

This peaceful time was interrupted when a prominent sahir named Hasan-i Sabbah murdered the grand vizier. This assassin belonged to a ruthless religious sect called the Nizari Isma'ili, and managed to escape punishment for his crime by fleeing to a Persian mountain stronghold. There, Hasan proceeded to teach others of his faith the secrets of Solomon's Art and essentially created a rival organization of sahirs that has continued to harass and trouble the Suhhar ever since (see The Nizari Isma'ili State, Chapter 8, for more about their history and practices).

There was some occasional contact with other magical traditions during this time — since the First Council, sahirs had been aware of the European organization of wizards who called themselves the Order of Hermes, and after the Cordoba sahirs joined this organization there were many who sought to know even more about them, particularly how their magic differed from that of the Suhhar. They also knew about a few Zoroastrian priests still living in Persia, a few of whom had become sahirs, though relations between them were always strained. On the other hand, after driving most of the sahirs out of Northern Africa, the Berber wizards did not encroach further into the Middle East.

By the end of the 11th century, the sahirs had turned completely upon themselves, their focus entirely inward, and the magical Middle East had become like a city in a bottle.

The situation changed entirely with the Crusades.

When foreign knights laid siege to Antioch and Jerusalem, the Muslim sahirs were surprised, shocked, and enraged. A few acted to help prevent Tyre's fall, but for the most part the Suhhar was wildly unprepared for the attack. They then overreacted by electing to take a firmer hand over the supernatural politics of the region. They sent representatives to meet with and spy on the European wizards who had come over, and were surprised to learn that most of them were immune to their Solomonic magic, much in the same way that spirits, caliphs, and holy men had always been able to resist them. Others attacked the invaders, fighting with the Muslim armies against the magi, but those sahirs who met magi directly in battle were quickly defeated, and many of them were slain.

The reluctant verdict among the majority of surviving sahirs was that the invaders fought with the Divine on their side, that

The five great families of Solomonic sahirs descend from the five members of the First Council who formed the Suhhar Sulayman, some by blood but most by association. Each has become specialized in one type of magic, and tends to come from a particular region.

Ashab al-Sakhr "Followers of the Stone"

Ashab al-Sakhr (ass-HAWB us-SAKHR) is a family of specialists in Solomonic Alchemy who descend from Jabir ibn Hayyan, the only Gifted member of the First Council. They are affiliated with the city of Damascus, the former capital city of the Umayyad wazirs and now the center of the sahirs' counter-Crusade against the invading magi and soldiers. Besides being very unfriendly to Europeans, it is common for Followers of the Stone to be especially pious, and non-Muslims are almost unheard of among them. It is perhaps the most "noble" sahir family; its members value personal honor very highly, and especially favor arms and armor. Many of them choose to fight with steel instead of magic — or with steel augmented with magic.

Ashab al-Najm "Followers of the Star"

In the early days of the Suhhar, Solomonic Astrology was especially favored by a small group of Zoroastrians who converted to Islam and came to Baghdad to study magic from Al-Khwarizmi, the famous student of Al-Fazari. They later established a small academy in Nasibin in the north, and other houses entirely devoted to their art in many Persian cities as well. Ashab al-Najm (ass-HAWB un-NAJM) is perhaps the most widespread family of sahirs, and also the most arcane; they tend to dress and look like wizards or, at the very least, wise scholars. A common belief in the family is that it is important for them to encourage the majestic reputation of magicians, even while using magic to serve others, lest the people cease to value it.

Ashab al-Yad "Followers of the Hand"

The first sahirs who specialized in Solomonic Physic were all members of the Bakhtyshu family, and took their magic with them to Gundeshapur, in Persia. There they established a famous academy known as the House of Healing. Most of the first physician sahirs were Nestorian Christians, though Muslims, Jews, and pagans have also joined their family, and their reputation has always been somewhat poor because of their ready acceptance of outsiders. This means the Ashab al-Yad (ass-HAWB ul-YAD) family is seen to have something of a sinister aspect within the Suhhar they are perceived as sahirs who heal but who also harm — and so no one is ever quite sure exactly how a Follower of the Hand will respond to a given situation.

Ashab al-Qalb "Followers of the Heart"

Though the Ashab al-Qalb (ass-HAWB ul-QALB) family was technically established by Al-Zill Habib, his followers generally regard Al-Khayzuran as the family's matriarch and role model, especially since so little is known about the "beloved shadow" who taught them. Since Al-Zill disappeared, the civic focus of Solomonic Storytelling has remained in Baghdad, still known as the city of a thousand tales, and the grand vizier elected to lead the Suhhar has most often been a Follower of the Heart. They are usually very political sahirs, interacting with supernatural creatures like faeries and magical beings more often than other sahirs, and only rarely have The Gift. Women are much more common in this family; the sahira-to-sahir ratio is almost one-to-one.

