Phoenician Brotherhood

"The journey is itself the destination." One of the oldest, and grandest, Chapters on record has to be the Brotherhood of Phoenician Sailors, or simply the Phoenician Brotherhood for short. Dating back several thousand years to the early 'Sea Peoples' who popped up in bronze age Middle East, the Chapter was formed from the expert sailors deployed by these transient ethnic groups.
AKA: The Seafarers, the Phoenicians.
== Facts: ==
-There are secrets and treasure buried in the past. The Phoenician Brotherhood has been many things over the centuries, but first and foremost they have been Explorers. They are the ones most likely to know something about those famous historical secrets and lost treasures.
-The Phoenicians have been thought of as the unsung heroes of modern civilization's history of progress. Many of the letters of the modern alphabets have their origin in the Phoenicians, and the Phoenicians were among the first on record to sail from continent to continent.
-They were even among the first to see highland gorillas in Africa and posit that the greater primates were, in fact, natural relatives to man based on similar physiology (thousands of years before Charles Darwin).
-The Phoenician Brotherhood is a Chapter of sailors, travelers and adventurers. The Chapter has always attracted people who want to see what's over the horizon and return home with personal tales of adventure and discovery to tell.
-The Brotherhood has always been associated with the open sea, and Adepts associated with the world's ocean prefer this Chapter. The Orders of Corsair and Thule are quite prominent, as are the Travellers.
-You'd think that having an affinity for the sea would make them the natural boon companions of the Brethren of the Coast. But remember, the BotC are pirates! While they may work together when their goals align, they are just as likely to attack each other.
-There is a fable among the Chapter of an ancient member who fell in love with the sea so much that God turned his eyes blue to match the waves. In effect, he became the first man to have blue eyes and today all people with blue eyes are his descendants.
-Captain Cook, Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, and many other famous explorers of history have been members of the PboS. And not all of them were seafaring either, Marco Polo is another historical figure with strong ties to the Brotherhood.
-Because so much of their work pertains to culture and past events, history and linguistics are important disciplines within the Chapter.
== Exploration Companies: ==
The Brotherhood of Phoenician Sailors is so old, not even they remember all of their history. How the Chapter originally organized itself is a mystery, but for the last few centuries, the most common organizational unit for the Phoenicians has been the Company.
Commonly known as Exploration Companies, each Company was headed by a single Adept with enough capital or patronage to properly fund the activities of the Chapter. This Adept would attract or assemble underneath them a team of skilled explorers (usually Adepts) who they would lead on explorations or investigations.
No two companies are the same, but most of them choose a single base of operation (traditionally near water) from which they launch all of their expeditions. It will also host a science lab, so returning samples or artifacts may be studied properly.
This single base of operations will be fully stocked and furnished with proper equipment, but only a fool keeps all his eggs in one basket. So the wise Company will have supply depots and backup hideouts in the event that their home is compromised.
== Orders Important To The Brotherhood: ==
The Phoenician Brotherhood accepts Adepts from any of the Orders, but its history has often been intertwined with a few particular Orders. Two of these special Orders are the Meta Orders. Exploration leds to knowledge and invention, so the Order of Creators has always been fond of the PboS.
The Order of Destroyers, while known more for its warriors and killers, has played a vital role in the Chapter. The problem with facing the unknown is that it is unknown. The Destroyers have frequently provided security to the expeditions launched by the Brotherhood.
The Order of Kings takes an active interest in the Phoenicians. Knowledge of what is going on in the world is vital for political maneuvering, and Kings often work within the Chapter to smooth over international relations and pull strings (in the modern world, expedition and excavation require legal permits, which Kings can easily acquire thanks to contacts through their Order).
The Order of Seneschals has been pivotal to the Chapter's funding. Exploration generally requires training, supplies, equipment and means of transportation All of which requires money, so funding is of paramount concern for the Phoenicians. The Seneschal also benefit from their relationship with the Chapter, since travel between different civilizaitons usually translates into economic trade. It's no couincidence that many of history's greatest explorers were also merchants.
== References: ==
-http://phoenicians.info/
-http://www.ancient.eu/phoenicia/
-http://tombraider.wikia.com/wiki/Tomb_Raider_Wiki
-http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Indiana_Jones
-http://uncharted.wikia.com/wiki/Nathan_Drake
-http://en.tintin.com/
-http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/magazine/
-http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Adventure
-http://famous-explorers.org/
Category:Phoenician Brotherhood
Category:Chapter
Category:Fathom