Marked Men
School of the Ouroboros
The School of the Ouroboros, the original Marked Men, came into being when the White Rose was facing increasing supernatural resistance while advancing deeper into Elven territory. The elite caste of warrior-monks was to defend the soldiers from the monsters which inhabited the wild. As a result of the painful and dangerous training, young Marked Men gained excellent perception and tracking abilities, rivaling even that of Elven rangers. With the help of sorcerers some learned to utilize simple combat spells as well as powerful potions that augmented their fighting skills. Due to the history of the order, much of the code is based off of the church's values of purity, hence the rule of celibacy.
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Exodus, return and present day
The Exodus placed the Marked in an odd position, the Rose had been disbanded as the men took to Aeldin and the group had simply become an Imperial Organization. The Master of the Guild was given a spot on the Privy Council and was considered the ‘Go to’ for matters of the unknown. For years, the group expanded and various splinter organizations began to spring up, thus resulting in an internal power struggle, eventually eradicating 654 of the remaining 712 members, only 32 of which were considered field effective and were of age for Imperial services. Given Order by the Imperial Council, the Headmaster returned to lands of Old and made way for Imperial Return. A few years in, most of the Marked returned to the Anthos, carrying news of the Organization’s falling. The Isle that had housed the Marked was a breeding ground for many abominations and the location was an intentional training ground. Unknown to them, it had also housed a large Silver Drake, considered dormant by the locals. For reasons unknown, the Drake not only became active, it seemed to actively assault the strong points held by Imperial forces along the isle and within surrounding lands, burning all of the knowledge the Marked had gathered over the years.
In full retreat, many of the Marked fled the isle, returning to lands of Athera and hoping to establish themselves once more. Once there, the number of surviving members was greatly diminished due to pogroms which were fueled by superstition as a result of the description of the Marked written by an anonymous author. This cost the lives of many of the initiates and mages among the group, because of this, only four remained. The school of the Ouroboros is currently disbanded, with many heading back to Aeldin in order to work with the Hexicanum while others stayed in Anthos and are working with the Stag.
The Hexicanum of Aeldin
The Hexicanum was formed by "The Sparrow" after the Exodus in order to organise and strengthen the normally fragmented nature of Hunters in the realm of Aeldin and to help cull the population of Monsters, which had surged shortly before the Exodus occured. In the present it is considered the largest and most influential of the Marked Schools. The Hexicanum houses approximately seven hundred members and in the winter months approximately two thousand. The Hexicanum holds many secrets to potion making and keeps many of the original tomes written by the ancient Men of the Mark, because of this, other Marked Schools answer directly to the Hexicanum and rely on it for necessities such as training, equipment and knowledge. The school was raided in the past by a number of mercenaries who aimed to gather the secrets to the Marked way of combat in order to sell them to an Order of Knights, the crisis ended in the death of a Grandmaster, solidifying many prejudices regular men of Aeldin have against Marked Men.
The School of the Stag
The Stag being one of the latest schools of the three follows within the actions taken by the one they call “The White Wolf." Its master, Coren Isil, leads them by example as a school created to bolster their numbers and spread the ideals of the Marked within the realm of Athera. Within the lush and untamed woods of Flotsam their school exists, taking in those who wish to become one with the Marked. The students of the Stag are represented by Stag medallions which can be acquired through the same trials taken by those from the Ouroboros and Hexicanum.
Marked Schools
The Hexicanum of Aeldin
The School of the Ouroboros
The School of the Stag
The Code
The four survivors of the Ouroboros school created a strict code of ethics modeled off of the Knights', both for the preservation of the Marked traditions as well as to ensure the group is never targeted again. The code was adopted by the Hexicanum and is now followed in every Marked School.
-Steel for men, Aurum for monsters-
-Never to marry.-
-Never to produce offspring.-
-Never to ascend beyond the status of a commoner.-
-To remain loyal to the code.-
-To remain neutral when possible.-
-To not fight in a war between men.-
-To not solve with swords what can be solved with words-
-To protect the mundane and innocent.-
-To persevere to the end in any endeavor begun.-
-To slay those who refuse payment.-
-To defend your life when it is threatened.-
-To take responsibility for personal actions.-
-To not choose between a lesser or greater evil.-
Notable Marked Men
Alexei Nicodemus †
Dagmer Volsung
Troen Venta
Temp Thersist †
Zacarias Mosquera †
Notable people trained by Marked Men
Jason Clamedeus Robert Chivay †
