The Brigade

**The Brigade** is a secretive guild founded by Gustav Theldirk. Tucked away on the southern coast of the Southwestern Fringe in a tower called Nadir's Zenith, the organization was founded on the valiant basis of protecting Halintar (*and by extension, the Big Stretch*) from total annihilation.

**IRL**, the Brigade functions as a hub for player characters. By providing such a hub, after a player introduces a character to the Brigade they can then hop into any Brigade-centric oneshots. This allows them to revisit their character without the commitment of a full-time campaign, or create an in-depth character for a oneshot only to never play as them again.

## History

Five years prior to the beginning of Halintar: Respite of the Gods (around ~900 ME), Gustav Theldirk was disowned from his family after causing a scene in the Whiteshock Citadel while pursuing his daughter, Amontiquette Theldirk. He then moved into Nadir's Zenith for the Pirene Spring, which allowed him to extend his lifespan beyond the lengths that even dragons typically live.

About four and a half years later, Gustav took in a number of Daggerhart refugees, led by Mr. Curse. After learning from them that the Dragon-God Karomatzu has been slain by a being named Curunthsh, he founded the Brigade in hopes of using the information to prevent the death of any more of the draconic deities. The knowledge of Karomatzu's death is still an incredibly well-kept secret to this day.

His first recruits were some old friends of his, a leonthrope named Corinthia Sun-Wind and a fellow dragon named Shards. The former begun surveillance at her home in the Ashen Breach when the Shining occurred, raining diamonds from the volcano Cataclysm and transforming the capitol into a casino city. Lowdik, an adolescent orange dragon, joined soon after, having spotted the youth badly wounded in the wilderness and nursing him back to health.

After passing on of old age on the 3rd of the Neck of the Silver Solstice 906, Kris Nifeton was appointed as the new leader-in-training of the Brigade. As she learns the ins and outs of the position, Shards & Corinthia currently co-lead until she's deemed fit to fully embrace the role.

### *The Knights of Nadir*

Attracted by the promise of diamonds, and later getting wrapped up in an investigation of a series of murders, the as-of-yet-unnamed Knights of Nadir were soon swept up into Brigade affairs when they chased down the murderous anarchist Jacques Nifeton. With the help of Gustav, who was called for aid by Corinthia, the Knights leapt onto the head of the rampaging Tephra and scared the Nifeton off. Gustav then flew their exhausted bodies back to the Zenith to tend to their wounds.

After a well-deserved rest, the leader of the Brigade explained the death of Karomatzu and the odd happenstances with the gods to the party, pleading with them to join the guild's ranks. They accepted, becoming the first large addition to the guild as well as some of it's most powerful members. The group has gone on many missions for the Brigade since then, earning their name along the way when townsfolk requested a title to refer to them by.

### *Further Recruitment*

The first set of recruits beyond the Knights were first obtained through a rescue mission to the post-Betrayal Ashen Breach. Lowdik assisted Corinthia in smuggling escapees out of the devastated ruins of the city, including some scrappy individuals who had barely escaped the clutches of the newly-instituted F.I.R.E. with their lives.

Recruitment slowed for a bit until the Knights of Nadir returned with Shards, who had been kidnapped by the Glitterati some time prior due to her unique blood. The Knights invested some earnings from their recent trip into beginning to build a small town around the tower itself before departing, then invited some individuals they met on their travels to join the Brigade before moving on to their next destination. Slowly but surely, more and more people began joining the guild, whether it be to help build structures the Knights had purchased or to assist in reconnaissance or rescue efforts in nearby areas.

The most recent boost in members came from the discovery that there are a handful of other magical towers in the continent that can connect to Nadir's Zenith, creating a network of teleportation circles through which Brigade members could easily travel to other countries.

### *Bound by Secrecy*

As the number of Brigade members continued to increase, so too did the guild's risk of exposure to their enemies, such as the Glitterati and Thunderfleet. In fact, one thought-to-be-trustworthy Brigade member named Celica Nictosich was revealed to be a Thunderfleet homunculus and Glitterati spy who began slaughtering Daggerharts in secrecy, though her ultimate plot to send a message to the Glitterati regarding the Brigade's location was thwarted in it's last moments. She then killed herself with a poison embedded in one of her teeth, disabling their ability to question her.

