Qolat

[Volsung]

Qolat
If the Qolat are to believed, theirs is an organization older than the foundations of Medinaat al-Salaam. Their foundation lies upon the ruins wrought upon the world by the Day of Wrath, over a thousand years ago, in the mists of legend. Survivors of the madness of Shilah gathered together, and some brave few promised that never again would they allow the gods to destroy everything that mankind had built.

Centuries have passed since that day, and the Qolat has spread across the globe, encountering like-minded individuals in every city, town, and village. They have patiently slipped into the reins of power when they can, and allowed for compromised assets to die when needed. No sacrifice is too great to achieve mortal supremacy, and as such they have grown in power steadily. Only a few times in their history has the conspiracy truly been at risk, most recently in the lands of Rokugan when the Kolat branch was largely uncovered and nearly exterminated. Beyond that the Qolat themselves suffered from an internal war just two years ago that led to many deaths as the Masters fought among each other, until finally Eda Ishan emerged as the unquestioned leader of the Qolat and has ruled with an iron fist since then.

Still, the promises of the Qolat have always brought together opinionated individuals, as well as those who desire earthly power far more than they care about the interference of the Gods in mortal affairs. It makes controlling the Qolat a delicate balance and at any point, a Master may find that they have been outplayed by a subordinate.

Master Blood-Red Tiger
Junayd leads the Tiger Sect, whose task is to protect the Qolat from internal and external foes.

Junayd has suffered badly from a severe fall from grace. Having taken over the position of the previous Master Tiger only a year ago, his gamble to remove the influence of Puja al-Rahbi on his son, the Caliph, and replace him with a Qolat advisor backfired spectacularly. Eventually the Assassins were able to trace the hit back to him and he managed to flee before he was taken by them. The future of Junayd looks grim however, with huge portions of his power base now gone and the other Masters seeing him as more of a liability, the question on everyone's mind is how much longer Junayd will manage to keep his post before the Qolat decide he is no longer an asset worth keeping. The only bright spot on this disaster so far is that the Assassins have taken the assassination attempt as an internal dispute, rather than as the actions of an outside force.

Master Golden-Eyed Owl
Harakhty leads the Owl Sect, whose task is to gather and distribute information to the conspiracy.

Harakhty is an old hand at the conspiracy, having joined the Qolat before the Senpet-Yodotai War his loyalty to the cause only grew as he saw his lands conquered and his gods do nothing to stop the subjugation of his people. By the time of the Battle of the Last Cataphract however, he had lost hope entirely and devoted himself to the Qolat. Though his position in the Owl sect gave him information on the Yodotai troop movements, he did not share them with his people, for he knew that would risk the Qolat. The Senpet were a lost cause, no reason to bring down the Qolat with them. It was this loyalty which eventually made him the Master of the Owl sect. He stayed neutral during the war for power that raged, an act which infuriated many of the other Masters, but preserved the integrity of the Qolat in the face of internal strife.

Master Swift and Merciless Roc
Balash al-Rabegh leads the Roc Sect, whose task is logistical, ensuring that all of the parts of the conspiracy work together.

Balash's rise to power was sudden in the wake of the internal strife among the Qolat. A member of a minor house allied to House Asmari within the Dahabi Merchant Houses, Balash comes from a long line of Qolat members within his family. This sort of ingrained loyalty has led to some detractors who do not feel he is passionate enough about the Cause, but his supporters point out his deeply rooted belief in the movement. Balash believes in the Qolat because he has always believed in the Qolat and he does not know anything else. That deep, if simple belief, combined with an entire family's worth of contacts from across most of the known world made Balash an easy choice to replace Ruqayah al-Hazaad as Master Roc.

Master Ruthlessly Shrewd Auroch
Eda Ishan al-Menjari leads the Auroch Sect, whose task is to oversee the finances of the conspiracy.

Eda Ishan is growing tired now, she has overseen the bloody fighting that needed to take place for her to come to true prominence. She has done what she can to keep a second rival from springing up, but still, for all that, she is old now. She lacks the stamina she once had and quietly, secretly, she wonders by how much she will outlive her opponents. Now she seeks for an heir for herself, looking to adopt even as she fully comes to realize how much she has become like the father that she hated so much as a child.

Eda Ishan is looking to her legacy now, as the head of the Qolat she has seen their position within the city improved, partly through luck, partly through skill. Likewise the Dahabi have been brought back from the brink of destruction. She recognizes that she may be remembered as cruel, as the Silver Tongue had been, but she does not care. The ends always justify the means in her eyes.

Master Wary and Patient Snake
Suleiman al-Rassoulli leads the Snake Sect, whose task is the study and use of magic to further the goals of the Qolat.

Suleiman is perhaps the second most powerful leader of the Qolat at this moment, partly thanks to his own personal ability as a Sahir, partly due to his close proximity to the reigning Sultan, his nephew, Haidar al-Rassoulli. Suleiman has a commanding presence and ability to control a situation that few can rival and maintains a pragmatic approach to life. He is more deeply rooted in the mystical arts than any other Master since perhaps Al-Hazaad himself. His annoyance towards the other masters is perhaps at it's peak at the moment, between Junayd's botched assassination attempt and the theft of a relic from the Royal Library. The theft vexes Suleiman the most however, as it was apparently a Qolat mission that did not have the approval, or even knowledge, of the Qolat Masters.