Grey Order

The **Grey Order**, commonly referred to as the **Rangers of the Grey**, is an ancient order dedicated to fighting fiends throughout Morgaea. They are headquartered in the very place of their founding, the fortress of Greyhold in Netheren, but maintain a presence in most other nations as well.

The Grey Order is known for ignoring a recruit's racial, social, national, and even criminal background if they deem the person valuable in terms of character, ability or skill.

Despite their dwindling numbers in recent centuries, the Grey Order has been instrumental in defeating each Scourge so far, and thus are vital to the survival of the world as a whole.

## History

### First Scourge and Founding

The First Scourge began in **-395D** (800 AE) and lasted 192 years. The Underways, underground highways built by dwarves, were swarmed with monstrous creatures that became known as "fiends". These creatures seemed limitless in number, and spread a Taint that infected other living creatures, mutating them into monsters, and corrupted and poisoned the very environment around them. The cult of the Watcher claimed this was the result of the Seven Apostles, magisters of the Adamantium, entering the Dreaming through a ritual and attempting to usurp the throne of the Watcher in the Golden City, although this theory has been disputed by others, most notably the dwarves. Nevertheless, this invasion of fiends, named the Scourge, soon destroyed most of the underground kingdoms of the dwarves, and spread to the surface world. Morgaea was in chaos, and entered a dark age. The fiends were found to be led by an immensely powerful dragon tainted with the fiends corruption; this creature was named an Archfiend and believed to be one of the Deceivers worshiped by the Adamantium.

At the fortress of Greyhold in the desolate Netheren, a meeting transpired. Soldiers of the Adamantium, seasoned veterans who had known nothing their entire lifetimes except war, came together. When they left Greyhold, they had renounced their oaths to the Adamantium. Calling themselves the Grey Order, they swore that they would accept anyone, no matter their race or background, without distinction if deemed suitable in terms of character, ability or skill to join the Order.

The Rangers of the Grey began an aggressive campaign against the fiends, reclaiming lands that most had given up for lost. They proved to be a desperately needed spark of hope in Morgaea's darkest of hours, and quickly gained renown. During the next century, humanity slowly managed to stand firm and push back the Scourge. Finally, in **-203D** (992 AE), the Grey Order gathered an allied army composed of soldiers from the Adamantium, the tribes of the Lyriane (the lands that would become Maudet), and Ghallen to confront the main fiendish horde, led by the Archfiend now identified as Vemon. A massive battle was waged at the Silent Steppes, in what is now the border between the Adamantium and Anderlay. The legion of fiends was defeated, and Vemon was slain by the Grey Order; with the Archfiend's death, the horde's will to fight on was broken. It took several years to eradicate the remaining fiends from the surface, but the Scourge was over, and the Grey Order had carved out their legend. After the Battle of the Silent Steppes, they were much celebrated and most nations gave formal promises of support for future fiendish invasions. They were also given the Right of Conscription, to guarantee sufficient recruits.

### Second Scourge

In **1A05**, approximately 200 years after the slaying of Vemon, the Archfiend Patemis rose to lead the Second Scourge. The entire city of Wesslow, the very place where the Grey Order first appeared on the battlefield, was destroyed before a defense could even be organized. The Adamantium withdrew from Netheren, abandoning it in an attempt to protect central Adamantium. The Netheren region was hard-hit, and even Greyhold came under siege by the fiendish horde.

Fortunately, the armies of the recently founded Maudesian Empire under the command of Emperor Caecilius Volantus I proved both motivated, and capable, of standing up to the Scourge. After several victories against the fiendish horde, Volantus' army lifted the siege of Greyhold in **1A33,** and proceeded to save the rest of Netheren together with the Rangers. Netheren joined the Maudesian Empire and the Grey Order converted to the Ministry.

In the following decades, the Scourge was again slowly pushed back, and the Grey Order took command of the war. The Archfiend was finally confronted and slain by the Ranger Korryn in **1A95** at Alepool in the Freemarks.

### Second and Third Ages

After the Second Scourge, the Grey Order actively remained vigilant for another Scourge. Although there were no major fiend incursions to the surface during this period of time, the Rangers fought many small war bands of fiends that periodically appeared in surface lands. They also sent small groups of Rangers to help Ondrathum in its fight against the fiends in the Underways. When the Ministry declared their Crusade against the Sylvandale, the Grey Order refused to get involved.

