Nightwalkers

The Order of Nightwalkers are an Eco-Anarchist terrorist organisation based within the Star and Dark Kingdom. They believe that under a system of control or Imperialism, which is how they identify the occupation of the Dark Kingdom of their homeland to be, that nature and its constituent parts (such as creatures) must be liberated from these shackles. They see anyone who acts passively towards such a threat to the natural world as an enemy, and act accordingly. They are mostly composed of Druids.

The name comes from many of their operations - Nightwalkers will Wildshape into nocturnal animals or creatures that would not be spotted in the night, such as bats, cats, spiders or owls. During this time, they walk through the night and survey a particular area, a Dark Elf military encampment for example, and then when they all return, they make plans for attacks and disruptions based on their intel.

## Membership

The Nightwalkers have a membership of about 200, but their influence is strong among those not officially initiated, as they are freedom fighters and as such, speak for the dominated Star Elves. Their members are majority Druid, though some are Nature Domain Clerics, Divine Soul Sorcerers, Artificers (especially Alchemists and Battlesmiths), and some other magical folk. Some do not have magic at all, and instead work as more organisational, clerical staff. Some are pure fighters used for night attacks only, and some are simply community liaison workers.

Nightwalkers' goal is always to gain more members, so some less combat proficient members spend their time going through communities and finding those who are discontented and want to do something about it, and convincing them to join the Order.

## Initiation and Training

Initiation requires a creature to undergo a series of obligations and trials - one of the mind, one of the body, one of the heart, and one of the soul. These trials can change person to person, and day by day. Before a creature even undergoes any real education on the deeper goals of the organisation, they must take the trial of the soul.

The trials happen in the order stated below. Any creature that passes all 4 trials becomes a member of the Order, and those who fail have their memory wiped.

**Trial of the Soul.** The most important of the four trials, the Trial of the Soul is simple. A creature must place their hand on a Soul Crystal and read the pledge: "I swear to honour the code of the Order, to answer the call when I am needed, to oppose tyranny in all forms, until I am no longer able." After they complete the pledge, their soul is bound to the crystal, and if they break the pledge, their soul is instantly ripped from their body and they die, unable to be revived.until the crystal is destroyed. A creature may willingly die and have their soul enter the crystal, for example if they are captured.

**Trial of the Body.** The Trial of the Body is usually in three sections - retreat, pursuit, and combat. In the retreat section, creatures holding a payload must run from point A to point B, while being chased by another creature. They win by getting the object safely to the other side - not necessarily not being caught themselves. The role is reversed in pursuit, the chased now chasing their pursuer from the previous round. This subsection of the trial is won by destroying the object or returning it to where the chase began. The final section, combat, has the two applicants fight each other one on one in a controlled environment.

In this trial, creatures are paired together, and only one may be accepted into the order. The person who completes 2 out of 3 trials as the winner goes onto the next stage.

**Trial of the Mind.** The Trial of the Mind is often a written test on the code of the Order, with sections involving Dark Elf protocols, safety measures for the protection of the Order, and core philosophy of the Order. Often there are other sections or fewer, depending on the current events.

**Trial of the Heart.** The Trial of the Heart is the most secret of all the trials, and is determined on a case by case basis. Its goal is to challenge the heart and resolve of an applicant to the extreme.

## Training

All initiates who wish to fight must undergo training, which is a gruelling, few month long process that forces them to learn many fighting techniques and avenues of magic to go down. Most train as Druids, though some are trained as other styles of fighter. Some creatures die during training.