Order of the Vermillion Shroud

The order of the Vermillion Shroud was formed by lord Aurik Huln, in the year 1123, of the common calendar. Originally, they were formed to defend the city of Asheran from incursions from the northern orc tribes, but eventually became a dedicated order of knight-assassins. The order was nearly wiped out when they drew the ire of the knights of the Flaming Sword.

The order was silent for nearly a decade after their founder, Aurik Huln, was killed while riding out against an orcish horde. After his death, lord Hulns' heir mysteriously 'vanished' and with him, the entire line of that line. The order was thrown into disarray, with many claiming that the order had dissolved entirely.

Several generations later, the order returned under the command of Orethin Nevos, calling himself the 'shroud master'. The order was reformed as dangerous warriors, both assassins and knights. However, they no longer fought for the city of Asheran, instead offering their blades to the highest bidder.

History
The order was originally founded in the year 1123, by the lord of Asheran, a city of the Grey Marches. As Asheran was close to the northern border of Morovel, they suffered near constant raids from orc tribes. Aurik Huln, the lord of the city, was a military man, and decided to form a force capable of hindering the orcs, as well as fight in full on combat. Thus, the order of the Vermillion Shroud was formed, with the express intent of crippling or eliminating orcish hordes before they could reach the city.

For several decades, the order under the leadership of lord Huln, countered orcish raiders to devastating effect. For the first time in years, the city was reasonably safe. The order was celebrated as saviours of Asheran and their chapterhouse was built at the heart of the city, a short distance from the Speakers' chambers.

Several years later, lord Huln commissioned a small fort several kilometers away from the city, in the Hierbog forest. Soon after, his entire household relocated to the fort. The order went with them, save for a small garrison that remained in the city chapterhouse. Though some of the people, specifically the more prominent merchants and wealthy nobles, balked at the cost of such a seemingly unnecessary construct. However, these naysayers were quickly overruled by a grateful populace, who realized they would have been overrun by orcs if not for the lord.

By the 14th of Arenhi, in the year 1129, the fort was completed. Situated in a cleared area of the forest, the structure was named fort Huln, in honour of the lord of the same name. It was never once besieged or assaulted by the surviving orc bands that called the forest home. Instead, it was used as a base by Huln and his comrades from which to send out patrols seeking sign of orcs gathering. For several months after the forts' construction, fresh recruits arrived at fort Huln, eager to hunt the green skinned marauders.

Due to the vigilance of the order, the stretch of land around Asheran and particularly the Hierbog forest, was nearly devoid of orc tribes. This lead to a period of prosperity and trade for the nearby city the order had sworn to defend. To celebrate such a reversal in fortunes, the people of Asheran declared that the thirtieth day of Nioran, the anniversary of the orders' founding, was a holiday. People would participate in the Vermillion Parade, dressing in shades of red and assembling the streets for the day.

A shift of fate
However, this good fortune was not to last. With the last of the major orc warbands vanquished some years prior, complacency began to overtake vigilance. Though there is no exact date listed for when the orc hordes began to regain their strength, scholars guess it occurred sometime in the early spring of the year 1134. A massive orc warhorde, almost five thousand strong, descended on the Grey Marches from the north. How or why Asherans' fellow cities failed to alert them of the sudden danger is unknown. Some speculate jealousy on the city's' sudden fortune, some that other parts of the marches were hit equally hard.

Whatever the case, the warhorde, lead by a scarred, hulking brute of an orc, descended on the Hierbog forest, burning whole sections of woodland out of sheer spite. Several brutal engagements were fought in and around the woods, with the order of the Vermillion Shroud taking part in most of them. While the order did win some battles, the orcs were nearly unstoppable, continuing their onslaught no matter how many were felled by the marchwardens, mercenary hosts, or the order.

In only a few weeks, the warhorde had punched their way through every force sent to stop them, eventually arriving at Asheran itself. The siege would not have lasted long. The orcs had the numbers to assault the city within a week, while much of the city's' forces had been spent trying to halt the warhordes' advance. If not for the intervention of lord Huln and his followers, Asheran would have met a grisly fate.

As it was, the decision to ride out from his well provisioned fort would spell death for the lord and salvation for his people. The orcs, so focused on the city itself, had not spared more than a token force to watch for Huln. That force was wiped out when the Vermillion Shroud rode forth, cutting the greenskins apart with reckless abandon.

