The Coven is a meeting place for gamers, roleplayers, and writers in Final Fantasy XIV. This group exists outside of closed FC/Guild environments, to connect players and characters and offer storytelling options for people who would otherwise not have met. Tell a story, wade through content, and maybe make some new friends along the way!
In any Age of Eorzea, you will find those with a yearning to know more -- and to grasp the essence of the cosmos. Magic, in its many forms, is a form of power that defies politics and exposes the user to the truth of things; it is a strength that defies gods and Man, and it is a power that can alienate its users from themselves and others.
The wise practitioner, then, seeks trusted company and colleagues: people they can trust with the attainment of greater works, the interpersonal weight of their skills, and to pass their skills on to the worthy. Such gatherings are often pacted in a covenant of solidarity -- and such covens have existed in every Age of Etherys.
There have been others, will be others -- but this pact, this covenant, is ours.
With this said, how does a soul who seeks the truth find the Coven?
Some are brought in on the recognizance of another member -- this one seeks to know, or this one can be trusted, or this one yearns for mastery. These are the easy introductions, where the new member can be swiftly brought up to speed and connected to the knowledge and instruction they might seek.
Some find the Coven through their own cleverness and wit. They chase rumors of people who keep unusual magical practices, or who gather in secluded places, or who have managed to hide their search for strength and understanding in plain sight -- and just often enough, they find what they are looking for, if not necessarily what they knew they were looking for.
Others still might not have imagined any such interest at all in mastering such strength -- but chance, fate, destiny, or whatever it might be nudges them in the right place at the right time, awakening a curiosity that they would have otherwise thought entirely foreign.
There are as many particulars as there are individuals. What's yours?
The Coven is one part social club, one part discussion group, and one part magical secret society, meant to gather folk who chafe at the socially-acceptable normal boundaries of knowledge. Characters can be invited to join based on the recommendations of a friend, or because they came to be aware of it by following rumors or other evidence of its existence. There are three real requirements for membership:
Beyond that, membership is functionally open to all, regardless of tribe, ancestry, social standing, religious beliefs, sex, gender, age, or previous experience in the magical arts. Technologically-inclined characters are not forbidden, though please be aware that the the IC components of this community are focused on the collective narrative exploration of magic instead of the latest cool Allagan doohickey.
Unlike many secret societies, the Coven is explicitly a non-hierarchical organization. There are no single leaders, save those who emerge as needed to address problems or organize projects. Members may identify themselves as Students (seeking teachers), Adepts (available to take students), or as simple Initiates (seeking colleagues and comrades), but these titles are more roles than they are ranks, and imply only as much respect as the claimant can earn from others.
Magic in FFXIV is still as much art as science, the boundaries of what is possible extending far beyond the realm of what is known in Eorzea -- and those boundaries are likely to change with every new expansion and patch. As such, the Coven is happy to accept lore-compliant, lore-bending and lore-adjacent characters so long as they are the sort who are willing and inclined to cooperate with others.
More important than character lore, though, is the players who make it up. This community is 18+, and we have a zero-tolerance policy on harassment, bullying, disruptive behavior, and bigotry of any stripe. Management reserves the right to issue warnings or remove community members outright based on the severity of offenses. We endeavor to be transparent in our judgements so there is no confusion as to the standards of behavior we expect.
Character-versus character stories and narratives are permissible within the Coven ground, but we highly recommend that players discuss the possible consequences of their dispute before staves are drawn and spells are slung.