The Ashen Cloth is an organization known primarily as demon hunters. They are said to accept people from all walks of life, as long as they remain free from Abyssal Influence, and are willing to dedicate their lives towards the destruction of demons.
There is a rumor that The Ashen Cloth is not nearly as righteous and pure as some have suggested, however. Remaining free of Abyssal Influence may be an important tenant of the organization, but there are those who claim that The Ashen Cloth seems far too willing to engage with the darker side of things.
The Ashen Cloth has been very successful in demon hunting, and has claimed hundreds upon hundreds of valuable relics from demons slain. Somewhere in Terath there certainly lies a deep vault over-flowing with vast wealth, and truly dangerous items.
This organization is known to associate with Assassins, Grey Hunters, Shadows, and even a few Black Knights. For this reason, and perhaps also as a result of the dark rumors about their scruples, The Ashen Cloth is not known to have many among their number that follow The Path of The Lightwalker
History
There was a time, shortly before the Queen Octavia’s coronation, when the druids of The Arcadian Grove recruited new members from the survivors of a vicious and terrible demonic assault which had slain entire villages. The greed of a powerful local mercenary guild had allowed for the infiltration of abyssal agents, which had opened the door to horrid demonic destruction.
Some of the survivors had been adventurers or mercenary members of the guild responsible, and many of them joined The Arcadian Grove in hopes that they would be able to halt further assaults caused by the insidious greater demon that had already been the architect of so much death and destruction.
Years after the initial demonic assault, The Arcadian Grove had located the Greater Demon’s holdfast within the Abyss and was ready to strike like they never had before, by hunting the demon responsible directly within the Abyss. The druids performed a ceremony much like a living funeral, and sent a large willing team of the recruited survivors through a portal on a one way mission to hunt down the greater demon that had been hatching plans to infiltrate Cyrillia, and destroy her once and for all.
These heroes were not expected to return, and were each given an ashen funeral shroud to remind them that their lives were already lost, and that they should put all fear behind them in the pursuit of this great demon. These heroes were the first among those who would eventually leave The Arcadian Grove to create the organization known as The Ashen Cloth.
Prominent Members
Reshi – The Human known as Reshi was a former citizen of Southwatch, and a close personal friend to the Baron Nesulthe Medeva. He is now a sworn citizen of Haven in service to King Vol, and is said to have survived a number of incredibly dangerous missions into The Abyss. There are hundreds of fanciful stories which describe Reshi’s exploits. Some paint him as a legendary Assassin, other tales claim that he is an Fallen Avothian wearing a human guise, and there are even a few that claim that he is the son and heir of the now deceased Emperor Valerion of Verath.
Israfel – An administrator among The Ashen Cloth, Israfel is little more than a glorified accountant. That said, he is reported to have obtained impressive quantities of Abyssal lore, and is believed to serve as a Quarter Master for members of The Ashen Cloth preparing to undertake dangerous missions.
Lillith – Not much is known about Lillith, save to say that the members of the Ashen Cloth seem to whisper about her with a quiet sense of awe.
