The Scribes
In a world that's much bigger and stranger than most people know, there are always going to be information gatherers – those who wish to learn as much as possible about the supernatural. The Scribes are one of the foremost organizations doing this, though are very secretive. They aim to be benevolent, but their pursuit of knowledge can be a danger as well as a boon.
FOUNDING:
While humanity as a whole continues to be unaware of the beasts they share their world with, supernatural threats only continue to grow. In places like Wicked’s Rest with high supernatural activity, this poses not only a threat to the town, but an ever growing risk to humanity itself. In the year 1868, when a giant egg appeared out in Gatlin Fields, a small group of humans knew they had to pull together for the better of the town. These future scholars determined that in order to protect everyone, the best thing they could do was compile and learn as much information as they could. Based in the neighborhood of Bleak Point (now Netherville), they observed the supernatural world around them. They took field notes. They searched for sources of information that spanned that globe. They put themselves in danger in order to learn. They made allies and developed their own philosophy. This marked the beginning of what would later be known as The Scribe Organization.
Today, Wicked’s Rest’s Scribes operate out of the newly-excavated Netherville headquarters, which was their original base, but had been lost to the “mineral abnormality” that had covered it for a century. It’s filled with old information from Scribe forebears, much of which had been lost.
PASSING THE TORCH:
Today, the organization has grown thanks to the original members who ended up passing the torch to their children. Some could have been raised to understand the importance of their parents’ work, while others only learned the truth about it as an adult. Some expectation of legacy seems to have formed through the decades, and families have stayed in the organization since its origination. Quite a few of them spread far and wide across the globe, specializing in collecting knowledge on farflung creatures and building their own Scribe branches, while others stayed at the Wicked’s Rest headquarters, trying to anticipate the next disaster. Over time though, contact with those not in Wicked’s Rest started to fade one by one which has led to the Scribes in town to believe they are the only operational branch left. It only left the remaining families scrambling to double their efforts, because one thing is certain even today: as hard as the founders worked, there is still so much information that needs to be collected.
INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE:
Many Scribes are still dedicated to field research and observing what they see in the world, taking studious notes to file away. While they’ve proven their use in many situations already, they are only getting started, and some Scribes may dedicate themselves to collections of supernatural volumes, while others may be more focused on the keeping and preservation of knowledge. Other Scribes may function more like archaeologists or anthropologists, going out in the world and getting their hands dirty in the name of learning. More recently, Scribes have amassed several rarely disclosed locations that house dangerous artifacts, one of them being Containment in Gatlin Fields. These artifacts have the potential to cause harm in the wrong hands – or the Scribes may simply not know enough about an artifact to keep in it their main headquarters. Should some of these artifacts fall into the wrong hands, the results could be catastrophic. Scribes, however, feel strongly that they are the right hands.
MORALITY:
Above all else, the Wicked’s Rest Scribes seek to keep the town and humanity as a whole safe from the numerous threats it faces day in and day out. They’ve developed their own codes and philosophy to help guide them in this lofty endeavor. Within their code, Scribes agree to be pragmatic with all issues the town faces and like to map out potential consequences of sharing valuable knowledge. Scribes pride themselves on their objectivity and prioritize accordingly, with the greater good in mind. They operate as a democracy and every decision the organization makes is put to a vote amongst its ranks. To some, this can become frustrating as it can sometimes take a while for decisions to be made.
The Scribes are aware that they share the town with many non-human species as sentient as they are. On this matter, they also strive for neutrality. They tend to avoid working with any individuals who have only violence in mind, or individuals of any species that are currently attempting to exert control over the town. In general, they have a vested interest in keeping the supernatural secret from humans who are not in the know. Given their study on the subject and personal experience, they know just how dangerous it can be when humans begin to pry into the supernatural. Some Scribes see the irony (or hypocrisy) in this more than others, but most agree it’s for the best.
Each Scribe has their own approach, but as a whole, they will work neutrally with any species, provided they have assessed the situation, need, motive, and likely outcomes to be for the greater good. While it is rare they will interfere with different disputes among species, if things escalate to a certain point, Scribes will provide necessary information to other parties that are de-escalating any conflict. They tend to focus on large-scale issues that plague the town as a whole as these tend to require more specialized knowledge. Scribes will also keep records of events like this in order to help future generations who may encounter similar problems.
SECRECY:
Because of their dedication to privacy, even those who grew up within the supernatural community may not have heard of the Scribes. Though the Scribes value working with others, they also value secrecy and ultimately wish to remain relatively undisturbed. They understand that the knowledge they hold is valuable, and as such, Scribes typically reveal themselves only when they feel the situation or time call for it, so as not to put a target on their back or cause greater conflict. However, regardless of being covert, those with a keen interest in the supernatural, as well as those in need of assistance, often find themselves face to face with the Scribes.
RECRUITMENT:
In order to even enter the Headquarters and other facilities, an invite from one of its stewards is required. Information in the wrong hands can be a very dangerous thing and those rare few who are invited to join the Wicked’s Rest Scribes, rather than legacied in, are thoroughly vetted. New members are occasionally recruited by an active Scribe who has deemed them trustworthy. Before officially joining, recruits have to take a test with both multiple choice and written answers. For the character portion of the exam, the paper is spelled to prevent lying. Part of this section is an oath to not commit violence or murder. While not impossible to circumvent this spellwork here, in order to cheat one has to be very skilled at compartmentalization. The oath itself is not magically binding.
COMMUNITY DYNAMICS:
While the Wicked’s Rest Scribes themselves are pledged to nonviolence, they will share information with a network of people in town who they may be able to call upon to help, and they wish to grow that network. Their goal is to be respected by most species (at least, the individuals who know of them) due to their pragmatism when it comes to keeping all citizens of Wicked’s Rest safe. However, they’re not quite there yet.
Some species may not appreciate being studied, such as fae. Among the most prideful and insular species, fae don’t take kindly to anyone prying into their secrets and communities, especially humans, and will work against the Scribes in different ways that can range from mild to extreme. Other supernatural creatures may agree with the fae, and try to work against this group trying to source their secrets, or they could feel that getting vital information to the right people might help prevent others from succumbing to their own fates.
When it comes to humans integrated into this world, such as hunters, spellcasters, and mediums, opinions can vary between Scribes being useless for doing nothing but gathering information to being a valuable part of the supernatural world by providing information where they can. Opinions can differ based on who you talk to and what the latest conflict was.
(Art credit: sedone)
