The Unaligned

Wisdom transcends good and evil. In this world, there are black-hearted villains who rule over a joyous peasantry that gives a blessing for each day spent on Morus. There are pious, clean-hearted souls that damn their people to starvation and suffering for the sake of their ideals. What is right and what is just is not always what is good - the principles and morality so often found amongst mankind are flawed because they are deeply and inherently mortal.

As mortals, we are chained to our emotions - our instincts and our intuitions. Because we cannot escape them, we build our morality around them. We have come to believe that actions done with a good heart, and for a just cause, can never come to evil. But this is not true. We weave these tapestries of deception because, in truth, we are too weak to see that improving the world is not as simple as having a good heart and a noble cause. True good requires wisdom and planning. It requires time and effort; it requires schemes that do not die within the span of a single human life time, but which persist beyond generations. Sometimes it requires for actions which seem unjust, even abhorrent, for the greater good.

This is the ethos of the Unaligned; the ethos of wisdom, so often maligned and misunderstood in this world of mortal concerns. Their end goal is freedom, a peaceful life and a fair society for every person, and there is no course they will not consider to get it.

The Order

Individual members of the order call each other "Friend". The structure of the Unaligned is extremely disorganised, almost nonexistent - this is their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. They do not cultivate territory or attempt to amass power; they are simply a network of Friends, working to create a better world. A large number of them are not skilled in the violent arts at all, and simply serve as agents and spies that know only what they need to, no more.

These "lay Friends" make up the largest part of Unaligned membership. They are innkeepers, hunters, rogues and fences, living normal lives - and constantly observing all that goes on around them. They often know little more than they need to - a special word to say to those who pass them by, so they may recognise and report to other Friends. They live out their day-to-day lives no differently from anyone else. If they have an assigned task, they will do it in such a way that does not draw attention or suspicion to themselves. If they don't, they will simply observe those who pass them by, spy on those that seem of particular interest, and compile their dossier for the next time a wandering Friend passes through with the right code word.

The "wandering Friends" are usually adventuring types, although they may be courtiers, wandering minstrels, and similar such people who can travel freely without arousing too much suspicion. These agents, operating alone or in small groups, take on the brunt of the risk and danger; they are the ones who attempt to infiltrate courts, perform assassinations, guide the course of events, and whatever else may be required of them. Just how secretive they are depends entirely on the situation; in some places, they may exercise the utmost cautioun, operating entirely alone and acting, for all intents and purposes, as a lone wolf adventurer.

Less hostile areas, however, have better connections. Large cities and other nexi often have places that are known to be Unaligned meeting places. Likewise, a Friend who is looking for assistance with a task might leave a message with a well-connected lay operative, who can hold onto the message until another member comes along. Likewise, other established places - dead drops, places of historical significance to the Unaligned, and so on - can all provide a Friend with a way to link up with the rest of the organisation.