Silent Owls
The Silent Owls are a guild of deadly assassins. They are infamously silent killers who tend to attack from above. Their methods are as mysterious as the guild itself, and witnesses (as few as there may be) swear that they have seen these deadly assassins swooping down from the skies to slay their victims with a single strike. It is claimed that they wear feathers in their attire and owl masks. For this reason, many places ban such dress.
Public Agenda
The Silent Owls are the most notorious assassin's guild in the known world. They only take the most accomplished killers into their ranks, ensuring a level of quality unmatched by any other guild, of which there is no true comparison. Other thieves' and mercenary guilds may accept payments for assassinations, but none can guarantee a kill like the Silent Owls.
The Silent Owls reputation is vigilantly maintained. Their prices are high, and so they must maintain a level of professionalism and expertise in their field. Due to the high price tag, the Silent Owls are most commonly hired by organisations, but wealthy nobles and merchants may be able to afford their services, should they be diabolical enough to require them.
Based on some of their most high-profile assassinations, it seems that nobody is off-limits for this guild.
History
The Silent Owls have been responsible for several high-profile deaths throughout history. There is no mistaking their involvement in a murder, as they almost always leave their calling card as a sign of a job well-done, and a sign of defiance in the face of the authorities that often fear to cross their paths.
Nobody is sure when the deadly guild was founded, but early records indicate that it may have been at least 400 years ago. The working theory is that assassins from various thieves' guilds banded together to form an elite group - realising that they had the potential to make much more money as a specialised organisation.
On very rare occasions, assassins from the Silent Owls have been captured. Despite attempts to extract information on the elusive guild, nothing of use has ever been gleamed. This has perplexed and infuriated authorities for years, with no clue as to where the assassin's guild makes their base, or who is in charge. Captured assassins have historically been able to escape or have been themselves murdered by their own guild.
In 1675, the existing Knight-Commander of the Order of the Shield undertook a doomed mission to put an end to the deadly assassins. With the help of a team of investigators, they managed to locate a noble from Takari Peak who had hired a Silent Owl. The man in question had had his business rival murdered - and was foolish enough to add the fee for the assassination in his records. The original hunch was confirmed when the Order searched the man's estate, and he was arrested for his crime. The nobleman was offered leniency if he co-operated with the mission to put an end to the assassins, and foolish as he was, the man accepted.
The Order set up a meeting with the noble's contact, under the pretence of hiring the assassins. Following the meeting, the Order used Magic to scry on the contact as he went to meet with the assassins. They were surprised to see the contact close to their current location. Moments later, the members of the investigation were attacked by assassins, and all mercilessly slaughtered.
Thinking that the nobleman had somehow betrayed them, the Knight-Commander ran to the noble's cell, only to find him also murdered - with no sign of anybody coming or going. Later that night, the Knight-Commander was also killed, murdered in his own home.
The Order of the Shield was left in a state of shock and fear. The new Knight-Commander quickly ended all efforts to hunt down the assassins, but did begin closely vetting all existing Knights, sure that somebody must have betrayed them. No moles were ever found, and it remains a mystery still how the assassins knew all that they did.
From then on, the Order of the Shield have been reluctant to get too heavily involved in investigations regarding Silent Owl assassinations. Once a murder is confirmed to be their doing, the Order has historically backed-off. This has caused several issues over the years, starting with copycat killers who thought they could get away with murder if they posed as a Silent Owl. These fools were quickly dealt with by actual Silent Owls, who would kill them - and in often gruesome ways - would make it clear to others who thought to imitate them that this was not acceptable. This swiftly ended any further copycat attempts, making things a little easier for the Order of the Shield to deal with.
In light of all this, the Order of the Shield had lost a lot of reverence amongst the people. If anybody could have you murdered by the Silent Owls and get away with it, who was safe? Certainly not those who ran in the circles of the wealthy, for only they could afford the deadly guild.
In 1628, a Silent Owls assassin killed a high-profile performer, mid-performance, at The Tama Sodanya. The performer in question was one of the College of Exquisite Arts' most prominent bards and had been under the patronage of the Mayor of Kureta City at the time. There had been many heated discussions between nobles of the city and beyond, regarding the mayor "monopolizing" the music industry, as his connections with the college allowed him to discover new talent long before new bards hit the tavern scene. The assassination was a clear message to the mayor that his social rivals were not happy. The measures that had been taken were shocking to the whole nation, and the mayor had no choice but to relinquish his hold over his stable of talent. The extreme nature of the message had a counter-affect however, as many bards were reluctant to sign on with new benefactors or perform at The Tama Sodanya for a sometime.
In 1711, the High Professor of Transmutation was murdered by Silent Owls. The assassination occurred in her own office, a single dagger thrown through the window, with the Silent Owls' calling card attached. Nobody could think of a reason why someone would want the professor dead - she was a well-loved and revered member of the university, who had made great strides in her research. The only theory as to why she was killed revolved around her research - the professor was very close to breaching the 6th circle of Magic. There were no obvious candidates that would want to prevent this, however, so the motive behind this murder remains a mystery.
High-Profile Killings (Public Knowledge)
In 1513, it is strongly believed that the Silent Owls were responsible for the death of Princess Catelyn, who was heir to the throne at the time. Unlike most of their other killings, no calling card was left on Catelyn's body, but the nature of her death seemed to indicate that the Silent Owls were undoubtedly involved. The princess was poisoned in her sleep with a very rare and expensive toxin. The poison alone would have cost anybody a fortune, but the fact that the killer was able to enter the room without a sound or being seen by anybody - guard or otherwise - strongly suggested that this was a Silent Owl job. Catelyn's death would have been a "peaceful" one, however. Alchemists concurred that the rare poison caused the princess to enter an incredibly deep sleep, at which point she simply stopped breathing. The fact that somebody would have gone to the extent of giving her such a painless death suggested that the person who hired the assassins cared for the princess, though no evidence was ever found to suggest who it might be.In 1628, a Silent Owls assassin killed a high-profile performer, mid-performance, at The Tama Sodanya. The performer in question was one of the College of Exquisite Arts' most prominent bards and had been under the patronage of the Mayor of Kureta City at the time. There had been many heated discussions between nobles of the city and beyond, regarding the mayor "monopolizing" the music industry, as his connections with the college allowed him to discover new talent long before new bards hit the tavern scene. The assassination was a clear message to the mayor that his social rivals were not happy. The measures that had been taken were shocking to the whole nation, and the mayor had no choice but to relinquish his hold over his stable of talent. The extreme nature of the message had a counter-affect however, as many bards were reluctant to sign on with new benefactors or perform at The Tama Sodanya for a sometime.
In 1711, the High Professor of Transmutation was murdered by Silent Owls. The assassination occurred in her own office, a single dagger thrown through the window, with the Silent Owls' calling card attached. Nobody could think of a reason why someone would want the professor dead - she was a well-loved and revered member of the university, who had made great strides in her research. The only theory as to why she was killed revolved around her research - the professor was very close to breaching the 6th circle of Magic. There were no obvious candidates that would want to prevent this, however, so the motive behind this murder remains a mystery.
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