Mysterium

{{|red|MYSTERIUM : D&D 5e}}

The world is always in peril. Generally this peril is met head on by the Knights of the Golden Lion or by heroic adventurers like the Circle of Five, but it is peril nonetheless and what I am about to tell you in no way diminishes the seriousness of their threats. It would not be very productive to do what we do if the world fell to the likes of Lolth or Demogorgon now would it?

That being said, those Knights and Heroes of the Queen throw temselves against armies of orcs, villains such as the Lich Ulidea and her Undead Coven, and many other dangers like the Dwarves' Iron Movement in Nyaskarr. But even as these heroes move through the smaller towns, perhaps purchasing some supplies, perhaps even staying the night, they do not see the things that move about freely in the dark and hidden corners of such places.

That's where you come in. As a member of the Mysterium, you will be looking into, quite frankly, some freakish things. We are those who go into the small shadowy corners of the world seeking out evidence of them.

Who or what is them you ask? As well you should. They are the ones from Beyond. The Forgotten Ones, the Waking Nightmares, the Ancient Sleepers. The denizens of the Nightmare World of Talgorath. At least that's what we think the name of it might be from its cult that infects the world like a plague.

These ancient things are beyond description, their motives and orchestrations beyond understanding. Chaos and destruction follow in their wake, and madness, oh yes the worse and most terrifying kind of madness. Even the gods are said to fear them, the Gods from Elsewhere, and no one is able to completely remove them from the world.

But we do our best. We destroy their foot in our world where and when we can. We research their movements and actions in hopes to find out what their ultimate goals might be and desperately work to send them back to the Nightmare they come from.

That's what we do. And, now, that's what you do as well.

Cort of Belegrad, Mysterium Recruitment Master

I. The Setting

Queen Celesta is the third of her family to sit on the seat of rulership in Luedania and the first to be loved by all of her subjects. Her Knights, the Knights of the Golden Lion named for the giant lions that they are renowned for riding into battle - are very loyal to her and any one of them would die for the Queen who even helped to write their Knight's Code. The Great Heroes of our age were called by the Queen to end the plots of the Drow and Orcs alike, as well as the vile mechanization of the vile dragons and their queen, Tiamat. Even the Orc Clans of the Far North, having taken the North of Luedania after the Last War, respect the Queen and entered a treaty with her for their lands. It was the Queen's mother who discovered the footholds of the Ancient Sleepers in our world and those who would worship them and call on their alien power. The Queen's Eye, also known as the Mysterium was created once these plots were discovered and Queen Celesta has carried the tradition still, especially after her mother succumbed to madness and died in the Capital City of Versales' asylum.

Luedania has known peace for generations, the cities of this country sprawling spires and architecture that mixes the modern era of the land with the elegant woodland design of elven homes and the brick and mortar homes of the dwarven clans. Though som of the petty prejudices between the peoples of the world still persist, in the cities of Luedania especially in the Capital, it is far less than in other less civilized parts of the world. Still the movements and plots of the Forgotten Ones and the Cults that follow them keep the Queen awake at late hours wondering where the horrors from Beyond will show up next.

Beyond Leudania

The other reaches of the world are not entirely civilized or as "enlightened" as Leudania. The far land of Orothan still sees wars between the elves, the dwarves, and the goblin lords. The desert kingdoms of Harat are overrun by the Dead Pharaoh, Hanothep. But one must wonder what goes unchecked as the humans and demihumans of the outside world fight their petty wars.

The Cult of Nightmares

The largest and most organized of the cults that worship the Forgotten Ones is the Cult of Nightmares. These cunning and vile fanatics worship and harness the power of the Forgotten Ones ignoring the very fact that when a denizen fromt he Beyond shows it kills indiscriminately enemies and allies alike for the Forgotten Ones have no behavior that makes sense to the waking minds of mortals in our world. The cult purposefully or unwittingly continues to widen the affect of the Nightmare World on our own. To this end, they must be found out and remmoved like a malignant thorn.

The Mysterium and the World at Large

Most of the peoples of the world, human and demihuman alike, do not know of the Mysterium. It is a well kept secret to prevent the average person from having to panick over possible invasion of alien gods from an unfathomable plane. The Mysterium are also given a lot of leeway in operating how it sees fit. The Chief Council of the Mysterium keeps the checks and balances, protecting the organization from corruption or from threatening to pull down the curtain that protects the Mysterium's secrecy. Another reason for the organization's secrecy is to make it more unpredictable to the Cult of Nightmares and the other denizens that follow the Forgotten Ones.

II. New Races - Spriggan and the Zelk

SPRIGGAN

"Hello my big green friends, I see that your people have left you all alone. I know how that is believe me. I also see the smirks on your ugly orc faces and I assure you you won't be laughing for much longer. I do apologize for what is about to come, I truly....ergh...do...."

Steelboot, Mysterium Enforcer, just before mushing two orc guards into jelly