The Thirteenth Order

There is no 'Thirteenth Order', there are only Twelve Gods not Thirteen, and this is getting tiresome to keep having to deal with. Leave these flights of fancy to the dreamers with no understanding of reality, and focus on the more important things.

Increasingly, there have been rumors of a 'Thirteenth Order', devoted to the supposed 'Thirteenth' among the Gods. Historically, there is a cult which has existed over many generations which insists the first Emperor, Adun Rhyliss, did not simply die in his final years. Rather, he had ascended to take his place as the Eternal King of Blades, a ruler over the Twelve Gods who would ensure the Imperium could continue until the end of days. Each version of this cult has had some variance in their message and beliefs, but the most recent incarnations have given rise to the worry there is a secret Order which does the bidding of the Emperor themselves to keep peace and stability.

The Twelve Orders have, predictably, always reacted poorly to the presence of the "Cult of the Thirteenth". There are few things which can swiftly unite their fury and focus than the news of a "Shrine of Blades" being consecrated. These days, the implication there is a secret Order on par with themselves has caused no small amount of concern - if the populace starts believing this as a truth, it could undermine the authority of the Imperium at all sides.

Summary

According to rumors, the Thirteenth Order was begun after the apotheosis of Emperor Adun Rhyliss, the Conqueror. His inner circle of warlords and advisors bowed before the new God to proclaim their eternal fealty, and trained replacements over time to keep the Imperium following the same vision of the Eternal King of Blades. The Thirteenth Order is thus suggested to predate the Twelve Orders, or even the Empire as it is known today, though this detail is often lost on those who subscribe to the idea.

Historical Basis

Countless scholars, and bureaucrats, have sifted through records of all types in order to continually prove or disprove the existence of the Thirteenth Order. To date, there has been no aspects of the Empire which suggests a "hole" big enough to fit an organization such as the Thirteenth Order. While these have long been held up to be the proof such a thing cannot exist as suggested, proponents of the Thirteenth Order stories suggest the lack of such evidence points inevitably to it being removed or suppressed to make it impossible to find. This is usually where the scholars arguing the matter give up and return to other - more interesting - pursuits.

One of the few details which is presented as "evidence" of the Thirteenth Order existing is tied to the House of the Twelve. Firstly, there is the use of Bladeguard being used to protect it instead of members of the Twelve Orders. If there is no Thirteenth Order, then it would fall to the Twelve Orders to safeguard such an important fixture of worship. This usually misses several clauses in Imperial Law forbidding the Twelve Orders from undertaking any actions such as peacekeeping or protection on land not consecrated by their respective Orders. Furthermore, the House of the Twelve is specifically not consecrated ground to any of the Twelve - it is treated as 'neutral ground' with regards to divine providence.

The arguments also tend to focus on one other detail: when the House of the Twelve was renovated many generations ago, there was a small section of the interior set aside which functioned as a path to approach the center of the dome before approaching any one altar in particular. Because the path is intended to direct visitors, it is said to represent the existence of the Thirteenth Order silently guiding the Empire's development. Rather than it being a little crass to expect someone to walk through an area devoted to one of the Twelve in order to approach a different God's altar. Original designs from Kelusar had forgotten to include paths, and the initial design for the renovation had actually included more pathways between each segment. It had been rejected, but while those subscribing to the idea of the Thirteenth Order might claim it was to take the current form for symbolic reasons... the truth is, the apprentice who had prepared the draft had not properly added their measurements. It had been literally impossible to enact the design without tearing down the whole building and starting over.