The guard walked in with a man wearing a cloth sack over his face. The place they were was hidden to all but those of the highest trust and rank. It needed to remain unknown. Many have tried to infiltrate their circle in the past for this group was a threat to their agenda. So dire was the work of this society that every precaution was made to make sure that they remained intact.
The guard guided the man to a chair and sat him down without a hint of gentleness. He pulled the cloth sack from the mans head and he was surprised to find that the room was completely dark. He fought down a natural urge to panic at the inky blackness as he knew the time was closer to half day and the sun would be warming the land for another 8 hours, but this room was dark and damp with a hint of mold in the air.
He knew why he was here. He had gone through all the testing and training to get here. He had been physically and mentally abused as those he had been called to serve not only tested him to see if he was physically capable to do their bidding, but they also spent many days trying to extract information from his mind in order to see if the man had been trying to keep anything from them. This extrusion brought back many long forgotten memories as a side effect to their work and he spent many days reliving past emotions he had long buried. It had proven to be the most exhausting thing he had ever gone through.
He was brought back to attention when the door slammed from behind as the guard left the room. Instantly the room seemed to light up and he was momentarily blinded as if the sun suddenly appeared in the center of the room, yet all that happened was a man across a table from him removing the shutter from a lamp.
As his eyes focused, he could see he was being studied.
The man across from him wore a robe of black with runic symbols of gold down either side which seemed to shimmer in the glow of the lamp. The mages hand rest on his face as his eyes felt as if they were piercing the mans very soul. The thought made him shiver a little.
They remained completely silent as the mage studied him for many minutes until he finally spoke.
"You have been brought here either to serve or to die. Do you know which?" asked the mage.
The man thought for a moment and was about to speak when the mage stood up and leaned over the table until his face was mere inches away from his. As he returned the gaze, he felt fear. He knew that these men were capable of many things, but he misjudged how grave this situation was until now.
"Our situation is important. Those who are our allies are never safe from the darkness, for in darkness, the shadows dissipate. It is only the light which allows the shadows to remain. To lose the light is to lose our being."
The mage looked into the man's eyes, "Do you understand what I say and are you willing to take this burden upon yourself?"
The man gulped and paused for a moment before nodding his head.
The mage gave the man a half smile which looked slightly sinister in the light of the lamp.
"Good, then we shall begin. My name is Corbin Kintoria. I'm something of the leader of this little group. We are independent from kings and nations to serve only the greater good. Royalty dislikes this as there are many times when the greater good appears as evil, but our intentions are far greater than that of who sits on a throne or which nation attacks which in pursuit of expanding their lands. We fight for humanity itself, for the simple will to live and survive against greater forces than an army.
"We are known by many names, but we know ourselves as the Shadows of Darkmoor."
Corbin grabbed a tome from under the table and placed it on the desk. He open the clasps that kept the large book closed and turned to a page written in a language the man didn't understand.
"We have a few things that all within our circle must follow at all times. Failure to abide by these... well, lets just say you don't want to know the outcome.
"First, all within the circle must be of reputable nature. They become representatives and ambassadors and while the general public does not know of the true nature under which we work, we also don't wish to draw any negative attention to ourselves."
"You will take a new name for yourself and henceforth be known as such."
"All within the circle shall hold their tongues from speaking out inflammatory comments which would draw undue attention to itself."
"You will live according to your skills and your class. You will be known by what you are and what you can do."
"Always, above everything else, obey the leadership of the circle."
Corbin leaned back down in front of the man, "To shame our circle is unacceptable and will be met with full resistance. We will torture you, then torture your family as you watch. We will do the most unimaginable things causing more than imaginable pain. Are we understood, then?"
The man trembled and Corbin nodded and rang a little bell. The door swung open and the guard walked back in and covered the mans head with the bag once more.
Corbin nodded to the guard, "Take him to our town. He is to be initiated into our ranks. His training is to begin immediately."
With a grunt, the guard half walked, half carried the trembling man out the door. Corbin sighed and extinguished the flame on the lamp.
As Corbin walked out of the room, he was met by the gaze of two others, one who grinned from ear to ear and another who looked displeased.
The man with a scowl stood up and began collecting his belongings, "Is the performance really necessary? That poor merchant looked as if he was going to wet himself on the way out."
The grinning man practically fell off his chair in laughter, "And it never gets old, either!"
Corbin cracked a smile as he always found the younger mans laughter to be infectious. Even the other man fought down a grin.
"Aye, it's a necessary evil. You know this. Every precaution must be exercised for the protection of the circle." said Corbin
The three men gathered their things and left the damp chambers for their home: Darkmoor.
Guild recruitment/interest thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=29157
Go there for Out Of Character comments and questions
