Monastery of Black Fire

The Monastery of the Black Fire is a monastic order dedicated to Wee Jas. Most of its adherents stress reverence for her death aspects, but there are members who hone their mystic powers in ways reminiscent of a wizard rather than a rogue. Universally, however, they embody her vanity: to die by their hand, they claim, is the most honorable way to die. Assassins from the Monastery of Black Fire, once they have reached a certain level of attainment, are permitted to leave a unique "calling card" at assassination scenes, so that they may proclaim their deadly skill openly and so indulge their vanity while still maintaining the mystique of fear and dread necessary to their trade.

The monastery itself is a massive building, built of chiseled obsidian blocks and hidden deep in the valleys near torpid volcanoes that slumber in the temperate deciduous rainforest southwest of Thornmoor.  Within, magical torches made from thin spires of obsidian burn day and night, providing the only light in a place otherwise drenched in shadow. The honored dead are kept close; each initiate is trained in rites for those who need guided in their passing, and the three underground levels are crypts as well as training ares. Stylistically, the combat taught at the monastery is often referred to as Centipede Style by those who are unaware of the religious overtones of the monk's training, given its emphasis on low stances, kicks, and a single weapon; it is most similar to real-world styles like silat in its emphasis on offense, lethality, and fluid integration with weaponry.

Day to day life is highly regulated from morning to dinner, filled with offensive training (with ritual obsidian weapons), toughening exercises (prolonged stress positions, breaking logs with hands or on parts of the body to increase skeletal stress resistance and density), hard physical labor, and philosophical rumination. The three masters (body, mind, and spirit, who give offensive training, defensive training, and spiritual training, respectively) or the grandmaster of the monastery will ask each neonate a question to ruminate on throughout their day's training. Any trainee who cannot answer at dinner is dismissed to meditate immediately; and is permitted into the barracks for sleep only once the riddle is complete. Those who answer, however, are permitted to spar among themselves or challenge a master in a contest of the master's choosing. Defeating the master is a sign of great favor, and the monk who does so is entitled to a token of the master's choice. Such a victory usually indicates that the monk in question is reaching the end of their training, though it is not required to complete their understanding.

Once training is complete, a silver dagger is given to the new monk, representing the need to for continued self-reflection on their journey. Upon reaching level 6, the monk is asked to return to the monastery, where they are granted an obsidian dagger from the walls of the monastery itself, and a unique token is chosen. From that point on, they may at any point petition to rejoin the monastery as a master, replacing a current teacher in the event of death, illness, retirement, or prolonged absence. Grandmasters do not leave the monastery unless at the greatest need, and are sworn to serve until they join Wee Jas.

The current masters of the Monastery of the Black Fire are:

Grandmaster - Langerschatten, a male Thornmoorish human vampire over four hundred years old, Way of Shadow

Master of Body - Qivix, a male Ethergaard dragonborn with black & silver scales, Way of Shadow

Master of Mind - Kalaethoria, a female high elf of unknown origin, Way of Four Elements

Master of Spirit - Abrogette, a female dwarf of coastal origin, Way of Shadow