The Cross

## Origins

In its early days, the Cross was founded as a smuggling operation under the leadership of Markus Whiteheart and his right hand, Hugo Silvanes. The associations of both men with the organization were kept secret in Aranor, but both men gained a large degree of notoriety throughout the Free Lands as they formed pacts with various high profile figures throughout key cities in the region.

Most notable of the accomplishments of the Cross in its early days is settling a longstanding, violent conflict between the people of Shadal and Ozos. The conflict centered around who claimed dominion over a particular temple with deep associations to the Immortals and spiritual significance to practitioners of the Faith of the Five Saints. Markus Whiteheart was able to construct an agreement which both sides found suitable, thus ending a years long battle between the two cities' militias.

In the year following the signing of this treaty into effect, Markus's son was abducted by a man he swore was one of the Ten Kings. In the wake of his son's abduction, he ordered the most powerful leaders within his organization to rally forces in preparation for an attack on the Ten Kingdoms, a matter which most met with reservation. Though it is unclear who dealt the blow that killed Markus, he is thought in most circles to have been murdered. The murder is perceived to have been in connection with his orders to attack the Ten Kingdoms.

His family was murdered alongside him, and the only known survivor of the attack is his eldest daughter, Andrea. In the years following his murder, his right hand rose to prominence as the new leader of the organization. He took the Cross in a darker direction, turning it into the most feared organization in the Eleventh Ward, with a reputation for meeting opposition with violence throughout the Empire and the Free Lands. Having realized it was her uncle who ruled where her father once had over the Cross, Andrea rejoined the ranks and served first as an assassin, and then as a weapons smith, enchantress and smuggler.

## Markus Whiteheart

Called the Reaper by his subordinates and allies within the Cross, Markus was its founder. He founded the gang in order to fund his passion project of discovering proof of the existence of the Immortals, succeeding at convening with the Earth Child of the time, Mathius III, but never quite succeeding at dragging the truth out of him. He discovered ample evidence in his time which was pertinent to his mission, most of which was scattered across the Free Lands, with the closest to tangible proof coming in the form of a Titan's Hammer located between the cities of Aranor and Lazul.

Markus was widely respected throughout the imperial borderlands and the Free Land cities, and was seen in both realms as charitable, soft-spoken and kind. It came as a shock to his family when, upon his death, they learned of his dealings with what they viewed as petty criminals. The debacle resulted in the Silvanes house falling out of power as the Whitehearts and other Aranori noble houses distanced themselves from the Cross and all of the toxicity inherent within it.

## Hugo Silvanes

Upon his ascension to leader of the Cross, Hugo took on the moniker Headsman. He took the Cross in a dark new direction, incorporating assassins, drug peddlers and thieves into the ranks of the organization and vastly expanding his own fortunes as a side effect. His ascension was not met with approval by all of leaders within the Cross. A bloody conflict saw two of the Cross's members and their followers slaughtered, sending a message to the rest of his associates that they could either support him or die.

## Hammers

Hammer is the term given to those leaders of the Cross who hold offices of influence in various cities throughout the Free Lands, the Empire and the Ten Kingdoms, whom are associated with the Cross by way of pacts or deals made between themselves and the Headsman or the Reaper. Most keep their affiliation with the Cross secret from their communities.

There are currently eleven Hammers affiliated with the Cross, though there was once a twelfth.

### Members (Current)

#### Omi Malauyi

Omi is second in command of the Cross under Hugo Silvanes. His ethnicity is *zankali jua.* He was inducted into the Cross as a part of an arrangement made with the elders of Zankal by Markus Whiteheart, an arrangement that still holds weight today.

#### Henry Abiia

If Omi is Hugo's right hand, Henry is his left. Henry serves as the Third Prince and Minister of Coin in Ozos. He was offered a place in the Cross by Markus. In exchange, Henry was to help remove the then Minister of Coin from her office, and serve as an intermediary between Markus and the Ozite King. Under Hugo, his duties were expanded to include the smuggling of cadmium and gold ores from Ozos into the Empire through a secret tunnel leading into Aranor.

#### Kari Malauyi

Kari was granted a position in the Cross leadership by Markus as the official representative of Zankal and highest Cross affiliated authority in Juakali. He was among those who opposed Hugo's ascension, favoring his cousin, Omi, for the spot. Hugo spared his life at Omi's request.

#### Samos Ranudad

Samos is a powerful and widely respected priest within the Faith of the Five Saints, and holds almost as much authority as the Council of Governors (the elected body of government for the city) in Shadal.

Samos was granted a position in the Cross by Markus, and the inherent protection of the Cross for Shadal was inherent in their deal. This was meant to facilitate the peace deal which would eventually bring an end to the conflict between Ozos and Shadal. Samos opposed the rise of Hugo to power, and held deep suspicions that he had arranged to have Markus murdered. Though he did not like the idea of attacking the Ten Kings, he liked even less the idea of being associated with someone like Hugo.

There is a mutual tension in his relationship with Hugo. Hugo knows he cannot risk the fallout that would come with killing Samos, and Samos views his association with the Cross as the best means of maintaining peace between Shadal and Ozos.

#### Lee Xiao

Lee is an associate of the Hoga family, who was elevated to a position by Hugo after his predecessor attempted to block him from taking power in Markus's stead. The Hoga family controls roughly half of the gemstone trade in Haru. Lee Xiao is not a member of the family, but works closely with them. He serves as the intermediary between the Hoga family and the Cross, as the Hoga family is the primary supplier of black market jewels in Aranor.

