Organizations · Criminal/Espionage · Regional
Curalon Hestaris
The principal axiom of the Curalon Hestaris, and the basis of all its teachings, is this: "Inhale. Kill. Exhale."
Curalon Hestaris
The Curalon Hestaris, the infamous Brotherhood of Sinners, is an ancient school-guild of warriors, founded, among many other such guilds, during the years between the fall of the Ancients and the rise of the modern Agera kingdoms.
Originally, the Curalon Hestaris was founded by Witiza the Black, the legendary Bloody-Handed Blademaster, Murderer of a Thousand Warriors, Slayer of Kings. Witiza was an Ageran warrior, trained by swordmasters of the Ancients, who was one of the primary terrors of the Bloody Age (Many Ageran folktales and legends remember him as a primary foe of their culture heroes). Witiza led his band of slayers for more than 50 years before he suddenly, mysteriously, slew them all.
Having done so, Witiza formed the Brotherhood of Sinners, gathering notorious criminals, bandits, and warriors from all across Bloody Age Ageratos. All, including Witiza, took an oath before the Dread God Angra that they would become the greatest warriors of all Time, reciting the Oath of Sinners and Swords, still the principal oath of the Curalon Hestaris:
"Before Angra Blackheart,
the Lord of Fury, fire-eyed,
I do swear that I am
The Sword That Drips Blood
The Foe-Slayer
The Flesh-Render
The Heart-Ripper
I do swear that
None shall defeat me in single combat
None shall overmatch me in soldiery
None shall see me beg, fall, or fear
And when Death comes
I shall smile."
The principal axiom of the Curalon Hestaris, and the basis of all its teachings, is this:
"Inhale. Kill. Exhale."
Disciples of the warrior-religion of the Brotherhood, called Hestari (Sinners), Swordmasters, or simply Swords, are the finest single warriors in all of Ageratos. None can match their skill, reflexes like lightning, dexterity like cats, courage and ferocity like madmen, strength like bears, and the fanaticism of their insane sword-worship. They compose poems to their knives, and prayers to their swords, and they write their own death-songs; they are feared for their singular technique, the Blade of Fury. The mysticism of the Curalon Hestaris is powerful indeed, even drawing upon magic (called Weirding by the Hestari) to an extent. Many Hestari have been seen striking without moving a muscle, and healing the most grievous wounds without ointment or prayer.
Hestari hire themselves out as mercenaries to the highest bidder. Many wars between kings have been one simply due to the timely hiring of Hestari warriors.
Hestari take on all comers who seek to join their brotherhood, but they make no promises of survival. Only the most hardened make it through the horrific weeding processes of the Brotherhood of Sinners. The Curalon Hestaris also purchase orphans and slave-children for their Brotherhood; many orphanages actually prefer to adopt their children into the Curalon Hestaris, for the Swords pay very well.
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Not just another set of killers. These have personality.
CaptainPenguin! No one is his superior, no one is his equal!
Inhale. Kill. Exhale
Assassins with class.
They are assassins in the sense that they kill people for money. They are NOT assassins in the sense of climbing into windows and knifing you like some jackass ninja-clone. They are classic assassins, who quietly chop the shit out of you in the street and vanish into the crowd.
I loved this when i originally saw this. On permission from CP I altered it some to fit my own world and I love its dark nature and tendancies it became at my twisted hands. I love it.
Intense!
Bump! Bump! Bumpety, bump!
Artistically done. I like the literary aspect of the write up.
We have a cult of fanatical religious warrior. Their origins seems a bit mythic, mostly likely an attempt at subterfuge really, to eliminate the real history.
Really not assassins, but more of a violent cult.
Agreed - really good!
I love the name. When he first wrote it I stared upon it for a minute or so and began vocalizing it in various forms. I prefer to use a sharp european R as opposed to the thick R used in the US. When I pronounce it in my native tongue the name is really awesome. Kurah-lohn Hess-taris.
Yeah, it's not as amazing if you just give it an American pronunciation, because the R sound is all thick and makes it sound like 'kuhr-uh-lawn hess-tahr-iss', which is okay, but I like to try and make it sound very Greek, heheh.
Vote updated upon reflection. This is a sub that haunts me. It is the one sub that has made an everlasting impression.
Curalon Hestaris...
LOVE THE NAME.
Oh, and by the way: The oath reminds me of Beowulf as depicted by Ray Winstone in Beowulf:
"I am the ripper, tearer, slasher... I am the teeth in the darkness... Mine is strength and lust and power... I AM BEOWULF!"
Sweet mother of greatness. You are good, CP!
I only read this because I thought the name looked a lot like 'Charlton Heston' but was pleasantly surprised by what I found inside. Mulling it over, the name is indeed nice, but the writing is even more delicious with its bits of flavorful trim. I really love the Oath, the way it is worded is enough to strike fear into the hearts of the most stalwart PCs. Great job!
A memorable name and memorable brotherhood, perfect to add a bit of depth and surprose to a generic fantasy setting.