The Order of the Midnight Star (Faction)

The Order of the Midnight Star is an old organization that has risen, been shattered and risen again several times. Its longevity and resilience are largely due to its decentralized, grassroots, secretive nature and the near-autonomy of many of its members. Due to its heraldry—a hard in front of a twelve-pointed star—agents are known as “Harpers”.

The Order has “cells” and lone operatives throughout Athas, although they interact and share information with one another from time to time as needs warrant. Their ideology is noble and its members pride themselves on their integrity and incorruptibility. Harpers do not seek power or glory, only fair and equal treatment for all.

Order agents are trained to act alone and depend on their own resources. When they get into scrapes, they don’t count on their fellow Harpers to rescue them. Nevertheless, they are dedicated to helping one another in times of need and friendships between Harpers are nigh unbreakable. Masterful spies and infiltrators, they use various guises and magics to form relationships, cultivate their information networks and manipulate others into doing what needs to be done. Although most Harpers prefer to operate from the shadows, there are exceptions.

History
The Order was created in 2399 by the Archmage Mordenkainen to combat the rising influence of the Grey Lady. During this time, she had appeared in Druma, where she began to amass a large cult consisting of wicked men, orcs, giants and other foul things. A large population of her cult, however, were disenfranchised mages who had been hunted for most of the century. Desiring revenge, power or in some cases just desperate for safety or stability, hundreds of mages pledged themselves to the Grey Lady.

Mordenkainen, the legendary Archmage and one of the most powerful Diviners who has ever lived, traveled to Druma to dissuade the mages there from bending the knee to the Grey Lady. He spoke against her power and called any mage to action who believed in goodness, in honor and in defending the people of Athas.

Those who sided with Mordenkainen traveled with him to Gil-Barad, which is Sindari for “Dawnstar Tower”. They were led by the White Council, which consisted of the eight senior members of the Order. The original eight members of the Council were:
 * Mordenkainen the Wise: The de-facto leader of the Order and one of the most powerful and respected wizards to ever live.
 * Robertus the Blue: The charming and charismatic companion of Mordenkainen and former member of the Circle of Eight. Known for his enchantments and propensity for ice magic.
 * Jakob the Shape-Changer: A quiet and bookish young shapeshifter who specialized with transmutation magic. A former member of the Circle of Eight.
 * Ladariel: A representative of the Crystal Tower; the Elven school of magic. Renowned for her beauty, grace, wisdom and strange abjurations that were said to be unmatched in power. Cousin to the Elf King.
 * Bigby the Keen: A wizard hailing from the swamps of Souel. Known to be crafty and clever, often thinking about things from a strange point of view. Had a reputation as a weird, crazy hermit (which was absolutely warranted).
 * Cirdan the Crafter: An elven mage who was renowned for his ability to craft magical rings, arms and armor of unmatched quality. Hailed from the elf sanctuary of Sans Retoiur in Rikea.
 * Savos Aren: A Callishite vizier. Known for being stoic and a keen observer. Had many political connections and provided financial backing to the Order’s efforts.
 * Mother Giselle: A Hlondic priestess of Boccob, who was very knowledgeable and learned, though she was known to be very cautious and hesitant, and was reluctant to make any hard decisions quickly.

Early Activities
The Order was instrumental to Eregion’s initial defense against the Grey Lady. They were actually quite successful during the Grey Lady’s first attempt at invasion. However, after the Grey Lady freed the imprisoned Spider Queen and enlisted the aid of the Veiled Court, not even the Order could stop them. After a brutal, 18-year campaign, Eregion fell.

The Crystal Tower fell in 2417. While the majority of students and faculty alike perished in the surprise assault, a student managed to lead a group of her classmates to safety and hold off the Grey Lady’s forces long enough for Ladariel to arrive. Ladariel bought just enough time for her former students to escape via teleportation circle before sacrificing herself to bring down the Crystal Tower, killing thousands of the enemy forces.

By the time Eregion fell, Ladariel, Cirdan and Mother Giselle all perished.

