Tara Harkon's ReportThe following information been gathered over the past year or so through talking to people, gathering documents and some use of seer magic. Not all of this information has been confirmed, but I at least consider my sources to be trustworthy. If anyone has any information to add, I would appreciate it.Founding The Black Star Guild was founded by Rosetta, one of the counselors to Queen Mab. They were originally his students of magic. They wore his personal symbol, a black star, to show that they were his and under his protection. During the First Age, they were sworn to the defense of Faerie and its queen. Rosetta was very much in love with Queen Mab, as was everyone except Titania. His original students appear to bare the same names as the runes used to work the magic and it is very possible that these Fae fueled the runes. At this point in time, there were no mortal members of the Guild. Their Part in the Purging During the night of the Purging, several members of the Guild were known to have been helping to let the Furies and others into the ball. They were acting under orders from their master. Rosetta made an unknown deal with Oberon, or was perhaps manipulated, and agreed to help with the downfall of King Cuchullain. It isn't currently known just how much Rosetta knew about what was going to happen. Many members of the Guild were cut down by the forces they were helping, though it is not known if they died to Wayland blades or if they are still in the Cycle. Loss of their Leader After the Purging, Rosetta was betrayed by Oberon. Rosetta had not wanted any harm to befall his queen but Oberon had allowed her to be killed. Most likely, having realized what Oberon had made him do, he tried to fix it and get her back. Oberon, in return, ordered one of his men, an elf named Harkon, to seal Rosetta in the Mists of Forgetfulness and kill the students. Harkon led his men in both the ritual to seal away Rosetta and in a campaign across Faerie to wipe out the Black Star Guild. Several members of the Guild escaped into the mortal realms. Harkon went on to found the House Harkon. During the Reign of Oberon It seems that during the reign of Oberon and Titania that the Black Star Guild traded their knowledge of magic for food and supplies to live among mortals. This new generation of Black Star mages was taught that their true master, the master of the runes, had been locked away by the Faerie King and that they should do everything to remove him from power to get their master back. Several attempts were made involving the summoning of monsters to be unleashed in Faerie. Most of these attempts resulted merely in the death of a sect of mages. During a gathering known as What Fools These Mortals Be, the seven Wayland blades were brought together, an act orchestrated by the Black Star Guild, and the Furies were released into the worlds again. They also attempted the summoning of the Bandersnatch, which slaughtered the mages who summoned it and had to be dispatched by the then heroes of the Realms. The Black Star Guild was also responsible for the Cup of Mists from which Titania drank the soul of Oberon and many other Fae, driving her insane. Current Guild The current Black Star Guild is more actively attempting to get their master back than ever before. As memories of the First Age resurface thanks to the restoration of the true king, their power grows and their memories of what happened to their master clarify, slightly. They seem to be acting under the belief that their master and founder was a human mage who was sealed away by the Faeries. In this belief, they seek to bring an end to the Harkon line to bring down the seal holding their master in the Mists. They are actively hunting all Harkons. Lord Sardath and Lady Alana Harkon have both been cycled, quite probably by the Guild though this hasn't been confirmed. They are currently in Faerie as goblins, though Alana seems to at least remember her children. The locations of the children will not be mentioned in this document. The Black Star Guild also believes that Faeries are much like the Bois in that they are trying to make all people like themselves and make the mortal realms a part of Faerie, the only difference being speed and method. They site the number of mortal adventurers turned Fae in recent years. However they neglect to mention the Fae who have turned mortal or lost something of themselves from time in the mortal realms. They also site Oberon's "goblin generators" used in Rhiassa during the beginning of the war. Based on conversations with Rosetta, the Guild is very much in error in their belief that ending the Harkons is the best way to release him. He is very much against their actions, and their ways of using his power. On several occasions, he has directly protected people from the Black Star Guild. Since they do not remember the roots of their Guild and their power, they are grossly misusing it, to the point of even trying to mimic Wayland magic with it. In regards to their attempts at Wayland magic, it does not work properly. While the feeling