Order of the Gatekeeper

Order of the Gatekeeper

Overview

The Order of the Gatekeeper is an insidious, theocratic organization rooted in the ancient death rites of the Kingdom of Leann. They claim dominion over the threshold between life and death, wielding spiritual authority and necromantic control over who may die, stay dead, or return.

Simultaneously revered and feared, they are the final arbiters of mortality. No resurrection, no burial, and no communion with the dead may occur without their permission. Their symbol the hourglass marks both divine passage and absolute control.

Origins & Doctrine

Founded during the twilight of Leann’s first magical age, the Order was born to control the rampant use of necromancy. It preaches that death is not an end, but a sacred transition that must be ordained and controlled. To defy this process is heresy.

Key tenets of their doctrine:

• Death is sacred: a divine crossing, not to be tampered with without their blessing.
• Return must be earned: resurrection, undeath, or ghostly existence without sanction is punished.
• Time is truth: they interpret cosmic omens to guide when and how death must occur.

They claim to "keep the balance" but critics argue they twist death for power and political manipulation.

Structure & Ranks

High Warden

• The immortal or semi immortal leader.
• Said to commune with the godly Gatekeeper of the gates to the afterlife.
• Cloaked in clothborne plate, eternally veiled.

Deathwardens

• Paladins and clerics trained in both necromancy and divine law.
• Enforcers of death’s rites and punishers of forbidden resurrection.
• Lead grave cleansing operations and oversee sanctioned passings.

Soulbound Acolytes

• Initiates cloaked in ash grey robes.
• Keep birth and death ledgers.
• Train in ritual preparation and spiritual suppression.

The Retinue

Each knight or Deathwarden is supported by:

• 2 Squires: Trained in martial discipline from age 14 (2 AR equipped with chainmail, large steel shields, longswords, lances, light crossbows, and light warhorses.
• 3 Men-at-Arms: Glaives, bastard swords, chainmail, heavy crossbows; serve as frontline enforcers.
• 1 Page Archer: Begins training at age 7 (1 AR), focusing on observation and archery.

Equipment varies by status:

• Poor knights: Chainmail, scale barding, heavy lance, longsword, large steel shield.
• Wealthy knights: Splint barding, full plate.
• High ranking members: Clothborne armor, arcane items, sacred relics.

Code of the Gatekeeper

1. No soul shall rise unbidden: Unauthorized resurrection or undeath must be eradicated.
2. Shield your brethren: Protect fellow Gatekeepers at all cost.
3. Die for Leann: A holy death in service is the highest offering.
4. Never flee from titan spawn: These enemies of gods and land must be faced, even unto death.
5. Obey the law: Internal laws and decrees of the Order are divine commands.
6. Honor your liege: Loyalty to the High Gatekeeper and local convents is paramount.

Ritual and Enforcement: “Cleansing of the Graves”

Every year, on the Winter Equinox, the Order dispatches its Deathwardens to perform the Cleansing of the Graves, a grim ritual to make room in sacred graveyards by purging old spirits and remains, regardless of emotional ties or family resistance.

Controversies & Criticism

Though they call themselves guardians of divine balance, their reputation is increasingly tainted:

• Coerced Death: Peasants, political dissenters, and “impure” souls are sometimes “euthanized” for balance.
• Enslaved Undead: Hidden tombs are rumored to house tortured spirits, bound into undead servitude.
• Control over Social Mobility: Through death registries and permitted resurrection, they decide who rises , literally and socially.
• Disobeying the law: Necromacy is forbidden in Leann, with as sanction death. The Order of the Gatekeeper hunts necromancers except in Drangsnes, the only barony where necromancy is allowed under strict control. But they decide about and use resurrection spells and rituals, so according to some the Order is necromantic at its core.

Their enforcement of death rites is absolute in Leann’s matriarchal councils and even feared by draconic druids.

Cultural Impact

To defy the Gatekeeper is to risk annihilation.

Yet rumors grow.

Whispers of dragons turning their gaze away. Of spirits rising on their own. Of heroes returned outside the Order’s will.

And of a Golden Bloom foretold to end the Gatekeeper’s grip forever.

Rooted in controversial principles, the Order of the Gatekeeper thrives on the intersection of religion, necromancy, and social control. Its every ceremony a balance of faith and fear.