Order of the Dragon

Little known collectors of occult knowledge and items, members of the Order of the Dragon all seek to amass occult power, though the reasons for doing so vary between individual members. The rare meetings of members resemble swap shops and bazaars where occult items and knowledge is sold and traded.

Structure

The Order doesn’t have much of an organized structure, with occult or arcane power being the only measures of standing within the organization. Each nation or region within a nation generally has an organizer who arranges an annual get together where members get together to share and trade. Rumors persist however of a secret cabal that runs the Order from the shadows using its members to collect occult secrets and artifacts for some unknown purpose.

Public Agenda

To most of the public the Order of the Dragon is simply a group of traders who deal primarily in minor magics and arcane and occult treasures. Most don’t realize that the trading posts are part of a larger organization, though all the trading posts do bear the sigil of the Order somewhere visible though not obvious. Those few who know of the Order’s larger existance know them as collectors of obscure lore and antique trinkets.

Assets

As the largest group of collectors of arcane and occult secrets and artifacts, the Order is quite wealthy in arcane and occult power. However, the Order isn’t a very organized although they do tend to help one another out when they can. Most of the members are fairly wealthy, so the Order can command quite a bit of material wealth if they need to.

History

The group was founded almost two and a half millennia ago by a group of descendants of the Ypérochoi who’s ancestors had fled to the Old Kingdoms. Raised on tales of the glory of the Ypérochoi Empire they sought to recover some of that glory, specifically the arcane and occult power the empire had wielded at its height. Not wanting to arise the ire of the neighbors who feared a repeat of what happened to the Ypérochoi Empire in the Old Kingdoms, they kept their activities secret, meeting once a year to share and trade what they had found and discovered. As time passed the group accepted new members and the focus shifted from the Ypérochoi Empire to arcane/occult secrets in general.

It’s members often travelled extensively in search of the secrets and artifacts they coveted, and when they travelled to new lands they established outposts, ostensibly trading posts, but these trading posts had the ulterior motive of seeking arcane and occult secrets and artifacts. When the New Kingdom began to be settled the Order was already there, trading with the elves and dwarves and even mounting expeditions to the Frontier Lands. Naturally when the Frontier Lands began to be settled they were there.