and effect appear to be the same, the Fae targeted is sent to Agrah'blahn instead of Bedlam. While Agrah'blahn is a less than pleasant place, your odds of getting out seem a lot better than your odds of getting out of Bedlam. In addition to practicing runic magic, the members of the Black Star Guild practice what we consider to be normal magic. Many of them specialize in abjury or channeling to contain and defend themselves from the creatures they summon. This also makes them quite capable at fighting against any enchanted being. There are also many who are regionalists, using the magic of the land. Given their interest in Wayland magic and hatred of the Fae, this is worrying, though not as worrying as it could be since they would have to risk getting Puck's attention. They also prefer to command the magics they wield rather than to accept power from another source. Because Wayland magics already have a master, they are merely attempting to mimic his magic. Some members of the Guild have been seen to Second Chance, leaving the possibility that they have Seers. It is equally possible that they have Second Chance merely as a way out if whatever they're working on goes south. They also have been seen more recently to have the ability to resist death. This makes sense, since protective magics would serve them well in defending against the creatures they summon. There are five sects of the Black Star Guild, one for each of the counselors. The sects are space and fire, or The Circle, fire and earth, earth and water, or The Hammer, water and sky, or The Shield, and sky and space. At the current time, we do not know the proper names for the sects of space and sky and fire and earth. In all likelihood, the members of these sects do not realize their connections to the Counselors of Faerie. The Shield runs a school known as the Blue Shield Academy which is a feeder school for the Black Star Guild. They also use the building for experiments including their attempts to "cure" Fae. There are Fae whose ears have been cut to look like those of humans and who force themselves to hold cold iron and fae stones despite the pain because they believe they have been cured and are no longer Fae. The Fae who were in the school when a group of adventurers went there have been released and their current location is unknown. People wearing the heraldry of the Blue Shield Academy have also attacked several of the Harkon children. These particular agents also wore the favor of the Chimeron Militia. It is currently unknown whether the favors on them are meant to mislead us, whether they have somehow infiltrated the militia or if they were members of the militia who they joined the Black Star Guild. While there is currently very little information on the individual sects themselves, it must be noted that members of The Hammer don't seem to be as heavily involved in the magic. The reason for this is currently unknown. The sect known as the Circle is the lead sect and has the ability to call for the deaths of dissenting members of all the sects. The Shield are the highly militant sect who have been seen most frequently and have been known to attempt to wield Wayland magics. During the Feast of Chimeron of the year 1009, a bandersnatch was summoned by the Black Star Guild. This Bandersnatch has been seen again since then. According to Magus Zeek McKyre, the way to kill a bandersnatch is to stab it in the vulnerable stomach, however this requires getting past its very deadly claws. Also according to Magus Zeek McKyre, there may be a second bandersnatch on the loose from his attempt to steal the hide of the existing bandersnatch to use as a cloak. The bandersnatch was seen again during the Black and White of the year 1009. It is unclear which of the two it was. I was told by Gryf that he once killed a bandersnatch by beheading it with a special sword. It start with a G. I cannot remember the name as it was rather odd. He also mentioned a poem in the Library of Fae, but as it is currently surrounded by the Mists of Forgetfulness and there is no currently known Duke of Knowledge, then we will not be seeing that poem any time soon. Black Star Guild Magic Over the years, the sort of magic wielded by the Black Star Guild along with the normal magics of the mortal realms has changed. Some reports of guild members during the reign of Oberon refer to them using a form of number magic. The current guild wields magic reported to have been created during the First Age by Rosetta. This magic is comprised of runes that can be combined to form effects. These effects range from recreating the spells that are normally found in the mortal realms all the way to transmutation. One of the major risks to the use of the runes is that they have something inherently involved in them called "paradox". This effect occurs when the runes are combined in ways that don't produce an effect. Also, "paradox" cannot be removed through use of the runes. |
Sa-Lin's DiaryCreated by Tara Harkon (Hillary Fotino) at 03-05-10 07:59 PM
Last Modified by Tara Harkon (Hillary Fotino) at 03-05-10 07:59 PM