Order of the Scarlet Veil
A Hieretical Clerical Order of the Eternal Flame

In this article: The stories of Ak-Tea, the archer | First Orphanage | Foulslayer | The Secret of the Veil

Ak-Tea The Archer, Knight of the Scarlet Veil.

The stories of Ak-Tea, the archer | First Orphanage | Foulslayer | The Secret of the Veil

In the early years of the Order, there was an archer amongst us who’s aim was always true. She was an orphan raised by our Order, and later joined of her own free will. But even as a child she would throw stones to kill birds from the highest branches for her lunch. Her name was Ak-Tea, which is Azerian for the color blue. She was so named as she had piercing sky-blue eyes.

"Ak-Tea became one of the many knights amongst us, and served faithfully throughout most of her youth. During her patrols, and her duty cycles - she always had her bow strung and ready. And she never missed what she aimed for. Not fleeing stag, nor panic-stricken morgathian - and she killed many of both in her time.

"One day, while on patrol, her squad came upon a small band of gargun looting an overturned carriage. Quick as a bird takes flight, she loaded her bow and shot off 2 arrows - each killing a gargun intent on their treasure. The others raced away, and soon Ak-Tea was separated from her squad and in pursuit of a large gargun, racing away through the trees. She followed him back to a small encampment where the gargun began screaming at several humans clustered about a fire.

"They say she recognized their stench at once. The humans were morgathian priests - and obviously in league with the foul gargun. Sounding a battle cry she raised her bow and shot all the Morgathians, wounding 3 and killing the rest. The gargun once more took flight.

"The wounded Morgathians ignored the arrows and shed their dark robes to reveal fine suits of chain mail. Throwing down her bow, she drew out her mace and waded into battle. Her squad found her some time later with 3 knights dead at her feet. She died of her own wounds before her friends could find her. While nothing was ever proven in the courts, it was obvious to us that the foul Morgathians were up to something - plotting against the senate and using the gargun for their acts of banditry against the good people of this land.

"We sing this song to remember her.

"Ak-Tea, Ak-Tea - of the clear eye and true of heart
never did you scream or call out
Your courage never failed you
Your heart was truly devout

"Ak-Tea, Ak-Tea - of perfect aim, and loyalty
Slew morgathian knights on our
very own boundary Protected
the children, all on her own

"Loyalty, loyalty - to the flame and to the thrown
Gargun and Morgath - foul both
Plotting, screaming all for not
your life for theirs.

"Traitors, trading - be bandits, be knights
without you no plot be known
protected us all on her own

"Balshang, Balshang, we shall soon all see you there
serving your lord with most devout
Your skill never failed you
Your life for theirs"

The Founding of the First Orphanage of Agrik

The stories of Ak-Tea, the archer | First Orphanage | Foulslayer | The Secret of the Veil

During a cold and long winter many children died. The Daughters of the Holy Fire, now quite old, prayed and offered sacrifices up to the Master of the V’Hir to show them how to protect the children from the weather and their lack of food. The blinded Daughter suddenly began screaming as her hands caught fire. None moved to put out the holy flames as they burned bright blue. Her skin was charred as black as night itself, but the flames slowly died away.
Gasping, the blinded Daughter prophesied the following:

"In the coming spring a new man will come to Fobin. While powerful and given unto Halea, his heart is Agrik, and his soul is ours. We must be there when he finishes his first meal. The site of the children will shame him into action and his opulence and wealth will be nothing in comparison to his generosity. When he offers to build us an Orphanage we shall have to find eight priests of the cowardly dead. Their sacrifice will make the orphanage’s foundation stand against anything that dares come against it.

"These priests must be ritually silenced and buried alive below the foundation. If ever they escape their prison without first having accepted Agrik in their hearts we must cast them aflame and burn them as my hands are burned. Their cowards will peal away as my skin does, leaving the true faith below unblemished. "
As she spoke she rubbed her smoldering hands together, and the charred flesh rolled away revealing the clean flesh beneath.

And so on the 5th Larane, 624TR the Order, and their children, met Senator Riacyn who did see the children, and built them a strong orphanage. He cleared the opposition towards such a martial order as ours from the senate and turned a blind eye to the cries of the cowardly affiliated senators as priests went missing from Golatha and Coranan.

The night of the Low Ceremony of the Balefire of that year the sacrifices were performed. The cowardly priests were forced to eat holy cakes and blessed wine and made to kneel before holy fire. They were blessed and marked by The Reasonless Reaper. Their tongues were removed and they were blinded. They were then cast into a pit that had been dug that day. Each priest had his own cubicle which was quickly sealed with wood and blessings to keep them in. Throughout the day, the workers had no way of knowing what lay below.

To keep the sacrifices below the earth, eight sword shaped stones surround the orphanage. As the stones become more red, we know the sacrifices are turning towards Agrik. It is said that when all the stones turn fully red they can be removed and we shall have eight warriors of untold strength and power to join us in our own Jihad.

