The Chosen Forged in Iron
The Chosen Forged in Iron, or simply the Chosen, are the Empress's ultimate weapons and threat to those that oppose her. Sorcerers who have been bound and changed by the Empress, these are her most powerful servants. Obedient if not loyal, their souls have been "Forged in Iron" and they would risk losing their great power or their immortal lives if they were to defy their mistress. Still, a weapon is only as strong as the material that forged it. Legends say that the Empress did not choose those who were noble or paragons of virtue as the stock for her Chosen, but those who she overcame during the days of the Final Storm, now reduced to her slaves. It is said that the Shadowlord had been one of the Chosen, and that is why his memory is to be blotted out, but there are few who know for certain.
Clad in black leathers and blackened steel, the individual identities of the Chosen have been lost. Only the bravest attempt to uncover the names and histories of those who became Chosen, for there is power in knowing something's name. As such, most of those who are ambitious enough to search for such dangerous knowledge are often at risk of the Chosen arriving to end their research with finality. The Broken Crown often will dedicate intense resources to rescue this information, even if it is not always possible to rescue the intrepid historian who made them.
The Chosen Forged in Iron are, as far as anyone can tell, immortal. There are nine among their ranks, and perhaps ten if the Shadowlord was truly one of them. The Empress will often send them out to support her legions with their sorcerous ability or to quell rebellions, though she is reluctant to send too many out of her immediate reach where she cannot easily watch them.
Structure
Each of the Chosen operates independently of the other. They are all 'equals' as they are all slaves to the Empress's will, but that does not mean they are without their own agendas and goals.
Culture
The Chosen were some of the most feared and dangerous Sorcerers and Lotusmasters of the Age of Storms. Some perhaps were Forged in the days of the Old Imperial Empire. So the rumors say. They are still instruments of terror, each more powerful than most modern sorcerers. The Imperial Bureaucracy considers them dogs on a leash and has little love for the Empress's ultimate weapons, but knows better than to antagonize them.
Public Agenda
The Chosen Forged in Iron serve the Empress and her alone. They will ensure their Empress is satisfied or risk her wrath.
Assets
The Chosen each maintain their own network and assets that they use for their own goals. These can be mercenary companies, sorcerers for hire, local arbiters. Some of the Chosen even command the loyalty of some members of the Bureaucracy to ensure they are kept in the loop. Though it is said that there is almost nothing they can hide from their immortal Empress.
History
The Chosen Forged in Iron are thought to have been those who once rivaled the Empress. It is said that the Empress had developed a ritual that could be performed to claim all the Spirit Shards of a person, binding them to her as her slave and her their Soul Master. This process is named the Forging. Though none are entirely sure when the Chosen were forged, for it is not recorded in the Imperial Record, they were already present at the end of the Age of Storms and the early Age of Iron, so it is likely that the Empress had already created her Forging Ritual before she had ascended to the summit of the Wyrdtower.
In the Age of Iron, they serve as the ultimate hammer and her instruments of fear. No provincial governor wishes to hear that the Empress has sent a Chosen to investigate rumors of unrest or rebellion. Often, their presence is sent when the Empress already knows the answer. They are brutal, merciless, compassionless monsters, but they are the Empress's creatures entirely.
Though it is said that the Shadowlord was one of their ranks. No one can say for sure, for the Empress will at times recall Chosen, for them to go unseen, before a new one takes their place. Perhaps she destroys them utterly and replaces them. Perhaps they are the same entity but changed so that none can no how many Chosen the Empress truly commands.
Alternative Names
The Chosen
Leader
Parent Organization
Notable Members
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