Circle of Knowing
The Circle of Knowing was an organization formed by Louisoix Leveilleur in the year 1562 of the Sixth Astral Era. Tired of The Forum's unwillingness to act in the impending war with Garlemald, Louisoix secretly gathered his twelve greatest pupils, most of whom were Archons, and formed the group with a single missive: "the salvation of Eorzea." Sending his students into the city-states, the members of the Circle of Knowing hoped to reinstate the Grand Companies so the Eorzean Alliance would have a means to fight back against the Garlean Empire.
History
The members of the Circle of Knowing made their way to each of the city-states of Eorzea to try to convince them to rebuild the Grand Companies and unite as one to stand against the coming invasion, as the city-states of the Fifth Astral Era had done more than fifteen hundred years ago. Since the Garlean Empire had retreated behind Baelsar's Wall to safety, Eorzea's city-states had lost their common enemy, and had returned to their territorial disputes both with each other and the Beast Tribes of their respective lands. The leaders of each city-state were wary of the Circle of Knowing and hesitant to listen to what they had to say. This would change rapidly when the Beastmen began summoning their gods, or rather, the entities that would come to be known as Primals.
The Primal Threat
The "Primal threat" began in Thanalan, where the Amalj'aa of Paglth'an called upon Ifrit to retaliate against the members of Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern, who had been digging in the Amalj'aa's ancestral lands of Zan'rak. While the Lord of the Inferno was attacking there, the Amalj'aa attacked the various outposts near Ul'dah, slaughtering the underprepared troops there. With this, they had reclaimed the land as their own. Attacks by the other Beast Tribes began happening in a similar manner all across Eorzea, with increasing frequency, and the people of the city-states were at a loss on how to handle the supposed gods. Fortunately, the Circle of Knowing, having been the first to notice the sudden environmental decay of the lands affected by the summonings, were able to share what they knew with the leaders of Eorzea's city-states. The Circle had also observed the Aether slowly disappearing from the land with each new summoning. They reached out to their acquaintances, the Students of Baldesion, to divine how the Beast Tribes could have possibly come into the knowledge of aetherial manipulation on the scale of summoning.
Eventually, their search would reveal the existence of supposedly "shadowless" beings known as the Ascians, and the members of the Circle of Knowing were finally able to present Eorzea's leaders with information and evidence on how the Beastmen were performing their rituals. With this, the city-states and the Adventurers who were battling these entities now had a means to fight back more effectively. The Circle of Knowing had proven their trustworthiness, and each city-state acted upon their council, reforming the Grand Companies to act as a united front against all who would try to take their land from them.
Three-Sided Struggle
With the Garleans resuming their campaign into Eorzea, and the increase in Primal activity that seemed to coincide with their invasion, the Grand Companies were struggling to maintain ground. Louisoix and the other members of the Circle of Knowing offered a solution: Employ the use of Adventurers in a two-tiered offense. While the Grand Companies were handling the Garlean forces, the Adventurers would be able to handle the Primals. However, Beast Tribes that had previously not summoned their gods were now doing so, further increasing the pressure on the people of Eorzea. Under the guidance of the Circle of Knowing, they were able to at least quell the tide for the time being, however things were growing increasingly tense.
The Coming Calamity
The war between the Garlean Empire and Eorzea raged for some time. Thanks to the Circle of Knowing, the Adventurers were able to infiltrate the Empire's Castrum Novum and learn of Project Meteor. Though they were able to dismantle the "Lunar Transmitter", they learned from Nael van Darnus that his plan was already complete, and Dalamud would fall regardless of their attempts to stop it. The Circle of Knowing was able to provide evidence linking the moon to the Allagan Empire, and surmised that the Garlean Empire must have knowledge of a means to control the satellite. Eventually, they were able to track Nael van Darnus to Coerthas, amongst the floating rubble beneath Dalamud. The Eorzean Alliance sent a group of Adventurers to assassinate the legatus, hoping to stop the descent of the moon. The Circle of Knowing would, however, observe that even after the death of Nael van Darnus, Dalamud continued to fall.
Louisoix, the leader of the Circle of Knowing, finally came to the last-ditch attempt to save the land: fervent prayer to The Twelve in the hopes that they would be able to entreat with a higher power to stop the fall of Dalamud. While the idea was met with skepticism and challenge, the realization that there were few other options remaining settled over the Eorzean Alliance. The members of the Circle of Knowing, as well as the various peoples of Eorzea made their way to the various Marks of The Twelve to offer their prayers for safety. During this time, the Garlean Empire made ready for a final assault on Eorzea.
Finally, the conflict came, and the Battle of Carteneau began. Louisoix began enacting his plan to summon The Twelve while the members of the Circle of Knowing continued to offer prayer at the Marks. In the events that followed, Louisoix would manage to stop the elder wyrm Bahamut and save Eorzea, though at the cost of his life. The surviving members of the Circle would join with the members of the Path of the Twelve and go on to form the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.