Rome lasted for over a thousand years, and the order of the Augurs, its highest priests, is older still. The art they practised – of reading gods’ wishes and will – was invented by the Etruscans, and whence the Etruscans came, no one knows for sure. Some claim they always lived in what we know today as Italy, some claim they came there after the fall of Troy, yet others think they are descendants of noble Arimaspians.
Be it as it may, one thing is certain: the Augurs were stewards of secrets since time immemorial, and they guarded them vigilantly. Those who attempted to steal them risked the punishment of exile or death.