Order of the Night Sky

One of the founding monastic orders of Monkep and located in high peaks of southwestern Autumia. They are based by the Elidane Shrine and They have devoted themselves to the teachings of the 12 guardians from the Legend of the Lunar Zodia to reach emotional enlightenment. They are a naturally peaceful order, but they are highly capable of defending themselves when needed. They have powerful rituals, especially ones pertaining to the moon, that have been passed down, preserved and improved through the generations.
Their Insignia is a crescent moon inside of a circle that is surrounded by 12 dashes. It usually white on black or black on off white. The are also recognized by their black and off white clothing made of drunkweed fibers. Full recognized night monk also have a tattoo, known as a Night's mark, on their forehead. They also wear simple stone jewelry. Most of which have the Order's insignia on .
Most members live in the West district of Monkep. In fact, most of the members have been born into the Order. However, anyone can join the order and become fully fledged member and receive a Night's Mark, so long as they are seeking emotional enlightenment. Still many monks (especial those with the Deer, Fox, Tortoise, and Crane Night Mark) travel to spread the teaching of the Order. Some of these traveling members return to Monkep, some start families, some continuously travel their whole life, and some establish smaller Night Order communities. In fact there are growing communities in Nexus, Triton and the southern Islands of Esterille.

Structure

Then order operates under the leadership of the the Nightmasters. However, beyond that, the only other type of organization is the division of jobs and specializations for individual members. These divisions still freely interact and live with one another .There 12 of these divisions based on the 12 beasts of lunar zodia, which is noted by the tattooed mark on a fully recognized Night Monk's forehead. The mark s is called a Night's Mark

The Leaders

Mark of the Eagle:Those with this mark have a strong sense of Justice and need to uphold order. They serve as judges

Mark of the Deer: Those with this mark enjoy helping others. They serve as teachers.

Mark of the Wolf: Those with this mark are very charismatic. They serve as speakers and group leaders.

The Warriors

Mark of the Bear Those with this mark are strong both emotionally and physically. They serve a hard laborers and builders

Mark of the Ram Those with this mark have good stamina. They serve as defenders and farmers

Mark of the Tiger Those with this mark have ferocity, aggression and aptitude with weaponry. They serve a head warriors

The Thinkers

Mark of the Moth Those with this mark are gifted with this strategic thinking and memory. They serves as scribes, historians or researchers

Mark of the Fox Those with this mark are cunning, witty, master manipulators. They serve as diplomats and traders

Mark of the Spider This mark is for the creative and innovative. They serve as artist and inventors

The Caregivers

Mark of the Crane Those with this mark have an outgoing and inspirational attitude with extroverted tendencies. They serve as entertainers

Mark of the Tortoise Those with this mark have patience and natural wisdom. They serve as advisers and preservers of balance and peace between the marks

Mark of the Carp Those with this mark have a deep emotional understanding and sense of intuition. The serve as counselor and watchers of the welfare of the order

It is important to note that the Night mark a monk takes does not automatically assign them their job. A Night Mark really just signifies which of the 12 lessons of the lunar Zodia that a monk deeply follows. Night marks are typically suggested by peers, the council and elders, as they can objectively observe the habits of a Nights mark candidate. Monks with the mark of the Carp and Tortoise are known to be good at this. However a Night Monk's Night Mark is ultimately chosen by the bearer. If the Member is born into the order they usually choose their Nights mark at around the age of 17. New joining members serve at least 6 six years before they are able to receive a nights mark.

Assets

Vast collection of knowledge on unique rituals and spells, especially one pertaining to lunar magic. They are also know for their mastery of growing , harvesting, and processing of Drunkweed to make textiles, fibrous materials, paper, and their famous Monkai.

Territories

The Operate the west district of Monkep. Their headquarters is known as the Eldaine Shrine. It is an ornate building that houses the Night scrolls. it is sourround of stone carved statues of the 12 guardians and surrounded by moss garden.

