Numeni Basic Background:
Some historians claim that the Numeni Order was started by the Archon sometime between 700-850 PLS (years Post Lunar Shift), however these claims have never been confirmed nor denied by the Archon himself. Evidence leads most historians to credit the beginnings of the Numeni Order to a nameless handful of Numeni practitioners who chose the Archon as their leader after witnessing his prescience abilities at the Battle of Guardians. It has never been recorded that the Archon himself has ever claimed leadership over any religions or social groups.

Numeni Beginnings:
History shows that Numeni religious practice has been in effect long before 700 PLS. Before the sect was formed, it was quite common for people to believe in natural balance and supernatural forces of change which govern and sustain reality. People used Numen to perform everyday tasks in their lives; tasks like growing crops, lighting fires, warding off thunderstorms, healing and mending sickness or injury, sometimes even for entertainment. It is believed that back then the Numeni faith was used for nothing less than skillful living solutions. It is also believed that Numen were a very crucial part of ancient wars that took place. Ancient weapons have been unearthed which show to be functional in ways which could be enhanced greatly in combat effectiveness when Numen skills are applied to them. Just like today, history shows that not everyone had an aptitude for using Numen. In most instances, victory in battle seemed to be largely determined by Numen skillfulness and a society's ability to manipulate change in their environment. Some historical evidence shows that some ancient battles were waged as a means to purge out groups of people who were less skillful in Numeni technique. Though such genocide is commonly looked down on today, these extermination attempts have led to a present day world full of people who at least have moderate potential for using Numen.

Dragons play an integral part of Numeni beginnings because in most respects, dragons were the idols of worship for early Numeni practitioners. Not that they considered dragons in general to be godly creatures, although a few dragons have had deity status. Dragons were very useful to humans in ancient days because they were powerhouses to move heavy things around during travel, they were loyal as pets and servants to humans once a human earned a dragons trust, they could be used as calvary during battle, but most importantly... dragons could fly, and take humans with them. In the early days flying was considered to be an almost holy right which few humans could perform with their tamed dragons and so humans who did this were held in high esteem among friends and enemies alike.

Prescient Guardians:
In ancient times prior to the Battle of Guardians, there existed a wide diversity of dragon creatures in the world. Among these different types of dragons were Guardians, the strongest, largest, and wisest of all the dragons in the lands around the world. These Guardians watched over the land and maintained its long term stability. It is said that most Guardians could live more than 10,000 years naturally and that they could predict the future based on the past and present using their prescient abilities. Guardians have been known to use their strength and influence to forcibly alter local ecostructures and climates as a means to regulate natural patterns in the world and create better long term results. Many humans look to these Guardians as religious idols of worship because of their prescient abilities.

Battle of Guardians:
Sometime around 700 PLS, conflict started brewing between the dragons and humans. Some of the great Guardian dragons had come to the conclusion that humans in general were headed down a path of self-destruction for the entire planet, and must be stopped. Even though the Guardians saw this self destruction as something that would not occur for many thousands of years, the Guardians were prescient, and their foresight could not be denied. Regardless of this, ancient humans could not stomach how this foresight could possibly be true, moreover, they of course felt compelled to fight for their own survival and so a great war ensued between humans and dragons. This war had many holes in its allegiances because many dragon servants remained loyal to their human masters, and many humans felt like the Guardians were right because of their religious devotion to the Guardians and their prescient abilities.

The first battles with the dragons were very isolated incidents where humans were simply overpowered by the Guardians ferocity and strength. As time went on, humans began using their numbers to overwhelm the Guardians one by one. Then the Guardians decided to group together as one singular force and strike the humans at their largest city... this was the Battle of Guardians. This battle was believed to be the beginning of the end of the human race because humans in the past had never fought more than a couple Guardians at once and had never faired well even in victory. However in this battle the humans were lead by a new hero known as the Archon who performed great miracles in fighting the Guardians. The humans won the battle, and every last Guardian was destroyed. This battle was the end of the war between humans and dragons. While the Guardians had been exterminated, dragons in general continued to live on, and eventually the dragons would rebuild their loyal relationship to humans once again.

