Amid the many orders of knights and heroes of The Realms,
there exists secret orders, unnoticed by the population at large, that function
much like the upstanding orders, but with less noble and more corrupt
motivations. Often the inner workings of these dark orders remain a
well-guarded secret, but via spies, outcast members, and sometimes sadly, their
victims, we have been able to uncover some of their secrets. We publish this at
great personal risk, but the world must know.
--Entropolonius Explainus
What year was the Order formed?
Circa. 1995, The Unseen was officially formed by a small
group of independent thieves and assassins that had been operating in The
Realms and avoiding prosecution by living in the largely ungoverned Southern
Wastes. They came to the conclusion that individuals with their talents can
only go so far on their own, but as a guild, there would be no limit to how
much they could accomplish. Their only hurdle was being able to trust one
another. The order is founded on that trust, with the understanding that, if
you are always looking within the circle, questioning motives, you will be
blind to threats outside the circle. Unconditional trust frees everyone up to
look for threats and opportunities beyond the circle.
What is their symbol?
It was once assumed that all the WasteRunners of the
Southern Wastes were members of this order, and therefore the Symbol of The
Wastes was their symbol, but exhaustive research uncovered that The Unseen have
some members that are not residents of The Wastes, and in fact, hold positions
in other nations of the realms, sometimes even leadership roles. Additionally,
it was revealed to us that there are WasteRunners that are not members of The
Unseen.
Did they have a traditional Knightly power, if so what was
it?
The Unseen do not have a traditional power, other than their
finely honed skills in their respective trade. Knightly powers confer a special
power on a group's member that makes them uniquely powered, as compared to other
individuals not in that group. So, if The Unseen have anything close to a
knightly power, it's that their membership runs up into some of the finest
nations in the realms. Your most trusted comrade might be one of them, which by
definition, makes them uniquely powered.
What do they look for when selecting squires?
While they don't refer to them as squires, they have a long
list of associates that they do business with. The order maintains
relationships with these associates and involves them in their nefarious
activities until a certain level of competence is displayed, and some level of
trust is established. It's a harsh environment with gruesome work, so it breeds
harsh, thick-skinned members. Inclusion is not for the meek, squeamish, or
those easily offended.
What is their squiring process like?
The process to become an associate, as described above,
tends to be fluid, but full induction is very
formal. We were lucky to have
recounted for us, a description of a rare initiation ritual that they use
to
bestow full membership. Many Bothans died to bring us this information:
Initiates were made to stand in a circle, back to back, at
dusk in a remote location. As they did, full members appeared from different
directions, all hooded and anonymous, and encircled them. Some of the leaders
removed their hoods while others preferred to remain anonymous. Then they
addressed the initiates. The most interesting part was their use and
description of the circle. An excerpt appears below:
"When you give your brother your unconditional trust,
when you give them your back, you are free to see things outside the circle.
You may see things that threaten the circle, or opportunities for the circle to
profit. With unconditional trust, each member of the circle can look outward.
There is no limit to your success. The circle has no back, no weakness."
Then they were made to turn and face each other.
"When you question the trust, you are constantly
looking inward at the members of the circle, you refuse to give them your back
and they respond in turn. With every member of the circle facing off against
every other member, the circle cannot see outside itself. It cannot see
opportunity. It cannot see threats. The circle is vulnerable from all sides.
The circle is all backs for the taking."
At this point, the other members started to leave. And the
initiates, still facing each other were told the following:
“You will not leave the circle until you have established
absolute trust between you. Let this be the last time you face inward, the last
time you question the trust. When you finally turn around to leave, do so with
unconditional trust between you. And never turn back."
And then the full members left the initiates completely.
Who is their current Knight Commander?
Again, not using the same titles as traditional Knightly
Orders, they don't call it such, but instead have a series of guild masters.
Though they publicly deny it, Sir Rob Scarlett and Sir Panther are rumored to
run the day to day dealings of the organization. Anyone looking for the
services of this kind of order would be quick to find that out, but in all our
investigations we were not able to determine the identity of who they answer
to. We did confirm that there is, in fact, a single guild master above them,
but that name seems to be known only to Rob and Panther, even the other members
did not seem to know the identity.
Who are their currently active Knights?
We have a list, though it's impossible to know if it's
complete. The ones that reside in The Wastes are easier to pinpoint, even if we
can’t be completely assured of our findings. Sir Kazmar appears to The
Realms
as a friendly, benevolent KoEF, but it’s been said he lends his healing powers
to The Unseen during their operations. Vax the Smith keeps them outfitted with
equipment and the latest gadgets specific to their trade. A tavern wench named Isolde manages a large
portion of their legitimate tavern and gambling business, but rumors of her
prowess with a bow suggest she’s received a kind of training that goes beyond
serving drinks. Others like Kaleb,
Lurch, Lion, Donavan and Saskia have not left the confines of The Wastes in
years, either retired or in hiding, we’re not sure.
The ones that do not reside in The Wastes, however, are not
so easily identified. We will not publish that list here out of fear for our
safety, as well as the safety of the individuals on that list. Corrupt as they
may be, no one deserves death by an angry self-righteous mob.
Do they have any interesting stories from their Knighthood's
past?
By the nature of their work and existence, the actions that
give rise to stories tend to be unobserved, and thus shared only within the
group, but occasionally, given enough drink, tales can be coaxed ou
http://southernwastes.com/writing/
t of them.
Particularly, if you frequent the establishment known as Panther's Inn, which
as you might guess, is owned by one of the masters, and serves as a haven for
them and their associates. Some of these tales have been passed around enough
that they have been recorded in the annals of history, though when sober they
deny any involvement whatsoever. A collection of those tales can be found in
another publication:
Anything else?
As is true of any extensive research, by the time this is
printed things may have changed. Our awareness of their size, power, and impact
is tempered by the very nature of a secret society. While on the surface it may
appear that their numbers dwindle, growth is never obvious until its impact is
felt. Our latest research suggests that their numbers are on the rise. Be wary of the impact.
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