Ashab al-Nahr "Followers of the River"

Solomonic Travel was often marginalized as a lesser art by early sahirs, as few of them understood the power of other realms and worlds: not just Faerie and the Magic Realm, but also places of Divine and Infernal power, and even the realms of dreams and death. Two generations after Al-Hajjaj, a Nabatean traveler named Ibn Wahshiyya deciphered many secrets about these places from the writings of the ancient Egyptians, and singlehandedly revitalized the Art. There is a great academy in Cairo devoted to the study of these mysteries, and it is still considered the locus of the Ashab al-Nahr (ass-HAWB ul-NAHR) family's magic. Ibn Wahshiyya and Al-Hajjaj both had reputations for intense passion and, ultimately, madness, and their followers are usually eccentric as well.

Ashab al-Halqa "Followers of the Circle"

There are also many sahirs who consider themselves specialized in no particular art, or who focus on their summoning art rather than the Solomonic arts. Before they left the Suhhar, many of the sahirs of Cordoba called themselves Ashab al-Halqa (ass-HAWB ul-HAL-qa), referring to the outside edge of the pentacle that forms the Seal of Solomon. This term is still used to describe unaligned sahirs, or those who claim to belong to none of the great families. Most Gifted sahirs and self-taught summoners meet these criteria, preferring to remain apart from the yearly gatherings, where they must be represented by viziers from the other families.

Jerusalem was rightfully theirs, and that there was nothing they could do. However, the leader of one of the five great Solomonic families, the Asala al-Sakhr, asserted that the invaders had been aided by Infernal powers. A strong anti-crusader presence developed under his direction, especially among Syrian viziers and those who studied Solomonic Alchemy. The Suhhar remained publicly uninvolved, but many sahirs began acting against the European invaders, signing onto armies to fight them directly or teaching other soldiers to summon and wield Solomonic magic against their foes, much like the Umayyad wazirs.

The Suhhar soon relaxed most of their strictures concerning fair treatment of non-Muslim supernatural beings, and agreed that crusading magi of the Order of Hermes were enemies of the Muslim people, authorizing sahirs to retaliate however they felt was just. In the aftermath of the First Crusade, sahirs acted mostly in secret, uncertain what would happen if they were to confront the Hermetic wizards directly. They taught magic to important leaders, helping them understand how the Art of Solomon could assist their cause; they manipulated real-world events by taking advantage of the geography of the Magic Realm, circumventing the enemy to ambush them from behind or ransack their camps; they interpreted astrological indicators to predict unfavorable circumstances for their enemies, so that they knew precisely when to strike; and generally they confused and harried the opposing armies and leaders wherever possible. Their involvement ensured the recapture of Edessa, and also the downfall of the Second Crusade against the Muslim states.

There is a tradition among the Suhhar whereby an appointed vizier adopts the guise of a nameless old wise man, much as Al-Khidr is described as doing in the Qu'ran, and approaches promising Muslim leaders or scholars with an offer to teach them magic or assist their causes in other ways. This is seen as an honorable way for sahirs to involve themselves directly in the politics of the region without committing the Suhhar to their cause, and is often called "sending a guide." When two men rose to prominence in the late 1100s, Nur ad-Din and Saladin, both were sent a guide with an offer of magical aid. Nur

ad-Din had no wish to join the Suhhar, revealing to the ambassador that he had already been taught magic by Al-Khidr himself. In fact, there was a brief exchange of wisdom between the two men, documented in a famous text now kept safely in Baghdad. Saladin refused the guide, no explanation given, and the sahirs of the region were forced to try to aid him without his consent.

In 1220, the Suhhar Sulayman is still at war with the crusaders occupying the Holy Land, including members of the Order of Hermes. They still observe the yearly gathering at Baghdad, but the conflict is rarely discussed. Plans are in motion for a retaliatory attack against the Levant, what might be considered a Solomonic countercrusade, and sahirs have been gathering intelligence about the Order of Hermes so they may strike at them where they are weakest and — they hope — drive the invading magi from their lands entirely.

To this end, the sahirs have made it clear that all Hermetic magi are welcome in their lands, where they can be watched more easily without their knowledge, and where they can be found more quickly when the time comes to attack. They now study their enemy in earnest, for they are still at war and do not intend to lose.