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The Sable Masque

The Story

When King Dav's conquest was complete, he founded the Order and solidified the power of the church, but at the same time he formed a group that would ensure his power throughout the realm. Dav ordered that a group be formed to record the development of the kingdom and to seek out the hidden knowledge around the kingdom, especially mindful of seeking out those who might be saints in the aftermath of the death of St. Celeste. This organization of archivists soon split into two focuses - that of the spies for the Church, and that of the archivists.

The Sable Masque formed around one man, the Primus, who was said to have spent his entire life seeking the men who assassinated King Dav. The first Primus was Sir Elam Ralden, and he worked closely with the first Grand Inquisitor to find mages and appropriately punish them in the name of Dav. At his death, however, the Sable Masque became more secretive, and all but disappeared from evidence in public, though no one knows exactly why they chose to do this.

Only the identity of the first Primus, now commonly called The Librarian, is known, as the rest were elected from the fellowship now notorious for their adherence to a principle of anonymity. The members of the Sable Masque deviate from their first Librarian's footsteps, hiding in plain sight and gathering information on heretics and mages for the church. Anyone might be a member of the Sable Masque, as the members are not forbidden to join other organizations in order to keep an eye on them.

While the spies kept their eyes on the outside, the archivists recorded what the spies told them. Possibly the most accurate histories of Lithmore lie in the tomes of the Sable Masque, but these histories are only available to a select few. Rumors say that some Sable Masque members saved books from before the consolidation, illuminated manuscripts of sorcery, but the Sable Masque officially denounces this rumor, as they are faithful servants of the Church of Dav.

The Masque gains its name from their struggle during the Davite Consolidation against the sorceress Aquiel, which ended when they bricked up her tower and burned it to the ground. It is said that all that remained in the ruins was a single black mask, which was enshrined on the spot as a sign of victory for Dav.