| Title |
Alignment |
Weapon |
Portfolio |
| The Silent Whisper |
NE |
Hand Crossbow |
Assassins, Opportunity, Strategy |
The Church of Caidence
That sound inside your head... like a gentle shuffling of fate or a portent of the great work yet to unfold... it's quite unmistakable. Those called know its tone and tenor - dark, sweet, and bloody.
The Caidencian Church is comprised of an unknown number of individual groups called cabals. Each cabal has a leader called a matriarch, but despite the name it is gender-agnostic, though still primarily female. Each cabal is formed from those members within the cabal's area of influence, but is led by a seven-person leadership council known as a Solanum. The Solanum houses the matriarch and six other core members, and all authority flows from this group.
While hyper-organized on the local level, cabals are not particularly organized on any level larger, except in a few rare, documented circumstances. They have varying levels of influence over the regions in which they operate, and all cabals follow their matriarch's vision. While some matriarchs may lead their cabals as bloodthirsty murder cults, others may lead through subtle political powerplays that take advantage of opportunities within their sphere of influence. As such, members of each cabal's Solanum tend to reflect the desires of its matriarch.
While the public is aware of the Church as a whole, it's usually only in the form of nursery rhymes, lullaby, and stories to warn children of danger. Many a town elder has thought the rumors of a local cabal a myth, only to see their loved ones go missing in the night or die under mysterious circumstances. Thankfully, the cabals tend to focus around much larger cities where they can blend easier, and towns and villages tend to be either the genesis of cabals that move elsewhere, or targets from a nearby city's cabal. For those towns that do have a cabal present, it is usually only the cabal's Solanum and a few sympathetic members, and they seldom do anything to risk attracting attention.
Those in the Solanums of the Church have a way of telling each other apart by sight and sense. Though it eludes the author at this point as to the method used, it is obvious through those dead cabalists we've spoken with that they can identify one another, and do not harm each other directly if identified in such a way. It appears there is honor among them, despite the occasional warrings over differing schemes, and that is most troubling indeed.
Even more troubling are the rumors that swirl from time to time about the concept of a Great Solanum, which would be a Solanum comprised of six matriarchs of other Solanums, lead by a Great Matriarch. While there exists at least one confirmed such group in
Centurion, the sheer size of that city make such an event inevitable. These groups existing outside such a gathering of people merits further investigation.
The Ascension Story
Note: There is no real record of any of the following details borne out in the historical texts, but the myth surrounding Caidence's ascension is well-known, if only for its tale.
Caidence was born, as the story tells, on a dark and stormy night in mid-Septa, and the first life he took was that of his mother. The Apotheotheticals had been banished only six decades or so prior, and so the world he was born into was still dark, as
Ballast had not yet brought the light to the world. His childhood was uneventful, but it was on the eve of his seventeenth birthday that his father, a local tradesman, was taken from him by a hired killer.
The boy changed that day.
His murder spree was incalculable, as the legends go. He slew the man who had hired the killer. He slew that man's family and their families as well. He slew the killer and the entire organization they worked for. Such was his skill with the blade and shadows that it is said that men could live up to an hour and a day without realizing they had been murdered, falling dead from wounds that appeared seemingly out of the air.
He slew many, and left a path of blood to the door of the god of assassins, and then Caidance slew that god, as well. He ascended at once, taking the portfolio of assassinations, and creating the portfolios of murder and opportunity. He remains hidden in the shadows to this day.
Holidays
Ending Day: Celebrated on the 4th of Octa each year, this day marks the date of Caidence's ascension. While members of cabals have their own ways of celebration, those of a more moral disposition celebrate by marking their faces with animal blood and praying for those that have been taken before their time.
Traditional Dress
Clergy members inside a place of worship tend to dress in deep crimson reds and blacks, but those outside the walls of Caidence's unholy shrines dress just like everyone else. Blending in is key, and members of this Church do it well.
Aphorisms
Let All Be Well: A silent prayer, whispered on the breath before a killing. The words "be well" are often repeated again after the murder. This invokes Caidence's blessing on the kill.
Let Not Daylight Hide: A reminder that the Church's work is done at all times of day, for opportunity may strike at any time.
Opportunity Knocks: An often-said phrase among the non-initiated said to mean "be on the lookout for good things." The rest of the phrase is "...and woe to those that open wide the door."
