The Synod

The Synod is a faction featured in. They are a group of mages that was formed following the disbandment of the Mages Guild in Cyrodiil. They are rivaled by the College of Whispers, another Imperially recognized faction of magic.

The Synod scavenge magical relics from all over Tamriel, hoping to consolidate their power and use it as an element of political clout in the Empire. The are also known to oppose the study of Conjuration and Necromancy.

History
During the Umbriel crisis, when Umbriel, a giant floating city that came directly from the realm where the Hist originated, the Synod was sent by the government of the Mede Empire to study Umbriel and how it arrived to Tamriel and why.

Discovering the Eye of Magnus
Upon joining The College of Winterhold, the Dragonborn must travel with Tolfdir to the nearby ancient ruins of the legendary city of Saarthal, once the capital of the Nords in Skyrim, where the Eye of Magnus is discovered. After finding it, the Dragonborn speaks with the Augur of Dunlain in the Midden at the College. The Augur reveals that the key to harnessing the power from the Eye is to use the Staff of Magnus. At the Dragonborn's return, Mirabelle Ervine informs them that the Synod has recently visited and asked about the ruins at Mzulft.

Mzulft
The ruins are actually a very complex set of Dwemer machinery. In the deepest part of the ruins sits the Oculory, which the Synod were experimenting with.

According to Paratus Decimius, the mage found there, when the Synod originally arrived, they brought a focusing crystal that they had spent months enchanting to get the Oculory working properly, yet while they traveled through Skyrim, the cold had warped the crystal. So they sent one man back to Cyrodiil to get a new crystal and left the rest waiting in the ruins, fighting off the Falmer and other monsters that inhabit the ruins.

Focusing crystal
On return, Gavros Plinius dies and loses the new crystal, which can be found in the ruins. When the Dragonborn returns to Paratus, he brings them to the Oculory and asks them to align the pieces so the light shines through. Using a frostbite or flames spell on the focusing crystal when in the device suffices to align the light rays with the lenses.

Inspired by the Orrery at the Arcane University, the device projects a map of Tamriel, its sources of great magical power illuminated on the map. Only two spots appear on this map. One being the College of Winterhold where the Eye is and the other being in Labrynthian, the presumed location of the Staff of Magnus. After this discovery, Parantus leaves, reporting back to Cyrodiil. His departure is followed by a vision of the Psijic Order operative, Quaranir, who asks that the Dragonborn return to the College immediately.

Known members

 * Gavros Plinius - deceased.
 * Paratus Decimius
 * Yvonne Bienne - author of Complete Catalogue of Enchantments for Armor.
 * Synod Researcher - named corpses in Mzulft.

Trivia
Religiously, synod denotes a council of spiritual authorities who collect to decide on policies, issues of dogma, and other matters within their respective church body. The word "synod" often notes that the governing body is not always uniform and does always "meet" in a physical or political sense, but instead represents a large class of people who loosely represent certain interests within a church. For example, the Holy Synod in Orthodox Christianity. In regards to The Elder Scrolls universe, the Synod oppose the study of Conjuration and necromancy, for the same reasons the Mages Guild prohibited it in 3E 431, the same way religious councils have prohibited the practice of witchcraft in the biblical sense.

Appearances

 * An Elder Scrolls Novel: The Infernal City
 * An Elder Scrolls Novel: Lord of Souls