Numeni Order:
It is speculated that three decades after the Battle of Guardians, a new religious organization titled after Numen arts began taking a prominent place in ancient society. These Numeni, now a social grouping of peoples, claimed to be the loyal followers of the Archon. At this time, the Archon who was quite young and probably in his twenties at the time of the Battle of Guardians has not seemed to age at all since that time nearly thirty years before. The Numeni up to this point have been documenting and spreading the "Archon's Word" across the lands all over the world and a new, fuller understanding of Numeni arts becomes a common tool for people to use everywhere. However, not everyone embraces this new religion so easily as many people all around the world are not as adept at using Numen. As time passes on, people begin referring to the Battle of Guardians as a myth of the past.
In short, the Numeni religious base faces the same problems as any other religious sect, widespread faith and cooperation. The only thing about the Numeni that seems to be commonly accepted by believers and non-believers is the Archon's prophecies, which become more and more convincing and real as time passes. That and the fact that the Numinous Archon seems as if he will live forever and never show his age. Over time, people become very comfortable with the presence of an all-knowing, immortal Archon in the world to the point where they rarely ever think twice about the things he says, they just accept it and move on with their lives.

Technological Revolution:
The Technological Revolution started around 1900 PLS. It started in small ways that would build slowly at first, and then quickly gain momentum. At first, technological advancements were closely tied to humanity's curiosities about the world and how things worked outside of the Numeni arts. People began exploring other, easier ways to light fires, or move heavy objects over long distances. Not everyone was skilled in using Numen so the first technological advancements all seemed to center around enabling people to perform daily tasks with equal efficiency regardless of Numeni skills. The first big technological advancement came when the science of internal combustion was unraveled. Not that people didn't know how to make fires before, but understanding internal combustion allowed them to harness it in new ways like rotary engines that could attach to windmill blades and propel wheeled carts forward at great speed. In the year 2042 PLS, the discovery of electricity was made, and humans began harnessing it for everything they could think of that needed heat or magnetics. Several decades later, electric circuits started being used as a means to relay signals in advanced ways. It didn't take long for computer technology to be born, and suddenly science began taking huge leaps forward in every direction.

During this time, the Numeni Order began taking a huge departure from the rest of humanity in a effort to "preserve a flawless faith." The Numeni were very conservative in their use of new technology, they believed it was sacreligious to use technology as a means to do things that could already be done using Numeni arts. Many non-believers hold to the opinion that the Numeni Order was merely acting out of fear of being outdated by new technology. Indeed, science and technology were making people's lives easier, but to this, the Numeni claim that, "life is not meant to be easy." As a result of this strong religious stance, the Numeni Order lose many followers as the technological revolution progresses. Some nations maintain a strong affiliation to the Numeni, but many begin exploring more open minded views. As more time passes, the Numeni Order gain a reputation as religious fanatics as their numbers dwindle and their faithful followers start acting more and more extreme.

Throughout this time, the only thing that really seems to keep the Numeni Order alive is the Archon which they claim to loyally follow. At this point, the Archon is rumored to be more than a 1000 years old, and even though he is rarely seen, his words still hold a powerful importance to the world. Humanity, no matter what religious or non-religious views they hold, all seem to thirst for the knowledge and wisdom of the Archon. Due to this, it also becomes more evidently clear that the Archon has never claimed to be affiliated with the Numeni Order which claim to be loyally affiliated with him. This brings about a realization that the Numeni may not be as religiously devoted to the Archon as they claim to be. As a result, many altered versions of the Numeni faith start appearing as people start their own religious followings and a very diverse religious climate is created.

The Archon's Word:
The words of the Numinous Archon, "It matters not how something gets done. If something must be done, then do it, by the best method available. Problems with this strategy only occur when people forget to consider the effects of their actions on a long term scale." This statement from the Archon was made in the year 2096 after a serious revolt occurred within the Numeni Order revolving around technological tolerance within the organization. The response to this new segment of the Archon's Word was immediate, and dramatic. The Order began using this as a support for their conservative views regarding technology, claiming that Numen were the best method for getting things done, and with minimal negative long term effects. With their resolve freshly charged, the devout members of the Numeni Order became even more conscious of their dedication to their arts.

