| Category | Orders | ||||||||
| Region | Ma'Ohari | ||||||||
| Headquarters | Leza-Sîk | ||||||||
| Size | 10,000+ | ||||||||
| Races |
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| Alignments | good | ||||||||
| Deities | Phalgas | ||||||||
| Symbol | gleaming silver crossed halberd and staff | ||||||||
| Enemies | Blood Cults of Kezgihr | ||||||||
| Established | 7 Bloom 618 LE |
Radiant Cross is an ancient order. The order is led by a grand master having the title Radiant Master. In the Lith-Crillion Era, the order was established by a Tragaran group out of Tilnangau. They were holy fighters, all devout worshipers of Phalgas. When Varelay pushed them to live underground, the now several hundred members of the Radiant Cross took to guerrilla warfare against the demons running amok in Ma'Ohari. They created a branch of holy assassins to take down enemy leaders. On one mission, they took out most of the top brass and and thinkers at Drachlaz. The side effect of this mission was the release of a couple dozen vampires from the city's prison. These vampires would become a problem for Varelay, later the Radiant Cross and many others that would come to call Ma'Ohari home.
In 911 HE, Radiant Cross convinced the leaders of Smizerak to take the fight to the vampires of the Blood Triangle. The vampires of this area had preyed on the people of Smizerak for three centuries. They were now staging raids so large that villages were being wiped out and entire patrols lost. Smizerak detached funding and 15,000 soldiers for this mission. This mission became the First Merioss Crusade. The soldiers of Smizerak and those of the Radiant Cross were split into detachments, with each led by someone from the Radiant Cross. The largest group was headed by Radiant Master Licuiluin. Initially the dwarves were skeptical of being led by a satyr, this changed when they saw him take down vampires and other powerful foes. His dwarven contingents came to love and respect him like none other. One of the common sayings that came from his leadership is that when faced with an important decision, one might say "What would Licuiluin do?"
In 920 HE, the First Merioss Crusade ended. One of the trophies of this war was the Pyre Mug. This item was handed down through the ages, passing to each Radiant Master. It was used in the rituals of anointment for promoting those to the highest echelons of leadership.
The organization's racial diversity has come about from the fallen empires of Karterus. Oftentimes, the order would take in refugees from crumbling empires or other beleaguered peoples. They would be protected and guarded to as far as the coasts but with the understanding that some must stay on and serve the ancient principles of guardianship, putting down evil, instilling order and hope in the beleaguered, and leading when none others will. For many families, this was a blessing since it was likely they may not survive the journey ahead.
In the Horgon Era, the guild was mostly populated by fey and dwarves hailing from Smizerak. Most of the dwarves in the Radiant Cross are from families that have stayed on with the order for thousands of years. One of the rules of Radiant Cross is that all members of the family are required to be in the order. They must go through trials of initiation, which have a 15% mortality rate for those under adult age. As a result of this, the dwarven lot of the order are a proud group which have come to believe that the tests of strength they must undergo at a young age weeds out the weak leaving only the strongest to carry the light of Phalgas.
In the waning years of the First Epoch, Tragarans were fleeing Gulimbor in what came to be known as the Great Exodus (998 - 1017). There numbers greatly added to the size of the guild and shifted them into the position of being the largest racial group. The shift in racial make-up has led to the order taking a different path against the forces of evil. They actively seek out evil in lands far from Ma'Ohari. The vast wealth of the guild, built up over many eras, led to them buying land from Ren-Jorusk and then constructing a fortified citadel and harbor. As part of the land deal, Radiant Cross and the Pirate Lords have forged treaties to keep pirating and conflict between them to a minimum. Radiant Cross sees the treaties as a necessary evil given that having a coastal port allows them to push operations against the Black Tide and the other evils of Midrêth and beyond.
In the Third Epoch, the fall of the Torgilm Confederacy (1475 - 1719) brought several hundred minotaurs into the order's ranks. They took the oath, becoming a Sentinels of the Radiant Cross.