Black Order

They fear nothing but fear itself

Tales of their exploits have been told for centuries. Their skills are said to be unmatched when it comes to fighting the things that hunt men. They are the ones you send when no one else wants to do the dirty work. The ones who do not fear what lurks in the dark. The ones who know how to get the job done right. They say they are just doing it for the great good and Humanity. But then again, why are they getting paid for it instead of doing it for free? It's because they are the Black Order! - A scholar being questioned about what the Black Order is.

Structure

The Black Order is run by a guild master that runs the entire operation. His job is to keep things orderly and find contracts for members to take. Members who are on active duty are called Night Hunters and take jobs on hunt creatures. With those below them are trainees and staff the keep Watcher's Fort up and running.

Culture

Being a Member

The Black Order was founded with one purpose in mind, to kill monsters and they have been doing it since then. Though not for free of course considering the costs for equipment and maintaining the order doesn’t come cheap and people who work for free are often fools. It is not easy either since some of them on the job will often be never seen again.
Looks like you’ve lucked out on this one if you are here right now. Those who joined the order live a life of danger and thrills if your into that sort of thing. Though most of them are born into it rather than recruiting outsiders. They were founded on the principles of faith and the preservation of Humanity against creatures that would see the preyed upon and eradicated. Now they just do it all for any amount of coin that is tossed to them to kill the things that most people aren't able to. It's a fine profession and all, but it's not a job that you would want if you thinking of living to a ripe old age. Considering the things that you're hunting are not your average predators that just still someone cattle once in a while. They are often faster, stronger, smarter, and sometimes dead on some occasions making less like for someone being an average Human to face them. But as a hunter you are far beyond that of some farmer about to soil himself just by looking at one of the things, you have been trained for this sort of thing. Learning the ins and outs of what makes them tick and how to properly kill so they don't come back to have another go at you. Though it seems that a profession such as us is slowly dying out as there are more highly trained soldiers around these days and our services seem to be slowly dying out right now. Sure they may have good armor and weapons on them, but it won't do them good if you can kill the thing you facing and end up with your weapon shattering and your armor being torn open while most likely being eaten alive. It's best to leave to those who are more capable of these things and continue the good work that is achieved through our methods.

What People Think of You

In better days the order was once respected across the land for their service of dealing with the creature that feasted on the flesh of man. Nowadays that the opposite is said to be true. To many, they are nothing more than a remnant of a bygone age that has no purpose in society as better trained soldiers and more knowledge of ridding these creatures is more accessible in this day and age. Though they often lack the experience to face them as they are often trained to kill men and not monsters. This is why people still hire them to deal with their monster problems when they need to. Even if it cost them a lot it is still worth it if they can sleep soundly without having to fear something trying to kill them. They have been doing it for longer than most other people and as long as monsters still roam the land they will be there to get rid of them.

Public Agenda

Kill anything creature either living or dead, natural or supernatural, that hunts Humans and paid while doing it.

Assets

The order itself has centuries' worth of knowledge for killing the supernatural, along with special items and resources to add to that. They have enough equipment to equip their members to get the job done. Along with their stronghold for their members to rest known as Watcher’s Fort.

History

Origins

Showdown by Max Emmert

The order was formed in the fires of dread horror that was the Night War by none other then the great Saint Ganacus of the Order of the Righteous Flame. During this dark time in history, they served as holy order to fight the creatures that were unleashed by the demonic Vampire known as Korillia, the Queen of the Damned. Its founding members were made up of holy warriors and those who knew how to fight such monsters that set out to cause so much destruction. They were successful in their hunts and after two decades began to drive back her forces and amassed much need knowledge to properly rid them from this world. After the war end and she was defeated they remain as part of the Church of the Exalted to go after any stragglers that escaped. But not soon after Ganacus would die from the plague, leaving them without purpose and in the hands of the church. When the church ordered them to disband believing that they were no longer need, they refused and left them as there were still creatures that still roamed the land causing chaos. With the church believing they were up for the task with faith and their military power that would vanquish them. But the only reason the war was won was because of Saint Ganacus and the formation of the Black Order that turned the tide in the first place and to dispose of skilled fighters was considered studied in its member’s eyes. They then become monster hunters for hire due to their profession still being required after the aftermath of the war. Since then they have hunting and killing anything that goes bump in the night or bears its fangs to earn their keep.

Hunters for Hire

Hunting by Ruskin Skifonich

The order has remained an independent organization long since they left the church and to ensure their safety from any repercussions from their act of defiance, they decided to isolated themselves by building their base of operations on a small island known as the Shallow Rocks in the Hyperion Isles. There they built a fortress known as Watcher’s Fort when they would live, train and prepare for when they were needed. It did not take too long before messages came through to them as the creatures that they hunted were hard to kill and a lack of understanding of how they acted made it more reasonable to call professionals to deal with them. Over time their numbers would grow as monsters ran rampant across the Western Lands with very them at the helm to led the fight against them. Causing them to gain a large income for the jobs they took across the land and gained more knowledge on the creatures they hunted. This would go on for centuries as they repelled the creature they swore to destroy as their ancestors did before them. But times would change even for them as the world was no longer shrouded in darkness.

