What is the Iron Circle?
More than a company. A covenant of steel.
A Covenant of Steel
Those who wear its sigil are tempered in secrets the world has forgotten—disciplines carved from old wars, stances stolen from the bones of the dead. They don't think like other sellswords. They don't move like common killers. A Circle fighter is hunger given flesh, a wolf gone rabid under black banners.
They hunt the battlefield like reapers with teeth, tearing one victim from the herd, rending it apart, then slipping into the carnage to do it again. And again. Until the field is silent.
The Iron Circle is more than a company. It's a covenant of steel. A brotherhood wrapped in the stink of old wars and old sins. A mercenary host, yes, but also a cult forged in crimson scripture. Ruthless? Always. Effective? Beyond dispute. They hold to one sacred law: the bond of the blade-brother. All else is ash.
The Price of Brotherhood
But understand this: the Circle is a name spat like venom in most lands. In hamlets and kingdoms alike, your colors will draw eyes full of fear—or blades full of hate. Even the just and righteous will taste iron on their tongues when you pass. If you're wedded to your notions of good and holy, best leave them on the pyre, because this road will gut those beliefs and leave them hanging in the wind. Here, law is pliant as flesh and morality stinks like old meat. Every choice bleeds.
The Circle doesn't care what god you kneel to, what creed you murmur when the night howls. Priests. Heretics. Saints in rags. All rot the same under the weight of this life.
Recruiters haunt the borderlands, lurking in war camps, graveyards, and taverns where hope has soured to hate. They'll offer you the coin, the cause, the brotherhood. And if you're fool enough to take their hand, you'll march to the Outpost—an iron wound in the earth, where the Circle coils like a serpent in its den. From there, the killing begins. Not for king. Not for home. For the Circle.
The Three Spheres
The Maul (Martial) · The Coin (Mercantile) · The Tome (Intelligence & Religion)
The Foundation of Power
The Iron Circle operates through three distinct yet interconnected spheres of influence, each serving a vital function in the brotherhood's endless war machine. These are not mere divisions of labor, but sacred aspects of the Circle's identity.
The Maul represents the martial might of the Circle—the blade that cuts through enemy lines and the shield that protects the brotherhood's interests.
The Coin fuels the war machine through trade, craftsmanship, and resource acquisition—the heart that pumps life into the Circle's operations.
The Tome serves as the mind of the organization, gathering intelligence, conducting research, and maintaining the spiritual core of the brotherhood.
The Maul
Forged in blood and tempered in war
Iron Legionnaires
Every single member has been an Iron Legionnaire, it is where we all started off. As a brand new member, you are a Recruit, and are going through Iron Legionnaire training. Training is focused on conditioning and general assessments. Those who started off as a recruit among the Iron Legionnaires, and wanted to stay there because they either liked it, or had something in their background that called for it—whatever the reasoning, will be an Iron Legionnaire, plain and simple. You can be a senior member, and can be regarded as a veteran of the field, but there won't be another rank (such as lieutenant) to denote that status. Once you're a full-blooded member of the Iron Circle, you are an Iron Legionnaire.
Ironhead Bulwark
Where the Iron Legionnaires and the Iron Bulwark divide is in what they can do on the battlefield. The Iron Bulwark have been trained to operate and arm siege equipment and to disarm it. When the Legionnaires are sent out into the field they move as a large unit and act as the core front-line of the Iron Circle. Whereas the Bulwark comprises a much smaller, specialized squad who has a specific goal in mind. Teams of 4-10 are dispatched together, no more, no less.
Punitory Legion
The Gray Cabal of 'Punitory Legion' is reserved for those who have committed some kind of atrocity against the Iron Circle, and can fall under any of the descriptions above. If you are a mercenary and have committed a minor offense, you could serve a short term of duty here. Mostly this division is overseen by the Grim Lawkeepers, and Red Bishops. Red Bishops have tested and pushed some of their more controversial substances and propaganda on this division.
The Tome
Gathering secrets and forbidden knowledge
Red Bishops
There are two branches of the Red Bishops, the former being the more experienced, and the Relic Hunters that work under them. The duties of a Red Bishop include providing counsel and spiritual knowledge, boosting morale, and dispensing false information and propaganda. At its very core, the Red Bishops as a whole are alchemists who experiment with various magicks, concoctions, and forbidden knowledge. Whenever there is an issue of the mind of metaphysics, the Red Bishops are usually the ones who are assigned the mission and allowed to pursue it.
Instigators
Instigators act as emissaries for the Iron Circle in most instances. They are considered diplomats and must possess a certain charisma when dealing with others outside of the company. An instigator is always careful about which words slip past his lips should someone use them against him. They must have an approachable demeanor that appears open and sincere, when truly being reserved and collected.
