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So I’ve been reading The Infinite and the Divine, and in the book it mentions Trazyn as being his dynasty’s self-proclaimed “Arch Archaeovist.” I haven’t been able to find any concrete definition on what this title means, however. I assumed it was an alternate spelling for “archivist” (similar to “artefact” / “artifact”), but the closest I can get to the word is “archaeologist” and “archaeoastronomy,” which don’t seem to fit nearly as well as him being an archivist of some sort. (Heck, I’m pretty sure he specifically uses the word “archive” quite often IIRC.)

Also, is he a Phaeron or an Overlord? (And what exactly is a Phaeron?)
(Also, if it isn’t too much trouble, how does Necron society work, anyway? I presume there’s some sort of hierarchy, with drones at the bottom and the Silent King at the top(?), and I have a vague idea of where certain factions of the Necrons fit in (like Flayed Ones and Destroyers), but i’m uncertain as to the specifics.

Phaeron's are the leaders of Dynasties.

Trazyn is just an Overlord of the Nihilak Dynasty, with the specific role of preserving the history of the galaxy the Necron's claim as their own.

Trazyn is literally just the Royal London Museum made manifest in the 40k universe

 Gert wrote:
Phaeron's are the leaders of Dynasties.

Trazyn is just an Overlord of the Nihilak Dynasty, with the specific role of preserving the history of the galaxy the Necron's claim as their own.

So Phaerons are just Overlords that lead their Dynasty? (Also, does a Phaeron have to be an Overlord or can it be something lesser in their hierarchy?)
Sorry if these are dumb questions, I'm still new to 40K in general, especially the lore.

A Phaeron is the Overlord of Overlords.
In simple terms, they are the king/queen of their "realm" and Overlords are the various nobles of varying rank.
There are other court attendants such as the Royal Wardens, which are an Overlord's right hand, and Crypteks, which are basically court wizards or alchemists.

To represent a Phaeron in the game, you would usually use the Overlord rules and model but as with everything in 40k if someone made their own Dynasty that was ruled by Crypteks, then the Phaeron of that dynasty could be a Cryptek.

Are standard lords still a thing, or have they been merged with Royal Wardens?

There are still rules but not a model. Functionally I believe there isn't a difference at this point between an Overlord and a Lord rules-wise so it's likely that those profiles will just be consolidated.
In the background, Necron courts are huge and not every single noble is going to be the same rank so what would be considered a "Lord" is still going to be kicking around somewhere.

 Gert wrote:
There are still rules but not a model. Functionally I believe there isn't a difference at this point between an Overlord and a Lord rules-wise so it's likely that those profiles will just be consolidated.
In the background, Necron courts are huge and not every single noble is going to be the same rank so what would be considered a "Lord" is still going to be kicking around somewhere.

Fair. Thinking about it, if the Royal Warden is the 2ic of an Overlord, they would probably be first-amongst lords of the court of that overlord, if lords were not being quietly dropped now the models are gone.

I would assume that "Archeovist" is a portmanteau of "archeologist" and "archivist".

So someone who not only studies the ancient, but collects and catalogues it for posterity also.

And an Arch Archeovist, would be the foremost in that field.

Or like the Marvel universe's "Collector".

Trazyn is the coolest necron.

And a very good move by GW for the setting because anything they want to re introduce they can say was in stasis in his museum. They could have brought back the squats by saying there were a load of them in Trazyns museum and then they rapidly cloned them selves after somehow escaping or being liberated.

Having loads of EC gene seed stashed in there was a good move to explain the continued supply of fresh CSM

And I believe there is a Krork in there, incase they ever want to give the Orks a Primarch level character

The vague idea of a Necron who collects Warhammer is quite fun in a meta sense; but the specific characterisation of Trazyn, and his general incompetence turns him into the same sort of lame cartoon villain that most Necrons have become.

'Hohoho I've got you right where I want you: Trapped in my museum. Oh, what's that? You've broken out and trashed the place? Please stop. Why does this always happen to me? Oh well, on to collecting my next piece of Imperium-related memorabilia...'


EDIT: Also of note is that Trazyn did used to be a Phaeron when he was introduced.