Deline in Influence

Though the order was monumental in dealing with the supernatural and other dangerous creatures, the world began to advance both scientifically and mentally as they began to try and deal with these creatures themselves. As nations and organizations such as the Inquisition were beginning to better understand the creatures more and more, the use of the order became less and less necessary. Causing fewer people to hire them for hunts and their once-great order began to decay, leaving nothing more than a shadow behind. As their legacy has seemed to have faded from the minds of those who they had once aided. Now their numbers are dwindling more and more as they wait out their days waiting for jobs to come for them at Watcher’s Fort that has also begun to fall to ruin as well with only a fraction of the members that it once held in it. All they can do now is wait to offer their services to anyone willing to pay for them.

Knowledge of the Hunt

Though the order may be small in numbers know, they have achieved vast amounts of knowledge they acquired over the centuries in archives. These archives contain many things, formulas, monster studies, and hunting techniques to better prepare for the hunt at hand. It is also rumored to contain magical knowledge as well to grant power to a hunter to better fight the creatures they hunt on an even playing field. They have kept this all close to them so it can never be lost or take from them for it can cause them to lose more power or in the wrong hands cause trouble to the world. All of which can take years to fully understand and master. As each generation of hunters must be prepared for the hunts they will go on in the future. It can be matter of life and death with what they might know can ensure that they might live to complete their hunt.

Obscura Teneret (Hold the Dark)

Founding Date

28BCA

Type

Guild, Fighter / Mercenary

Alternative Names

Black Coats, Order of Ganacus

Formation Type

Night Hunter

Training Level

Professional

Veterancy Level

Veteran

Demonym

Night Hunters

Location

Watcher’s Fort

Official Languages

• Vasili

Related Ranks & Titles

• Crypt Hunter
• Demon Hunter
• Shadow Hunter
• Spirit Hunter

Controlled Territories

• Watcher’s Fort

Neighboring Nations

• Hyperion League

Notable Members

• Ganacus

Related Myths

• St. Ganacus

Life in the Order

This is what I do every day for the last ten years since I became a hunter, eat, sleep, train, study, and wait for the next hunt I'll go on. Then I pray that I come back alive and if not, I only ask for a quick death. - Night Hunter

Too many in the order have felt that their job is all that matters to them as they were born into it and will probably die because of it. Each one of them plays with death every time they go out on a hunt that might kill them. They were taught and raised that way and they don't know what else they could do other than this. But they know one thing is for certain that no one else can do their job better than they can. While most men cower and hide they face the very beasts that can tear them to shreds with a smirk on their face. It is only natural for them to know the step to the steps to the dance of death as it is nothing special to them anymore. They just accepted it with no fear of dying as they have experienced things that most people's minds would shatter at the thought. But it is not all that bad as they have their moments with their comrades and the celebrations from a successful hunt because what is more simple than killing pests and getting paid for it.

Specialized Hunters

Training is the key to success especially in the line of work of monster hunting - Hunter

Though many people do not realize this, the Night Hunters of the order are far more diverse than one might expect. Considering that they are more types of creatures to face out there it was obvious that they would have to branch out into different specializations to ensure that these threats could be properly faced without an unexpected factor arising.
Shadow Hunter : Those who have trained to become something else entirely to go out and hunt the beasts before they go out on their hunt.
Spirit Hunter : Not all creatures need to be alive to hunt them and a special kind of person is need to off to the great beyond.
Crypt Hunter: It is quite often that undead makes their lairs in crypts and tombs, requiring someone armed to the teeth to clear them out.
Demon Hunter: It may be hard to believe that anyone is capable of killing a demon, but often it takes something beyond Human to fight them.
Beast Hunter: Not all creatures are of the supernatural variety, there plenty of things that roam the land, air, and sea that are worth killing.

Family Business

I don’t know how many generations my family has been doing this, but I know one’s thing is certain they must have been good at their job if I’m around -Hunter in Training

Considering their line of work very few people are willing to risk their necks to fight the monsters that they grew up hearing stories about. This is why the order has stuck to keeping their profession in the bloodlines of its members to keep them going. With many of them being born in Watcher’s Fort and living alongside their families. From there, they are taught at an early age the in and outs of what will be their future job. Sure there are a few upstarts here and there saying they don’t want to hunt, but they get back in line after realizing they have no way of living life outside the order for it is their whole world. It is through them that each generation becomes more and more skilled in their art of killing and making sure that the order lives on.