### Third Scourge

The Third Scourge began with the awakening of Biamut in **3A10**, roughly 115 years after the last Scourge. The initial fiend attacks occurred in central Morgaea in the Adamantium and Maudet, but even though the hordes were larger than those previously encountered, a rapidly organized defense led by the Grey Order managed to hold them back. The fiendish attacks started to focus on the more lightly defended Freemarks, while the Adamantium and Maudet tried to remain neutral; pressure from the Grey Order eventually brought them into the war. The fiendish horde was crushed at Hunteron in the Freemarks in **3A25**, and Biamut was slain by the Grey Order. The Third Scourge remained a relatively short event compared to previous Scourges.

### Fourth Blight

There are few records of Grey Order activity during the next 200 years, until Xurteus awakened, and the Fourth Scourge began in **5A12**. Most of the damage was to the west of traditional Grey Order territory, in the Freemarks, Lysadore, and Ghallen, but Netheren was also attacked, as Lougrick, not far from Greyhold, came under siege. This time, both the Adamantium and Maudet were lightly attacked, and refused to send aid. The hero of the Fourth Scourge was an elven Ranger named Erenod, who first led the liberation of Lougrick in 5A20, and then managed to gather an army from the Freemarks to support the Grey Order. After a long and bloody war, Erenod's army marched south and faced the main horde in **5A24** at Ayesmare, where Erenod perished after personally slaying Xurteus.

The Grey Order's legendary wyverns died out some time after the Fourth Scourge.

### Fifth to Ninth Age

After the Fourth Scourge, the influence of the Grey Order waned considerably, as many started to think a Fifth Scourge would never happen. So many fiends were slain during the Fourth Scourge that many came to the conclusion they were defeated permanently. Although remaining an eternal threat to the dwarves, fiends were rarely seen by surface people, and the Grey Order was slowly dismissed as a relic of a bygone, darker time best left forgotten.

*See also: Battle of Ranger's Peak*

In **7A05**, there was an awkward incident in Nordain with the local Ranger-Commander, Aelaide Drysdale, previously a rival for the crown of Nordain, becoming involved in a planned coup d'état. The result was fighting between the Grey Order and the royal army, the loss of Commander Aelaide and her command at Ranger's Peak, and King Gauren banishing the Order from Nordain. The Grey Order was allowed back in Nordain by King Baylor in **9A10**. They were able to begin a slow rebuilding, but by **9A30**, their presence remained light and the Order was neither well known nor held in high regard by the Nordishfolk: there were a bare handful of Rangers in Nordain at the time, many of whom were non-Nordish that moved there to help rebuild the Nordain contingent.

The refusal of the Rangers to help the other nations of Morgaea against the Orcimar during the Seventh Age also earned them the enmity of many courts.

## Organization

The Grey Order is commanded by the First Ranger in Greyhold, and consists of a system of semi-autonomous national branches lead by a local commander. Though there is a hierarchy, in practice this is frequently defined by seniority (decided by time of Binding) in the Order.

As of **9A30**, the strength of the Grey Order is estimated at over 1,000 in Netheren, several hundred in Maudet, and around two dozen in Nordain, with unknown numbers in other nations and the Freemarks.

The official hierarchy of the Grey Order, in descending order, is:

### First Ranger

Contemporarily, the First Ranger is largely caught up in the politics of Netheren, as the Grey Order in that country is regarded as nobility by the Netherfolk, and have the responsibilities of such position. Because of this, the First Ranger offers little guidance to the order or its local commanders. The First Rangers acts largely as a figurehead, relying on the Ranger-Commanders to make the major decisions within their assigned territories.

### High Constable

The High Constable is second-in-command to the First Ranger, and formerly the aerial commander during the Ranger's use of wyverns. Recently, the High Constable has become the public face of the Order, acting as the ambassador to the High King and leading local recruitment.

### Chamberlain of the Grey

The senior archivist at Greyhold, and to whom Ranger-Commanders send yearly reports, the Chamberlain technically outranks the Ranger-Commanders.

### Commander of the Grey

Also known as **Ranger-Commander**, the Commander of the Grey is the leader of the Grey Order in a given country and, under normal circumstances, under little direction by the Order. The dwindling communications between Greyhold, and the branches leave most Ranger-Commanders, allows them to run their respective branches as they see fit. They can be summoned to Greyhold by the First Ranger at any time.

### Field-Commander

Field-Commander is a temporary rank used only in times of Scourge. A Field-Commander has the same rank and responsibilities of a Ranger-Commander in a given area.

