The Den

The island of heroes and secrets.

Public Agenda

To serve the Cala, to protect the mundane from the ruins of magic, and to preserve the past that we may have a future.

Assets

The Den's services are invaluable to the stability of the Four Nations. As such the guild has become quite wealthy across the centuries, and while Foxes wander the continent they enjoy the privilege of common cooperation and respect. Thus, it is not terribly difficult for the Den to have anything it needs at request.

History

The Den is an Order born out of calamity. Their Story is ultimately a religious one, even if their modern agents do not seem overly god-fearing. Indeed, the famous skepticism of Foxes must be considered as holy as any Tenant. I say, leave the Den to its devices. Let them keep their neutrality. Once upon a time they saved us all, and if our continued protection from tyranny (magical or mundane) remains contingent upon the Den going about its business, then I shall not denigrate their methods … beyond reason, of course…

You see, the fate of the Den is intimately tied to the nature of magic. I am, of course, referring to the horrific Magi Reign all those centuries ago. Who among us does not recall the histories? Who does not shiver at the recollection of bed time stories? Indeed, one need only look to Kassus Crater to see evidence of the Magi’s terrible power. Thank your lucky stars for the Foxes, or there may have been many more monuments to atrocity.
This land of ours, Ros-Cala, was not always called such. During the Magi’s Reign, Ros-Cala was known as Callagiah, and it was considered a holy land to the Magi. It is surely easy to see why. Ros-Cala remains a vibrant and fertile place. In those days it can be assumed that her beauty surpassed legend, and the Magi ruled it all to their liking. They were the ruling class of all magic users. The Magi today are any persons who possess the Gift known as magic, but in those days it was title fit only for the tyrants who ruled. And woe to any citizen of that empire who did not wield magic, which is to say the grand majority of the population. We, the mundane, were slaves to the magic users. To a man there were no Magi or lesser magi who did not control us. Their powers allowed even the lowest caste of magi to hold almost god-like authority over us. There were markets where we were bought and traded. There were… experiments… We were like cattle to be used and discarded. For better or for worse, the notes and records of most of those experiments have been lost to the ages. Good riddance, says I! Whatever academic value could be gleaned from such horrors is simply not worth the suffering. It was pure evil.
(Author's Note: It should surprise no one that many results of the Magi’s dark adventures into the Gift’s capabilities still exist today. The hunt for these constructs remains a significant part of a Fox-man's duties.)
As one can imagine, our ancestors did not stand for their mistreatment. There were countless revolts throughout the Magi’s Reign; each one put down without mercy. After all, does a man spare a roach? The powerful magics of our oppressors proved time and again simply too much for our ancestors to stand against. Manifest firestorms and lightning storms, plagues, famines, all artificial and targeted and murderous. We never stood a chance.
Until someone intervened on our behalf.
Over time the Magi’s society grew complacent in their dominance. As the centuries passed, and each rebellion died, those of us still alive resigned ourselves to the reality that would never free ourselves from the shackles of the Magi and those fortunate enough to be born with the Gift. We became docile; an entire class of people gave into blind servitude as the only way to live. Certain families witnessed this transformation. After several generations of peace, magi families began to grow soft, seeing their mundane house slaves more and more as pets… and then as family. Their hearts became open to the reality these mundane beings suffered; beings with whom they would sometimes sup; beings with whom they interacted every day. They saw the cruelty bare and naked before their eyes.
It will likely forever remain a mystery as to when or where the first spark which ignited the series of Endwars. What we know is that they lasted somewhere north of 800 years. The devastation wrought upon Ros-Calla nearly rendered her desolate and uninhabitable. With new allies in mages, witches, and wizards, we stole victory after victory, and accepted defeat after murderous defeat. The cataclysmic battles between magi reached on too many occasions literally apocalyptic heights, each disaster narrowly avoided by one trick of fate or God or Gods or another. How many heroics on any side are left to forgotten stories? To the oblivion of anonymity? I often daydream about the horrific marvels one may have witnessed; the miracles; the bravery. All we can know about those days is left to brilliant imagination.
As terrible a reality were the Endwars, their defining variable was time. Instead of being constantly routed and slaughtered outright by our former masters, victories at the hands of our newfound allies bought safe territory and time not devoted to retreat or servitude, which gave us time to learn...
The former name of the great island off the coast of The Spur used to be called Vool, and it was here many refugees chose to settle and study the true intricacies of The Gift. Vool’s position gave the researchers ample time to see any Magi counter-attack on the horizon. From here, the leaders of the rebellious magi instructed us in the strengths and weaknesses of magic. Its true nature is unknown to me; where it comes from, how it works, but these are mysteries only true Magi can decipher. They are also unimportant here… to the Origin of the Den. What does matter is that some of the mundane learned.
There were Three Magi who taught at the Sanctuary:
Connix of the far eastern desert. The Basini Capitol of Kataphrax was her first memorial.
Zebulon the first defector. It is said he alone could sink entire navies.
Baldera the favored Princess and Heir to the Imperial Magi Throne.
(Author’s Note: It is my belief that Connix, Zebulon, and Baldera should be cursed names to be spat upon rather than worshiped as they often are throughout time and lands. These Magi may have come to our rescue, but nothing can atone for the atrocities they committed or were committed in their names and their emperors.)
Nevertheless, without the knowledge they imparted we could never have hoped to defeat the Magi. The most important names to be remembered are those of their most successful students:
Bly
Simon
Tennir
Morgan
Ysmira
David
Karth


These are the Seven Saints; the Blessed. The only mundane humans to take the Gift for themselves, and ascended into Magi.
With their leadership, the Sanctuary on Vool grew as the Endwars carried on through the decades. Of course, the Sanctuary eventually became the Den, and the Blessed Saints became the First Foxes.

(Author’s Note: If one wishes to know the details of the Endwars in depth, I suggest finding a copy of Rance Christoph’s Modernity Rising. While it is a work of fiction, Mister Christoph’s research is so delightfully thorough, and unrivaled in my honest opinion. So true to every relevant text on the matter of the Endwars that one could be forgiven for believing the book to be a documentary rather than imagined. Modernity Rising is simply the best organization of formally oral histories and rumor that I have ever known.)
The name “Fox” was likely coined by Ysmira who was supposedly an accomplished huntress from the harsh tundra of The Frost Steppe. It is said that all of the Seven Saints were extraordinary individuals, and that they possessed unmatched guile; clever without equal. They would solve any riddle, and catch any prey. They could outsmart any foe and each had killed magi most of their lives. This trait of astounding cleverness is said to be how these mundane men and women were able to learn the secrets of the Gift, and use it for good.
Since Reconstruction, The Den has played a crucial role in the recovery of lost knowledge and the defeat of the Magi's most notorious remnants. Today, Foxes roam the continent as caravan guards, private investigators, court advisors, and many other occupations in pursuit of truth and justice.

We Find

Type

Guild, Adventuring

Alternative Names

Vool

Demonym

Fox

Location

Vool

Controlled Territories

• The Cay of Tennir
• Traxmund Hall