The Origin of the Veil

The stories of Ak-Tea, the archer | First Orphanage | Foulslayer | The Secret of the Veil

In the days of terror - when the lands were still ruled by the priests of the cowardly dead, the Daughters of the Holy Fire lived amongst the men and women of this mortal plane. They led the refugees and those strong enough of spirit to defy the Supposed Master of Evil in their plight to regain the land, and the souls, of those the supposed lord of Chaos had claimed.

To wander about in daylight was dangerous for the Daughters of the Holy Fire were branded traitors to the state and regularly hunted. But they were safe within the Blood Wood north of the town of Fobin. Still, occasionally, they had to seek out and defend the children caught between the Immortal Warlord of Balshang, and the lord of the cowardly dead. It was during one such battle when one of the Daughters of the Holy Fire was covered in a shower of blood from the impact of her mace. The blood stung and burned her eyes. Suffering in silence, she helped free the children and return to the blood forest.

The next day she awoke blind. She claimed to always smell a strong burning, and hear the screams of the tortured souls of Ak-Syst. Her eyes were two blackened pits that gave even the strongest amongst them cause to feel ill. Deep within were two tiny red dots that glowed whenever she became angry. She became able to light or douse fires at will. By eve she ordered a large bonfire built. The hunters of the followers went out to find their daily food, and brought back two Morgathian spies who had been living in the compound for several days.

The blinded Daughter looked at each of them for a very long time. The tiny red dots in the black holes of her eyes glowing as brightly as the fire behind them. At last satisfied, she ordered both men to be stripped and staked to a giant X of wood. These Xs were then placed over the center of the hot coals from the day’s bonfire. The men pleaded for mercy, begged to be released - even offered to swear fielty to The Reasonless Reaper - but the blind Daughter would hear none of it.

To protect the children’s night sleep, she took her own dagger and cut out each of their tongues to stop them from screaming.

When the men finally died sometime near dawn - the other Daughters of the Holy Fire gathered round their charred bodies and carefully cut a square of skin out around each of their hearts. They carefully tanned these pieces of human flesh and died them red. Sewing them together, they made a veil of thick scarlet hide. The blinded Daughter, who guided their actions, then took to wearing this veil over her face before giving the days benedictions or orders.

Over time, the veil has grown softer and thinner from so many years of handling and care. The blinded Daughter prophesied that, when the Veil finally fell apart it would be time to mount a Jihad against the followers of Balshangs lies. To this day the Veil is handled carefully - and while it is now very soft, and almost see through it has yet to fall apart.

It is for this coming war that we practice, and prepare.

The Foulslayer, Shield-maiden of the Scarlet Veil

The stories of Ak-Tea, the archer | First Orphanage | Foulslayer | The Secret of the Veil

Less than 2 decades ago, there was a Shield Maiden of the Scarlet Veil who made a reputation for herself as a gargun hunter. It was then common to offer rewards to anyone who could bring back the head of a gargun, and local legend says she made her fortune hunting gargun and collecting their bounty. She died of mysterious circumstances and local lore says her treasure is buried somewhere near, or around, the caerns just north of the town of Fobin. The Order of the Scarlet Veil tells the tale somewhat differently.

When the Foulslayer’s skills were known to be better than any of her compatriots in arms, she left us - seeking her calling beyond our walls. We know she traveled much, and killed many gargun for the tales of her exploits came back to us upon a holy wind. But when the town of Fobin began having Gargun troubles, we sent messengers to find her and she came to our call.

There was a tribe of the unholy creatures lurking in, and around, the caern near Fobin. Their numbers had been counted in the hundreds by the locals. Graves and outlying homes had already been attacked by these vile things before she arrived. Upon hearing of the local distress she asked to borrow a war ax from the Order. The blade was cleaned, and ritually blessed and sharpened for her.

Astride her mighty beast Flamemaster, she road as calmly into the maw of chaos. For two days the locals of town kept to their beds for fear of being taken by the foul beast on the prowl. During those same two days members of our order patrolled the area carefully, awaiting sign that The Foulslayer had been victorious. Occasionally the sound of battle, metal clanging on metal - or the horrid death knell of a creature that has no soul - would float back to us. But we could neither find the battle, nor see our faithful servant.

The morning of the third day, a blood red sun boiled up over the horizon. We took this as a sign, and before it could change color or rise higher we rushed out of our holding and towards the caern. The fields were so strewn with blood that it bubbled up from beneath the soil and soaked every grass until it was blood red. We found her ax, a half each in the breasts of the largest gargun on the field. Its hilt was buried in the eye of the spawner of the evil brood.

We searched, even descending far below the earth where our mightiest warriors had to wade through water that smelled of blood and was as thick as oil. For three days we pulled bodies out from beneath the ground. Each had died from battle - but never did we find The Foulslayer.

Our priests lined up the dead and caused them to burn with holy flame, and then we destroyed the caverns and their contents of murky blood with a purer flame than mankind was ever meant to see. But neither through divination, nor through search could we find her living, nor dead.

That night our Oracle received a vision of The Foulslayer in Ak-Syst, where she punished and tormented a thousand of the vilest creatures for the pleasure of the Eternal Flame.

This page was last updated on 30 June, 2000
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