War for Rikea
The campaign in Rikea lasted for more than a century, though it was not a single, long conflict. Instead, it was made up of dozens of small conflicts, some of which occurred decades apart. The Order fought hard to push back the Grey Lady’s forces, operating in secret on black ops missions alongside adventurers and other covert organizations to subvert the Grey Lady’s forces.

With each new attack, though, their numbers dwindled. The Grey Lady, well aware of the Order’s role in the resistance, focused several of her general’s efforts specifically on countering the Order’s efforts.

During the Last Stand, the Order fought in near full-force and with great distinction. Several Order members were instrumental in Elric and his company slaying the dragon and in wounding the Grey Lady, although the battle still ended in defeat and the majority of their number were slain.

Only three months after, Mordenkainen, Robertus and Jakob rode out to face the Grey Lady. They never returned. Only days later, Bern fell to the Grey Lady and Rikea was lost to her influence. The Order scrambled to carry on the effort, but they were disorganized and found they could no longer carry on without Mordenkainen’s influence.

In 2544, only three years after Rikea fell, the Order’s few remaining members disbanded.

First Reformation
On the 12th of Pelas in 2599, a group of eager young mages, nobles and politicians re-formed the Order in a tavern in the Border Kingdoms, inspired by the example set by the original group’s efforts. This movement, led by the elf druid Aumar Silverraven, launched a series of attacks against Grey Lady-owned estates, in addition to subverting Nimbali politics. The movement gained considerable backing from the elves of Evereska.

However, while initially successful, their number dwindled over the next two and a half decades, victims of attrition at the hands of their enemies—notably, the Man in Black; chief servant of the Grey Lady herself. By 2621, Aumar was dead and Gil-Barad was lost, as were all but a dozen of the Order.

Second Reformation
On the 26th of Kordas in 2670, at a druid grove in High Dale called the Dancing Place, a congregation of mages, druids and others met to discuss whispers of a massive cult dedicated to Asmodeus and other dark gods that had started to gain power. To fight back against this new threat, those in attendance effectively formed a new Order of the Midnight Star.

The Weeping War, as it came to be called, was the first action the Order took that was not effectively meant to directly oppose the Grey Lady. The Order recruited new members and expanded their influence. Over the next few years, the new Order established an incredibly effective information network and earned the respect of various religious leaders and nobles. In return for their efforts, members of the Order were granted the use of religious temples and allied noble estates to recover between operations. This allowed the Order to constantly rotate their power base.

During this period, the Order gained the nickname of “The Harpers” and performed many deeds: they erected the wards around Hellgate Keep in Nimbal and helped to kill Sammaster, a powerful Necromancer and Nimabli noble. Their increasingly public actions put them at odds not only with evil organizations but also various governments, who opposed their use of magic.

When the Order eradicated the Wearers of the Skull, a cult dedicated to Erythnul, led by a Lich known as the Purple Skull, Nimbal sent a coalition of Hell Knights after the Harpers, assisted by the Man in Black. The Harpers were hunted down and the remaining Harpers went underground in 2711. That same year, the Harpers were publicly denounced by various human governments and, eventually, by the Faith. Losing much of their allies, the Harpers were lured to a counsel by an allied noble house in northern Rikea, where the Man in Black and a platoon of Hell Knights slaughtered them all in a surprise attack. Less than a dozen members of the Order remained and, once again, the Harpers were disbanded by early 2712.

Third Reformation & the Time of Troubles
The Order had been overwhelmed by the enemy; most died, others vanished and those who survived were cut off from another. Those who survived focused either on starting small, grass roots efforts to focus on the perils of that menaced their homes and neighbords or otherwise research and work by themselves in the wilderness or in secret safehouses. While the organization was divided and its members scattered across the continent, the hope that they provided and the symbol they stood for has never died.

One person who never forgot was Emon Shadowlyn of Aglarond, whose ancestors had fought with the Harpers during the Weeping War. He tried to keep the Order’s ideals alive and circa 2805, founded a group known as “The Free Harpers” to secretly counter the forces of tyranny and oppression. Following their example, other small cells began to operate again throughout Athas. Some of these groups were clearly new organizations that adopted the name and the ideals of the Order of old, while others were groups that had been trained by former members of the Order or their apprentices. These groups continued the fight and to spread the ideals instilled by the original order, carrying on the flame of goodness and freedom.

