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- "dominus nox"
- ―The Keeper's motto
The Keepers of the Night where a Battle Team within House Gladius, but has rescently been closed.
As though an apparition, the figure stood before you, enshrouded in the robes of a powerful Grand Master. His was a face of mystery.
His robes were very dark, black as the misty darkness that surrounded him. The pristine gold bands scintillated from the faint light of the stars, his eyes glowed with a subtle, patient stare.
He stared as though looking right through your soul. His focus was powerful, his dark influence overwhelming. For the first time, you had at last achieved clarity. It was truly deadly, dark, and deep. It held a special significance as though recalled from a nightmare and now relived here. Familiar, yet so strangely new. The cacophony of your soul laid to rest by the euphonious darkness. All at once, you had succumbed to the awesome labyrinth of the dark side.
It was then that you realized your destiny with the Keepers of the Night. And so, you entered…
Initiation
Initiation into the phyle is a test of will. One not only needs to be aware of the code of the Dark Jedi but also live by it. Each initiation test is different for each member. Should your test be to kill one you’ve know your whole life then that will be your test. Perhaps you’ll have to face the current Tetrarch to prove yourself worthy to become a Keeper. Perhaps spending a night in the closet will be your test. Only the Tetrarch knows.
History
The Wizards of the Crypt was born out of hatred and jealousy. It’s members came together to oppose the powerful Mystics of the Black Arts. The Gladius phyle had dominated the house since it was first created. Each Tetrarch sought only the most active members and shunned the rest. It was those who were shunned that held resentment for the phyle. They banned together and formed the Wizards of the Crypt.
At first the phyle seemed to be something to contend with. They were all highly active and dedicated on dethroning the Mystics. They pushed the image of being a more laid back phyle while still being top notch. This drew many new members while the Mystics stayed shut off from the others. However, their glory was not lived for very long.
With the decline of the house and various leadership changes the Wizards fell into the pit of inactivity. The current Tetrarch tried to fight against this new enemy but in time inactivity took over. Eventually the phyle was closed and all members removed. Most had left Gladius by then in pursuit of personal growth.
The house was soon torn apart when the announcement of the split came upon all ears. Discord came to even the Mystics who had also fell into decline. These were dark times for all in Gladius. Yet out of the ashes came a new light dedicated to bringing back activity and competition to the house. The ex-Quaestor who had once shut down the Wizards now came forth along with two others to reopen the phyle.
Determined to take the Wizards to new heights they set to work with the blessings of the current Quaestor of Gladius. They reformed the phyle and brought new membership into it. The new membership held the same drive and determination that its leaders showed and together they renamed themselves The Keepers of the Night. The once Mystic and the Quaestor who had shut down the phyle now held rein over the group.
Drawing up the strength of the members, the new Tetrarch seeks to defeat the Mystics of the Black Arts at every turn. It is now up to the members to prove that they are the superior phyle in Gladius.
Headquarters
The Meeting Room
The room is a giant rectangle with a rectangular table to boot. The table is a smooth reflective stone surrounded by chairs of soft red leather. There are lights hanging from the ceiling which floods the room with light. Not enough to be harsh but just enough to make everything clearly visible. At each station of the table is a monitor incased in the stone. The screens are touch screens where any member can access the Brotherhood’s archives or use information of their own. A holographic projector sits in the middle of the table.
The Library
Upon a flat slab of stone along a cold hallway is a spot where only Keepers know. They trace an arch along this spot with their fingers and the stone revels stairs that spiral upwards. After a short climb they reach the top and are at the entryway to the library. There sitting at a large desk is a member who is currently assigned to guard the library.
The library is massive. Walls of books lined the outer walls while other shelves stand in the middle giving it a maze like feel. In the center are some of the phyle’s most valued books. These sit on marble podiums and are chained with gold chains. The ceiling is magnificent. It is made of glass that in the night allows beautiful moonlight and starlight to filter down into the library giving everything a sacred look.
The Closet
Just as the Mystics have a closet, so do the Keepers. It is actually an old torture chamber situated beyond the meeting room. The Keepers call this their closet because it is not much bigger than any other closet. Yet it has its own horrors within. The closet is the home to an unspeakable evil. One that is so evil that it only has one name and that name is The Queen of Nightmares. The Queen of Nightmares is made up of pure dark energy. Her body is in the shape of a very beautiful lady, most of the time, but it has no real shape or depth to her. Since her body is made of pure dark energy she can change forms at will. She resides within her place of death and torments the dreams those who are placed within the closet. Beware entering the closet for she will enjoy being your nightmare.
The Common Room
This room is situated next to the library. It contains many comfortable chairs to relax in and a small annex which members may duel each other or play games in. The current game is one the Tetrarch and a few other members enjoyed a long time ago. It involves a doll that looks just like the CON and several shock sticks. The goal of the game is to deal the most shocks to the CON doll. Anything goes in this crazy yet fun little game.
The Artifact
For their decisive help in solving several mysterious murders within the Brotherhood, the Keepers were rewarded The Tome of the Falin-Shar. This is a highly guarded book within the library. Only members of the Keepers and current leaders of the house can view this book. Only certain details are allowed to be known outside of this group such as:
How the Dark Brotherhood came to acquire the Tome
A small group of Jedi on a reconnaissance mission to a planet in the Dajoor system had been asked to retrieve some literature from the planet in the hope that this would give some background about their political situation. Unfortunately, the inhabitants’ written language was indecipherable and the Jedi were forced to simply select a number of random books, including the Tome. Over the next few months, internal disputes refocused the Dark Brotherhood’s attention and no further action was taken with regards to the planet.
After an initial inspection showed that much work would be required to decipher the language used, the book sat in the Krath archives. It was part of the library that Krath High Priestess Alanna managed to extract and take with her when the rebel Brotherhood broke away from Ronin.
The background of the Tome
The Tome relates to the Falin-Shar – an ancient race who once inhabited Cular, a small planet in the Dajoor system. Cular has a relatively hospital environment and its timeline shows evidence of a number of successive civilisations over the last 10s of 1000s of years.
The Falin-Shar were a nomadic people. Much of their culture is lost to history because of their tradition of passing their myth and lore orally through the generations. The Tome is therefore a very valuable anomaly, and only exists because one of the Falin-Shar’s most highly regarded spiritual leaders pronounced the need to keep accurate records of his people’s lives in order to better focus his entreaties to their Gods for good fortune.
The Tome is protected by an ancient magic – apparently a variant on Force magic. Any who study the rituals described therein without the ‘blessing of the Gods’ will be cursed to die an inhumane death. When properly interpreted, this means that the reader must embrace the Force whilst reading the rituals, or risk losing their connection to the Force and all living things - being driven slowly mad, and to the brink of suicide. Merely glancing at the text won’t trigger the curse – one must be reading and understanding the rituals for the effect to take place.
The rituals themselves are largely myth and superstition, but towards the end of the Tome, the reader will find a section on ‘Death magic’, which the Falin-Shar considered a suitable punishment for those transgressing their law. Interestingly, it is the one section which seems to have some potential for actual use.
The reader will find a number of novel poisons, although some ingredients will have to be replaced with more commonly available plants and, perhaps more importantly, a number of rituals to decrease a Force-user’s abilities (aka ‘Force Inhibition’). There are also hints that the Falin-Shar may have successfully resurrected a number of their great leaders, by a vast injection of Force power soon after the moment of death. However, the references are vague and unsubstantiated.
Phyle Leaders