Any character from any domain may choose to be in service to the Silence as an infiltrator within their chosen domain, forgoing their Domain's Advantage and Disadvantage for those of the Silence.
Faction Summary
Few people know anything about The Order, and those few do not speak of it. Espionage and sabotage are common in Dischordia. Every domain has enemies, and every domain has a spymaster willing to ply his trade against them. The Nameless Order of Silence has successfully operated behind this smokescreen for some time, striking at every domain. Domain lords, spymasters, and conspiracy nuts have only recently begun piecing together apocryphal accounts of the Order’s existence, but have faced endless frustration at the lack of solid leads. Agents they capture rarely know much, and often die or vanish before questioning, leaving them with more questions than answers. What they have pieced together is that the group has been referred to as “The Nameless Order,” or “The Silence”. It is an organized and highly secretive conspiracy led by an entity known only as “The Director,” though details of this creature are a total mystery. Some suspect that it is tied to the Shadow Court, though there is no evidence to support or refute that claim. Still others have speculated that Prince Ailil created the organization to undermine Balor, and even a few who believe King Balor himself is the Director... though none of them have been able to find even the slimmest measure of evidence to support their wild theories. Some have even begun to suspect that Silence are faceless agents for Nul and the Kingdom of Aether, though proof of this is equally lacking.
(You must have Spies or Information Network of 4 or higher to have even heard of this organization.)
Life in the Domain
Agents of the Silence live double lives. In their daily life, they act as any other member of the domain they've infiltrated. But they must be ever-vigilant to keep the truth concealed. They must be on constant watch, not only for the secrets of others, but for those who would uncover their own.
Dominant Races
The Order recruits from any and all races, though cunning and subtlety are valued
Paradigm: Any paradigm that values subtlety and information, and doesn't mind getting their hands dirty. Ahl-i-Batin, Akashics, Euthanatos, and New World Order would all have a valued place in this organization.
Costuming and Archetypes
Imperial Courtier, Covert Assassin, Domain Infiltrator
Politics & NPCs
The exact structure and chain of oaths within the Order are highly concealed, even from agents of the Order, itself. The Order operates as individual cells, and agents have minimal contact with one another or the Order as a whole, reporting instead to a handler (who may or may not be their Lord). Only The Director knows for certain the number & identity of his agents.
The Order values loyalty above all else, and betrayal is punished harshly. Of course, Domain Lords are also likely to punish traitors when they are discovered. Order operatives are forced to walk a very tenuous line between sworn loyalty to the Order, and apparent loyalty to their domain. If an agent’s cover is compromised, they are likely to suffer at the hands of their domain, the Order, or both. A betrayed domain lord will likely seek to discover the agent’s true loyalties, while the Order will act with finality to ensure its continued secrecy... This does, however, come with a measure of freedom from the usual restrictions of fealty. The Nameless Order of Silence is beholden to no Domain and no domain lord. The result is an intricate spy network of operatives embedded throughout Dischordia and, some believe, the world.
Silence operatives all have a 5-point Obligation which takes the form of Oaths of Loyalty, Secrecy and Duty that are sworn by every initiate into the Order. Anyone who betrays the Order’s tenets will find themselves as targets of the Order, who will stop at nothing to ensure the disloyalty is punished and the offender is silenced. Those who break any of the oaths earn Enemies x 5, but they could be anyone...
Historical Information
Shroud Fall
The origins of the Nameless Order of Silence are as shrouded as the organization itself. Even most operatives know very little of the Order's history. ███████ investigators have discovered evidence of the Order's existence before the fall. █████ records within the ███████████████ reveal a █████ known as the Silence, founded by the ██████████████, ██████, and sponsored by ████ ███ ██████, both members of the ██████ ████. The Silence specialized in the flow of information. They established themselves as the eyes and ears of ██████ ██████ █████. To aid in their duties, the Silence obtained controlling influence over the Media. Inclined as they were towards secrecy, they concealed themselves completely. Even the Council of █████ and the other ██████ remained ignorant of their existence.
With the Fall of the Shroud, they went underground, disappearing from all records. The Council of █████, unaware of its existence in their midst, did not notice its absence. Some Imperial historians believe that the Silence accompanied ███████ seneschal, ███████ ██████, to ██████, ████████, where they established new identities and a new base of operations.
During this time, the world fought the War of the Dead. Though no proof exists of their involvement (or existence) some believe they were. Some unknown force, perhaps the Silence, relied on covert operations to combat the Legions. They engaged in espionage, sabotage, harrier attacks, infiltration, and assassination of Giovanni generals. Unexplained deaths of enemy officers, and routing of Legion units, helped to turn the tide of the War.
