Sword of St. James

Sword of St. James is the name of a mortal witch-hunter organization created during the Dark Ages by Rodrigue de Navarre.

Overview
The seed of what would become the Sword of St. James took root when the nobleman Rodrigue de Navarre came in contact with the Book of the Shining Blood after a raid against an isolated community of heretics on his wife's lands. Seeing this discovery as evidence of God's call to destroy the darkness that had spread througout the Christendom, he could never again turn away from his calling.

During the Fouth Crusade he has shared his concerns with a few others whose opinions he could trust. When they too became convinced that he had uncovered genuine evidence of a dark conspiracy beneath the surface of Christian Europe, they joined him in his quest. With these first followers Rodrigue created the Sword of St. James as a guerrilla army against the forces of darkness.

The men look to the legendary exploits of St. James the Greater as an example of what they hope to accomplish. Just as Saint James aided Iberian Christians by defeating the invading Moors, so too does the Sword wish to do against the bloodsucking monsters that plague Christendom. However, only Rodrigue and his followers who accmpanied him on the Fourth Crusade had any direct experience dealing with vampires - consequently, their knowledge of the enemy was largely theoretical, gleanned from observation and snippets of blasphemous tomes.

In 1209 a young Malkavian named Xalbador discovered the activities of Rodrigue and his followers, but he came too close and the leader of the Sword of St. James himself gave him the Final Death, becoming the first vampire Rodrigue actually destroyed (although the Sword has killed several ghouls and other Cainite pawns, and has sent two vampires into torpor). Although Xalbador was merely a neonate, his ability to get close to the Sword has led to paranoia among the group. Rodrigue became obsessed with security, worrying that other Cainites might might follow in Xalbador's footsteps. His fears were justified, for the Malkavian's sire was very much aware of the existence of their group. However, Prince Roque of Pamplona has kept their existence to himself and his closest advisors, as he believed that they posed a threat only to the foolhardy - and he was certain that one night the Sword would make useful pawns, seeing no point in destroying them prematurely.

The Sword of St. James has yet to number more than a few dozen people, while Rodrigue de Navarre handpicks all members, selecting only those he considers trustworthy and useful. Both qualities are equally important. Emboldened by their destruction of Xalbador, they see no point in merely gathering information, and seek to use that information to fight evil. Quoting from the Letter of St. James, Rodrigue reminds his followers that "faith without works is dead".

They usually operate in small groups, no more than two or three at a time, which provides them with safety and ensures that there is always more than on group active at any given time. Rodrigue has gone to great lenghts to seek a diversity of recruits. Although Iberians - especially Navarrese - predominate, there are a goodly number of Provençal members as well (he has also recruited three Italians, a pair of Germans and a lone Englishman). Their skills are equally diverse, ranging from theology to engineering and linguistics. The first member of the Sword that perished to the Cainites was Rodrigue's old friend Zelipe Berganza.

The Sword of St. James is dedicated to the elimination of the Cainite Heresy in Iberia. Since 1190, their leader has amassed a vast storehouse of information about the Heresy, its beliefs and activities. He has also identified the locations of several Heretical strongholds, including one in the Pyrenees. Armed with such information, the Sword prepares to draw out the hidden masters of these strongholds and destroy them. They are aware that the Heresy is rife with monsters of many types - demons and their acolytes, most likely - though they remain ignorant of the full extent of their power. Rodrigue worries that his followers are still too inexperienced to combat them effectively, which is why the question of military allies occupies such a prominent place in his plans.