Privately Operated

The Beacons of Sunlight

841 - 900

Type Adventuring Party
The Beacons of Sunlight were an adventuring party who stood against the undead plague quietly moving across Prathia. They alone defeated Lord Idris Daemon  before he was able to complete a ritual he believed would summon the Betrayer to Ovenica. You can read about their adventures here in the Shadow Over Ovenica timeline.

League of the Eye

Founding Date 35
Type Guild, Mages
Demonym Witness
Leader Carston Juhl
Location Palesteel Academy

Structure

The League of the Eye govern themselves through Carston Juhl and a select group of the best individuals in the League. Beneath them are the regular members they call Witnesses, and then finally their Mage Catchers who may not wield much magic on their own, but are no less dangerous or competent.

History

Originally founded shortly after The Gods War, The League of the Eye was created in response to a rise in dangerous magic users. With a severe lack of borders, anyone with a decent grasp of magic could easily hold sway over a large area of land. The organization's creator, a tortle wizard named Bem, decided it was unwise for this to continue and gathered to him those he could. Together they quelled the errant magic users, bringing some into their fold and destroying others. When Bem disappeared suddenly shortly after his forty seventh birthday the organization continued on without him.

In the years since then, The League of the Eye has been beside all the great rulers of Ovenica. Though there have been clashes between both them and The Angels of Iron, the two groups managed to maintain relatively good relations.

In the year 603 AGW the League's leadership vanished. Fearing betrayal and a murderous plot, the other members of the League hid their knowledge and fled. They hid themselves among the common folk, in fear for their lives. Only in the year 818, shortly after the appearance of The Seraph was the League of the Eye revived when a young mage named Rolmir Palesteel discovered the secret tomes of the League beneath his family's castle.

Redfeathers

Founding Date 817
Type Religious, Holy Order
Demonym Redfeather
Deities The Pilgrim, The Scholar

Structure

Redfeathers have no true organizational structure past Seekers and Keepers, but even these titles will change based on the current duties of the Redfeather. Many Redfeathers swap between the two roles throughout their lives until travel becomes too much and they settle in as Keepers until the end of their lives.

Keepers live at a Redfeather Keep. They are in charge of taking care of the books, manuscripts, tomes, and other pieces of literature housed there. They have vast lists with incredibly detailed descriptions of each piece, where it came from, who wrote it, it's purpose, and it's location within the Keep. When a Seeker returns from an expedition, they immediately are sat in a room with a Keeper and are debriefed.

Seekers spend most of their time out in the world. While some are given specific tasks following rumors of lost knowledge, most Seekers simply travel from place to place. They listen to stories, purchase obscure literature, and even sometimes are required to...liberate a significantly rare document.

Redfeathers are given similar training because, while some people are more suited to one job or another, it is expected that Redfeathers spend time doing duties as both a Seeker and a Keeper.

Assets

Redfeathers usually have access to whatever resources they need to complete their task. It is considered a sacred honor to be chosen as a Redfeather and those outside the order hold them in high regard.

History

In the year 815 the High Priests decided they needed a more formal method of storing history. It took some time but eventually they anointed the first Redfeathers and began the order. They built, or repurposed, keeps around Ovenica and turned them into heavily guarded libraries. Visiting a Redfeather Keep is a privilege that should never be taken lightly.

Though the order itself is not a kept secret, the inner workings of the order, its goals, and even sometimes its priests, are a closely guarded secret.

Ever since the actions of Gulrig Clanless and the rest of The Angels of Iron, The Redfeathers have since split from their connections to the organization and paired up with Carston Juhl and The League of the Eye in order to continue fulfilling their intended purpose.

The Silent Assembly

Founding Date 287
Dissolution Date 860
Type Secret, Brotherhood
Demonym Study, Master
Leader Ulric Covenlash

Light the Way

Structure

The Silent Assembly is governed by a circle of seven Masters, each having spent years perfecting the study of Calastii. These Masters determine the Assembly's goals and give orders to those lower in ranking. Ranking is determined by experience, with some flexibility towards particularly powerful students. When a master dies or steps down, all students are recalled and those who have spent a minimum of ten years compete in tournaments and tests to determine who is worthy of taking up the mantle of Master.

Culture

The Silent Assembly believes that no power should ever grow to the extent that it has the possibility of total control over a populace, and they take steps to ensure that none do.

Assets

The Silent Assembly are in possession of multiple ancient and hidden temples across Ovenica which they use as safe houses for their members. Past that the Assembly focuses on infiltration and as such use the assets of the organizations they have infiltrated.

History

The founder of The Silent Assembly is shrouded in mystery. It is rumoured that even the Masters do not know who they were. However the intent of the Assembly's creation is well know among its members. When the first holds of Ovenica began to rise up and grab land for themselves someone decided they needed to be kept in check. From there the vision of the Assembly grew to encompass all people who would seek to grab more power than necessary.
After the sudden dissapearance of their Leader Ulric, the Silent Assembly fell apart, many of its members going into hiding, or joining other organizations such as The Sect of the Black sign.

Followers of the Beacon

Founding Date 898
Type Civilian, Knightly Order
Demonym Beacons
Leader Eagrain Oveth Iago
Location Galekeep

Structure

Followers of the Beacons receive training and wisdom from the most experienced among them. Those with experience lead the organization, and determine its direction. The more experience within the organization one has, the more sway their words have.

Culture

Many followers believe in the organization (and the adventuring party it venerates) almost religiously. The idea that saviours can come from anywhere is a highly regarded tenet among most in the organization. Because of this, The Followers of the Beacon are respectful to those they perceive as having more experience, but in turn demand respect from those with less. Within the organization this keeps the wheels turning smoothly, though outside of it this mentality has lead to more than a few, perhaps unnecessary, confrontations.

Public Agenda

The Followers of the Beacon actively work to stamp out undead creatures, abominations of nature, and other such terrors that hunt the weak and helpless. The Followers of the Beacon ask for no payment, and make their gold through donations and regular mercenary work. Often less experienced members can be seen guarding caravans from bandits and thieves.

History

When news of The Beacons of Sunlight and their defeat of Lord Idris Daemon began to spread, it whipped up a fervour among many of the common folk who decided to also take up arms to strike out against the things that threaten those who cannot defend themselves. After a few years they began to realize they had a substantial amount of people wanting the same goals and a few came together in order to create a sense of cohesion and efficiency.

The Order of the Shield

Type Civilian, Knightly Order
Predecessor Organization The Shield of Basin

Deeds not words.

Members of The Shield roam the land as self proclaimed arbiters of justice. Named after The Shield of Basin, those heroes who delved deep into the silver isles, Shields pride themselves in being heroes who search out evil and attempt to bring it to justice. In the beginning, perhaps, they had good intentions. Two hundred years later however, Shields are looked upon with suspicion at best and open hostility at worst. The order is spread thin. Many call themselves Shields but simply do as they please, meting out their own form of “justice” wherever they see fit.

There are still a few however who stick to the old beliefs and follow in the footsteps of those who came before. Shields only take their helmets off in the presence of one they can trust completely, or when they are alone. Though many other traditions have fallen by the wayside, this is one of the few that remain.

Culture

Tenets of the Order of the Shield


We work for a world in balance.
We do not forsake the actions of today for the plans of tomorrow.
Our armour is our life and our sword our drive. Neither shall you allow to be removed from you while in the presence of others.
Charity is our path, not others, and you will accept no favour unless you can return it.