The Crimson Brotherhood

**"An Argent Dawn, a Scarlet Dusk"**

**History**

With the Lich King’s death, and the Plaguelands slowly becoming healed by the Argent Crusade, those of the Scarlet Crusade began to find doubt and cracks in their zealous ideals. As time went on and the Crusade continued to wait for the Onslaught’s return of which never came, some would break away, realizing how wrong they were, and eventually finding the corruption of the Scarlets. These renegades would form the Scarlet Renegades, being led by Joseph the Awakened. They felt that the members of the Scarlet Crusade were still good men and women, but that they were being led astray by a corrupt leadership.

When the Renegades eventually made way to the Scarlet Monastery, they would clear their way through with the help of Lilian Voss, a Forsaken, and multiple other heroes and mercenaries of all races. The Renegades were surprised by this help, but could not refuse such vital assistance. Eventually as it progressed, Joseph would be struck with guilt, but still strike his way through, barely keeping his sanity and looking only to the future of the Renegades to keep him motivated.

When the Scarlet Monastery was taken, the Renegade’s claim was solidified, with all the Scarlet Leadership dead, they would be scattered throughout the world. Joseph would make a proclamation to all who would listen.

“The Scarlet Crusade drips with the crimson blood of innocents. Innocents that can never be taken back. Crimes that must never be forgotten, but perhaps it can be forgiven. We are all men and women of sin, criminals of great atrocities. The Crimson stain upon our soul and flesh binds us all together. I ask all of you, to stand with me, to stand with me against judgment itself. A Crimson Brotherhood, where together we will join forces with the Argent Crusade, and bring a closing chapter to these series of tragedies. Will you stand with me on this journey?”

And so, the Crimson Brotherhood was formed. Some of the Scarlet Remnants would join in with this brotherhood. Their first action was simple, writing a letter to Tirion to establish themselves as a sect of the Argent Crusade. With some convincing, the Highlord would eventually agree to this, allowing the Brotherhood to become an extension of the Crusade.

After this, Joseph would declare the rank of Highlord has no place in the Brotherhood, and would abolish it, stating that the only Highlord in this union would be Tirion. He instead said the leader of the Crimson Brotherhood should be known as Grand Redeemer, of which he was elected to become by a majority vote.

The Crimson Brotherhood then made its official statement of its goals. To assist the Argent Crusade, but also redeem any and all that fall into its ranks, therefore Joseph would approach Tirion, and request that any and all Argent Crusaders that find themselves in great doubt, or have committed terrible sins, to be sent to the Crimson Brotherhood, so they make the same journey of redemption as they are, an offer The Highlord ultimately agreed to.

**Beliefs and Culture**

The Widespread beliefs of the Brotherhood is that the sins they have committed must be redeemed, and that ultimately their crimes will remain with them for all their lives. They believe that those who are willing to redeem themselves can, no matter the crime, as long as they are willing to put in the effort and never give up. The Brotherhood’s methods of redemption are done with prayer and worship of the Light, and any who join the Brotherhood must do the same method as them, although they will agree that some methods may be better for different people in extreme circumstances.

This quest of redemption has not stopped them from training in the ways of the paladin and in combat, they believe that reclaiming the lands of Lorderaen from the Scourge, and defending those lands afterwards are part of their journey of redemption. Any member is more than willing to put their life on the line to complete this goal.

The old beliefs of the Forsaken being pretenders and invaders of the land of Lorderaen has evolved as well, adapting their beliefs to an ultimately changing world. Due to this, they have become vocal to allowing the living to return to their lands with the dead co-existing with them, even if it is Forsaken territory, they have developed this belief due to Lilian Voss’ help with the coup against the Scarlet Crusade.

The older members also have developed a belief that the Banshee Queen Sylvanas is an invalid ruler for the Forsaken people, and has no claim on the land, claiming that Sylvanas is manipulating the Lorderaen people to be her pawns. Despite all this however, they have ultimately submitted themselves to the will of the Argents, and will not attack Forsaken lands unless ordered to.

This adaptation also allowed the Brotherhood to invite other races into their order, as Joseph has not forgotten the aid of other races and people helping with their cause, and therefore sees no reason to deny them any redemption they desire, even other undead, as long as they are willing to go down this path.

To new initiates, you must go through five trials, called “The Trials of Change” and once these trials are done, initiates become an official member of the Brotherhood, and are allowed to return to their normal life, or stay an active member and proceed further in ranks. Full members of the Brotherhood tend to advise the initiates, providing them guidance in completing these trials, but they make it very clear that they cannot be the judge on if your trials are completed, for only the Holy Light can claim success in the trial.