However, many people went completely the other way as a result of the new addition to the Archon's Word. Many people who were neutral or strong supporters of the technological revolution felt as though the Archon himself was supporting their views, even if his "Religious Sect" didn't. People started looking at the Archon and his Numinous abilities in a new light. It was as if the Archon was declaring an official detachment from the Numeni Order in order to support more open minded views. Everyone except the Numeni Order suddenly felt liberated to explore technological solutions without feeling "looked down upon" by some all-knowing power. With this change of perception, society in general became ready to take a huge step forward in the Technological Revolution. If the Numeni didn't like it, they would just get left behind.

The Numeni didn't like it... but they were determined to not get left behind. The world was quickly changing and they felt their precious "natural balance" being balanced on a thin line of social and economic pressures that surrounded them. The social pressures are obvious from the details of this document presented so far. The economic pressures require a little explanation. The Numeni temple is located near the center of the Matria nation, which is governed by Numeni theocracy. Trade routes to the most populated areas of the Matria nation were suddenly becoming obsolete due to new forms of transport technology. The Numeni sect was being cornered by the technology around them, and they felt pressured to take action against the forces around them. In 2101, a small group of devout Numeni raided a relay station for a water lock on the Darha River. The Numeni began using control of the water lock as a way to force trade ships to continue using ports favorable to the Matria nation. This was the first of many occasions where the Numeni used force to "control" the technological advances around them, but it wouldn't be the last.

Birth of the Machindo:
The newly aggressive actions of the Numeni became a problem for many people in the trade business around the world, and many enemies were created. What used to be a relatively harmless difference of views suddenly became a strong cause for fear and aggression. Many people wanted to stop the Numeni, but no one reacted to them quite as seriously as the Machindo.

The Machindo started off as nothing more than a group of forward thinking inventors. In the beginning, they were merely a small network of people around the world who had a passion for technology and would support each other with knowledge and resources to invent new things. Revolutionary new tools and technology were created at their hands and shared freely at first to anyone who was interested. As time went on they began working for commercial means and they formed a world wide business network, thus labeled Machindo. At this point in time the Machindo name had already become a common topic of discussion and was sometimes used interchangeably with "Technological Revolution." As expected, this revolution earned the Machindo a great deal of attention from the Numeni Order. The Machindo mostly ignored anything the Numeni said about them, because it was nothing more than a difference of beliefs and the Machindo had little interest in peoples religious views. They respected the Archon's powers a great deal, but regarded him a scientific curiosity, nothing more.

Numeni and Machindo War Begins:
With the Darha Raid of 2101, it is recorded that the Numeni Order were the first to strike out against supporters of technology. To many, this didn't mean much at the time, but it actually served as an excuse people to explore military technology. The Machindo were simply the first group of people to organize military tech development. The Machindo started off designing and producing defensive equipment for merchants and traders to use in warding off the increased Numeni attacks, intending to profit from the Numeni's own hostility. The Numeni Order quickly became aware of the increased resistance and before long they were targeting Machindo development sites directly. The Machindo were forced to defend their goals from Numeni sabotage by the most direct means. In 2106 the Machindo petition was completely unanimous, and War was declared against any and all Numeni terrorists.

While the Machindo never declared war against the Numeni religion in general, that was exactly how the world interpreted it. Polarization occurred swiftly in every nation, too many country's were too reliant on Numeni theocracy, or they were too caught up in Technological Revolution. Lines were drawn and what was a war of "ideals" transformed into a strongly territorial war. The Machindo gave birth to a military organization, and they began actively attacking and securing Numeni controlled trade routes. Small Machindo forces were dispatched to actively "hunt" Numeni terrorist camps, and a vast intelligence network was established. Meanwhile the currently "unofficial" Numeni offensive effort was forced to rally into an official defense force for the Numeni Order. The sudden organized backlash from the Machindo forced the Numeni to re-evaluate their commitment to combating technological development. Many Numeni leaders began to advocate peace but were powerless to stop their people from getting caught up in war. Before long, the few Numeni leaders who were advocating open warfare held the strongest power base in the Numeni Order. By the end of 2106, the Numeni Order were officially in open warfare with the Machindo Network.