Akwali Sekhat: a Faith of Southrun

Akwali Sekhat, or Sisters of Sekhat, is the name given to the strange society of Southrun which is headed by a noble woman known as... Al Adhra, the Virgin. The Sisters live in a mountain redoubt completely isolated from the affairs of men. There they are devoted to the worship of their goddess Sekhat, and only leave its confines to practice their cruel murderous rites.

The society is wholly made up of women. Indeed, for a man to enter their fortress is to earn a death sentence. Their society grows from runaway women, absconded servants, abducted children and abandoned widows. Their leader is chosen from among their number by the casting of lots.

The Sisters worship the goddess Sekhat, who is believed to have been slain by her brothers Amir and Bhamut, during their divine feud. The worship of this deity requires the ritualized murder of men. To complete this rite, the Sisters have been known to waylay travelers, infiltrate noble houses, and abduct those who are unawares.

The Sisters also offer their services for hire. All of the nobility of Southrun is aware of the Akwali Sekhat and will often contract with them to remove enemies and rivals. It is believed that by giving them a steady supply of victims, other men will be safer from random attacks.

The Sisters rely heavily on poisons and strangulations to achieve their ends. Many victims have been found with silk sashes around their throats or with faces locked in pain at their passing.

Temple of the Whispering Wind

The Temple of the Whispering Wind is located in Miyabe. The temple is a round three-story pagoda built on a stone platform that is three steps above the street level. The platform is four times as large as the pagoda, creating a courtyard in which the monks practice their arts. 

The monks that reside there are known far and wide for their martial prowess, but also for their devotion to the dark arts of spying and assassination. The dye used by the Temple for their robes makes a jet black color of their cast-off cloth.

The monks sell their services through the auspices of their Grandmaster and will undertake any mission he sends them on with fanatic devotion. They have been known to impersonate monks of other schools and do not consider this deception an ignoble act. Because of their devotion to the dark arts, the monks of this temple have been frequently called upon to eliminate various noblemen caught in acts of impropriety and shame.

Like the monks of other temples, they are absolutely lawful with regard to their life devotion. They respect discipline and regulation but view things such as life and beauty as meaningless abstractions. It is the desire of these monks to impose order and keep discipline, especially as regards loyalty to the Fang Dynasty. They view Ching Kuo Fang as the Emperor of Shu and are utterly devoted to whatever will see his line continue. Following the example of Bao Dan means that one often has to be merciless, in order to assure that the dynasty prospers.

A peculiarity of this order, and others like it, is that they have no concern for politics outside of their own city/state. Individual monks have been called upon to act in other city/states and kingdoms across Erenth. When they are hired to do so, they follow three strictures:

A monk will only practice the dark arts under the auspices of a recognized Grandmaster.

A monk will never identify one who is working the dark arts. 

A monk will not prevent one who is working the dark arts.

The Temple of Raging Winter

The Temple of Raging Winter is located in Chiro. It is built upon a grassy hill in the center of the city. There are four staircases leading to the top of the hill. A square temple of roughcut stone sits atop that hill. A colossus of the praying Bao Dan sits astride it.

The monks that reside there are known far and wide for their martial prowess, but also for their devotion to the dark arts of spying and assassination. The dye used by the Temple for their robes makes a dull red color of their cast-off cloth.

The monks sell their services through the auspices of their Grandmaster and will undertake any mission he sends them on with fanatic devotion. They have been known to impersonate monks of other schools and do not consider this deception an ignoble act. Because of their devotion to the dark arts, the monks of this temple have been frequently called upon to eliminate various noblemen caught in acts of impropriety and shame.

Like the monks of other temples, they are absolutely lawful with regard to their life devotion. They respect discipline and regulation but view things such as life and beauty as meaningless abstractions. It is the desire of these monks to impose order and keep discipline, especially as regards loyalty to the Sawato Dynasty. They view Kotaro Sawato as the Emperor of Shu and are utterly devoted to whatever will see his line continue. Following the example of Bao Dan means that one often has to be merciless, in order to assure that the dynasty prospers.

A peculiarity of this order, and others like it, is that they have no concern for politics outside of their own city/state. Individual monks have been called upon to act in other city/states and kingdoms across Erenth. When they are hired to do so, they follow three strictures:

A monk will only practice the dark arts under the auspices of a recognized Grandmaster.

A monk will never identify one who is working the dark arts. 

A monk will not prevent one who is working the dark arts.

Temple of Moon's Shadow

The Temple of Moon's Shadow is located in Shu. It is an octagonal gray stone tower rising six stories above the ground. The sides of it are covered in grasping vines.

The monks that reside there are known far and wide for their martial prowess, but also for their devotion to the dark arts of spying and assassination. The dye used by the Temple for their robes makes a grey color of their cast-off cloth.

The monks sell their services through the auspices of their Grandmaster and will undertake any mission he sends them on with fanatic devotion. They have been known to impersonate monks of other schools and do not consider this deception an ignoble act. Because of their devotion to the dark arts, the monks of this temple have been frequently called upon to eliminate various noblemen caught in acts of impropriety and shame.

Like the monks of other temples, they are absolutely lawful with regard to their life devotion. They respect discipline and regulation but view things such as life and beauty as meaningless abstractions. It is the desire of these monks to impose order and keep discipline, especially as regards loyalty to the Ong Dynasty. They view Tan Ong IV as the Emperor of Shu and are utterly devoted to whatever will see his line continue. Following the example of Bao Dan means that one often has to be merciless, in order to assure that the dynasty prospers.

A peculiarity of this order, and others like it, is that they have no concern for politics outside of their own city/state. Individual monks have been called upon to act in other city/states and kingdoms across Erenth. When they are hired to do so, they follow three strictures:

A monk will only practice the dark arts under the auspices of a recognized Grandmaster.

A monk will never identify one who is working the dark arts. 

A monk will not prevent one who is working the dark arts.

On the Thieves Guild

The Thieves Guild follows a highly organized structure which some say is loosely based on the ancient diarchies of the Vyrum.

At the head of the guild is the Guild Master or Prince. He is often a nobleman with both feet in legitimate society. Few people know the source of his illicit income or rackets, which are continually washed through actual enterprises.

The Guild Master has four lieutenants: the Hand, the Eye, the Heart and the Hand. The Hand is the Grandmaster Assassin and head of the subsidiary Assassins Guild. The Eye is the Spymaster and head of the subsidiary Guild of Whispers. The Heart is the Great Dame and the head of the Trollop's Guild. The Mouth is the Guild Master's chief lieutenant through whom he directs the rest of the thieves in the guild.

Reporting to the Mouth are the Arch Thieves or "Old Men", each of whom runs a "family" of four to seven Master Thieves. They principally earn their income by loansharking and extortion, and by collecting the tribute purses paid by those beneath them. Each of them has an enterprise, a thin veneer of respectability, which is run more or less poorly and frequently relies on other unsavory sources of income to augment its survival.

The Master Thieves are the so-called "Uncles." They coordinate the dirty work of the guild. Each is an accomplished thief of some specialty and each of them runs a crew of four to eight "Lads" who. The Uncles plan jobs and give out assignments, but also supervise and train the real earners earners of the guild. 

The Lads and their probationary associates do the actual pick-pocketing, wall climbing, lock-picking and pilfering that keep the entire organization afloat.