Reavers

The Reavers are the most feared organization of the Centerlands, and for good reason: when they mark an enemy for death, that person or creature dies, sooner or later, and often by the unseen hand of one of their many assassins. However, Reavers are not for hire, and rarely ally with lesser entities such as local thieves’ guilds or the machinations of regional governments. The Reavers only take a contract when it aligns with their underlying purpose: to sow chaos and distrust amongst the various civilizations of the world, to foment unrest by playing their deadly cards at the most opportune moment. To this end, no target is too high or morally out of reach. The Reavers have assassinated Sunpriests and Priestkings, innocent children and ancient Elven sages who were present at the Dawning, pregnant dragons and even a demigod. Their killings might seem random at times to an outside observer, but it is exactly that unpredictable logic of terror that keeps the lowly and the powerful alike trembling in fear of the hidden blade.

History

A semi-clandestine group of plunderers and assassins, the Reavers arose as a widespread network of rebels engaged in guerilla warfare against the Voran Empire and all of its surrogates. Although even the Acadeum cannot claim to know its true origins, it is believed that a Monk of Iomedae founded the organization around 1800 AFR in the port city of Ruos in the Free Cities of Eshia, and that the group was originally designed to disrupt the workings of the Empire and undermine the teachings of Voran Church. It is known that the group was instrumental in stoking the fires of the resistance movement which eventually became the Great Rebellions, culminating in Iomedae's War and the collapse of the Voran Empire in 2230 AFR. At the end of the war, the head of the Reavers, a Paladin of Iomedae named Jesephin Jod from the slave colonies of Gathis (and a descendant of the founders of the Goldoath Knights), pressed for the complete destruction of Vora and the annihilation of the Knights of Nethereth, but Iomedae herself and other goodly deities demanded peace and ultimately allowed Voranor to remain a kingdom and the Voran Church to maintain some of its hold on the land. The Reavers felt betrayed and, following Jod, went back underground, abandoning Iomedae and pursuing more hidden yet direct routes of retribution, hunting down the Knights of Nethereth and Priests of the Church. Through the centuries they eventually embraced darker gods, Gorum, Norgorber, and, ironically, Asmodeus himself, altering their mission from one of disruption of power to that of the acquisition of new power and the corruption of existing power.

Structure

No one except its upper members knows the true organization of the Reavers, but it is thought that, though decentralized, there is a strict hierarchy of knowledge, access, and power. It is believed that there are leaders in different regions of the Centerlands who meet in a new location each year, and that their operations are bankrolled by the Valian Bank in the north and the Jezareza of Akad in the south. Sometimes they work in absolute secrecy from the shadows, and sometimes—if it suits their purposes—members can be brazen in displaying their membership, wearing the Reavers signature emblem, the Star of Misdirection. Their primary enemies have always been the Knights of Nethereth, but they also oppose and occasionally assassinate Eight Mageriarchs, Goldoath Knights, and even Soul Weavers—essentially any group that attempts to create order and peace. They—much like the Valian Bank and the slavers of the Bay of Asmodeus—find wealth and power in instability and warfare, and they mean to keep it as such with any force necessary.

Death to Order, Order to Death