Silent Bell (Sodality)

Overview

The Silent Bell was an Imperial sodality made up of citizens dedicated to the cause of Vigilance. Initially set up in the early years of the reign of Emperor Nicovar, they were intended to serve as an investigative arm of the Vigilance Assembly. Unfortunately, being so closely associated with the Mad Emperor led to their short-lived order being officially disbanded in 210YE as the dust of Nicovar's rampage started to settle.

The first (and officially, only) preceptor of the Silent Bell, Esther of Sybela, responded to the instruction to disband the order with a polite note to the then Cardinal of Vigilance that read simply "be alert to all dangers; within and without." Denied official sanction, the Silent Bell continued to operate in the background, occasionally bringing news of potential threats to the Empire to the attention of the Vigilance assembly.

During the reign of Emperor Nicovar, the Silent Bell were allegedly used by the Synod to suppress opposition to the increasingly extreme demands of the Throne. In the century and a half since, they remained largely in the background but are known to have helped to uncover a number of internal threats to the Empire. At various times they were accused of helping to discredit political and social movements that were threats to entrenched positions within the Empire, rather than existential threats to the empire as a whole. As such the order has had something of a mixed reputation over the years.

Recent History

During the reign of Empress Britta, the leadership of the Silent Bell allegedly met with members of the Assembly of the Nine in secret and offered to take a more active role in the Empire. They stressed a new commitment to remain apolitical; to focus on the vigilant defence of the Empire as a whole rather than one political faction or another. At first their involvement in Imperial affairs remained limited, but throughout 380YE, they Silent Bell became significantly more active. Having undergone a clandestine period of recruitment, they began to strengthen their ties with the Imperial Synod.

A resurgence of interest in the exemplar Berechiah - never a member of the Silent Bell himself but allegedly a quiet supporter of their mission - the leadership of the order decided to cement those relations officially and emerge from the shadows. Particularly in light of the challenges faced by the Synod at the time, the leadership wished to be very clear in their relationship with the Assemblies, so that there would be no misunderstanding of the role they were to play or how they were to play it.

The current preceptor of the Silent Bell, Malachai of the Silent Bell, in Casca's Doom, suggested a way that the Imperial Synod might wield the Silent Bell effectively, but with enough transparency to allay fears of a "secret militia answering only to the cardinals." During the Winter solstice 380YE, the Imperial Synod declared their support for the Silent Bell, and the Council of the Nine issued their first instruction as to where the sodality should turn its gaze. The Highborn Esau executed a mandate in support of the Silent Bell, leading to improved attendance at congregations of priests dedicated to Vigilance across the Empire.

The Order

The sodality they represent is small, but committed. Their goal is to gather information about internal threats to the Empire. They operate a loose, but extensive, network of informants throughout the Vigilance sects in the Empire. By drawing on that network, they can potentially track down information about specific threats. They are at their most effective, however, when they operate with a clear focus from the Imperial Synod.

They are not in a position to actually deal with threats - their members are investigators and informants, not effective combatants, but they can often suggest practical ways to deal with those threats and are adept at identifying opportunities for the Synod to use the Sentinel Gate to act on the information they have provided.

Ringing the Bell

Any member of the Vigilance Assembly is empowered to issue a statement of principle instructing the Silent Bell to pursue information relating to a specific topic. Such a statement of principle must begin with the wording "The Assembly of Vigilance directs the Silent Bell to investigate...". If the statement is supported by the lesser majority of the Assembly, then the Silent Bell will turn its attention towards investigating the designated topic. In the event that multiple such statements are issued in a single summit, the Silent Bell will take instruction from the judgement that achieves the highest margin.

Sometimes, a representative of the sodality might need to speak with the priest who raised the statement, looking for as many details as possible about the threat. Regardless, they will then direct their attentions to finding any leads they can, and make them available to the priest at the next summit. In the past, this has often taken the form of a verbal or written report, but in past years the order's commitment to transparency, and being seen to serve the Empire as a whole, has often seen them making their findings public rather than restricted them to any one individual.

Previously, the sodality took instruction from the Assembly of Nine. This changed shortly before the Summer Solstice 387YE, following the actions of some members of the Assembly of Nine. There was some concern when this method was agreed on that while it openly encourages the faithful to look into a specific topic, it might also potentially provide a warning to the enemies of the Empire. A more secretive method was also proposed, but ultimately declined, in which the Silent Bell answered directly to the Cardinal of Vigilance rather than the Council of the Nine as a whole. In the event, it became pretty clear that most of the people the Silent Bell were likely to end up investigating remained broadly oblivious to the statements of the Synod.

Malachai, the current preceptor of the Silent Bell is keen to avoid being drawn into the complex political machinations of Anvil as has sometimes happened in the past. The sodality exists to track down and investigate threats to the Empire. While they are not so foolish to imagine that none of those threats are present during the summit, this is not their area of expertise and as such they are determined to ensure that they stay out of Anvil politics. Consequently, the one restriction they insist on is that they will only investigate threats whose primary source lies outside Anvil. They are happy to follow those leads wherever they go - but they will not investigate the affairs of an individual or band while they are at Anvil.

Previous Investigations

Further Reading

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