The Faceless

The Faceless are, as far as anybody can tell, an omniscient and omnipotent brotherhood of otherworldly entities that are responsible for the paths of destiny that decide the fates of every being and every event in the cosmos.

### **Overview**

The Faceless are a mysterious group of unknown origin, with the members often elusive and roundabout in their explanations of what they are. What is known from the sparse contact they make with mortals is that they enforce the will of something they refer to as 'Fate's Loom', an object of great power that autonomously weaves the fabric of destiny that all things follow. Instead of brute-forcing the decrees of this Loom however, the Faceless prefer to manipulate events from behind the scenes, sending adventurers out on quests and operating them like puppets to carry out their goals. The more friendly of the Faceless have revealed that they are bound by some set of rules not to take overt action in the planes, and are in fact incapable of making full use of their power outside their home, especially so in the Material Plane.

The Faceless refer to themselves as a brotherhood, regarding each other as siblings and greatly respecting some sort of father figure known as The Meishu. Whether or not they are blood siblings, if such a relationship can even exist between such phantasmal creatures, is unknown, nor whether or not there is a 'mother' of sorts. One outstanding feature of The Faceless is the source of their moniker, their physical features being obscured by the hooded robes all of the brotherhood possess, distinguished only by the color of their garb. Whether this is intended to add to their otherworldly appearance in dealings with mortals, or a natural consequence of their form has yet to be revealed.

Thanks to information from The Faceless known as R'Than, detailed below, crucial information about the nature of the creatures was revealed. In order to have any sort of presence in the Material Plane, The Faceless must have a host, a mortal body to possess and act through. What effects the possession has on the host is not known, but it is doubtful to be a highly beneficial relationship.

### **The Brotherhood**

There have been encounters between some of The Faceless and the adventurers of Etera, although it is highly likely more remain who have yet to be revealed to mortals. Below is a list of known members of the otherworldly brotherhood.

#### The Outside Man/ R'Than

(See, 'Setlaar: Important NPCs' for details on this character)

#### Horakingu

The Horakingu was and is the most antagonistic of The Faceless, being the architect of the events in Silent City when he tried (and partially succeeded) in raising the Spawn, a mindblowingly powerful eldritch monstrosity, from the depths of a ruined cultist empire that had sunken into the sea millennia ago. According to his own ravings, the fate of Etera was that of slavery or destruction in countless timelines, and he was driven mad by the existence of a version of Etera that had actually succeeded in overthrowing the Verk Empire and surviving.

If his own brothers are to be believed, Horakingu had once served as a warleader in primeval conflicts against enemies in the beginning of all things. What was for sure, he was incredibly powerful, as well as unbound by the restrictions placed on his brethren. If not for the fragility of the ritual that summoned the Spawn, it's likely he would have slain the Eterans who, in the end, foiled his apocalyptic plan.

When the Spawn was defeated and Horakingu was turned into a mad wreck, he was finally captured by the father of The Faceless, the Meishu. When the actions of the mad fateweaver ultimately ended in the death of R'Than, the only one of the Meishu's sons to actually meet their final destruction, he was overcome with rage and grief, banishing his son to The Outside and shattering his essence. Although Horakingu was not killed, he was turned into a hollow shell of his former self, never to reclaim his mind or strength.

#### Saibankan

Of all The Faceless, the disposition of the one known as Saibankan, or sometimes The Judge, is the most shifting. When he first appeared to the Eterans of Silent City, he did so in the shape of his host, a former smith called Mingzhe De. Acting as the local historian of Silent City, he eventually revealed himself to the adventurers after putting them through a test of will and a questioning of their purpose. At this point, he was evasive and manipulative, with little respect for the Eterans.

After the death of R'than, Saibankan has evidently become much more supportive of mortals, having been heavily affected by his fallen brother's favor for them. According to him and his siblings, he now often argues for involving mortals more directly in their destinies, even calling for the abandonment of Fate's Loom in favor of allowing the inhabitants of the Material Plane to write their own paths in life.

#### The Meishu

The leader and apparent 'father' of The Faceless, The Meishu's role in enforcing the decrees of Fate's Loom is unknown, having appeared to mortals only once, at the conclusion of the events in Silent City, where he warned the Eterans of the rise of the Spawn, despite their victory over Horakingu. When his fallen son's madness resulted in the death of R'Than, he experienced the rage and grief following loss for the first time, and seemed to give in to the new emotions when he struck down Horakingu, not truly killing him but robbing him of his remaining mind and might.

When The Meishu was seen, he seemed to be holding an unknown implement. Whether this is some sort of powerful artifact, a token of his authority, or some affection regarding his no doubt ancient age is unknown.

### **The Outside**

The Faceless make their home in a strange and obscure realm known as The Outside. Little is known about it, but what heretical texts do exist speak of it as the place between planes and realms, postulating that all of the cosmos rests in some vast, empty space. The Outside is supposed to be this space, away from all gods and kings, angels and devils, mortals and immortals alike. What makes such theories dangerous and heretical, is the implication that due to existing outside of any spheres of power, there is no authority within The Outside. Divine beings have no influence, and no special abilities or protections outside of what they are naturally capable of; the concept of a place where their gods are powerless understandably upsets the majority of both academics and peasants, considering the widespread faith among all mortals. Otherwordly beings are just as unlikely to converse about The Outside, preferring not to reveal places where they may be made vulnerable to their enemies,

How exactly The Faceless came to inhabit such a place isn't known, and they tend to be rather tightlipped about their home. Heretical scholars have theorized that due to Fate's Loom telling of the destiny of all existence, it is a natural fact that both it and its caretakers would exist outside of the influence of those who would take control of the great machine and rewrite the future.