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Species: wandsman (scp foundation)
Wandsmen are are various specimens and a group of interest from the mythos of the SCP Foundation website. Wandsmen were first mentioned in SCP-2264 — In The Court of Alagadda (posted in January 2015 by Metaphysician), but were furthered upon in SCP-5917 — The Map of the Multiverse (posted in November 2020 by chaucer345) and subsequent works, shortly after being added to the Groups Of Interest page in January 2021.
The Wandsmen are extradimensional magic users of "quasi-humanoid" avian appearance after being subjected to a species transformation due to repeated handling of "maps of the multiverse", mystical artifacts that allow them interdimensional travel (one of which has been contain by the SCP Foundation as SCP-5917-2).
What a Wandsman/Wandswoman looks like varies, but they invariably are strongly reminiscent of an avian they have a deeply negative opinion of, consequently having a hatred of their body image and nostalgia for their "old flesh". All specimens are capable of flight, biological immortality (but still vulnerable to death), heighted strength and mental acuity, and thaumaturgy. Size varies wildly between individuals, as well as exhibiting unique traits such as echolocation or universal fluency.
After their transformation, Wandsmen adopt a title designating them as originating from a realm, planet, settlement, or organization, being numbered if they are not the first to hold the title, such as the Seventh Wandsman of Cambridge. Additional titles may be added with their accolades, sometimes for the purpose of "name magic". As a very scholarly and journalistic society, Wandsmen are oriented toward exploring the multiverse to uncover its mysteries, while spreading and preserving knowledge. A primary medium used is the Wandsmen's Gazette, a newspaper publishing periodicals such as Traveling the Ways with Allora-7 by the Seventh Wandsman of Allora or Game On! by the Fifteenth Wandsman of Pasia.
The Wandsmen welcome new members and have an untold number, with 5,327 alone originating from Kar Selem: a destroyed world that the Wandsmen adopted the survivors of and are preserving the gametes of to revive the population. The Wandsmen organization has existed for eons, with some members even originating from the First Hytoth (which was destroyed before the Big Bang), yet despite records going back 3.7 billion years, how the Wandsmen were created or how the Gazette was founded remains a mystery. They also have a familiarity with the ancient Ortothan religious belief, as some will refer to the multiverse as the Second Hytoth.
There are several roles taken by Wandsmen, the most notable roles being the following:
- Archaeologists: Wandsmen dedicated to the research of various histories dating back eons, even that of the Wandsmen themselves.
- Arbiters: Diplomats who interact with "difficult" organizations or populations, often those who are first introduced to the Wandsmen and their paraphernlia, such as lost maps.
- Cartographers: A subspecies that is instead chiropteran in appearance due to requiring "a certain attunement" to the multiverse at large. Cartographers are tasked with mapping new dimensions to update fellow Wandsmen's map scrolls, with the overwhelming majority of those existing having over a millennia of experience. The cartographer role can also be served by small Wandsmen that are canary-like in size, operating as scouts.
- Grand Cartographers: The presumed founders of the Gazette. Beyond the fact that Wandsmen exist in the first place, there is no evidence of their existence; not even scouring of the Wanderer's Library has found results.
- Editors: Elected officials in charge of the Wandsmen's political and bureaucratic affairs, ranging from approving story assignments to directing the flow of resources. Editors are elected every five hundred years, and it is not uncommon for aspiring candidates to publish campaign poems decades in advance.
- Hawkers: Wandsmen who sell their publications, usually requiring payment in the form of currency or secrets, but may be authorized to give free issues to entice buyers or give important notice.
- Raptors: Warriors tasked with exploring dangerous ruins and explore hostile dimensions, rescuing sapient beings and cultures from peril, and providing security.
- Reporters: The most common role of those who wander the multiverse to record its stories, with every Wandsman having some experience at some point.
The Wandsmen have known of Earth since the Biblical ages (and undoubtedly before that), but was not known to the SCP Foundation until Dr. Calixto Narváez's meeting with the Wandsman of Kul-Manas, Ickis the Wayward, who was researching Sarkicism in Alagadda (SCP-2264-B). The significance of the "Wandsman" title was not known until following the recovery of the Twelfth Wandsman of Kirador's corpse (SCP-5917-1) and Agent Roger Briggs' transformation into a Wandsman by his map; this prompted the Fourth Wandswoman of Chelon, an Arbiter, to introduce her organization to the Foundation.
