The Order of the Seven Stars

The Order of the Seven Stars is an elite occult group in the world of Solus associated with high magical practice with the ultimate goal being to fulfill The Arcana Quest and receive the ultimate prize--any boon from the gods. It's current headquarters is in an undisclosed location in Verdun in a territory under the control of the Light Lord Herald Grunel.

Founders

It was founded by the triplet priests, the Helmontae Brothers (whom one of them is the stepfather of Gideon, the creator of the journal that Antigone Fairview found). They were all Dark Lords, an occurence that has never been seen again, and all ruled over Dorimus together during the Medieval Wars of 2892 AA. During The First Night Burning, in which the oldest and middle brother were burned alive in the Dorimus square that noe holds that name, it was believed that the brothers planned to stop "a great evil" by blowing up Dormius's Undercity with their magic. This would have ultimately destroyed the city and thus they were burned by the mob. However, there is only one source that gives the actual reason for their burning and the source is well-known to be biased so perhaps why they died is lost to history.
The youngest brother, Jericho Helmonte, is the ancestor of Dorimus's current Dark Lord Edward Van Helmont.

The Great Split

The Order of the Seven Stars originally had seven of the Arcana Artifacts and were sworn to protect them. However, at the First Night Burning, Senator Hoster Helmonte took one of the Arcana Artifacts (a ring) and another he entrusted to an advisor (the necklace) before his death by burning. With The Order having seven left, none could ensure a boon but many tried finding them. The necklace they knew was being passed around through history but the ring had been completely lost from the magical record as it was within in the Helmont family being passed down as a signet ring. However, at some point there was a schism created by a Light Lady named Divina Omal, who managed to steal three of the seven artifacts (the chalice, the scepter, the black diamond). Eventually another theft by an unknown party resulted in the loss of one of the items (the ceremonial knife) being taken and The Order was left with two of the items—a sculpture of the nine made of the oily black stone and a wooden bowl that if put any plant in it it’ll grow big and beautiful as if the bowl has enough space to hold it. The Order still has the last two, which are cursed and marked to ensure that they are not stolen.
After the schism, in which a Light Lord and Divina’s husband, Umbert Omal, wanted to use the items for getting the boon rather than protecting them until the quest was to be complete caused their separation and the current viewpoint of The Order being that they wish to gain a boon of the gods. There is extensive writings by The Order on what would be the most useful and appropriate wish that will benefit humanity the most. The split from the group resulted in the creation of Green Fire, a rival occult group who keep the original ideal of protecting the objects until it was time for the quest to be completed. Green Fire is affiliated currently with the war resistance, and it’s suspected they have at least one--and possibly up to three--of the Arcana Artifacts themselves. Unbeknownst to Antigone or even The Order, Ariel Arynn was the head of Green Fire and passed the knowledge she had on her to Antigone along with sending her to other members of Green Fire. Antigone is unawares that there are members of Green Fire who are aware of what occurred with her vision and Ariel’s assertion that Antigone is Logos’s choice and are trying to currently protect her.

Currently

Meanwhile, The Order of the Seven Stars in the past twenty years has been consolidating their power. Herald Grunel became a member then and began suggesting that they simply do not have the man power to find the items as they are. He suggests recruiting multiple Lords and Ladies with the goal of using their power and influence to start a war--the ends justify the means--so they can use this power. The goal is to create a utopia for humanity with this boon, which is a great goal but the reality is that there is intense infighting over the ultimate goal of what the boon should be. Many of the Lords and Ladies are out for their best interests and a lot of people differ on what the utopia should even look like. Lord Grunel is by far the most influential member and is deeply committed to ending war, poverty, and suffering of many varieties.
Lord Herald Grunel is a former magistrate who represented some of the most poverty-striken areas ofr Verdun and became committed to change. Antigone does not believe in his vision—she thinks that due to the god’s boon is like a monkey’s paw and that any boon requested will be warped and thus is constantly planning on how to request that they no longer interfere in humanity’s affairs without it being open to any extraneous interpretation. Also, she believes that the power he is gathering is corrupting him considering the horrors and cruelties he is invoking. Grunel is a foil of Edward--started out moral and becomes less so while Edward starts out relatively amoral and becomes more so.
The name of Seven Stars is because they originally had seven of the Arcana Artifacts, or The Stars as they call them, items that will guide you on the quest.

