The Cold Suns

The Cold Suns are a shadowy, elite guild of mercenaries known for their stealth, precision, and cold-blooded approach to combat. Unlike more bombastic guilds, they operate in the shadows, preferring secrecy and cunning over brute force. They’re highly selective about their contracts, often working covertly to accomplish difficult objectives, sometimes even within enemy strongholds. Their methods are not for the faint of heart, and they frequently take on missions that other mercenaries would refuse.

Leadership and Key Figures

• Dain Kalt: A stoic and enigmatic elven rogue, Dain Kalt founded the Cold Suns with the philosophy of “shadow before steel.” He is known for his remarkable agility and his strategic mind, preferring tactics that eliminate enemies before they can retaliate. He rarely makes public appearances and operates in secrecy even within the guild, leaving many members in the dark about his true identity or motives.
• Selena Frostbloom: The Cold Suns’ second-in-command, Selena is an elven sorceress known for her mastery over ice magic and illusions. She is often responsible for creating diversions or trapping enemies with enchanted snares. Her cold demeanor and flawless execution make her an indispensable leader and a terrifying opponent.
• Varen "The Phantom" Graves: A human assassin who is feared for his unparalleled skill in infiltration. Varen is rumored to have an uncanny ability to blend in with shadows, moving without a trace. He is often the one sent to handle the guild’s highest-stakes assassinations and intelligence-gathering missions.

Specialties and Tactics

• Espionage and Assassination: The Cold Suns excel at covert operations, including assassinations, sabotage, and intelligence gathering. They are trained to move unseen and unheard, making them the go-to guild for clients who need quiet, untraceable eliminations or missions behind enemy lines.
• Ambushes and Silent Takedowns: In combat, they favor ambush tactics, setting up traps or staging surprise attacks to eliminate targets without causing a commotion. The Cold Suns are trained in a range of lethal and non-lethal techniques, often taking down entire enemy patrols without a single sound.
• Illusion and Camouflage: The Cold Suns employ mages who specialize in illusion spells and magical camouflage. They can create mirages, cast darkness, or make their members invisible, giving them a significant edge in both attack and retreat.

Reputation and Clientele

• The Guild for Discreet Work: The Cold Suns are known among nobility, royalty, and high-profile clients as the guild to call for discreet, effective work. They rarely accept contracts from commoners, preferring clients who can pay the high price for their unique services.
• Frequent Clients: Their clientele includes noble houses, political rivals, and occasionally influential criminal organizations. The Cold Suns have even been rumored to work for governments during times of war, conducting espionage missions and sabotaging enemy forces from within.

Internal Culture and Morale

• Professional and Detached: Members of the Cold Suns are expected to maintain a professional, emotionless attitude, as attachments are considered a liability. Guild members rarely know each other’s real names, using aliases and keeping personal details concealed. The guild’s training programs emphasize survival, loyalty to the mission, and stealth above all else.
• Secrecy is Sacred: Trust is scarce within the Cold Suns, and each member operates with limited knowledge about other members and even the guild’s true objectives. Secrets are rigorously kept, with harsh penalties for betrayal or carelessness that might compromise their anonymity.

Armaments and Appearance

• Dark, Practical Gear: The Cold Suns dress in dark, muted colors, favoring cloaks, hoods, and armor that allow for silent movement. Their armor is often enchanted for sound dampening, and they rarely carry large or flashy weapons, opting instead for daggers, short swords, and crossbows.
• Crescent Emblem: Members carry a small emblem, often worn as a brooch or ring, depicting a half-moon with an icy-blue outline. This is the only marking they wear, and it’s usually hidden or engraved subtly on their armor.

Base of Operations and Outposts

• The Frosthold: The Cold Suns operate from an isolated, hidden fortress known as The Frosthold, located deep within a frigid mountain range. Few outsiders know of its location, and even fewer have seen its interior. The Frosthold is said to be enchanted with concealment magic, making it appear as part of the landscape to anyone without the knowledge to find it.
• Secret Safehouses and Hideouts: The guild maintains a network of hidden safehouses and covert meeting points in several major cities, typically accessible only to senior members. These locations are often unassuming, disguised as abandoned buildings or rundown taverns with secret basements.

Code and Practices

• Loyalty to the Mission: Members of the Cold Suns swear a strict oath of loyalty to the guild and its objectives. They are bound by a code that forbids betrayal, and those who break it are hunted down mercilessly.
• The Black Ledger: The guild maintains a secret list known as the Black Ledger, containing the names of high-value targets marked for elimination. This list is kept under tight security, with only the guild’s highest-ranking members knowing its full contents. Targets are added to the list based on the guild’s mysterious criteria, and any member can be summoned to fulfill a contract on a Ledger target at any time.

Training and Induction

• Intense Training Programs: Induction into the Cold Suns involves rigorous physical and mental tests designed to weed out the weak or faint-hearted. New recruits undergo training in stealth, silent movement, and unarmed combat, with higher-ranking members mentoring them on lethal techniques.
• Trials of Darkness: Before becoming full members, recruits must pass a test known as the Trials of Darkness. This involves a multi-day mission where they are sent into hostile territory to retrieve information or perform an assassination without assistance. Only those who complete the trial without breaking the guild’s code are accepted into the guild.

The Cold Suns, with their mastery of stealth and precise, silent combat, serve as the ultimate choice for clients in need of quick, discreet work. Their mystique and efficiency make them one of the most respected and feared guilds in the realms, setting them apart as masters of the shadows.