The Shadow Knights

This is less of a location and more of an overview document on the International Statute of Secrecy, the International Council, and the Shadow Knights who maintain the Statute.

The Shadow Knights are a shadow organization charged with maintaining the International Statute of Secrecy that every member of the Supernatural Underground must uphold. They are led by the International Council, a loose committee formed by representatives of every Supernatural species present in the world.

They are the reason the Statute is both enforced and feared.

Best described as "everywhere". Neither the International Council nor the Shadow Knights have a set 'base' or headquarters.

Who exactly inhabits this Council is unknown; they do not have a set meeting place or a headquarters. The only common thread is that when the Council meets, which it does rarely, it meets in major centers of civilization, such as London, New York City, Rome, New Delhi, Jerusalem, Tokyo, etc.

The Shadow Knights have no such pattern, nor has there ever been a large-scale meeting of Shadow Knights congregated in one place.

There are essentially only three roles within the Shadow Knights: the Shadow Knight trainee, the Shadow Knight themselves, and the Shadow Knight Handlers. Note that all three positions are still considered Shadow Knights.

Any additional roles or titles above and beyond these three designations differ wildly and depend on the Shadow Knight in question and the structure they hail from.

The Shadow Knights are led by the International Council. The International Council supersedes any and all other allegiances that a Shadow Knight may possess.

Shadow Knights can be recruited from all walks of life and all backgrounds. They are usually singled out and brought into the fold by other Shadow Knights, with the approval of the Council. There is a training period, depending upon the skills the new recruit would require, that can be as short or as extensive as necessary.

Shadow Knights can also have Handlers - partners who are either directly Shadow Knights themselves, or work for the Council, passing down orders, missions, briefings, training, etc. Other than the difference in title, Handlers are also considered Shadow Knights.

Shadow Knights are almost exclusively recruited from Supernatural species. 'Aware' Humans who find themselves as Shadow Knights are few and far between; not impossible, just rare. Otherwise, a Shadow Knight can come from any background and any supernatural species.

Whispers about the organization that keeps the Supernatural Underground in check have been around for millennia. The name of the group is often unknown to the general public and the organization is so secretive that some consider them myth or legend.

The Shadow Knights are shadow operatives, operating as sleeper cell agents until such a time when they are called upon by the Council. No one knows whether one among them is actually a Shadow Knight. Shadow Knights often don't know each other until a mission or a task brings them together.

A Shadow Knight is almost never exclusively a Shadow Knight for their job. Shadow Knights often have lives entirely separate and apart from their mission as the Statute keepers. They can have other jobs, families, and would appear to all outsiders as a normal, average person in whatever field and whatever way they have chosen to build their lives.

They are shadow operatives; they observe, report, and otherwise live their day to day lives until such a time as they are called upon.

The main role of a Shadow Knight is observation. They are the eyes and ears of the Council, from all walks of life and stationed all over the world. They gather information, observe events, and report anything and everything back to the Council. It is not their job to determine if something is important or relevant. To a Shadow Knight, everything is important and relevant.

Once the Council deems something threatens the Statute, the Shadow Knights step in and all those involved are swiftly eradicated and evidence erased from history using magic and cover-ups. Entire towns, cities, and even countries have fallen to maintain the Statute. In recent memory, the town of Bear River, Montana, was destroyed within the past few years, and the town of Coventry, Massachusetts a decade prior to that.

Shadow Knights can also receive missions and orders separate from the general mission to protect and maintain the Statute. They, like others, are usually left to handle smaller disputes and struggles themselves. They are given full reign to act as judge, jury, and executioner in individual and small scale cases. These can come from Handlers or simply jobs the Shadow Knight chooses to take on themselves.

Other than being ultimately led by the International Council, internal organization structures are by and large at the will of the individual Shadow Knights and Handlers.

Some Shadow Knights are organized into sects, branches, or sleeper cells. Some of those units run themselves like military operations with ranks and commands. Others do not, choosing to go with a different structure. Some Shadow Knights have no units at all, and act as their own leaders answering only to the Council.

The Council does not concern itself with the various structures and internal mechanisms of how the Shadow Knights run themselves, as long as they do their jobs.

The International Statute Of Secrecy

In the early years of Human history, the supernatural world learned the damage Humans could do to their various species. Humans might not have access to magic, but they do have the power of sheer numbers on their side. The supernatural world became fearful that a large enough human force against them would cause their permanent destruction.

