Ghryxaarti

The Ghryxaarti is a secret society which operates in a similar way to the Carpathians, except they have far fewer members and keep themselves hidden away.  The name was taken from an old Malvanian term Ghryxaar, meaning seize or take by force.

Ghryxaarti Headquarters is located deep underground in a cave system beneath the inhospitable Frostmoor region of Northern Malvania.  There are subsidiary Ghryxaarti cells elsewhere on mainland Malvania and a few on the remote islands.

 

 

There are seven Fraktor Houses — Ayzveeni, Khruustyn, Luurmyd, Nevoryl, Pyndaari, Tzetzwaari and Zylaaznyk.  The residential area of the subterranean base is shaped like a heptagon.  Each Fraktor House residence is a triangular wedge, like a slice of pie, divided from its neighbour by tunnels.  Only members of that House may enter.  There is no obvious entry point but members are taught how to gain entry to the House.  For non-adepts, this is done via their identity tokens which bear their genetic imprints.  For those with sorcery powers, they learn to manipulate the rock via the personal alchemy process.

 

Each new recruit is assigned to one of them, keeping the number of members in each Fraktor equal as far as possible.  Given names are abandoned in favour of code-names, for example — Pyndaari 424, Nevoryl 196.  A member of the Ghryxaarti is known as a Ghryxaartus.

 

Within the Ghryxaarti organisational structure there are three career paths.  Field operatives are known as Interveners.  Desk-bound administrators are known as Invigilators.  Those who deal with the maintenance of the base and those who grow and prepare food, make clothing and other essentials are known as Artisans.  Each path has its own Committee which deals with all matters relating to training, employment and personal well-being of those who belong to that specific path.  Committee members are elected every seven years.

Trainees have to learn disciplines covered by all three career paths.  On reaching the age of sixteen, their tutors and the Committees help them decide which career path and specific job role suits them best.  In the case of recruits who join as adults, they undergo a probationary period of a year, during which they try out various job roles according to the skills and experience they gained prior to being recruited.  They then choose a role based on their talents and preferences.

All Ghryxaarti are required to wear pale grey silk robes and bind their faces with layers of enchanted gauze veils known as tryllerii.  The tryllerii endow basic personal alchemy abilities and can also have the effect of a perception-altering spell.  The veils have to be wrapped around the head and shoulders in a specific manner.  No outsider ever sees the true face of a Ghryxaartus.  Tryllerii are only removed for bathing or in the privacy of the Fraktor residences.

 

 

No-one has ever seen the true face of Aklyzyt Brydryn, the Founder of the Ghryxaarti.  He always keeps his veil on.  New recruits get to meet him and the face they see is part of their initiation.  Each recruit sees a different face.  Aklyzyt is the only Ghryxaartus who doesn’t belong to any Fraktor House nor use any Fraktor name.  The reason for this is to maintain his absolute neutrality.  To each recruit he tells the story of how he came to found the Order.  He has lived many different lifetimes over millennia.  In his current lifetime, he was born to a prostitute and left in an orphanage with nothing but the name she gave him.  He grew up with nothing and wanted everything.  Throughout his many lifetimes, he has pursued various career paths — first in a Vyrdigaan enclave.  He also served as a priest in the Order of Malvanis.  In addition, he was a member of the Silent Order of Thieves.  He took what he learned from each institution and created his own Order.  Malcontents from each of his former callings joined him and helped him.  After that, they recruited orphans and runaways, training them and helping them make career choices.

The Founder and the Committees are keen to have sorcerers as operatives but will take on any recruit who agrees to their conditions, signs their contract and swears an oath of allegiance.

The Ghryxaarti don’t recognise marriage or traditional family groupings.  Members who procreate are allowed to bring their children up in their Fraktor residences.  Children born into the Ghryxaarti are educated in the same way as those recruited from the outside.

In order to keep their existence secret, anyone who is offered membership but declines to join has their memory altered to make them forget that the Ghryxaarti exist.

The Ghryxaarti has an unofficial alliance with the Vyrdigaan Order and the Sacred Circle of Chronomages.  They work to maintain the balance of power within the Fenian Galaxy.