The arcane inquisitors.

Prompt 29: An organization considered cruel or monstrous by some
The arcane inquisitors.
A dwindling force in Thar’kor, yet still active. They were created in the earliest days of the Post Imperial age to seek out and destroy all the dark and dangerous magics in the realm. Over the 900 years they have been in existence this task has change from dark magic to all magic & they have a reputation for achieving this by any means possible. In their height they were a feared and corrupt force, seeking to cleanse the land of magic in exchange for gold, even where there was no magic to be found. They had the right of the realm to openly perform the duties of judge jury and executioner in relation to all things magical. Kingdoms will call for an inquisitor to investigate suspected magical use in the kingdom & the inquisitor is paid 1g per head of magic user executed or magic item confiscated or destroyed. Incentivizing the discovery of multiple magic users in towns and villages, where there seemed to be none. They are dangerous and unpredictable in most cases and usually driven by greed, with no real training or education in investigation skills, they are more likely to kill all the non-magic users in a town than they are to kill the culprits of any dark arts in Thar’kor. All are hated and fear, most are obscenely wealthy, more likely than not most are psychopathic.
The realm has been actively trying to remove and reduce the power of these inquisitors over the last century, as people are becoming aware of the horrific abuse of power and corruption within the inquisitors, particularly after a tragic affair in the Kovayiro kingdom, where accusations of witchcraft led to almost half the village, including children, being burnt alive at the stake as one by one the inquisitor determined they were in fact a large coven of witches. It was later discovered the original accuser had been lying, ironically from the inquisitors notes as she confessed this during her torture but was subsequently burnt for witchcraft herself. The inquisitor gained payment of 600g for this job, which led to the crown investigating and revealing the horror that had unfolded.

Type

Governmental, Inquisitorial