The Finders

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Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer
--Pink Floyd - "Dogs"

The mysterious Finders are most aptly described as a religious sect. Unlike most religions of Shantania, The Finders' beliefs are not in any way related to a higher power, so much as they reflect on the power entrusted to themselves. The Finders believe that, for there to be peace across the land, there are certain entities that mustn't exist. Those who may remain alive are called "Beings." Those that the Finder Decisive marks for removal are referred to as "Unbeings."

The Finders are lead by a shadowy figure known as the Finder Decisive. The Decisive's duty is to be informed of the state of affairs throughout Shantania, and to Decide the fate of Beings under his/her vantage. The true identity of the current Finder Decisive is known only to a very small handful of Finders.

The Finders employ a special "holy implement" to assist in their duties, that typically appears as a charm on a leather necklace. Theories vary wildly among those few that know of the Finders' existence as to what the Implements actually do, but their true functions include, among other things, indirect communication between a Finder and the Decisive (assignment of new Unbeings to a specific Finder), a rudimentary form of tracking (the Implement may be planted on an Unbeing so that another Finder may track their movements, if it is determined that removal may not take place immediately), and as a weapon (in extreme circumstances only; the only recorded witness testimony of an Implement being used in combat or in the act of Removal dates back to S.R. 133, with said testimony claiming that a man was simply vaporized). Overuse of the Implement leaves a magical trail; while not detectable by most Beings, those who are in tune with certain magical disciplines may occasionally sense this trail. Most experienced mages can detect the trail in some form, but are unaware of where it comes from; novice mages tend to mistake trails for ley lines or similar.

Finders are sworn to absolute secrecy. Under no circumstances is a Finder to reveal his or her identity to a Being; while murmurs occasionally float around as to the presence of a Finder, the penalty for repeated breaches of secrecy is that the Finder is, him/herself, labeled an Unbeing. This has happened only once, in the same incident of S.R. 133.

The Real History of the Finders

The Finders were technically born in S.R. 1 (or at least, this is where their documentation begins), though they were not an organization as such. The "original Finder" was operating somewhere around the Shantanian Divide, primarily in what was then called Kasellia; there has been much speculation as to who the original was, but it is documented (within the confines of the Finders' headquarters, at least) that, regardless of their true identity, this Finder had simultaneously the smallest and the most important Removal record in the group's history. "Finder Prime," as they are referred to in Finders' historical documents, was responsible for removing only three Unbeings during their career. The first Removal was a powerful warlord from the north, of a small region that is now occupied by the free city Jallanton. The second was his successor, a sorcerer. The third is unknown to this day. Documents from decades later seem to indicate that Finder Prime issued a removal order on himself, though not before finding a replacement. It can be argued that Finder Prime was more of a serial killer than Finders today.

Prime's replacement is the only Finder to be documented with a real name; Dartrand. Dartrand was asked by Finder Prime to carry on duties alone, but he quickly decided that he could not operate without help, so he recruited scouts and spies to help him learn of events across the world. Under Dartrand's charge, The Finders became an organization, though many traits common of Finders did not come to be until long after Dartrand's death, or rather, disappearance, as he simply ceases to be mentioned in Finder documentation around S.R. 66.

From here, the Finders' history becomes significantly more muddled and vague, as documentation refuses to name individual Finders or even Decisives (though the title of Finder Decisive is first mentioned in a document dated S.R. 68, surrounded by a long debate as to who should become Dartrand's successor). The first mention of the Finders' Holy Implement is made in S.R. 100, though it takes the documents many years before any mention is made of any of its capabilities (incidentally, said mention is made in a document dated S.R. 133, of the incident in which a Finder removed another Finder using his Implement). Even within Finder documentation, many things are redacted; papers partially scorched or even removed entirely from books and tomes. It is theorized that Finders' books are enchanted with a particular magic that causes information to simply burn away over time.

During Lynia's Journey, the wagon train inadvertently recruits a 13-year-old girl named Gaiana, who eventually reveals her identity as the 30th Finder Decisive.

Notable Removal Orders

Interestingly, it is well documented within Finder historical texts that a removal order was issued against Kasiell, the demon emperor of Kasellia (what would become Caynea). This order appears to have stood firm for the next sixty years; only a handful of mentions are made within the texts of any actual attempts at removing Kasiell, but those that are mentioned are said to have ended in failure, typically with the death of the assigned Finder. Around S.R. 233, the date on which Gregor Caynea defeated Kasiell, the removal order is purported to have shifted to Caynea himself; it is only briefly mentioned a year later that the order was rescinded when it was determined that Caynea did not have any ambitions beyond ousting Kasiell. All mention of Gregor Caynea from that point on is as a typical Being; rumors that Gregor was a Finder himself are unsubstantiated by any surviving Finder texts.

In S.R. 548, after a potentially dangerous edict was put in place by Lestalian Margrave Kaze Tirell to isolate the country from the rest of the world, a Lestalian Senator - a well-hidden mole put in place by the Finders - reported back to the Decisive and begged for a Removal to be issued. This order was only put in place half a year later, and Kaze Tirell was vanished without a trace by a Finder agent.