The Umbral Ravens are an informal group that exists as a subsection to the Mercenaries Guild. A few dozen members of paladins have united under this name to break away from the overbearing Guild and return back to their idealsand create an information network that is covered up by their mercenry activities.
Their members are typically recognized by the black metal necklace that pictures a raven, as well as their long black cloacks.
The group was originally founded by a man called Fitchner a few years back. While he used to be a standard-bearer during his younger days, he developed higher ambitions during his time with the Mercenaries Guild. He wasn’t interested in being part of a monopoly in a service industry that should be based off performance. He wanted the kind of glory that came with being valued for your work and being hired for your reputation and not because you are part of some organization.
After years of carefully assessing his fellow members, he finally found people that he would trust enough to share his plans with. Together they occupied an abandoned temple and founded the Ravens.
Everyone is a registered member of the Mercenary’s guild, pays their fees for solving contracts and absolves the required training period with them, but Fitchner has higher standards for his paladin order. To earn the right to wear the raven necklace and get full access to the network and knowledge, additional training and tests are asked of the young students. To become a
While a few especially well informed individuals might be aware of the double faced nature of the organization, most common folk would only be able to loosely associate the name with a paladin order that is part of the Mercenary’s guild. The guild is knows that a small group of their members associates itself with this name, but there is no reason for an organization of their size to worry about something like that. When being asked about it, Fitchner simply dismisses the Ravens as an edgy name that is supposed to make it easier to get contracts.
They have specialized into creating a brother and sisterhood of soldiers that will offer their services to anyone who is willing to pay the hefty price that it deserves. They are often hired by wealthy individuals that require a competent blade or additional council during war times. Other common tasks entailed things like bodyguarding or headhunting missions. But this is not where their motivation ends, the Umbral Raven has leveraged the knowledge that the members of the order collect during their presence at such high stake moments to build an impressive network of information, contacts and spies. Missions often span over several weeks and months, allowing the hired soldiers to learn as much as possible about their employers and sending this information back to the temple per raven.
"What's the end goal of a king that runs his empire? There is no inherent purpose to power. I wanted to build something that I can call my own, unlike the Guild. People I would trust with my life. The Umbral Raven wants to position itself in the most favorable spot so that, when this relative peace comes to its inevitable end, we can act from a position of strength…"
Fitchner