Huln was no fool- he rallied as many militia, marchwarden, and mercenary forces as he could to his banner before riding for Asheran. It took him two days to assemble a force of nearly five hundred men capable of fighting. They were badly outnumbered by the besieging warhorde, but counting on the singlemindedness of orcs to work in their favour.

At dawn on the seventh day of the siege, the Order arrived at the outskirts of the orcish camp, just as they were commencing their assault on the city. Caught by surprise, the orcs took heavy casualties before rallying around their leader, a massive, scarred chieftain. As the warhorde rallied, the relief force began taking casualties.

Realizing that his forces were close to being wiped out, Aurik Huln challenged the chieftain to single combat. The two drew many eyes as they exchanged blow after blow, neither seeming able to land a fatal strike. Huln was an expert swordsman and wore mastercrafted armour. The chieftain was a hulking mass of muscle, a veteran of a dozen battles. The pair were evenly matched, as much as an orc warlord and human knight could be. Ultimately, the lord commander of the Order struck a fatal blow, felling the chieftain and breaking the morale of the horde. The defenders of Asherin and the warriors of the relief force doubled their efforts, trapping the surprised, demoralised foe between them.

By nightfall, the warhorde had scattered in every direction, but both the Orders' forces and the remnants of the army were too weak to pursue. It was only the next day that lord Aurik Huln was discovered to be missing. His comrades and the people of Asherin scoured the battlefield, but found no sign of the lord. A messenger was quickly dispatched to fort Huln, only to find that the entirety of the lords' family had disappeared.

The shroud descends
Months later, strange things began to happen in and around Hierbog forest. Monsters long since chased from the region began to reappear, as though summoned by something...or someone. The Order of the Vermillion Shroud, still clinging to their oaths to defend the city of Asherin and the surrounding forest, rode out time and time again.

Gradually, their numbers were whittled down, to the point they needed to accept anyone willing to offer their blade to the Order. It was around this time that Orethin Nevos made himself known. Orethin was a master manipulator as well as a master assassin. As soon as he stood before the gates of fort Huln, he declared himself the heir to the Order, and the fort itself, since the disappearance of the lord and his family. Though this stranger was far from trustworthy, the Order was desperate and there was still no sign of Auriks' return. So they opened the gate and sealed their fate.

Heroes to Murderers
The change from heroic defenders of Asherin to murderous assassins was not sudden. Over the years, Orethin quietly shifted the morals of the Orders; members from defending the nearby city, to hunting the leaders of bandit groups that had moved into the area in recent times. Over the course of several years, Otherin suggested that perhaps they be paid for their work. Though originally resistant, many in the Order had to admit that their mysterious leader had a point.

Fort Huln was beginning to fall into disrepair, victim of weather and warfare. Realistically, if they were to keep the fort at combat readiness and funds were in short supply. The few remainder of the old guard, loyal to Aurik Huln, protested such tactics. Gradually, they were given more and more dangerous assignments, until only a handful remained. Several met unfortunate and mysterious ends, prompting the few survivors to flee.

The Order had lost the ideals that lord Huln had held dear when he had first established it. The Order of the Vermillion Shroud became a group of thugs and killers, working for the highest bidder. Sinister figures visited the fort, laden with sacks of coins and departed somewhat lighter. Several days later, a vermillion clad assassin would carry out their bloody work.

The Blazing Sword
While the Order conducted their business generally away from the city of Asherin, the locals were aware that their protectors had gone through a change in allegiance. Bandits and worse harassed travelers and caravans of goods on the roads and in the forest. Hunters that strayed too far from the city were never heard from again. Those few officials that presumed to demand Orethin Nevos honour the old oaths became victims of suspicious accidents, or were found butchered in their homes.

Eventually, the Speaker of Asherin held a council with the nobility of the city and agreed that the Order could not be allowed to continue their activities. The question remained of who could be called upon for aid. The marchwardens were sworn to defend the people of the Grey Marches but they were not equipped to besiege a fort. Local mercenaries were deemed unreliable and none wished to indebt themselves to other cities by calling upon their armed forces.

They were ultimately spared having to use their own depleted garrison, when a traveling band of knights from the Order of the Blazing Sword, drawn by tales of beasts and brigands, arrived in the city.