The Branded Brotherhood
Boom Badoom Ba Boom Badoom Ba Boom Badoom
Drums roar within the soaked courtyard of Rainfall, the rain obstructing what little vision you have in this blackest of nights. Distant torches illuminate the damp stone and dripping wooden walls of the keep, where your future brothers stand with their drums and their drink.
You and your companions had been stolen from your beds and were dragged to the centre of the yard, pushed down onto your knees by unseen hands which now rest on your shoulders.
Before you, in robes made of white cloth, stands an old man who holds his hands to the sky, basking in the rain.
"Those who kneel here now before us were once mere mortal men."
The crowd under the rafters and scaffolds roar at those words. They echo the man's cries as he shouts, elated.
"No more."
A thundering chorus erupts. The voices of over a hundred men break through the deafening rain as they cheer and shout.
"No more!"
One by one, names are called and screams of pain erupt. Half the men keep their shouts of "No more!" the other half echo the names of those called. It is not long before your name too is called by the man in robes, and you feel the searing pain of the branding iron press into the back of your neck.
You scream out in pain and pride overtakes you.
You're a brother now.
Born in fire to combat fire. The brotherhood is a place for those with no place. Onder's royalty may squabble among themselves, its peasants work the fields and cower for their rulers. The brothers cower for no one. Those branded are immortalised in the Burned Book, a massive tome filled with the names and deeds of each and every member of the brotherhood. Keeping the book is considered one of the highest honours in the brotherhood and it contains names that go back as far as the brotherhood's creation.
It was founded after the end of the first trilatteral war, over six centuries ago, at the start of the Age of Fire. Four second sons of each of the royal houses were stripped of their names and united as brothers, and sent to the former Highlander holdfast of Last Coast. There they would found the organisation which would combat any potential threat coming from the Evenglow Isles.
Decades passed without a threat, allowing the brothers to build up their infrastructure and their ranks. In the following years, raids started to happen along the northern shores of Onder, perpetraited by a seafaring peoples originating from the Evenglow Isles. These "Duskmen" descended from the seemingly uninhabitable islands and, despite the presence of the Flame Emperor, they made it their home.
Some say the Duskmen raid the coasts to bring riches to their Emperor, others say their existence proves that the Emperor has died or never even existed to begin with. All the Brotherhood knows is that they are murderers and thieves who need to be brought to justice.
Composition
Manpower
About a thousand brothers inhabit the entirety of Brother Isle. A third of that manpower is stationed at Brotherbank, the rest is spread throughout the villages of the island. Another two hundred men are stationed in the watchtowers on the smaller isles along the northern coasts. The Smokestack is the largest of these, holding fifty men on its own. Beside those stationed on the islands, another two hundred inhabit the smallest loan islands along the northern coast of the mainland.
Brother Isle is also home to several villages with its own inhabitants. These people are not part of the Brotherhood but do fall under its protection. They provide the Brotherhood castles with resources such as food and wood.
Vehicles
The Brotherhood makes extensive use of small cogs and galleys with which they patrol the Heartbreak sea from west to east. Whilst the Brotherhood navy may not be the most impressive one in Onder, their most experienced sailors stand head and shoulders above their continental peers when it comes to skill.
Structure
The commander of the Brotherhood is elected upon the death of the previous commander. They are known as the Lord Brother and are chosen from a pool of canditates. Every branded brother can put themselves up for election, and every branded brother who is not a canditate can vote.
The Lord brother rules with a council of five others. These five are each in charge of the other four Brotherhood castles along Brother Isle, aside from the Lord Keeper.
The Lord Keeper is the Brotherhood's resident healing expert and keeper of knowledge. They are also responsible for keeping and updating the tome known as the Burned Book. There are other healers within the Brotherhood's other castles but when those fail to solve an issue, the patient is brought before the Lord Keeper. The Lord Keeper resides within Rainfall together with the Lord Brother. The Burned Book is also kept here.
The Lord Sailor is the Brotherhood's commander of the fleet and takes care not only of the ship's routes and oversees trade, but also the construction of new sea vessels. They reside within the castle of Brotherbank and are allowed to use all wood on Smallbrother for the creation of more ships. The shipwrights of Brotherbank use southern Maswin's Isle as a port to keep the Brotherhood's fleet after they are constructed on Smallbrother.
The Lord Provisioner is in charge of the Brotherhood's food and resource stockpiles. They manage trade with the towns on Brother Isle and make sure that the supplies provided are distributed evenly among the Brotherhood castles. They preside over Last Bloom, allowing them easier communication between the Highlander houses, with short travel distances should they be in need of external supplies.
The Lord Mason is in charge of maintaining the Brotherhood's castles and expanding their infrastructure where needed. They rule over the northern castle, Northlight. The Lord Mason commands the most individual brothers out of all the lords, as castle maintainance and construction is a job that requires many a hand.
The Lord Crafter is in charge of all manual labour that does not involve construction. This includes the smithing of swords, fletching of arrows and crafting of armour for the brothers. This also includes cooking meals, tailoring clothes, woodworking for furniture, etc. The Lord Crafter oversees Brotherbridge, which is as much a crafting warehouse as it is a castle. Brotherbridge is filled with long-range siege weaponry such as catapults or ballistas. This allows for the castle to be used as a defensive structure close to the coast of the Evenglow Isles.
Training
New brothers spend their early months training the sword as well as the sail. Every brother needs a basic understanding of combat should they find themselves face to face with a Duskman. Throughout this training period, they are overseen by one of the Brotherhood's seasoned members, who later decides on their assignment.
Brothers assigned to the Sailors are given more extensive combat and seafaring training, though more often than not new Sailor recruits are deligated to rowing or swabbing the decks of the Brotherhood ships.
The Brand of Brotherhood is placed upon the necks of any who wish to join the institution
Type
Militia
Founding
Five centuries before Second Landing
Overall training Level
Trained
Assumed Veterancy
Recruit
Ranks & Titles
Comments