Knighthood of Utmost Silence

Silent Knight

Lords of Summer p. 102-105
Wyrd	●●●
Court	Winter
Preqs	Stealth ●● Subterfuge ●● Weaponry ● Winter Mantle ●
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Look for the one with the sword, his mouth invisible. Perhaps it's in shadow, or maybe his face is blank except for the alert eyes. He will hide you, protect you. It's his purpose in life -- he's a Knight of Utmost Silence.

All changelings are fugitives, on the run from capricious gods who'd take them back to alien torment. Some of the Lost -- the wrathful, the puissant and the foolish -- dream of fighting the True Fae, telling them with a blade's sting that their reign has ended. The Gentry are not mere monsters, though monstrous they are. They are boundless things, appetite and intelligence combined into a singular mystic gravity that sucks minions and stratagems into mad orbits. An individual can kill an unprepared Loyalist or exile. A strong motley might even rout a cult of servitors. For now, though, the idea of a crusade against the Gentry is pure folly. The best policy is to walk quietly in the world, hiding from Arcadia's attentions, but that doesn't guarantee your freedom forever. When the Gentry's hounds circle, it's time to call a Knight of Utmost Silence.

Mien

Knights arm themselves with blades: Symbols of their calling. In freeholds and other places where open tradition is viable they wear light swords. In public places they prefer sturdy fighting knives, concealed in easy reach of their hands. Knights of Utmost Silence carry other weapons when necessary, but the blade is important to them. It not only symbolizes knighthood itself, but it can be used quietly, swiftly cutting the throats and kidneys of pursuers. Good knives are also multipurpose tools, suited to the many non-combat tasks Knights perform to protect their charges.

Aside from the blade, Knights wear very little that distinguishes them from anyone else. They tend to dress conservatively, behind the latest trends but ahead of anything dated enough to notice. They wear dark colors when they can to help them hide. Deep red, blue and black -- the natural colors of a dimly lit night -- are favorites. Of course, in trendy fashion districts, snow-covered woods or scorching deserts they dress to blend in, discarding their habitual wardrobe. They're reluctant to do anything or go anywhere unarmed or dressed in anything that would hamper their movements. This isn't so much to help them fight but to allow them to run. The order favors flight and ambush over standing their ground and taking enemy steel face to face.

The Knights have a distinctive mien that would seem to defy their subtle role, but most welcome it as an easy way for changelings in need to find them. To anyone who can see their mien, their mouths are invisible. This manifests in any number of ways. Some Knights' miens have no mouths at all. Others are partly concealed in mist and shadow. A few wear a mask or veil that looks like clothing, but is integral to the mien. This in no way restricts a Knight's ability to speak, though it sometimes adds odd features to the voice that are apparent to those who can see the mien.

The Shadowkiss (Privilege)

Once a knight completes his training the Quiet Marshal bestows the first Shadowkiss, welcoming him into the order. He can employ the privilege ever after, concealing friends and charges under its mark.

To use the Shadowkiss, the knight lowers his face to some exposed part of the recipient's body. To mortal eyes, he kisses a hand, a cheek or some other area. But anyone able to see the world of the Lost sees the mouthless part of the knight's mien brush against the spot. The recipient feels searing cold and then numbness: The sensations of frostbite. An imprint of the knight's invisible lips appears as a red, blistering burn mark that will not fade until the privilege's effects wear off.

The knight spends a point of Glamour to seal the kiss, activating its benefit for a day. While it lasts, the Shadowkiss imposes a -3 dice penalty to all attempts to uncover information about the recipient. This is a broad benefit; the penalty applies to everything from attempts to find the beneficiary while she's hiding in the woods to examining her tax records. Subtle twists of fate make an investigator's task more difficult. On a wilderness manhunt, tracking dogs get their noses into wasps' nests and fall down cliffs. In the city, bureaucrats lose records. Bartenders are too busy with attractive customers and brawling drunks to notice the beneficiary's passage. Even the knight is subject to these effects. If a pursuer tortures him, he says vague and mistaken things even if he sincerely intends otherwise. The benefit is indiscriminate, affecting allies and enemies alike.

Once a day passes, the knight can choose to let the benefit end or spend another point of Glamour, extending it for another day. The knight doesn't need to physically renew the Shadowkiss to extend it; he doesn't even need to know where the recipient is. If the knight lets the privilege's benefits lapse for even a moment however, he must kiss the subject again.

Knights of Utmost Silence cannot benefit from the Shadowkiss themselves.

Joining

The Knights believe that one of their own should be able to give himself the new life he promises others. They recruit fugitives, con artists, actors and other people who’ve exchanged old lives for new. These aren’t the most trustworthy folks around, but the knights know that abduction by the Gentry often sparks a perverse redemption. Those who’ve lived their lives as exploiters and deceivers learn what it is to be nothing more than a tool for another creature’s pleasure. The Lost do not reform, per se, but the trauma of being taken makes their old self-indulgence unbearable to contemplate. Still, the old skills itch in them. The Knights of Utmost Silence provide an outlet for these people.

Other changelings often start anew after escaping Arcadia, but the order looks for people who've taken an extra step. If an outcast from one freehold sets up shop in another using a new name, the Knights get interested. This serves a two-fold purpose because rogues who aren't suitable recruits might be a danger to the community. The order circumspectly investigates the potential recruit's character. If local Knights are absolutely sure that he'll obey the rules, they'll quietly let him know that if he wishes they'll let him into their ranks.

In this century, the Knights of Utmost Silence have increasingly scouted for recruits with applicable skills: Bureaucrats, IT experts, private investigators and other people who know how to track, attack and create the information trails that permeate the modern world. There's an increasing attitude that the order should look for these strong skills and then teach inductees anything else they need to know. The old tradition of searching for people who've discarded an old life still applies, but it is no longer the central criterion form membership.

The order has never forgotten its military origins. Members have to be able to fight with a blade. They should be athletic, sneaky and capable of swallowing their fears in the face of danger. Some of the most talented prospects need some severe guidance to get ready for duty. To put not too fine a point on it, a lot of them are cowards. They learned useful skills by running away from something. The Knights want the skills, not the personality problems.