Grim Lawkeepers
The Grim Lawkeeper is a branch that the Iron Circle can function without. It is not a prestigious branch because of all the hoops and tricks one has to go through to get approved for full membership. Being prepared for the role of Grim Lawkeeper requires that your character be absolutely devout to the Iron Circle, and has no qualms about extinguishing the flame of life, no matter how innocent, at a moment's notice. Not to say that is what they are concerned with, but Grim Lawkeepers are faced with some of the more secretive, controversial issues because they have the mental capacity for it. If given the order to assassinate an ex member—they will complete the mission to its fullest extent with absolutely no regret or remorse.
The Coin
The heart that fuels the war machine
The Mercantile Foundation
The Mercantile division of the guild provides the fuel for the Iron Circle's war machine; while the Martial is the blade, and the Intelligence is the brain, the Mercantile is the heart. More than just contractors and laborers, the Mercantile division is composed of specialists in field gathering, single combat, engineering, analysis, and management of both inventory and people. Without these valuable skills, the company might fall into disrepair in short order.
Harvesters & Artisans
Trained to recognize, gather, transport, and occasionally kill. Goods, equipment, and beasts, harvesters are responsible for obtaining valuable inventory, and managing the contracts of workers outside of the guild, such as farmers, miners, loggers, and more. Harvesters are experts in their respective "harvest", whether it's the acquisition of metals, or the gathering and breeding of beasts or exotic flora. Harvesters must also be extremely capable single combatants and escapists, able to safely return or transport high value items to the Iron Circle's safe houses. Artisans are masters of the craft, using the resources returned by the harvesters to create specialized equipment for use by the rest of the Iron Circle.
Quartermasters
Quartermasters are masters of trade and management, quartermasters work with each sphere to determine their needs for equipment and inventory, as well as taking information back to the harvesters and artisans when there are requests for acquisitions. Quartermasters are responsible for overseeing the guild's inventory, provisions, safe houses, and the company's funds. Quartermasters can recommend profitable ventures, determine the validity of supply contracts from outside workers, and current assignments for the purpose of profitability. In war times, quartermasters are responsible for the steady and constant flow of supplies, provisions, medical equipment and personnel, and transport to and from the battlefield.
The Cult of War
The Red Bishops and Azoth ('The Muse') — Philosophy, Dogma, and Theology
Spirituality and Religion
Although a religious subculture in both name and practice, the domain of the Red Bishops is rather unlike that of other established religious organizations, be they obscure cults huddled in caves or major churches that span continents. Precious little is known about the inner workings of the group or their spiritual convictions outside of the Iron Circle, but it would not be unusual for senior members of the Circle to be aware of a few basic tenets the Red Bishops follow, especially if they had attended one of the group's rare moonlit services or sought spiritual advice.
Organized Religion
It is no secret that the Red Bishops have a deep disdain for all forms of organized religion. Major churches and religious organizations are often viewed as enemies to be destroyed, often from within. The leaders of such churches are seen as malicious and manipulative and treated with extreme prejudice. Adherents of major organized religions, however, are often treated as deluded innocents. Ultimately, the Bishops believe that every intelligent being with a spiritual belief worships the same omnipotent and omnipresent "God" or energy that permeates every subatomic particle of reality.
Science and Alchemy
Any member of the Iron Circle that would inquire about matters of faith to a Bishop would likely be met with thunderous laughter. It is the group's philosophy that only the senses and empirical data can be trusted to discern the true nature of God. Thus, the Red Bishops are always conducting a variety of scientific and magical research with the ultimate goal of uncovering the true qualities of the energy commonly referred to as the Muse. The legality and moral consequences of such research are often considered inconsequential given the bounty of knowledge that is to be gained from such study.
The Nature of God and the Universe
Theological documents penned by the Red Bishops pertaining to the true nature and characteristics of God are zealously guarded, and the possession of such documents has often been a matter of life and death. The dogma most commonly preached to members of the Iron Circle is that of the Muse; an ethereal presence that permeates every last particle of reality. The Muse represents the qualities of this "God" that are empirical and evident to the senses. The Muse is not intelligent. It has no commands for mortals to follow, is apathetic toward yet bound to all forms of life, and transcends mortal concepts of morality such as good and evil.
With this very grey view of the Divine, the Bishops often have difficulty communicating with individuals who desire a God who is invested in their lives, be that investment loving or spiteful. Regardless of their sweeping intellectual differences, the Red Bishops still consider all other religions and spiritualities to be unknowing adherents to the Muse, as whatever deities they worship are ultimately derived from and created by the singular cosmic energy that draws ordered structures forth from chaos.
Ready to Sign the Ledger?
Do you hear it? The whisper in your bones, the call of steel and brotherhood? The Iron Circle seeks those who would embrace the truth of war — who would cast aside the comfortable lies of civilization for the brutal honesty of the blade. Join us, and become more than you ever dreamed. Or die trying.