The Cabinet of Black Hands

We may be known of, but we are not known about. The Hands are those nightmares you dare not remember.

— A Black Hand to a questioner

The Cabinet of Black Hands is the organization made up of the Black Hands — the leaders of the Shades and the spymasters of all nations in Ithan. The Cabinet has an agreement to not reveal any secrets of their chosen nation and this agreement has never once been reneged. This organization exists to ensure the continued upholding of the Duties of the Black Hands and to ensure the continued existence of the Shades.

The Trysts of Shadows

The Black Hands normally do not have much interaction with each other besides correspondence via magically-encoded letters, but they do have one in-person meeting once every fifteen years. The location of this meeting — known as "The Tryst of Shadows" — is a closely-guarded secret that is believed to change for each instance. Whether or not it does change, though, is unknown to all but the closest advisors to the Hands.

Ancient and Powerful

The Cabinet of Black Hands is an organization far older than all the nations of Ithan. It was first formed in 1002 BF — when the now-dissolved Noue was the only nation on the continent. The first Black Hand — Laëtitia Roy — was one of the two founding members of the Cabinet. As the nations of Ithan grew in number, the number of Black Hands increased proportionally, and thus the Cabinet grew in size.

The influence the Black Hands hold over the nations of Ithan is immense, but they tend to stay on the fringes of matters that don't directly concern them. Still, a single word of disagreement from a Black Hand is enough to stop a declaration of war or a call for peace. The Cabinet rarely collaborates to influence the nations, but there have been times when it has occurred. One example of a collaboration between Cabinet members is when a cult worshipping Aenik began to form roots in Noue. The Cabinet was largely responsible for the younger nations declaring war on Noue and for Noue's subsequent destruction.

Diplomatic Relations

At Any Cost

Founding Date

1002 BF

Type

Religious, Other

Alternative Names

The Cabinet of Hands
The Council of Black Hands
The Council of Hands

Parent Organization

The Shades

The Cabinet of Black Hands

100

The Shades

100

The Cabinet of Black Hands

76

Koaelore

76

The Cabinet of Black Hands

68

The Koaelora

50