Military

The Marks of the warriors (bear, ram and Tiger) Fulfill the militaristic roles and are the most combat ready. How each guardian has a martial art associated with them that most monks learn. THey also incorporate many magic manipulations in their fighting styles.

Divine Origins

The order was founded by the twin demigen daughters of the Moon Goddess Diane and Eilene. These demigens managed to communicate with all the 12 guardian beast of the night sky in search for emotional enlightenment. Like their mother learned of all their lesson. However they also wrote down these lessons in the 12 Night Scrolls. They both then began teaching the philosophy of the 12 guardians in the hopes others would become enlightened.
At first they both traveled all throughout Morteron sharing their knowledge with those that would listen. During this time they even gained a group of faithful followers that grew to form a moving caravan of monks. However an attack on the caravan made the sister realized that these people needed protection and so did the Night scrolls. So the sisters began to teach the night monks to defend themselves with techniques and styles still taught by the order today.
Eventually the sisters came to met with 7 other monastic order also searching for refuge in the mountains of south Autumia and would go on to found Monkep

Tenets of Faith

The Order of the Night Sky tenets of faith are based on living and fostering life based on the teachings for the 12 guardians from the Legend of the Lunar Zodia to reach emotional enlightenment. According to their teachings emotional enlightenment occurs when one can be completely content with one's life purpose and experiences. However, unlike other orders, emotional enlightenment is not treated like a difficult final end-goal in life. In fact The night Monks do not believe true emotional enlightenment is attainable and maintainable. Instead they place emphasis on the journey to reach emotional enlightenment over getting it.
The 12 teachings of the guardians are as follows:

• Loyalty and Unity of the Wolf
• Freedom and Joy of the Crane
• Foresight and Faith of the Moth
• Empathy and Guidance of the Deer
• Strength and Courage of the Bear
• Patience and Wisdom of the Tortoise
• Power and Honor of the Tiger
• Resilience and Integrity of the Ram
• Leadership and Justice of the Eagle
• Creativity and Knowledge of the Spider
• Honesty and Cunning of the Fox
• Intuition and Awareness of the Carp

Ethics

The Order of the Night Sky Does not really have a strict code of ethics. Monks are free to partake in sexual desires, substance pleasures, and aggressive endeavors as long as they do not hinder another journey to emotional enlightenment. In fact they are encouraged to partake in these as they can help one to achieve emotional enlightenment. Thus Orgies, organized fight clubs and drug use are openly used in these communities. In fact the Night monks are famous for the some of the highest quality Monkai
While not common it is possible to be banished from the Order if a monk performs acts which purposely hindered the emotional enlightenment on others. this includes act such as homicide, torture, rape, slavery and imprisonment. All the Night master must agree to banish the accused the there night's mark will be burns so that it is unrecognizable.

Priesthood

The council is led by a council of 12 known as the Nightmasters. There is one Nightmaster for each of the labor divisions. They are in charge of handling the larger decisions on behalf of the Order and are viewed as a source of inspiration and guidance. All Nightmasters are part of a lifeblood coven and thus their magic passes on to other members when they died and handled down through generations. Thus when they work together the Nightmaster have access to a larger amount of magic. This combined with the order's mass knowledge of unique rituals and spells make night masters an extremely powerful protective and fighting force for both the Order and the city of Monkep.
Night Masters hold their positions for the remainder of their life, unless they are impeached by a unanimous decision by all the other Nightmasters. If impeached the Nightmaster is also executed so that they cannot corrupt the lifeblood coven.

Guided by Night

Founder:

Diane & Eilene of the Night

Text:

12 Night Scrolls

Place of Origin:
Monkep West District Headquarters:
 Elidane Shrine

Type

Religious, Monastic Order

Demonym

Night Monks

Deities

• Yueia: Goddess of Lunar magic

Location

Monkep

Related Myths

• Legend of the Lunar Zodia