Orders of the Forbidden

While the Doctrine Absolute is upheld by the most zealous and committed of the Church's priests, exemplars and deltors, they are not the only enemies faced by wizards and monsters in the Sacred Republic.
Beyond mere soldiers, somewhere a little closer to the monsters themselves than most citizens are comfortable with, the Bloodhunters of the Orders of Forbidden devote themselves to the fight against the arcane, even to the cost of their sanity and souls. They use strange and ancient alchemies to brew a toxic elixir known as the Hunter's Bane, which grants those who drink it one of two things: Powers and abilities beyond those of mere mortals, or a quick and painful death. Those who survive enhance those powers with extensive training and study, and hone them through near-constant, practical application. Members of the Orders are easy to identify, as the trials of the Hunters' Bane leave permanent changes in their physiology.
Blood Hunters are widely mistrusted and generally feared - especially the Hunters of the Order of the Unhallowed, who devote themselves to battling the abominations of the Outerfolk with their own weapons - but when the Hunt is unavailable, they are all that many people have to rely on when unnatural beasts and rogue arcanists threaten. They have a reputation for ruthlessness, obsession and greed, since despite their supposed dedication to the hunt, they rarely take down anything without being paid. Despite this, they have some status and importance, as the Orders hold the domain known as the White Country, in northern Ardheim, and several of their number hold the office of elector in both the province and the Sacred Republic.
The original, singular order broke after a century and a half into two subordinate groups. There are now four known Orders within the wider organisation, and a number of additional administrative and associated groups.

• Order of the White - The order responsible for the defence of the Orders' stronghold of Weissgard and the maintenance and development of their alchemical secrets, rose centuries after the creation of the Orders, in a time when the secrets of the Bane were in danger of being lost. Their hair - if they have any - loses its colour, becoming bone white over time, and their skin acquires uneven mottling.
• Order of Ghosthunters - One of the two orders of the first divison, the ghosthunters are dedicated to battling the undead, corporeal as well as ethereal. The Bane leaves their eyes with a milky appearance, but with no reduction in eyesight. As they grow in power, shadows spread across the skin around their eyes.
• Order of the Unhallowed - Whle the ghosthunters focused on the undead, others dedicated their hunt to turning the weapons of the ancient enemy against them, and to keeping the Outerfolk and their masters dormant. The Bane infiltrates their veins, causing them to grow pronounced, and to darken over time to near-black.
• Order of the Profane Soul - Formed as an underground movement during the time of the Mage Sovereigns and now officially defunct, this order specialising in hunting rogue arcanists, and wielding unholy powers of their own to that end. The Bane leaves their skin marked with an alien script, which spreads across their skin as their power grows.
• The White Council - The ruling body of the Orders, formed of the elder members of the various orders, who lead through proven survival instinct.
• The White Guard - A ley militia which defends the Orders' holdings in the White Country.
• The White Scholars - A ley administrative body which undertakes the day to day management of the Orders' estates, mostly in the White Country.

All of the Orders dwindled in the time of the Sovereigns, but enjoyed a resurgence when they made common cause with the Union during the War of Hubris. This common cause has protected the Orders for the last century, despite suspicion leveled at them for the magics of their rites, for the Profance Soul’s very existence, and their ties to the old druidic circles. Based in the fortress of Weissgard, they are less than they were, more than they have been, and as committed to their fight as ever.
What is known by very few outside the Orders, is that they used this alliance to protect the druidic circles, even when apparently hunting them down, aiding many in vanishing into quiet lives and concealing others in Weissgard after the fall of the White Baron.
Along with the Orders of Purity in the Darklands, the Orders of the Forbidden form the wider Orders of Bloodhunters. There has been little cross-pollination between the two groups, but there are a few in the northern orders who have adopted the practices of the Purifiers' Order of the Beast.

Type

Military Order