His Grace Duke Aramis Llyrr met with His Majesty King Gareth to solidify the passage of command over the Order of the Unlidded Eye to king and country. The Order shall now be the supreme espionage and counter insurgency agency in the kingdom.
Formed in the early days of the Ashbury’s former kingdom, the Order began as a simple scouting and military intelligence group. It arose from its humble origins chiefly through the efforts of its greatest member to date: Alessandra Bruna. It was Alessandra who gave the Order its name. To those under her command, she stressed the need for great powers of perception and observation...to be ever alert, as aware as an unlidded eye. Alessandra was charismatic and her scouts took her words to heart. Immediately, the results of her group improved dramatically.
However, in 272 ER, during King Ulson Endarr III’s first Northern Campaign, a jealous rival placed an insurgent within her group. The barbarians captured Alessandra behind enemy lines. She spent the next four months as their prisoner before finally escaping.
Upon her return to active duty in 273 ER, Alessandra broke up and reformed her intelligence group, choosing only the most loyal of her operatives. She began to stress the need, in addition to being like “an unlidded eye,” for absolute loyalty. Again, her charismatic speeches branded her ideals into the hearts of her operatives and she never again was a victim of insurgency within her own ranks.
In fact, Alessandra began to develop counter-insurgency techniques and the spy that had betrayed her to the barbarians was rooted out from among the scouts of the army. Soon after, her rival who had hired the spy was discovered and charges were brought up before the military courts.
In 274 ER, impressed by these new techniques, her military commanders brought Alessandra Bruna before King Ulson. The King granted Alessandra permission to develop a special military intelligence and espionage group.
Alessandra took to her new task with a fervor. She created an order with her ideals serving as its most sacred tenements. At the behest of those who had long served under her, she dubbed the new organization The Order of the Unlidded Eye. They adopted a symbol: A sword with dragons flanking the hilt and a long tapered set of banners around the blade. Emblazoned in the center is a sapphire, which resembles an alert eye. Though the operatives of the Order were to always maintain secrecy and remain hidden at all times, this symbol became a badge to flash at high-ranking nobles in times of trouble.
Since the ominous phrase “The Order is involved” was first spoken to a noble, it has remained in use to this day.
The second most prominent figure in the Order’s long history was a famous human thief and outlaw, Florio Woechek. Florio was no ordinary footpad. He made an art out of infiltration, so that he was able to case whole households for potential burglary and move among the city watch to learn of guard positions and movements. His biggest ally was his anonymity; no one actually knew what Florio Woechek looked like.
It was Alessandra herself who learned of Florio’s infiltrations, rooted him out and captured him in 276 ER. So impressed by Alessandra's feat, he became intrigued by the new Order of the Unlidded Eye. He offered his knowledge of infiltration in exchange for a reduced sentence. Alessandra accepted and went before King Ulson, who was home from the northern campaign for the winter.
King Ulson agreed and sentenced Florio to ten years service as an instructor to the Order.
By 285 ER, the barbarians were defeated and the first Northern Campaign was over. However, there was great civil unrest among the commoners due to the heavy casualties and high taxes caused by the war.
By this time, the Order of the Unlidded Eye had benefited from Florio Woechek’s techniques and became fully efficient in not just the ways of military intelligence, but in the methods of insurgency, infiltration and counter-insurgency. The King called upon them to root out potential rebels and other threats to the stability of the kingdom during this troubled time.
Operatives of the Order helped track the movements of the famous liche Mourna in Blythdale, so that Sir Kabar Fenwyck and his knights could locate and destroy her.
In 287, a local thieves’ guild rose to greater power and the task of combating the underworld was given to The Order of the Unlidded Eye. Thus began the Order’s longest and hardest fought war; the war against organized crime.
In 312 ER, at the age 62, Alessandra Bruna retired from active duty in the Order and began the tradition followed by most who retire from Order: she opened a Sage’s Guild. There she worked, assisting the Order until her death in 343 ER, dying of old age. She was 93.
