On the Order- The Unseen

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 ouhttp://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.