Lunar Brotherhood

The Lunar Brotherhood established itself in Pride's Call hoping that the city's status as an exception to various agreements due to its past prestige would allow them to operate unnoticed. So far, their strategy has been mostly successful, though the waning prestige of Pride's Call and increasing discontent among its citizens may yet change that. Missions undertaken by the Brotherhood skew towards enabling or protecting the passion or love of an individual or group. In addition to aiding eloping couples, the group works to prevent passionate craftsmen from losing their businesses due to unfair play...or engaging in unfair practices for the same purpose. The group commonly accepts other work as well as long as it doesn't go against Sehanine's will; these other jobs pay for the aforementioned clients who can't always afford to pay for the Brotherhood's aid. Though worship of Sehanine would skew most often towards elves and halflings, due to the Brotherhood's location, the makeup of the Brotherhood is much more diverse. There's a very slim majority of women in the Brotherhood, but it's fairly even throughout.

Structure

A council of five Silver Elders makes the major decisions for the Lunar Brotherhood, all members of the brotherhood for a half century or more. During council sessions, the Silver Elders engage in passionate debate and argument before coming to a decision which can sometimes be heard from other rooms. This sometimes gives newcomers the impression that the Elders dislike each other or don't get along, but this passion is actually embraced by the Elders and used as a formal method of decisionmaking. Ranks and titles within the Lunar Brotherhood are expressed as a suffix rather than as a prefix. A Silver Elder named Jhaeros would be addressed as "Jhaeros of Silver" in formal speech, though members are only encouraged to use such formality in official ceremonies and rituals. Below the Silver lies the Moon rank, describing those who have returned from their pilgrimage and are ready to rejoin the Brotherhood as leaders and elders ("Oricaryn of the Moon"). Below that still lies the Shadow rank, describing those who have completed their training and have gained the right to embark on missions in service of the brotherhood ("Rokas of Shadow"). Only members of the Shadow rank are commonly addressed by title alone (simply "Shadow" those of higher rank are referred to by name at nearly all times. Members of a lower rank are not granted a title, though they're sometimes referred to as "Moonbeam" in a teasing manner by those of higher rank.

Culture

The Brotherhood operates naturally in shadow even when its missions would be acceptable to the world both due to the illegal nature of their faith and in obediance to their goddess's commands. Members often speak to one another in lies and half-truths as a method of both play and of honing their skills in both deception and insight. Pranks are commonplace among the members and initiation can be brutally embarrassing. Approaching another in the brotherhood without watching one's movements carefully to avoid unnecessary noise and visibility can result in scolding as stealth and discretion are expected to be practiced habitually. Flirting and flattery are commonplace, usually in a joking manner, but just as common is a game where two members attempt to one-up each other with flattery or flirtatious comments while maintaining a straight face and wording their lies and exaggerations in a believable manner. Once a Shadow has proven themselves to the Brotherhood, they will often be sent to embark on an open-ended quest of self-discovery, told to return when they feel the time is right. This is not commonly known even to members of the Brotherhood; however, all of Moon rank and higher have gone through this and returned successfully and subsequently been told to never mention it to any others. Only the Silver Elders know the full truth of the matter.

Type

Secret, Religious sect

Deities