### Constable of the Grey

A Ranger-Commander's second-in-command, the **Ranger-Constable**, colloquially called the Constable, acts as the field commander and steps in when the Ranger-Commander is away.

### Senior Ranger

Also known as **Ranger-Lieutenant** in Maudet, Senior Ranger is a formal title given to veteran Rangers who deserve special privilege. When a Constable of the Grey is in command, they usually take a Senior Ranger to act as their second-in-command. Senior Rangers may command a small group of Rangers or undertake special missions.

### Archivist

The archivist is, as the name suggests, an archivist of a given national Grey Order branch.

### Ranger-Ensign

Generally just called a Ranger, these are the rank-and-file members of the Order who have undertaken the Binding ritual.

### Acolyte

Acolyte is the rank given to the rank-and-file Ranger mages.

### Ranger-Recruit

A Ranger-Recruit is an individual selected to join the Grey Order, but who has not yet undertaken the Binding ritual. They are given a formal rank just for committing themselves to the Rangers.

## Recruitment and the Right of Conscription

The Grey Order is open to men and women from every race, nation and background; even criminals. They also accept volunteers, and elves in particular tend to be eager to submit themselves for the Grey Order, as they recruit regardless of social standing and serving is considered by many to be an honor.

One mage in every Institute of Magic is traditionally recruited, usually joining the Order after their Ascension. The young mage recruit serves as a Ranger their entire life from then on. Similar to serving a ruler, yet greatly removed from the degradation they may normally face in society, mage Rangers are given great respect and importance in the Order. Their facilitation of the Binding ritual is essential.

Should they need to, the Grey Order possesses the Right of Conscription, an authority that dates back to the end of the First Scourge and was given to them to ensure they will always have enough members. By using this Right, a Ranger may demand that, instantly and irrevocably, any individual from king to criminal be drafted into their ranks, and the conscript cannot refuse being recruited once the Right is invoked. This is specially true in times of Scourge.

However, in contemporary times the Right of Conscription is used sparingly for fear of political reprisal, due to the low standing the Order has in some countries; especially in Nordain. The Grey Order prefers to not invoke the Right unless there is no other option, and usually is invoked only to quell protest from a recruit's lords or commanders.

## The Binding

To become a member of the Grey Order, a recruit must first go through a secret ritual called the Binding. This ritual is strongly guarded by the order, even refusing outsiders from attending; as such, it's exact nature is unknown.

## Philosophy and Methods

Being a Ranger of the Grey means abandoning all ties to one's old life and dedicating their lives to destroying fiends. Rangers of the Grey go where they are needed most, fight fiends wherever they appear, and do whatever it takes to stop them. They act as a frontline presence during a Scourge, and investigate fiendish activities outside of Scourges. Even if a Ranger of the Grey were to abandon their duty, the Grey Order would often just seek them out and drag them back.

Rangers of the Grey are aware that they are fighting a war of attrition against the fiendish hordes, and that they are on the losing side. Because of that, they know that they will have to use whatever tactic they can devise, no matter how unorthodox, to win in the end. And so, they acquire whatever resources they can, regardless of the method, and employ whomever they must, regardless of their defects of morals or character. They also often turn a blind eye to blood magic, and other such "forbidden arts", and do whatever else they must so long as those efforts lead to the Scourge's end.

Due to the Grey Order's cause being so crucial to Morgaea's survival, various groups and nations signed ancient treaties promising to support the Grey Order in times of Scourge. This support can come in the form of military aid, donations of gold, supplies, lending of armed forces, and equipment. Although those bound to the treaty are obliged to fulfill their promises, Rangers believe in times of Scourge, the treaties entitle them to take what is needed, when needed. Outside of the Scourge, the treaties are as binding as a clever tongue can make them. Still, if the danger of fiends, and the image of the Grey Order as necessary heroes, are still fresh in the minds of the people, Rangers may be able to use the treaties in order to leverage the goodwill owed them if it can be justified as the Rangers using their privileges to protect Morgaea from calamity.

## Relations with the Dwarves

Rangers of the Grey and the dwarven people have always had a kinship through their shared battle against the fiends.

Dwarves are viewed as excellent recruits to the Order due to their experience against the fiends, however, as there are fewer dwarves due to low birth rates, there are also fewer dwarven Rangers. Rangers are also the only surface organization to care about the endless war the dwarves wage against the fiendish hordes in the Underways.