The Volen-Hal

The Volen-Hal were a personal army for Baron Rolan Torrid which acted as his secret police, assassins, and spies within and outside of the Statehood

Structure

The Volen-Hal consisted of soldiers trained in both martial and magical abilities. They were drafted from those who were found using magic, or political enemies to Baron Torrid. Intense torture and memory destruction techniques were used to completely rewire a prisoner's mind and convert them into a loyal unquestioning soldier.
After a year of intense training in both martial and magical abilities they would become an official member of the group, and act upon Baron Torrid's will.

Public Agenda

The Volen-Hal was unknown to the general public, and that was how they wanted to keep it. There were rumors of people going missing in the middle of the night, but propaganda by the Volen-Hal itself blamed the Kingdom of Brennis

Assets

The Volen-Hal at it's peak consisted of over 70 well trained and loyal soldiers. Each soldier was armed with leather armor, weapons, equipment, and official documentation to prove they are officially part of the Statehood if needed.

History

Originally before the Statehood had even declared isolation against the Kingdom of Brennis Baron Torrid was already pushing for production to start and had founded the settlement of Bronze Bleed. During early mining operations an underground Durangal(organization:5baae756-7718-40af-84b5-44032d199dd2) bunker was found. After venturing into it, Baron Torrid found a stash of treasure, weapons, magical items, and someone Frozen in a crystalline prison. After having freed her, Dragon Lord Xarda she saw him first and due to the @[Wildfire Curse placed upon her, was bound to follow his every command and unable to harm him. 
In the weeks that followed Dragon Lord Xarda quickly learned Kyric and by the time the Isolation Act was passed, was fully aware of the situation of the modern world. While she hated Baron Torrid for controlling her, she was glad to finally be free. He had ordered her to train five of his guards to be skilled warriors that would die for him if need be, and so she did. By the time Baron Torrid had returned weeks later the men had had their memories erased by her using one of the magical torture devices within the fort, and were slowly being rebuilt to meet his demands. Seeing the final product, Baron Torrid was very pleased. After talking to her about her old world many different times, he decided to named these new soldiers Volen-Hal, which in the old Durangal tongue was roughly Shadow Hand. 
A year later Baron Torrid was still steaming over the insults that had been dealt to him by Jasper Flyyn, and after a drunken night out, had ordered Xarda and the Volen-Hal to find him. A few weeks of spying and digging for information later, she found he had established a magic school in the other side of the Ambit. She had told him the school was not part of the Kingdom of Brennis, but that Jasper was friends with Lionel Brennis. She had discovered most of this information from a disgruntled former student who she had in her custody. In a mix of hatred for him, and fear of an alliance between them, he ordered the student killed, and for her and the Volen-Hal to attack the school and kill everyone they could, but that Jasper was the main target. She did as he commanded and readied her men. 
The attack on the school was swift and unexpected. The Volen-Hal, joined with 10 mercenaries hired by Baron Torrid struck without mercy and managed to kill a number of the students and groundskeepers before Jasper made himself known to buy time for everyone else to escape. He and Xarda fought directly. The two dueled and vastly outnumbered Jasper fell, but severely wounded Xarda. The remaining Volen-Hal grabbed her and carried her back, as well as another prisoner, to Bronze Bleed. Her wounds were lethal and she was destined to die, but Baron Torrid had found more than he had revealed to even her, and pulled out another chamber similar to her prison, and placed her inside. This magical device kept her alive, but she was bound to it forever or else she would die from her wounds. She was able to take mental possession of the prisoner and act through her as if it was her own body.
With his grudge finally fulfilled, Baron Torrid was pleased, and kept quiet about the whole affair. In the Years that followed Baron Torrid swelled the Volen-Hal's ranks with spell casters and political enemies all over the Statehood, converting them as he had with his five original guards. He was able to keep firmly in power due to his secret police that not even the rest of the Statehood was aware of. He slowly placed his men in positions of power across the Statehood planning to launch a single large coup and completely take over everything during the 25th Baron's Assembly. Little to his knowledge, Asher had used a magical artifact to kill the remaining parts of the Dread Tyrant, lessening the Wildfire curse on not only dragons, but Xarda as well. She was finally free, but knew if she acted at the wrong time, it would leave the Volen-Hal exposed and listed at pure war criminals, leading to not only her death, but the death of all the Volen-Hal. She waited patiently still following Baron Torrid's every demand, but only to continue her rouse.  
By the time of the Baron's Assembly Torrid had his plan to launch his attack against the other Barons after seeing who was and wasn't loyal to him. Xarda had one of her men who had yet to have his entire memory erased attend as well with the memories of Baron Torrid watching his torture and placing orders to hurt him. After Asher had revealed the Baron's True intentions, the Volen-Hal killed Torrid instantly to show that they were now free from his control. 
Xarda's thrall had attended as well and she told those at the event of all the horrors she had been forced to do, and that the Volen-Hal acted under her command. Their memories could not be recovered, but they were now free from his control with memories and personalities of their own, and it was be cruel to remove their minds a second time. She kept the event goers distracted long enough for the vast majority of her forces to steal a ship from Port Lunis and bring it down to Sword Cove where the event was taking place. She begged the Statehood to let the Volen-Hal go, and that she would stay behind to answer for their crimes. After debating the Statehood agreed and did not stop them from leaving out to the unknown. 
Xarda revealed her thrall to have been one of the students of the old magic school she had been tasked with destroying. The leader of the Sparrows was there as well and recognized the thrall as her sister who she thought had died so long ago. Xarda broke the connection from her thrall finally freeing her, and the two sisters were united once again. Xarda, not choosing to fuel the chamber keeping her alive, died from her wounds shortly after. 
The Volen-Hal who had escaped into the unknown were finally free to do as they wished. They thanked Xarda for giving them freedom, and their fate after that is unknown...

7 4e - 26 4e

Type

Secret, Military

Training Level

Elite

Leader

Baron Rolan Torrid

Parent Organization

The Statehood