The Congregation of Shadow

The Congregation of Shadow is a scientifc institution and personnal military order of the Supreme Commander, known asThe Black Hand.
This secret order is no longer secret. Now, know as the parent organization of the Xiantia Empire.
This organization is famous for his conspiracies and his inventions which have often intervened in their infiltration operations or in the framework of operations of scientific studies.
To achieve their goals, they created a new species of supreme beings, the Deity of Creation and used them as front-line troops in the war against the Theocracy of Homeca.
It also masters aerial and supposedly space technology as evidenced by the military airships Aurore and Justiciar. An airship gives a strategic advantage and only the Eastern Federation has ones. But the fact that the Empire has it too, radically changes the balance of power.

The congregation has many members around the world. Some are more discreet than others, it is always possible to recognize them because it carries a whole Rose Cross. Inset, pin on a coat, or even tattoos, it is imperative that they can stand out from each other.

Structure

Suprem Commander: The head of the organization. He gives the orders and every decisions need to pass by him.
Second in Supreme Command: In the absence of the Supreme Commander, he is the head of the organization. His functions are somewhat limited, but with the exception of capital decisions, he has enough accreditations to control the congregation.
Section Commander: There are five commanding officers in charge of a each five sections of the congregation. Each section operate on a region of the world. Subsection Commander: A subsection is under the scientific field. Far less powerful than the section commander, the Subsection Commander can only give orders if there is no military application.
Then comes the classicals ranks:

• General officers
• Senior officers

Public Agenda

The purpose of this organization is to discover and record everything.

Assets

As a scientific institution and as the army of the Xiantia Empire, the congregation has a lot of assets.

• Four scientific complexes: in the Eastern Federation, in the Principality of Rande, in the Mosour Forest and one in Xiantia Est.


• The Encyclopedia: It is an immense tower that serves as a memory for all the data collected by the congregation. Equipped with a large mechanical and magic system it is one of the most protected buildings of the congregation.

As an army, the congregation has many weapons and since most fights are on land, its artillery consists of:
• 40,000 Tanks
• 600,000 armored fighting vehicles
• 32,500 propelled artillery
• 28,300 towed artillery (cannons)
• 5,000 rocket projectors
• 2 military airships: The Aurora and the Justiciar have never been seen in military application but they are both armed and are able to carry both about 2,400 soldiers.

History

Appeared, officially, for the first time in the year 13884, it presented itself as an armed scientific institution that wanted to study all that could be. Six months later, she besieged the city of Tsuru, now called Optima, and took it from the Theocracy of Homeca. It was then, under the banner of the Xiantia Empire, that the congregation began an open war against the Theocracy. After cutting the access to the other bank by taking the golden bridge, the congregation attacked the other two cities Melia and Vilia, now Lineox and Cambria. But while his main forces were fighting the Theocracy, the congregation took the city of Tsowana by surprise. The real base of operation and heart of the empire was east of Asri's Lake. This imperial region was named Xiantia East and the other Xiantia West. The Congregation of Shadow became more discreet and is still known as the army of the empire more than the congregation. The war ended in 13 892 with the return of the city of Tsowana to Theocracy of Homeca and the recognition as power and country of the Empire of Xiantia.
The congregation redoubled activity thanks to cultural sharing treaties with other nations. This allows her to cross borders freely and lay research bases where she needed. But many hesitations were expressed when the possible installation of a foreign armed group in the countries of each. But the The Black Hand answered:

We are scientists in search of knowledge, that's all we care about. We would not be armed if you did not push us to be.

By these words, he implied that the war exposed them to a great deal of danger, and especially that if the knowledge they sought was accessible, they would not have to use force to have it. In view of recent events and especially because they did not want another enemy, countries agreed to let the empire lay its research bases, but not without conditions. The empire accepted without complaint the conditions of this treaty of cultural exchanges, since the congregation would not deprive itself in background.
While the Empire officially cooperated, the congregation was unofficially involved in research but above all in shenanigans and was able to fade slowly over time.
Using the Xiantia Empire as an intermediary, the congregation has the free field to carry out various scientific but also political actions. Through the means of the empire, certain forces can be redirected to important cases like the study and sabotage of research of the others countries.
Some rumors say that the death of the Fallen Angel Adriel and the assassination of the previous ruler of Rande would be the work of the Congregation of Shadow. And everything leads to believe it. Since its appearance, it has never stopped to block the Theocracy. Thus, the death of one Angel of The Council, the onslaught of monsters on the capital and the appearance of the Black Blood, would be indirect attacks which it is impossible to prove the culpability of the congregation.
Despite the fact that she sabotages the Theocracy's plans from time to time, she is no longer at war with her and the empire is not a member of the Alliance of Baram. However, if she decided to go to war again, she would be a powerful ally who could push Theocracy to stop this 14,000-year war. But behind her good intentions and her scientific aspect, she remains no less the instrument of the Black Hand who does not hesitate to use force to get what he wants. Thanks to the help of the spies of the congregation, he could trigger a total war by attacking the Principality of Rande, the Theocracy of Homeca and the Alliance of Baram with Xiantia West and attacking The Elementals, Dragons, Half-humans with Xiantia Est. But this is not their method. The congregation can just push the Principality of Rande to attack the Theocracy and destroy the The earth line by passing the responsibility to Theocracy.

Type

Secret, Military

Alternative Names

The Black Order

Demonym

The Blacks Squadrons

Leader

The Black Hand

Subsidiary Organizations

• Xiantia Empire