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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 4015267" data-attributes="member: 2012">BLEAK MASTERS, THESymbol: A black sun rising over a colorless landscape.PurposeThe Bleak Masters are a consortium of advocates that often come to the aid of groups or individuals accused of being violently evil. They are concerned with all things judiciary, and work towards undoing strict codes of conduct, imposed on knights and holy warriors. (Even if the 'clients' don't want their help.) They fight for the rights of individuals who have been convicted on magical evidence, alone. They also use their considerable legal skills to advocate for restrictions on arcanists, especially enchanters and illusionists. This group sees it as their duty to put magicians and religious zealots in their place.Leaders: Aarne Stormwinden [N male half-elf, Elm8]; Ignazio Von Orsini [NE male human, Clr10 (Nether)]; Lind Morgan [LE male human, Ari6/Exp6]; Rhine [LE female human, Rog12]; Tyne Smallweed [N female halfling (hairfoot), Exp10]Notable ActivitiesThe Bleak Masters are concerned with gaining as much power, through legal means, as possible. They have little regard for those who do good for the sake of the world, and they always oppose chaos in all its forms. They are also complete hypocrites. They argue that 'true evil' isn't something that can be defined, and yet, they often commit clandestine acts of evil for the sake of causing suffering and pain. Many of the Bleak Masters are clerics of evil gods and many others are vile necromancers or power hungry elementalists. They oppose other arcanists because they don't like to share power, and they don't want to be exposed by those with mental powers.The group always works towards uprooting secret societies that might be a threat to their need for power. They despise psionic characters and will bend (or break) the rules of law too expose them. They often hold clandestine inquisitions where wilders and psychic warriors are tortured and killed by evil clerics dedicated to law and tyranny. The members of this consortium will do almost anything to wipe out psionics on Harqual. They are careful to hide these behaviors from the rest of society, in order to protect their 'business' from prosecution.This consortium also gets its hands dirty in politics, as well as advances in magical research. The Bleak Masters often interfere in the political landscape of nations and city-states, especially when dealing with a chaotic society, and they have been known to cross planar boundaries just to discover some new magical idea that hasn't been conceived of. They gain insights into law from Infernal instructors; many of the consortium's best clients are devils. These vicious barristers often trade their souls to powerful devils for the chance to be successful and wealthy.Campaign NotesThe Bleak Masters are drawn to conflict in all its forms. Thus, they are often the first ones to enter a war-torn region and inflict their own version of pain and suffering on the populace. Currently, the consortium has been sending its members into the Kingdom of Thallin to protect the rights of the new king and his evil followers. They keep Thallin's elite from being preyed upon by laws and canons of the surrounding lands. They have managed to free Thallin military men from the prisons of the Kingdom of Stonn on technicalities, and helped the new government suppress the activities of the Honorbound.The consortium has been supplying legal advice to cat-men captured during the endless battles of the Tabaxi War, which has been ongoing since the return of the tabaxi to Harqual. They argue that the tabaxi must be represented, if put of trial, just like anyone else. This has made them the bane of the Monarchy of Avion, and Queen Felicia Gerrard III is considering having them all rounded up and executed. This would be a disaster for her politically, as the Bleak Masters have a long-standing tradition in the Kingdom of Izmer, which is now the Monarchy's best ally.The consortium has also gained support and considerable power in the Fallen Domain of Anoria, which is now controlled by the City-state of Flamerule. The group's best barristers protect the rights of the Infernals and their closest servants, and work towards undermining the treaties signed with the Cauldron and Kul Moren. There has always been Bleak Advocates working and living in Flamerule, and they are more than happy to expand their base of power in the Thunder Lands. New holdings have sprung up in Caloric and the Strandlands. These evil lawyers are usually killed on sight in the Dominion of Cauldron, which just increases the tensions between the mountain kingdoms and the followers of Flamerule.Another place that the Bleak Masters have considerable power is in the lands of the Old Sword Imperium. The group can trace much of history through this region and the consortium's machinations are considered legendary in places like Ara-Ragik and Järir. They argue for the independence of the Sword Protectorate , which has remained occupied since The Transformation. They try to undermine the laws and customs of the Kingdom of Ahamudia, and argue that the Ahamudians are illegally occupying Sword Imperium soil. (Many a low-end Bleak Advocate has found himself on the run from an Ahamudian lynch mob.)The barrister shops of the Bleak Masters can be found almost anywhere in Northern Harqual. However, they are not welcome, under any circumstance, in the forests of the silver elves or the mountains of the dwarves. They are hunted by freedom fighters, as well as knights dedicated to good, before the rule of law. They often come into conflict with arcane colleges, thieves' guilds, and clandestine psionic organizations. In the Monarchy of Avion, for example, the Bleak Masters are strongly opposed by the group known as the Hounds of Cronn. And in the Eastern Shores they are considered an 'enemy' of a group of young, wild express-riders known as the Rapid Riders.[ATTACH]156514[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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