The Order of the Black Rose

It is a little known fact that one of the most famous knightly orders in Kharagess, the Knights of the Black Rose, is formed not from loyal Kharagessian citizens, but from the resurrected heroes of foreign lands. Being experts in necromancy and resurrection, and having a keen understanding that unique and extraordinary individuals are rare to come by, the Triumvirate of Kharagess created the Knights of the Black Rose to solve the problem of hero shortages in Kharagess. They contract with shady foreign organizations and also send out their own scouting expeditions, led by the divinations of the priests of Nimriel, to find the lost bodies of those with powerful souls and then bring them back to Kharagess for re-animation. These resurrected heroes have their memories taken from them and are thoroughly geased to forever keep the secret of where the Knights of the Black Rose come from. They are then told that they owe the Kingdom of Bones 250 years of service for their resurrection, after which time they are free to either become citizens of Kharagess, leaving their old lives behind, or to return to their ancestral lands, their memories restored to them. The Knights of the Black Rose, heralded as heroes in all the major necropoli of Kharagess, are known by their distinctive armor and by the tattoo of a thorned black rose placed somewhere on their body. It is this sacred tattoo that keeps track of their debt, slowly disappearing - thorn by thorn and petal by petal - as their obligations are fulfilled.