Members

The current core members of The Order of the Seven Stars:

• Dark Lord Herald Grunel, Chief Speaker and founder of The Hallowed Guard, named after Haridan the Hallowed. He joined The Order at the age of twenty-two and was head by the age of thirty-five. His son currently is a ranking member of The Hallowed Guard and is horrified by what he is witnessing.
• Grey Lady Opal Janison: a Lady from the Arkadian Empire who is the most senior member of the group and thus resents Grunel’s leadership of The Order. However, she is not the leader simply because she does not have the force or power that Lord Grunel does in convincing people of his ideas and convictions regarding the quest. She is one of the heads of The Hallowed Guard and is focused on The Resistance and believes pursuing Antigone Fairview is a waste of time, unlike Herald Grunel who believes “the maid” of prophecy might possibly be Antigone. Opal is going to snidely say she’s most likely no maid since General Horn tortured her--she dislikes Horn.
• The Maid of The Seven Stars and Seer, Letitia Invina: A woman who is the most recent seer in history to give a prophecy regarding The Arcana Quest--she’s given three, an incredibly high number--and The Order of the Seven Stars invited her to be The Maid, the person who is to represent possibly being the maiden who is prophesied to be part of the quest. Letitia is from a colony of The Arkadian Empire and plans to use the boon against the wishes of the group to end colonization. However, the power she weilds is causing insanity and as she has more and more visions she is forgetting she faked seeing herself in that role for her own gain and is beginning to convince herself she is indeed The Maid.
• Empress Fuchsia Pritoriana, Queen of Arkadia Queen and Underseela, High Priestess of Rolan: the youngest Order member of the group at the age of twenty-seven, she is not here willingly. She is here in exchange for keeping her title as Empress of the Arkadian Empire but is essentially a prisoner brought out and forth as a supposed willing member of The Order of the Seven Stars to prevent unrest. However, the empire is heavily divided on the war and several of the colonies have defected to fight The Order, causing a war on multiple fronts for the empire. She is unable to escape as her younger brother is being held prisoner and will be killed if she leaves. She is desperately trying to get him freed by any means so that she can be free. She has big visions for The Empire and plans to change things now that she has seen many of the horrors. Letitia, who grew up in horrific conditions due to the empire’s colonial tendencies, hates Fuchsia and takes digs at her any chance she gets. Letitia’s hatred and overt words regarding her circumstances has made Letitia determined to make things better, especially after everything occurring.
• Cheung Oleander Szechuan: a famous duelist and revolutionary, he was a member of The Order before the war but is very much in support of it. He is from the country of Wuchan and believes they can use the boon to further the power of Wuchan, though Grunel is humoring him and has zero intentions of using the boon to extend any country's military power. Oleander is an outlier and his contemporaries and family are horrified at what he is willing to do. He is not a Lord or Lady but is a priest to The Arcana from Wuchan, which this religion is not popular there.
• Dilaria Esmaili: A representative from the religion of Naima. She still believes in quests and personally believes The Arcana are part of a world with multiple sets of gods who are valid. She is anti-war and is the most overt source of resistance and mercy within the group. She is a religious leader and tries to encourage nonviolence and alternatives to war and torture. She is also secretly working with The Resistance and Green Fire as much as she safely can so that they have information. She may eventually have to flee and join Green Fire. Dorimus native but parents are immigrants from the empire.
• Henry Collins: a Dorimus native and former High Priest who is wanted in Dorimus for treason. However, while at first he supported Grunel's vision the reality of it is much harder to stomach. He wishes he had left The Order like some others did when Grunel used The Order to go to war. He has three kids who are being raised by his former wife’s parents in Dorimus.

Type

Secret, Occult