Founder's Era
As domains grew and established themselves, the Order grew as well. It spread its tendrils and informants from its base of operations in ██████ to every corner of the kingdom. As each noble gathered people to grow their title, they paid no attention to exactly who they were taking in. It was a simple matter for the Order to seed a few agents into the crowd, gaining a foothold in each domain. In the span of a few months, the Silence had operatives in every domain in Dischordia. Its network of spies grew unmatched.
Surveyor Recruitment
One of the only recorded overt moves of the Order came during the Surveyor's Court. ██████ █████████ approached select nobles from each domain, to recruit them. Those nobles were influential in their domains' █████████ organizations. It is unknown if this recruitment drive was successful. They presented each recruit with an opportunity to join "the Order that serves █████ as his eyes and ears." Of course, none were able to confirm or disprove this claim. Spymasters and conspiracy theorists tried to find reliable information about the mysterious organization. The Silence withdrew back into the shadows. They concealed their existence behind secrecy and anonymity. They ensured no proof of their existence remained, but rumor and hearsay.
Read more: (Surveyor Court) Surveyor Recruitment
Their sudden appearance attracted the attention of the curious and the paranoid. But the distinct absence of any reliable information fueled wild theories. Regardless of the truth, urban myths and conspiracy theories grew and spread. Soon, every strange event or covert action became attributed to the nameless Order. Prince Ailil's disappearance spawned theories that he was the mastermind behind the Order. Aether's attack inspired the belief that the Silence's infiltration enabled Nul's devastating strike. As each event added fuel to the stories, it became impossible to separate fact from fiction. Exposure of the Order's existence appeared at first to be a blunder. Yet in the end, it created an even more elaborate smokescreen to conceal its activities.
Court of Empires
The Court of Empires brought together the kingdoms of the world in the name of diplomacy. The Silence seized the opportunity to further spread their reach. As kingdom opened their borders to Ambassadors, the Silence moved █████ ███ ██████ into place. They could gather sensitive information and relay it back to █████ ████████. In a matter of months, the Silence had spread its webs into every kingdom in the world.
Read more: (Court of Empires)
Rumors of their presence in other kingdoms spread. But the Silence's existence remained only rumor. The sheer scope of the conspiracy made it impossible to prevent every leak. Still, no solid information could be uncovered. Would-be informants vanished without a trace or turned up dead. The information they revealed turned out to be contradictory or misleading. Even as the Order's reputation spread, few believed such a group could exist in such secrecy. Other criminal and espionage organizations capitalized on the rumors. They attributed their own clandestine activities to the "nonexistent" group. This muddled investigations even more. No doubt to the █████████ satisfaction.
War of Maelstrom's Rebuke
During the Court of Empires, diplomatic relations between Dischordia and Lazarus' Kingdom failed. Dischordian nobles learned of a dark ritual planned by the Prince Alyosha Buljiev. In response, Dischordia launched a coordinated attack on Buljiev's domain of Carpathia. Their attack, seen by Lazarus' Empire as unprovoked, precipitated the conflict. The hostility between the two kingdoms erupted into the War of Maelstrom's Rebuke.
Read more: (War of Maelstrom's Rebuke)
The Order made its most overt use of its extensive information network during the war. They risked exposure to share intelligence with important nobles and military generals. Even so doing, the Silence remained in the shadows, maintaining their valued secrecy. The information was anonymous. Intelligence reports appeared, seemingly from nowhere, in war rooms throughout Dischordia. Without knowing the source of these secrets, the recipients responded with skepticism and caution. They questioned the validity of the secrets contained in the mysterious reports. Yet those who acted upon the information found it always to be accurate.
The Sublime Cataclysm
The tides of the war began to turn to their enemy’s favor. The Dischordian lords of prepared a spectacular attack to bring a swift end to the conflict. Sultan Suleiman, a master of spirit magic, led the largest ritual the kingdom had ever seen. New Faith ritualists, students of the Arcane Academy, and a million occultists gathered from all domains aided him. The sky itself bled with the power they summoned. Chunks torn from the spirit realms themselves bombarded Lazarus’ Empire. As each realm struck, it laid waste to thousands of miles of Lazarus' territory. Millions perished in an instant, as the realms destroyed immense swaths of land.
Read more: (Sublime Cataclysm)
Though every Dischordian knows the details of the ritual, very few know of the role the Silence played in it. No doubt the Order prefers to keep it that way. While every domain lent power to the ritual itself, ███ Silence operatives infiltrated Lazarean cities. Each agent carried a beacon, to serve as an ██████, and draw the Realms down upon their targets. Despite their sacrifice, their names are neither recorded nor praised. Their fate, shared by many Silence agents, is to be forgotten, as if they never existed.
