Canon The Red Raven

The Red Raven — named for his famous tattered red cape — is a legendary figure throughout Galt, renowned for his daring, high-profile heists. Some view him as a mere outlaw; to many, he is an egalitarian folk hero.

🌿 Appearance & Persona

While engaged in his capers, the Red Raven is always dressed flamboyantly, with his signature tattered red cloak — the appearance of which belies its magical nature. When not committing crimes, he prefers a more frugal, unassuming life.

📜 History & Reputation

Aric began his thieving career long before the Red Raven became a cult hero. He found the red cape in a wizard's rubbish in the town of Woodsedge. The cape saved his life more than once, and the reputation of the Red Raven soon outstripped Aric's actual abilities as a thief.

Today, the Red Raven primarily commits daring, high-profile thefts against the wealthy that help his image as a hero of the downtrodden. Folktales paint him as a criminal who strikes only against arrogant nobles and corrupt merchants — though in reality, he is not so concerned about corruption as he is about money. Often his crimes, rather than helping the poor, only serve to increase tensions between the rich and the poor.

🏙️ Edme — The Raven's Roost

The Red Raven has taken up residence in Edme, where he tries to protect its citizens from the chaos of Galt's endless revolution. He earned his large estate in recognition for solving the murder of a nobleman who previously owned it.

Despite his efforts, Edme continues attracting criminals from across Galt, drawn by the chaos and the lack of law. The city's fall from grace — once a center of learning, now a political prison — mirrors the revolution's corruption of all it touches.

🔗 Campaign Connections — The Boarwood Covenant

• Act 1 — The Forest That Judges: The Red Raven encounters the party in the Deep Boarwood. He has been tracking the Gray Gardeners and knows of their interest in the covenant. He is morally complex — a former revolutionary who participated in the uprising that brought the Council to power, and now seeks redemption.
• Potential Ally or Rival: The Red Raven's motives are not entirely pure. He may use the party to further his own agenda — protecting Edme's innocents, undermining the Revolutionary Council, or settling old scores.
• Moral Mirror: The Red Raven represents the tragedy of Galt — idealism corrupted by violence, and the difficulty of breaking the cycle of revolution.

Canon The Gray Gardeners

The Gray Gardeners are the hooded executioners of Galtan justice — violent, mob-ruled, and rarely just. They are the only constant in a nation that has been soaked in blood for over forty years. They have seen revolutionary leaders rise and then had their heads separated from their bodies scant months later.

🌑 The Mask of Anonymity

The reason the Gray Gardeners have survived every regime change is their anonymity — all members wear gray silk veils to protect their identities. Several Revolutionary Councils have demanded that they reveal themselves, but the Gray Gardeners have always refused, insisting that anonymity is their best protection from the bloody justice of mob rule.

⚔️ The Final Blades

The Gray Gardeners are the guardians and maintainers of the Final Blades — the most feared symbols of Galtan justice. These magical guillotines are nearly indestructible and prevent the resurrection of the executed, trapping their souls.

The most infamous Final Blade is Razor Jenni, which sits in the quadrangle of the Torvin Academy in Edme — once a place of learning, now a political prison. The half-elf philosopher Hosetter, who inspired the revolution, was executed by Razor Jenni — a grim irony that symbolizes the revolution consuming its own.

🏛️ The Monastery of Litran

The Gray Gardeners are based in the city of Litran, where the presence of their imposing monastery serves as a stabilizing force, keeping away the roaming mobs that plague the rest of Galt. Despite this stability, Litran is not a welcoming place, as the Gray Gardeners are not friendly towards outsiders.

🔗 Campaign Connections — The Boarwood Covenant

• Act 1 — The Forest That Judges: The Gray Gardeners have established a forward base in the Boarwood. They are hunting for the covenant's treaty faces and the descendants of its witnesses, seeking to use the Fourth Seat to execute their political enemies permanently.
• The Dryad's Captivity: The Gardeners have captured a dryad — a witness to the covenant — to force her to reveal the Silver-Tusked Guardian's location.
• Edme's Dark Secret: The Gardeners are working for Camilia Drannoch and the Revolutionary Council, who believe the covenant can be used to create a "perfect revolution" that can never be overthrown.
• Act 4 — The Covenant Below: The Gray Gardeners' true purpose may be revealed — are they simply executioners, or are they guardians of a darker secret about the Final Blades and the souls they trap?

Canon Edme — The Cradle of Revolution

Edme is a large city in the easternmost reaches of Galt, north of the Boarwood. Its population is approximately 13,600. Once a great center of learning, Edme was home to the prestigious Torvin Academy and the half-elf philosopher Hosetter, whose writings helped spark the revolution.

📚 The Torvin Academy — From Enlightenment to Prison

Hosetter once served as dean of the Torvin Academy. In what is indicative of the blood-thirsty madness that has gripped all of Galt, he was later executed by the final blade Razor Jenni, which now sits in the centre of the academy's once elegant quadrangle. The Torvin Academy has since been converted to serve as a political prison.

Surgeon Erszebet Lavenza took up a position at the academy and used the cadavers of those executed by the guillotine to create flesh golems for the Revolutionary Council — a grim example of how Galt's ideals have been twisted into horror.

🍂 The Fall of Edme

Due to continued disease and pestilence in the surrounding countryside, food has become scarce in Edme. This has led ordinary citizens to turn on each other in search of food, leading to widespread banditry and looting.

The Red Raven has taken up residence in Edme and tries to protect its citizens as best he can. Despite his best efforts, Edme continues attracting criminals from all over Galt.

🔗 Campaign Connections — The Boarwood Covenant

• Act 1 — Edme's Shadow: The Gray Gardeners' presence in the Boarwood is an extension of Edme's corruption. The party may encounter refugees from Edme (like Ormand Vex) who carry fragments of the covenant's history.
• Hosetter's Legacy: Hosetter's writings on "oaths that bind beyond mortal memory" directly connect to the covenant. The party may need to recover his lost manuscripts from the Torvin Academy's ruins.
• The Fourth Seat: The Gray Gardeners seek to fill the Fourth Seat with their own judgment — a grim echo of how Galt's revolution replaced one tyranny with another.