Several other groups identifying as members of the Order appeared in the following years. A cell worked against the Council of Five and other Amnian authorities. Another were a group of rebels that, while they did not cling to the ideals of the Order, they fought viciously against slavery of any kind.

By 2815, the Free Harpers crippled the efforts of Nimbali expansion in significant ways. Unfortunately, Emon was killed by Nimbali assassins that same year.

In 2818, the leaders of the various cells got together in secret in the Dancing Place and discussed the current situation. There, they re-forged the Order of the Midnight Star and wrote out the Charter of rules that govern the organization. However, they agreed that they needed to act in total secrecy except when absolutely necessary, to avoid purges like the one that destroyed the last incarnation.

Thus, the Order was reformed again as a loose, decentralized grassroots effort that focused on combatting corruption and oppression wherever it is found. Even in these dark days, the Midnight Star continues to shine.

Beliefs
The Order of the Midnight Star operates on three basic principles, which also govern the general outlook of the organization and colors its perspective and actions:
 * One can never have too much information.
 * Too much power leads to corruption.
 * No one should be powerless.

Goals
To gather information throughout Athas and promote fairness and equality by covert means. Act openly as a last resort. Thwart tyrants and any leader, government or group that grows too powerful. Aid the weak, the poor and the oppressed.

Membership
Most members are good or neutral-aligned, with an emphasis toward personal freedom and individuality, thus they tend to lean toward chaotic but this isn’t universal.

The Order has no official hierarchy anymore. While any given cell has a leader, or a region might have a ranking member or one who is generally considered smarter or more experienced, leadership is not official or codified in any way.

It is surprisingly difficult to join the Order; one must find an existing cell or agent—which is difficult enough—and after introductions one must prove themselves reliable, capable of upholding the code (see below) and loyal.

The Order Code
The Order of the Midnight Star’s code, as written down in 2815, is as follows:
 * The Order works against villainy and wickedness wherever it may be found, but must be ever mindful of the consequences of what they do.
 * All beings should walk free of fear, with the right to live their lives as they wish.
 * The rule of law abides peace and fosters freedom, so long as the laws are just and those who enforce them lenient and understanding.
 * No extreme is good. For freedom to flourish, all must be in balance: the powers of the realms, the reaches of the cities and the wilderlands into each other, and the influence of one being over another.
 * Whatever it takes, a Harper will do. Pride never rules the deeds of a true member of the Order.
 * Freedom is a universal right, though Harpers can spare themselves less freedom than those they work to protect if the need presents itself.
 * Harpers police their own. A Harper who hears the call of personal power can no longer hear their calling as a member of the Order. Any who seize power and holds it above all else, or any who claim to lead all Harpers, is a traitor to the Order. Traitors must die for freedom to live.
 * Without a past, no being can appreciate what they are and where they may be going.

“What is it to be a Harper?”
Mirt the Moneylender explaining the Harper’s purpose to a potential recruit:

''“Right then, good lady, I shall try to tell thee something of what it is to be a part of this illustrious Order of the Midnight Star. A Harper holds peaceful sharing of the lands above all other goals. By sharing, we mean all the free peoples of Athas living in and under the land, where each prefers to live, trading together where desire and need stir them to, and respecting each other’s holds and ways—without the daily bloodletting that all too often holds sway over Athas today." ''

"True enough, we must fight, it seems often enough to keep our swords and tempers both sharp. Yet, know ye: all of us fight when we must, or die. Moreover, ye only hear of blades drawn and death and spells hurled, and never know the many, many times that a quiet word or skillful deal has turned enemies aside from each other, forced a way clear where none was before, or distracted foes from the eager task of tearing each other’s throat out. That is the true way of the Order: subtle and quiet, behind all the shouting. Trust and wisdom, and outfoxing others is what we deal in.”