The Order of the White Scorpions

Sparce concrete facts are known about this shadowy network of assassins, although few in Cynthia can doubt their existence. Too many murderers and rapists, too many corrupt politicians, too many greedy clerics and sexual deviants have died -- their throats slit, their lips frothing, and a dessicated scorpion left in their mouth -- for people to ignore.
Dubbed by common folk as the "ghosts of justice", the White Scorpions have never identified themselves to the public, nor made any demands. They strike so swiftly and retreat so rapidly that sightings are rare, whilst the handful of assassins who have been caught in centuries of operation have committed suicide before talking, or being put on public trial -- that is, if they don't escape capture before they can be questioned.
Operating above and outside the law, some celebrate this mysterious organization as protectors of the ordinary god-fearing folk of society against corrupt officials and rulers, others see them as arrogant, lawless and downright insidious -- more often that not because they live in fear of being their next victim.

Inside Information

Those on the inside know that the White Scorpions are an ancient order of highly trained assassins who, revering centuries of decline, are slowly extending their influence over every corner of Cynthia. In service to the god, Daegon -- whom they worship as Arrtyr, meaning "Judge of All" -- they offer revenge to the needy and powerless and deal justice to the corrupt and unpunished.
To fulfill its mission, the order relies on a large network of clerks and spies to gather information on incidents of injustice and unpunished crimes from letters, hearsay, eye witnesses, and entreaties made at the temples of Daegon, before the masters of the order rule on those that must perish. Once a decision has been made, one of the order's deadly agents is dispatched to do the deed.
New assassins are recruited and trained by current members, and -- if they survive their night in The Tomb of Scorpions -- they are sent back into the world of ordinary citizens, where they are expected to rise as high as possible in society and contribute intelligence and money to the guild.
Members of the White Scorpions are predominantly humans, but a scattering of other races have also been recruited to the cause. Many of the order joined from tough beginnings in life, explaining the high number of races like half-elves, half-orcs, and tiefings amongst their ranks.

History

According to their own lore and legend, the Order of the White Scorpions was founded around 300 P.C, by a man named Tai Yehia. The order's historians, writing many years after the events, state that Yehia was a slave of unknown origin who rose to prominence as the accountant of House Balaguer whilst still a youth. Such was the esteem that he was held in by his masters that after nearly two decades of loyal service, Yehia was able to buy his freedom. As a free man, he started his own successful trading firm and married the beautiful daughter of a Tortugan merchant. However, the beauty of his new wife inspired envy in an arrogant local lord by the name of Oriol. Oriol first seduced Yehia's wife and then had Yehia himself arrested and exiled on false charges.
Afraid that death would follow exile, Yehia fled first to the island of Tyr, where he visited a long since ruined shrine of Daegon and prayed for vengeance. The God of Strength told him to travel as far as Ocrana on the other side of the world and look for the sigil of a black scorpion. After searching many months and countless clues to dead ends, he finally found such a sigil on the gate of a monastery that he chanced upon on his travels. This monastery to Hanish, God of Retribution, was manned by a solitary monk of ancient years, who had turned from Hanish's teachings and embraced a more brutal fighting style. This monk trained Yehia in the arts of stealth, poison, and weaponry, never even speaking a word to him. After five years of training, the monk died, at which point Yehia embarked on his long homeward journey.
By the time he set foot back in Cleiya, he had been away nearly ten years. He discovered that his wife had miscarried what he believed to be Oriol's child, and then died after falsely being accused as a witch. Using the techniques he had perfected in the lost monastery, Yehia killed Oriol in an act of vengeance, and kidnapped his infant son, Jadyn. He then founded the White Scorpions, chiseling the order's Three Maxims into a stone tablet to be passed through the ages, and training Jadyn to carry on his work.
Jadyn, under the tutelage of his new adoptive father, became a fenatic of the order and its next leader. He assumed the moniker, The Just Hand and began to recruit a band of apprentices with the goal of terrorizing corruption and evil wherever they found it. They say he threw himself into his mission to such an extent that he lost his identity.
For centuries, the guild's mission, together with its secrets and techniques, were successfully passed down to new members; at least until the year 1014 P.C, when Grandmaster Mazus carried out the assassination of the leader of a powerful criminal faction known as the Goldfellows. The new leader of the Goldfellows, a ruthless warlord and sorcerer known by the name Xhakaan, relentlessly sought out and killed all of the order he could find in a retaliation designed to assuge fears and build his reputation. After Mezus fell victim to Xhakaan's full blooded offensive, the few remaining Scorpions, leaderless and decimated, were forced to go into hiding.
Scared, isolated, yet defiant, these survivors continued to hold true to their beliefs and kept the order alive, albeit inactive in practice without a central command. Around 1,200 P.C, the order truly started to recover under the leadership of a drow named Tavec, whilst today, the tireless work of their long-serving (and now rumored to be immortal) leader is finally coming to fruition. With every year that passes, more and more evil-doers feel the steel and poison of the White Scorpions, and today they are more powerful than ever before.

Secret Signs

After completing their training, most of the White Scorpions work alone, communicating with brethren of the order via coded letters when needed. In the field, agents of the White Scorpions have two non-verbal ways of recognizng one another, and confirming their fellows' identity.
Secret Greeting. When shaking hands with anyone they believe to be a member of the guild, a member of the White Scorpions subtly makes the shape of two pincers and a tail with their other (usually left) hand -- where the index and little finger are the two claws, and the thumb is the tail. This signal should be reciprocated, if the person in question truly is brethren of the order.
White Ink Tattoo. After completing their First Sting, and becoming a fully fledged member of the order, every assassin receives a small tattoo in white ink on the inside of their left wrist in the outline of a scorpion. This tattoo is almost invisible to those not looking for it. When a torch is held up to it, however, the ink glows brightly.

Mission Statement

The goal of the order is to deliver justice where the law has failed, or otherwise does not exist. They are not a political body, nor do they distinguish between the high and the low; killing peasants and kings alike if they are judged guilty after the evidence gathered by the organization's clerks (known as Claws) is considered by the Cabinet of Justice.
As well as actively gathering information on cases of injustice, the White Scorpions also consider the entreaties left at the altars of the gods, especially their patron Arrtyr, the Judge of All.
In every case, a thorough investigation is carried out before a sentence is passed by the Cabinet of Justice. If the accused is judged guilty, their name is passed to one of the order's agents, who will duly carry out the sentence on pain of their own death.
Etched in stone by the hand of the order's founder, Tai Yehia, every White Scorpion holds dear to these three maxims:

1. Better to die than to tolerate injustice.
2. Better to kill than to tolerate injustice.
3. Better to serve than to rule.

Type

Guild, Assassins