Fearing the security of the towers being compromised, Shards, Corinthia, and Mr Curse constructed a plan coded as Project Aegis. They presented it at the first Town Hall, whereupon they got approval from Gustave to initiate it. This plan allowed the guild (and the fledgling town surround Nadir's Zenith) to continue it's rapid expansion while also ensuring the safety of their location and members.

## Leadership

### Head of the Brigade

The Head of the Brigade is a leading force, in charge of both maintaining the protections of the tower as well as allowing or denying admission of any new guild members.

It's suspected that being dubbed the "owner" of Nadir's Zenith also grants certain powers, but this cannot be confirmed or denied.

### Keepers

A **Keeper** or **Keeper of Nadir's Zenith** is someone well-versed in the ways of the CORE of Nadir's Zenith, a source of vast power that protects the tower, the surrounding township, and the guild members. They are typically seasoned veterans of the Brigade as well as highly educated or talented mages. They are also considered high-ranking Brigade members, and are in charge of the guild's safety in the instance that the Brigade's head is unavailable. Though it's up to the Head to declare new members or kick out old ones, the Keepers are responsible for actually bestowing a Token of Memory or erasing a name from the CORE.

**Assistant Keepers** are Brigade members in training to become a full-time Keeper. Though the training is rigorous, they are encouraged to continue their typical missions and responsibilities until being declared a Keeper in order to foster their growth as both an adventurer and a mage.

### Current Leadership

The current role of Head of the Brigade is open, though Kris Nifeton is actively being trained by the current Keepers in order to be ready for the role once Madeon's grip on her boyfriend Phelyx (and by extension the tower itself) is released. She accepted this role after it was bequeathed unto her by previous leader and founder, Gustave Theldirk, on his deathbed.

Shards and Corinthia Sun-Wind are both Keepers of Nadir's Zenith, with powerful divination skills as well as a high level of understanding regarding the tower's controls. Both of them have denied stepping up to Gustave's role as Head upon his death, as they are both getting on in years and believe a more youthful leader would make more sense.

There are no Assistant Keepers in training as of the beginning of 906 ME.

### The Knights of Nadir

*(See: Knights of Nadir)*

The Knights of Nadir are a sect of the Brigade, the first major group of adventurers to join after the guild's founding. It isn't particularly well-defined. Most members are those who witnessed the Betrayal firsthand and stopped Jacques Nifeton from fully acting out his nefarious plot against Tephra. Others, such as Rhyn, have traveled alongside the group for several months. The official title was not proclaimed until after she had joined their party. It's believed that Knights of Nadir can only declare each other as fellow Knights, but this has yet to be confirmed or denied by said members as they spend most of their time out in the field rather than at home base.

### Recruitment

In order to instate further security measure surrounding the tower and the guild itself, Project Aegis will be enacted upon the return of the Knights of Nadir from their current mission in the Sea of Salt. It will instate a memory-fogging field that will overwrite compromising information creatures may have about the guild unless they carry a Token of Memory with them.

## Traditions

### The Seaquence Festival

Noting the lack of activities happening around the Zenith proper, Corinthia Sun-Wind brought one of her own Ohwaldian holidays to the tower in the form of the Seaquence Festival. This holiday celebrates the bounties of nature, particularly of the sea as well as rivers and lakes. It was also the backdrop for the fishing contest followed during Hook, Line, & Sinker.

Now that it's been established, the Seaquence Festival will be celebrated yearly around the end of the Root of the Umber Solstice, right before the Bridge.

## Activity

*(See: Brigade oneshots)*

As the guild's membership has grown, it has continued expanding it's activity through the rest of Halintar. Many missions they send their members on are focused on gathering information, growing their library of intelligence on both recent happenstance as well as any obscure knowledge that may assist them in the protection of the gods themselves.