#### Naomi Hanral

Naomi was conscripted into the ranks of Hammers by Hugo after Markus's death. She serves as an informant in Gorozoan, stationed at Darkridge, whose primary focus is trading in information about the Ten Kings and their dealings. Of particular interest to Hugo is the developments surrounding the breeding and raising of Grimwok, which comprise the largest share of King Baris of Gorozoan's armies.

#### Jeremy Drake

Jeremy was elevated by Markus to serve in his home city of the Port of Royals, in Soldran. He is a high ranking member of the Tower Guard there. His service to the Cross consists of being an intermediary between the Cross and the Black Tower, as Markus had heard rumors of an Immortal residing there. Those rumors never produced fruit, but Hugo maintained this tie as he saw an advantage in having eyes in the Summer Sea.

#### Aaron Isaac

Aaron was granted his position after his predecessor attempted to block Hugo from ascending to power. Both Aaron and his predecessor were Horse Lords of Trom.

He never trusted Hugo, but recognized the benefits of having a continued affiliation with the Cross in Trom. Markus had established a link there in order to secure access to another temple significant to the Faith of the Five Saints, which he was led to believe was visited by the Immortal he was tracking at the time.

#### Jorin Leizcht

Jorin is the Hammer of Del Zaors, who was elevated by Markus, who at the time was seeking an audience with the King of Gourum. Markus believed that the king had knowledge of the Immortals, and that he himself might be one. Jorin continues to serve as a voice in the King of Gourum's ear for the Cross; however, he has consistently refused Hugo direct access , citing an order handed down by the king himself, who detests the Headman, his methods and what he stands for.

#### Bran Halan

Bran was elevated by Markus as the Hammer of Duyaire Bense. He was among the few that openly supported Hugo's ascension to power after Markus's death. He is a prominent merchant in the city with close ties to the Council on Trade. Duyaire Bense has authority over the cities of Hiyal Alam and Hiyal Ijad, which have a reputation for their smelting practices. He is responsible for establishing contracts with the members of the Trade Council on behalf of the Cross.

#### James Thorin

James is the Hammer of Morgrotten. He was elevated by Markus as the Reaper followed a rumor that a particular, enigmatic figure deeply associated with the history of the Ring of Fire still lived. As a secondary effect of establishing this tie, the Cross gained access to Morgrotten's healers, should they ever need their services.

### Members (Former)

#### The Twelfth Hammer

Jerome Alhede served for many years under Markus as the Hammer of Lazul. The then prosperous kingdom was closely affiliated with the Cross, with the king himself made aware of Jerome's ties to their leader. A tunnel existed between the Temple of the Sun, the seat of Lazul's king, and Aranor which the local authorities in Aranor were unaware of. Jerome was to serve as a go between for Markus so that he could use the tunnel for his smuggling operations. In exchange, the king would receive a gift from Markus in the form of a cash payment.

Jerome was among the first to form an alliance with the Cross. He was an aristocrat with close ties to the king, and it was because of his open alliance with the Cross that they were able to gain such notoriety in the Free Lands. But Jerome quickly outgrew his role, and became a liability to the Cross as he demanded more and more power from them, seeking to place himself as equal to Markus. He angered Markus when he took a hit out on the Whiteheart family, effectively signing his own death certificate. But to make matters worse by exposing Markus's work on a peace deal between Ozos and Shadal to his king, a deal which the king adamantly opposed. The king took it upon himself to make several attempts on the lives of Markus, Hugo and Omi Maluyi. In addition, he contracted out several assassins, giving them explicit orders to assassinate the king of Ozos and several of those who served on Shadal's Council of Governors, in an effort to kill this agreement.

For reasons with roots far deeper into history, the people of Lazul and Zankal loathed each other, and had at times had skirmishes in the past. Through Omi Malauyi and Henry Abiia, Markus signaled that he would not interfere if Ozos or Zankal mounted an attack on Lazul, and together the two powers razed Lazul to the ground, leaving only a burning orb behind to hover over the place where the Temple of the Sun had been to remember the once great city by.

#### Shan Hoga

Shan was the son of the lord of the Hoga family, and a prominent jewel merchant. He was given his place as a Hammer of the Cross by Markus, who understood the Haru to be a last bastion of peace before the break into the Ten Kingdoms at Gorozoan. He opposed Hugo's ascension to power, and Hugo murdered him for it.

#### Timothy Mathus

Timothy was a Horse Lord of Trom. He was offered his position as Hammer by Markus in order to establish a tie in the region near a temple of the Faith of the Five Saints. He opposed Hugo's rise to power, and Hugo murdered him for it.

## Crossman

Crossman is the term given to members of the Cross not of the rank of Hammer. Some outrank others within the Cross hierarchy, but no special title is given to differentiate the rankings. Crossmen fill many roles within the Cross from smuggling to assassinations to human trafficking to the sale of illegal drugs.

#### Notable Members

* Noir Belafaunt
	+ Orphanage
		- Roach Aster
		- Helen Aster
		- Jeffie Aster
		- Don Aster
		- Jon Aster
		- Night Aster
		- Thomas Aster
		- Allen Aster
* Malthus Emerson
* Jakara Malauyi
* Oren Malauyi
* Andrea Whiteheart
* Miri Malauyi
* Archie Crone
* Bartamus Harkin
* Maxiniel Aran