Florio Woechek, now 50 years old took over as the head of the Order. Over the next decade, Florio successfully destroyed several enemy spy rings throughout the kingdom. Florio retired from active service in 327 ER, at the age of 65 and worked with Alessandra in her Sages Guild. He died of old age in 341 ER. He was 89.
Since the days of Alessandra and Florio, the Order of the Unlidded Eye has a tradition of “keeping it in the family.” It is very common to see a child of a member raised to one day join the Order. Usually, the Order accepts children at the age of 13 to begin apprenticeship.
At the time when the Duchy of Ashbury was swallowed by the Black Maw and transported to the world of Fortannis, the heads of the Order, including many of its diverse operatives, were in Ashbury for a ducal celebration.
At a glance, here is the structure of the Order of the Unlidded Eye :
The Order is made up of only the righteous and the just. Candidates are thoroughly tested on not only ability but ethics as well. A single person given the title, Grand Oculus, runs the organization. The Grand Oculus reports directly to the King.
There are two officers beneath the Grand Oculus who assist in running the Order: The Focus Administrator, who is responsible for running the day to day operations and triage between all incoming reports, communications and the Grand Oculus; and the Scrutiny Master, who is responsible for the security within the Order and has a specialized team of operatives called Scrutinizers to assist her/him.
There are a number of divisions that comprise the Order of the Unlidded Eye.
The Iris is made up of common folk patriots in key positions, such as farmers at the border, tavern owners, merchants, and others who are paid to report any suspicious or new activity that might concern the Order. Their title is Watcher. This branch is split up into various subdivisions, according to the specific territory, one for each border, one for each village, town or city and one for each Baronial manor. (E.g. The Ashbury-Blackbourne Compact Iris, The Ash Forest Iris, The Nordenn Border Iris, etc.) The head of each sub division is called The Beholder. The head of the Iris as a whole is called the High Beholder and receives reports from the various Beholders. This officer, in turn reports directly to the Focus Administrator.
The Aware is the counter-insurgency and investigation division. It is the most visible of the Order’s branches. The agents are called Perceivers and it is their job to identify and root out all spies and threats to kingdom. The Perceivers also serve as elite scouts for the military. They have the power to arrest suspected perpetrators and they carry badges of the Order. The head of the Aware is called the Cognizant Officer.
The Insight is the division of insurgents, infiltrators, information gatherers and misinformation operatives. These deep cover agents are called Aspects. They are known to infiltrate within the kingdom borders and without, even infiltrating various Noble courts and official guilds. The head of this division is called the Horizon Officer
The Shadow Vision is only rumored to exist. This is allegedly the most
secretive branch of the Order, formed of the most trusted and righteous
operatives. Semi-autonomous, these agents, called Silhouettes, are said
to work outside the law as much as they do within it. The supposed head
of this division is called the Shadow Keeper and is said to report directly
to the Grand Oculus and to the Grand Oculus only.
Information from the south has apparently indicated that amazing events are occurring in the city of Galanthia Majora to the south.
It has been discovered that the Emperor of Galantia, Galanthys IV, is preparing to abolish all slavery within the empire. Already there is an outcry against the manumission of nearly one hundred thousand members of the slave caste. The elite Swords of Lore have placed the Emperor under constant guard — however the Emperor seems to care not for his own personal safety and has been seen traveling among the masses to gain support among the low prophets and common class.
It is believed that the Devorra, those that serve the memory of Glantri and follow his teachings, oppose the Emperor on prophetical grounds. They feel the Emperor may be acting on false visions of the future, and that he must not defy the will of Glantri. Members of Devorra have been heard to say that the Emperor may in fact have gone insane — or at least be under some form of mind control. The Emperor has ignored such statements and proceeded to gather support for his measures, and has commanded the Swords of Lords to take into custody several High Prophets found to be plotting against him. This public proclaimation has been released:
People of Galanthia!
