| Type | Unofficial community organization |
|---|---|
| Government | Church of the Silent Star // The Watchers |
| Inhabiting Race | Human |
Let no power go unseen. Let no danger go unchecked.
The Veilwatch is a reasonably well-known and polarizing organization in the city of Galik that fights and preaches against the use of magic. A hybrid of watchdog, hit squad, and moral ministry, they imprison, exile, or execute magic users under the justification of protecting Galik. Officially, all of their targets are "dangerous, unstable, or corrupt." In practice, however, their definition of dangerous is pretty subjective. Behind closed doors, Veilwatch agents become tools for politicians who need a rival silenced, but want moral cover. The Veilwatch never admits to murder, but instead labels it as "cleansing," "containment," or "moral protection."
The Veilwatch is an organization that has two sides - community and military. The community side of the organization, titled The Church of the Silent Star, is how funding gets procured: donations, fundraising events, membership fees. Often times, community members are sent to downtown Galik to hand out tracts or hang out at a pub to convince others to join the organization. The military operation side hosts training camps, expeditions, and assignments. Ranks are set to enforce rules and hierarchy for the "watchers."
Founded by Luthien Veer, a former scribe, the Veilwatch has several brick and mortar locations across the suburbs of Galik and one location in downtown that serves as their headquarters.
About[edit | edit source]
Although it is a well known organization, the Veilwatch is not an officially recognized guild by the city of Galik. They advertise primarily in Galik's middle-class districts--neighborhoods, family temples, and community forums. Their funding comes from their community outreach and donations from members, including teachers, trade officials, farmers, and shopkeepers. Their traction in the community is built mostly off of fear-mongering. The organization has several programs for kids and young adults to be exposed to their teachings, hoping to inspire them to join the ranks as Watchers.
Many of the missions that Veilwatch send their Watchers out on involve the capture or, occasionally, murder of magic-folk. Veilwatch has several political connections, and is not above taking on missions that hold weight politically in exchange for favors. Of course, Veilwatch always advertises their missions to their members as aligning with their values, but occasionally a mission will be successful that feels extra-beneficial to Veilwatch's political connections.
History[edit | edit source]
The Veilwatch began as a shadow counsel of bureaucrats, scribes, and concerned non-magical citizens within Galik's lower administrative caste. In the wake of several magical incidents that disrupted major trade routs and public performances, most being fallout after The Naga's Glaik of Galik, a group of civic-minded individuals believed that the city's lax rules toward magic would eventually lead to the city's demise. Backed by fearful civilians whose confidence in the city's ability to manage arcane threats, the Veilwatch quickly gained traction with the suburban middle class.
While the Council of Burghers debated reforms, a group of individuals began meeting in private homes and church basements, alarmed by what they saw as society's growing tolerance for unregulated magical power. Their founder, Luthien Veer, a once-respected arcane notary exiled from the Scribes Guild for his extremist views, argued that Galik's leniency was moral decay. He preached not only reform, but purification. His writings framed magic as not just dangerous, but spiritually corrupting. These ideas took hold among Galik's middle-class neighborhoods, arguably due to their disconnect from urban living and susceptibility to fear mongering.
The Church of the Silent Star[edit | edit source]
The Church of the Silent Star is the title of the community side of the Veilwatcher's organization, if you can even call it a church. With the absence of a god, the existence of which would contradict most of their beliefs anyways, their "sermons" are more focused on touting successful missions, rallying the community about news spun to paint magic in bad light, and collecting tithes from the members. The Church of the Silent Star also partners with other, more traditional temples around Ravel as opportunities to outreach to other communities. Their members speak in pulpits as concerned parents, survivors, and civic leaders. The church warns about the "Arcane Drift", a fictional diagnosis blaming magic for social decay.
Their sermons and literature emphasize:
- Magic as addiction
- Mages as manipulative predators
- Enchantment as consent violation
- Sorcery as moral rot passed through bloodlines
These messages are gently folded into community values to create a slow, deep cultural shift in certain Galik wards, where children learn to fear casters and parents compete to be the "most responsible" by reporting neighbors to Veilwatch operatives, also known as the Watchers.
The Watchers[edit | edit source]
The Watchers are the military or enforcement side of the Veilwatcher organization. There are ranks to impose hierarchy and command. Quests are given to members, typically to imprison or assassinate magic users. In order to rank up, missions must be successfully completed and "scored" by higher ranking officials.
The Watchers run programs through the Church of the Silent Star, allowing children to learn about the 'honorable' adventures and quests that the Watchers go on, and their glorious victories. They also offer educational programs to replace the traditional schools of Galik for families who don't want their children exposed to secular magic beliefs.
Conflict[edit | edit source]
The Veilwatchers are a polarizing topic outside of their tight-knit community. They have been labeled as politically charged, extremist, cult-like, and, in many communities, dangerous. It has been noted by many that the Veilwatchers tend to target marginalized groups for their anti-magic campaigns, crippling certain communities at their knees by removing their magic users. Simultaneously, they recruit younglings from other marginalized groups by offering resources and opportunities that might have otherwise not have been obtainable. Young members of Veilwatch are passionate about "standing up for what's right" and "taking up arms against magic" to "save Galik."
Magic users of varying importance in Galik have been "taken care of" by the Veilwatchers. It has not gone unnoticed by some that the magic users who have been removed seem incredibly convenient, as they stand in the way of politicians or related people of stature. Some have noticed that the magic users who have been removed need not be dangerous of nature, as the Veilwatchers have removed healers and clerics in some scenarios.