The Crimson Brotherhood forbids any form of magic in their Monastery beyond that of the Holy Light, and the Arcane. They do not want other foreign magic to plague what they consider holy ground.

**The Trials of Change**

The trials of change are a series of five trials that must be overcome for any new arrivals to be considered full members. Preparing for the trials is a great trouble, and failure may cause great despair upon the initiate. In rare times where the trial was complete untraditionally, like showing the quality of the result after an extreme moment, the Brotherhood would call upon the Redeemers to look upon the actions, and vote if it's worthy enough to be considered a valid trial. The trials are traditionally done via a ritual of the Light, bringing the person into a deep meditative state, and causing them to experience dreams.

Successfully passing the trial is told by the Light itself, it is said that those who succeed a trial will have their body glow with the Light’s radiance, acknowledging their actions and success. Each initiate gets a badge of a star, and each completed trial gives them a single side diagonally to the star, the final trial giving them a circle to the star, which fully forms into the Brotherhood’s sigil.

The Trials are divided as follows

Realization - This is usually considered the easiest trial, and most new members have the realization of their crimes and what they did were wrong,those people tend to skip this trial. However, there are those who are sent there that have no clue what wrong they committed due to a multitude of factors. These people are usually sent into meditation, experiencing visions until guilt is finally dawned onto them.

**Respect** - The visions portrayed in this allow the initiate to come to the conclusion that what they have done has a connection and effect to each and every person in the world, as the Light connects altogether. It shall end with them understanding this, and realizing that even the smallest actions can ripple across the world, good or bad.

**Tenacity** - The visions given to the user do not make sense, or give them extreme doubt in their ability to be redeemed. Those who are not fully committed to the idea of redemption tend to falter under this. It is only through great persistence and failing the trial over and over, does the initiate begin to see through the fog of the visions, and complete the trial.

**Compassion** - The capability to show compassion to others who have committed sins as great or greater than you, and being able to offer the chance of redemption. Those who take on this trial have a vision of who they hate the most, in the most devilish portrayal their mind can give. The trial will succeed if they are capable of showing compassion to even this great evil, and not give into the hatred.

**Acceptance** - The final trial requires the initiate to be able to move on and accept their actions fully, and try to put the past behind them, but never forget it. They must understand that they are now an entirely new person, ready to right the wrongs they have committed.

Ranks

Initiate[I] - Initiates take up the Trials of Change, none of the initiates are traditionally used for combat, and most higher rank members would forbid them from doing so unless it is in self-defense

Member[I] - Full members of the Crimson Brotherhood are allowed to enter and exit as they please, however like initiates, they are not used for combat traditionally, those who wish to join the more militant side of the Brotherhood become a Crusader or Inquisitor.

Crusader/Inquisitor[I] - Crusaders and Inqusitiors are of equal rank, and are the majority bulk of their military. They have simplified the division and have made Crusaders those who do combat in close quarters, or with a ranged weapon, while those who are inquisitors are those who prefer to cast spells at the targets.

Legionnaire[II] - Members of the Crimson Legion, once the elite body of the Scarlet Crusade, now serve under the Crimson Brotherhood. Members must show great patience, prowess, and passion to be selected into the Crimson Legion.

Advisor[II] - Advisors don’t tend to go out on the field of battle and prefer to stay in the safety of their churches and monasteries to advise Initiates around them on how they could perhaps complete the Trials of Change. To become an advisor, one must display great wisdom and understanding of the Light. An advisor is almost always present during a Trial of Change to act as a witness.

Herald[III] - Heralds are comparable to Captains in the Crimson Legion. They are usually present in small or large battles, commanding a squadron of men when they do.

Harbinger[III} - A step higher than the Herald, the Harbingers command a platoon of Legionnaires, accompanied by two Heralds. They tend to be found in larger battles.

Council of Redeemers[III] - The greatest of the Brotherhood, the Council of Redeemers is composed of 9 members at all times, with the Lord Redeemer being the tenth member. The Council of Redeemers handle many of the politics and planning for the Brotherhood. However, when meetings are not in session, Redeemers tend to wander the world alone to spread the message of the Brotherhood, going to where they are needed to help the world.

Lord Redeemer[X] - Currently taken by Joesph the Awakened, the Lord Redeemer is the highest authority of the Brotherhood and their representative in the Argent Crusade. If the Lord Redeemer position is opened, the Council of Redeemers elects among its members who shall become the Lord Redeemer.