Psijic Order

Psijic Order is an ancient order based on the island of Artaeum. From it, the Mages Guild would develop in the Second Era, by Vanus Galerion. It's believed they are responsible for developing art of Mysticism.

Foundation
When the Altmer began to settle on the Summerset Isles, their culture began to change. They no longer worshiped ancestral spirits like on their home continent of Aldmeris, but instead several of them, like Auri-El, Trinimac, Phynaster, and Syrabane became the gods that the Altmer worshipped. Many elders, called the Psijics, rebelled against this trend, as they were the keepers of the Old Ways. They used their power to settle on Artaeum, away from "corruption of their society". However, they returned to Summerset from time to time to offer advice and guidelines.

First Era
At the end of First Era, the island of Artaeum mysteriously disapeared, only to reappear exactly 500 years later, during the Interregnum. Most of the people who lived on the island, including the Psijic Order, who thought to be dead, reappeared as well.

Fourth Era
In 4E 101, they disappeared again.

A hundred years later, Nerien, member of the Order, informs the Last Dragonborn that their actions will "trigger a chain of events that can't be stopped." After the completion of the College of Winterhold questline, the Order takes the Eye of Magnus with a promise to safeguard it.

Organization
The Psijic Order is powerful group of mages that control immense amounts of magic, knowledge and power. The Old Ways, or the Elder Way, was the name for their practice, although it became mixed in "semantic quagmire" because the Old Ways was also referred to their religion, philosophy and beliefs. The Old Way was a philosophy of meditation and study that could bind the forces of nature to individual's will.

The Order was also notable for developing the Cloven Duality. Apart from that, the Order also developed the Psijic Compensation which was an attempt to explain Aldmeri religion to the emperor Uriel Septim V. They also performed 2 special rites, one of them being Vygild which took place on 1s of Last Seed. The second one was Moawita and was held on 2nd of Hearthfire.

The Psijics also banned the practice of Conjuration because they believed it ridiculed ancestral spirits. It was believed that the Order possessed a form of magic know as "The Calling" which would allow them to telepathically communicate with each other.

Notable members

 * Iachesis - Rite Master of the Order at the very end of First Era. He met with Vanus Galerion and Rilis XII, the King of Firsthold, with a proposition of establishing new guild, the Mages Guild. He was Rite Master of the Order as late as 3E 110, when he met with Queen Potema in Solitude prior to the War of the Isle, when the Order helped Altmer defeat Maormer of Pyandonea.
 * Celarus - Lore Master of the Order and successor to Iachesis.
 * Sargenius - author of a book Fragment: On Artaeum, allowed the entry to the island for writing the book.
 * Quaranir - appears to the Laat Dovahkiin during the College of Winterhold questline.
 * Nerien - appears to the Laat Dovahkiin several times.
 * Gelebros and Tandil - appearance at the end of College of the Winterhold questline to take the Eye of Magnus.
 * Mannimarco - a student, now known as the Worm King, who seized power during the Warp in the West
 * Sotha Sil - member of the Tribunal, who taught for the Psijics at one point