The Hierarchy is the monolithic bureaucracy of the Dark Kingdom of Iron, a.k.a. the Empire of Stygia. The Hierarchy is the largest collection of Western wraiths in the Underworld.
Overview[]
In Shadowlands the Hierarchy rules over the Western dead, specifically Europe, The Americas, and to a certain extent, countries colonized by them (such as Australia). Founded by Charon as means of unifying and ordering the chaotic afterlife, it has grown into a stratified, calcified bureaucracy "led" by battling Deathlords and based upon the enslavement of thousands of souls for use as Thralls or raw materials.
Criminalizing any opposition and crushing those who stand in their way, this bureaucracy primarily operates through its eight armored Legions who have rolled across the oceans to make sure Stygian law is maintained throughout the Deadlands. In addition to these Legions, wraiths may belong to one or more Guilds, some of them in secrecy, some official. The exact governing structure of the Hierarchy is in constant change; it was originally designed to operate under the auspices of Charon, whose disappearance in 1945 during his fight with Gorool has thrown the entire organization into the "leadership" of battling Deathlords.
Hierarchical society is just as driven by the weight of massive tradition as by legal status. This is at least partly because the Hierarchy's continued existence is something of a feedback loop: older wraiths transfer passions to maintaining the Hierarchy, and the Hierarchy exists to provide older wraiths a place for those passions.
Fate[]
In the wake of the Fall of Stygia, the Dark Kingdom of Iron becomes once more a nation of cities. Individual Necropoli become self-governing, and contact with other cities is tentative and frail due to the storm. Making matters worse is the loss of central authority for the Anacreons to rely upon. Some cities become strongholds of individual Legions, while others become loose confederations. Many fall. Others devolve into anarchy. In some places, the Guilds re-emerge and take power; they are organized and powerful enough to do so now that there is no Stygian authority opposing them. A few become enclaves of Heretical activity, and traffic to the Far Shores increases markedly. Interestingly enough, some return traffic begins as well.
Offices[]
- Magisterium Veritatis
- Office of Security
References[]
- WTO: Wraith: The Oblivion Second Edition, p. 8, 25, 48, 50, 68
- WTO/cMET: Oblivion, p. 23, 48-50
- WTO: Ends of Empire, p. 126, 151
- WTO: The Hierarchy