This fear sent the entire Supernatural community underground. Representatives from each species formed an International Council, and it was decided that in order to keep their people safe, the Humans could not know of the existence of magic or its creatures.

Every Supernatural creature was sworn to a Statute of Secrecy: No Supernatural could knowingly expose Humans to the Underground. The penalty of breaking the Statute is death. Eventually, knowledge of magic and its creatures faded from Human history into the realms of myth and legend. That is where the Supernatural Underground has remained ever since.

So you've decided to make a Shadow Knight, or you've come up with a plot that requires a Shadow Knight character - now what?

Because Shadow Knights are shadow operatives that work in sleeper cells, and can have different sects or operational procedures within those units, players are free to use the Shadow Knights in whatever way and however you see fit to do so.

Basically everything that happens on a player-run level in Snow Haven is considered a small-scale matter, so you can play your plot or use your Shadow Knight in whatever way you would like. You have total control and freedom from this point on!

The International Statute of Secrecy is believed to have first been put into place around the times of the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Rome, putting it somewhere in the 4th Century (325-380 CE). The various organizations of the Shadow Knights would have gone into effect shortly after, but the Statute would only have been loosely enforced as it was difficult to spread word in ancient times.

It is important to note (especially because of divergent timelines and multiverse shenanigans) that there is no one singular origin story for the Shadow Knights.

The entity known as the Shadow Knights - the watchdogs for the Statute of Secrecy and the enforcers for the International Council - were either created by the Council for the Statute, or chosen by them for the task, depending on who you ask and where that person comes from.

This isn't because one person is right and one person is wrong - they are both correct. The Shadow Knights are not a structured organization where every single member stems from the same branch and follows the same chain of command. Different branches have different origins, different structures, different histories, different everything about them, with the only common thread being the two requirements:

1.) Observation to ensure the Statute is upheld, along with the ability (and responsibility) to handle any small-scale issues themselves

2.) Answer to the International Council, report when the Statute is broken, and enforce when instructed.

In the world of Fata Morgana, the Supernatural community is a complete secret, living their lives in a separate but equal community known as the 'Supernatural Underground'. So, the Supernatural World is considered "underground" - humanity doesn't know magic or its creatures exist.

All creatures are bound to silence under the International Statute of Secrecy, governed by the International Council and enforced by the Shadow Knights.

The majority of creatures live among humanity and lead ordinary, everyday lives.

Despite their power and their prowess, Supernats are not the dominant species of Earth. In a world of seven billion people, only around 700 million or less can be considered supernatural. Humans make up 90% of the population on Earth.

The International Council

The International Council is a loose committee formed of representatives from each Supernatural species in the world. Who exactly inhabits this Council is unknown; they do not have a set meeting place or a headquarters. The only common thread is that when the Council meets, which it does rarely, it meets in major centers of civilization, such as London, New York City, Rome, New Delhi, Jerusalem, Tokyo, etc.

For the most part, the Council allows Supernaturals to handle their own. Individuals, families, and groups or organizations are allowed to handle breaches of the Statute and/or various events themselves. It is only once the Council has made a determination that the Shadow Knights are sent in.

The Council determines when an event in the Underground has 'crossed a line' or gotten 'out of hand' enough to warrant Shadow Knight involvement. Where the threshold sits for determination is completely unknown, and seems to vary from event to event. Most Supernats do whatever they can and use whatever magic at their disposal to take care of the situation before it would reach the Council's attention.

The Shadow Knights

Once the International Statute of Secrecy was created, the International Council needed an organization to act as their judge, jury, and executioner. The job of this organization: to make sure the Statute was maintained at all costs. The Shadow Knights were created for this task.

Whispers about the organization that keeps the Supernatural Underground in check have been around for millennia. The name of the group is often unknown to the general public and the organization is so secretive that some consider them myth or legend. No one knows whether one among them is actually a Shadow Knight.

They have eyes and ears around the world and report all to the Council. They do nothing without the Council's approval. When the Council deems something threatens the Statute, the Shadow Knights step in and all those involved are swiftly eradicated and evidence erased from history using magic and cover-ups. Entire towns, cities, and even countries have fallen to maintain the Statute.

In recent memory, the town of Bear River, Montana, was destroyed over 5 years ago, and the town of Coventry, Massachusetts about a decade prior to that.