Unveiling the Vladaam Saga - Episode 14B: Secrets Revealed Behind Closed Doors
In the realm of the Whitewind Sea, a clandestine organization known as the Brotherhood of Yrkyth continues to operate in the shadows, weaving together the tapestry of arcane knowledge, exploration, and advanced magical technologies. This enigmatic group, closely linked with the Red Company of Surveyors and the Fleet of Iron Sails, has played a pivotal role in the Vladaam family's success and the wider region's development.
The Brotherhood's origins can be traced back to the time of Yrkyth Vladaam, a visionary leader who spearheaded expeditions and innovations that expanded trade and exploration, particularly through detailed mapping of the Teeth of Light island chain. The Red Company's mapmaking prowess is part of the Brotherhood's legacy, and their symbol—diamond-feather badges featuring four quills arranged in a diamond pattern—reflect this heritage as well as deeper meanings within the Brotherhood itself.
Following Yrkyth's mysterious disappearance in 651 IA, the Brotherhood retreated further into secrecy. Despite its strong ties to the Vladaam family, none of the family members are currently Brotherhood members, making the Brotherhood a "secret within a secret." The group selectively transmits arcane and strategic information to the Vladaam family to assist them, such as facilitating alliances with the dark dwarves of Catar, who contribute their alchemical expertise to the family’s benefit.
The Brotherhood's inner sanctum, hidden from prying eyes, is a chamber adorned with polished obsidian walls, floor, and ceiling. Within the darkness, three eggs—two blue eggs and one red egg—lie waiting for the initiate who will undergo the Brotherhood's symbolic tests and rituals. The chamber is equipped with a table and chairs that rise from the living stone of the floor when a command phrase is spoken, a small writing station with various inks and tattooing instruments, and six wands laid out on a table in the center of the room, representing magic missiles, invisibility, darkness, magic missiles, false life, and enlarge person.
The initiation ritual requires the prospective member to break one of the wands during the ceremony, symbolizing their dominion over arcane lore and contempt for power. They must also kneel upon the Sign of the Brotherhood before the Black Reveler and swear the Oath of the Brotherhood of Yrkyth. An arcane sigil glows with an intense light when viewed and requires a DC 24 skill check or a prestidigitation spell to copy onto one's body during the initiation ritual.
The Brotherhood's most guarded secret—the plans for the Enigma Engine—remain safeguarded within their inner sanctum. A three-tiered dais holds a strange apparatus and a crystalline slab that emits a blue-hued radiation. The crystalline slab is a tablet formed from a white mineral that is always cold to the touch and bears two columns of angular sigils. A compartment hidden in the promontory of black rock contains the Enigma Engine Lore.
The chamber's entrance is blocked by a wall of fire, but anyone bearing the sigil from Area 6C can pass through it freely. Beyond the pillars in the southern end of the chamber, there is magical darkness. A mounted body of a feathered monstrosity is present on the wall, but it is a constructed fake.
The Brotherhood of Yrkyth remains a secretive organization that supports the Vladaam family through exploration, magical innovation, and covert knowledge exchange, while maintaining strict secrecy and internal rites to reinforce its exclusivity and authority.
- The Brotherhood of Yrkyth, originally founded during Yrkyth Vladaam's rein, has expanded the Vladaam family's knowledge in fields such as science, medical-conditions, space-and-astronomy, and technology, often through hidden alliances and strategic information transfers.
- In the Brotherhood's inner sanctum, the Enigma Engine plans are securely stored, a testament to their commitment to advancing technology and scientific exploration.