It is with the eyes of prophecy that I have forseen a dark future manacled to our keeping of the institution of slavery. For hundreds of years, the success and folly of Galanthia has been tied to this immoral and corrupt action. It is time that we put aside this practice, and let all be free. My visions have been clear on this matter: that we move towards a powerful storm, not unlike that which Glantri saved us from many years ago — and like him I must take an active roll to avoid it. Let us clear away this foul institution, and let us forge a friendship with our neighbors to the North and to the South. Let Galanthys and Glantri guide us as they have in the past, through I, the Emperor, and the teachings of our greatest prophet Glantri.
In Truth and Honor
His Radiance
Galanthys
Emperor of Galanthia
King Gareth and the Dukes of Icenia were unreachable for comment, but this unbelievable act might move Icenia and Galanthia to a state of peace after many generations of hatred.
King Gareth's Condition Worsens
The infliction His Majesty King Gareth ap Moire suffers from has taken a turn for the worse. This ancient disease is the dark legacy of King Melagar’s long-ago treachery. Only members of the Icenian Royal family seem to be at risk of contracting the Monarch Malady and many have died from it since the time of Melagar’s fall from grace.
His Majesty’s spells of weakness occur more frequently now and Icenian healers say that this signifies that the malady has entered its next phase on its deadly course through king’s body.
Last year, roughly around this time, His Majesty contracted that strange disease, the Monarch Malady. King Gareth spoke to the nobles and adventurers assembled at the Royal Castle, Cil-Cilurion and said that an Etherean, one of the ethereal agents of the Virtuar, had appeared to him and told him of the cure: Icenia’s ancient and legendary Battle Queen, Sidraste, the Lady of Swords, must be found and awakened in the same manner as His Majesty had been.
Since that time, the adventurers of the Duchy of Ashbury have found Her Majesty but have yet to awaken her. Should these brave individuals fail to awaken the Battle Queen, the king will most surely die and our nation plunged into the bloody and dark grip of the Iniquitous.
IF YOU WANT to exchange your components and scrolls for coins, come to the Mage’s Guild. We buy all Celestial scrolls, ritual scrolls, components, and magic items.
MAGIC ITEMS! Armor! Scrolls! Potions! Elixirs! Gasses! Weapons! Components! Ritual scrolls! Horses! All adventuring supplies are available at Lord Roldo’s Imports! Trade-ins accepted.
REWARD FOR INFORMATION. Help put criminals where they belong. All sources kept confidential, all rewards distributed quietly. You have my word as a noble to His Grace. See Lord Magistrate Eros for details. Reward relative to worth of information.
I HAVE BEEN CHARGED with creating as thorough and neutral a text as possible on the history of the Biata. Anyone with knowldge of or involved in Biata history in any time period please contact me and tell me your story. – Cedric Fruvous, Biata Emissary
REWARD: 100 GOLD CROWNS for the capture of the hobling bandit known as Luvo Piper. Let us return law and order to the Duchy. – Sponsored by the AMC
PERWIN’S DELICIOUS BAKED GOODS! Baked goods almost always available when I’m in town, like my famous baklava, but you can always stop by my bakery in South Point for fresh treats. I also take special orders, just contact me for details. – Perwin the Baker
SARR OF THE KINGDOM RETURNED: You do not know what you have; trust us on this. The weapon is useless, and your attempts are futile. We know of your meeting at the “inn Between.” We know it all. Cease.
THE SAGE’S GUILD: More than just reading! The Sage’s Guild offers more than just research for hire and an extensive library. We offer the following goods and services: Armorsmithing, potion creation, celestial and earth magics, gas globe creation, alchemical books, weapon training, trap disarming and creating skills we also buy and sell scrolls and potions. So even if you aren’t a sage, we undoubtedly will be able to help you find what you want. – Ashbury Sage’s Guild
JOIN F.O.I.L.! (Free Our contamInated Land). AElves of Ashbury, band together to rid society of the menace of the savage Wild Elves! Ward the Wold! Join the society of freethinking, civilized beings who will work to effect a better culture, unfettered by adulteration and horrid admixture. Send your names, requests for membership cards, contributions and letters of support to: Teril Belayson, President and Treasurer, Belayson’s Honey Farm, Elindil, Ash Forest.