Knighthood of Utmost Silence

**Requirements:** Wyrd 2+, Stealth 2+, Subterfuge 2+, Weaponry 1+, Mantle (Winter) 1+

**Origin tales:**

1. Jack Frost is sometimes credited with founding Winter but some stories say he was a Knight first. Before Winter ever blessed the Court with the skills to hide, Jack was moving changelings safely through the forests and into towns and cities with cover stories. It was his oath of nobility that won him Winter’s Aid in the end.
2. No one knows her name or face. She was a Mirrorskin and she moved from place to place. She arrived before the hunters and left false trails for them to follow. She left a mark on each charge, a tattoo similar to the one she bore and so they shared in her protections. Others would copy that tattoo after her death and so the Knighthood was born.
3. In Egypt, one named Hor walked. The Cleareyes watched for the hunters. He grieved when they took prey that were friends. He heard stories of a safer place for those like him and so he set out to this place across the sea. He called on the Owls to guide him at night and made pacts with them. They would guard his chosen to this land of different Gods where they could build again.

**Legends:**

1. A Tyrannical Autumn Monarch kept his freehold in line by keeping them afraid of what he could reveal about them should they turn on him. One year, he decided that the Winter Queen was unfit to rule and refused to give up the crown. She vanished and he relaxed at this lack of a challenge. Yet by Spring, 3 of his people he most easily controlled were gone and by Summer another three had vanished. His control was weakening and he pulled the few he still had blackmail on ever closer until they too vanished. Before the anger of those long suppressed came for him, the Winter Queen came once more for him. And none were ever seen again.
2. A famous Musician had finally been burned out. His life had gotten the best of him and in his exhaustion, made a mistake gaining the eye of his Keeper. With that a Silent Knight strode into town, searching him out. They spoke for a short time and the Knight promised him an out. The next day the paper read that the bard was dead, but in actuality he had moved far from his family and home to live out the rest of his life.

**What We Do in the Shadows:**

All changelings are fugitives, on the run from capricious gods who'd take them back to alien torment. Some of the Lost -- the wrathful, the puissant and the foolish -- dream of fighting the True Fae, telling them with a blade's sting that their reign has ended. The Gentry are not mere monsters, though monstrous they are. They are boundless things, appetite and intelligence combined into a singular mystic gravity that sucks minions and stratagems into mad orbits. An individual can kill an unprepared Loyalist or exile. A strong motley might even rout a cult of servitors. For now, though, the idea of a crusade against the Gentry is pure folly. The best policy is to walk quietly in the world, hiding from Arcadia's attentions, but that doesn't guarantee your freedom forever. When the Gentry's hounds circle, it's time to call a Knight of Utmost Silence.

The Knights help changelings escape without a trace. On a moment's notice, an experienced team can set a motley up with new identities half a continent away. Lesser knights form the rearward guard of evacuations. When enemies pursue, they snipe and harass from the shadows, buying the time their charges need to get away. Discretion is a more powerful tool than violence for the work they do, so the Knights of Utmost Silence live up to their name by never speaking of their charges. This policy applies when they're among allies, enemies and strangers alike. The Gentry have quislings in too many freeholds to trust in friends. Knights are secretive even by Winter Court standards. To them, it would be unthinkable to let the details of their work fly from the lips of some Spring Court gossip.

**Mask & Mein:**

Knights arm themselves with blades: Symbols of their calling. In freeholds and other places where open tradition is viable they wear light swords. In public places they prefer sturdy fighting knives, concealed in easy reach of their hands. Knights of Utmost Silence carry other weapons when necessary, but the blade is important to them. It not only symbolizes knighthood itself, but it can be used quietly, swiftly cutting the throats and kidneys of pursuers. Good knives are also multipurpose tools, suited to the many non-combat tasks Knights perform to protect their charges.

Aside from the blade, Knights wear very little that distinguishes them from anyone else. They tend to dress conservatively, behind the latest trends but ahead of anything dated enough to notice. They wear dark colors when they can to help them hide. Deep red, blue and black -- the natural colors of a dimly lit night -- are favorites. Of course, in trendy fashion districts, snow-covered woods or scorching deserts they dress to blend in, discarding their habitual wardrobe. They're reluctant to do anything or go anywhere unarmed or dressed in anything that would hamper their movements. This isn't so much to help them fight but to allow them to run. The order favors flight and ambush over standing their ground and taking enemy steel face to face.

The Knights have a distinctive mien that would seem to defy their subtle role, but most welcome it as an easy way for changelings in need to find them. To anyone who can see their mien, their mouths are invisible. This manifests in any number of ways. Some Knights' miens have no mouths at all. Others are partly concealed in mist and shadow. A few wear a mask or veil that looks like clothing, but is integral to the mien. This in no way restricts a Knight's ability to speak, though it sometimes adds odd features to the voice that are apparent to those who can see the mien.

**Bequeathal:**

No one knows how the Knighthood recruits. It is known that they seem to talent search for individuals who can do the job among the Winter Court, but if there are other criteria, the Knights have kept silent about them.

**Token: [1-5] Ring of the Owl**

**Description:** This appears to be a simple copper or bronze right with owl wings embossed on either side. When activated, the wings beat slowly and the ring seems to grow colder. To use the ring, the Silent Knight must take it off and place the ring on the flesh of who he is bestowing the blessing to. The ring grows cold and a mark is left behind. The owl now watches over the blessed, giving them dots of the Anonymity merit equal to the token rating for 24 hours. A Knight can choose to reactivate this blessing even if they are not nearby at the end of the 24 hours by spending 1 Glamour and 1 Willpower. This expenditure cannot be negated by the Catch. The target loses the Fame merit for the duration of the blessing bestowed by the token. When this ends, the mark goes away as well.
**Catch:** The ring leaves a permanent scar.
**Drawback:** No Knight of the Utmost Silence can gain this benefit. (Conditional)
**Blessings**

* [1] This blessing lets the changeling regain 1 Glamour whenever she regains Willpower through her Needle in direct pursuit of her role. She may spend the Glamour immediately on anything she likes or store it in her heraldry token for later use. The token can store up to her Wyrd in Glamour. If she can neither spend nor store it, it’s lost. All stored Glamour empties at the end of the story.
* [1] Choose one of the following specialties: Streetwise (Blending in), Survival (Shelter, Foraging), Weaponry (Knife), Persuasion (Bribes).The chosen speciality also gains exceptional on three successes instead of five.
* [1] Additional Thread.
* [1] Keen Edge: The Knights are always armed. They gain a token blade. The shape can be any sort of knife, but it uses the stats of a Hunting Knife in Hurt Locker (page 138), listed below.
**Keen Edge, 3 dot Token**
When Activated it gains:
9 Again to all weaponry checks
While Sheathed this knife draws no suspicion from anyone who isn't actively tasked with looking for it.
**Catch:** This knife is drawn in defense of someone you have sworn to hide.
**Drawback:** For the next scene or hour, any contracts cast while under the sun’s rays cost an additional glamour. (Conditional)
* [1] Silence Absolute: Gain a bonus to Stealth checks equal to your Wyrd/2 (Rounded down)

**Touchstone:** Someone who is not native to the local area.

**Clarity Curse:** Clarity attacks suffered while breaking the alternate identity of another add damage dice equal to ranks invested in this Merit.

**WP:** Once per scene, gain a Willpower when you break the law in order to help some hide their identity.