Sanctuary of Stone

The Sanctuary of Stone was an organization dedicated to the eradication of monstrosities on the planet Nibiru. The organization is also well known for their devout worship to the Spirit of Lune. For most of its beginnings, the Sanctuary of Stone was an unknown organization to the wider world, and became famous after the great Soul Plague for their work single-handedly fighting off the Gorlund threat during the time of crisis. They were offered a position as an official member of the Apothietic Knights, with all the recognition that came with that order.

History
"'I am one with my inner beast, to deny it would bring shame onto my honor and bring imbalance between the beast and I.""I will protect the innocent. To bring harm to the innocent will shame me and break my oath.""I will never be cured of my curse. To loose my inner beast makes a mockery of those still suffering, I will be dead to my order.""I will never spread my curse. To spread the curse to anyone is heresy of the highest degree, I will be dead to my order.""To break these rules, is to be judged by the Spirit of Lune. And it's judgement I shall accept.'"-The Oath of the Sanctuary of Stone

The actual history of the Sanctuary of Stone is shrouded in mystery. For a majority of the beginnings of the Sanctuary of Stone, they were seen as an order of mercenaries. Members of the order would stroll into towns and cities, take contracts for dangerous monsters that local adventurers could not handle, and kill monsters with shocking effiency. It was often said that no monster would be safe for long from the Moon Mercs.

During the Pavish/Skayan war of the 2nd Cycle, the Stone Citadel was evacuated and all living members of the Sanctuary of Stone were relocated to Rhine. All members were evacuated from Pavlod just three days before the Pavish Rapture, the sudden disappearance of all humanoid life in Pavlod. This spared the leaders and higher members of the Sanctuary of Stone. Though, the reason for this move is also shrouded in mystery, and has caused some historians to peak interest in the knowledge that the order contains. But the Sanctuary of Stone quickly fell back into the annals of history as an obscure organization.

However, when the Soul Plague of the 3rd cycle occurred, their notoriety increased significantly. A threat from an unknown land known only to the history books as "Gorlund" had threatened the security of all of Nibiru by taking advantage of this Soul Plague. When the threat was realized, the Sanctuary stepped forward and offered its services to defend Vodopav, the country in immediate danger, its services. The Sanctuary of Stone gathered all of its members from across the world in the northern most islands of Vodopav. The Sanctuary of Stone single handedly fought of the Lords of Gorlund and saved the world from this mysterious forces march on humanity. As a result of their efforts, they were granted official membership into the Apothietic Knights. To this day they remain a key part of the order as the Apothietic Knight's official professional monster hunters.

Religious Practices
While the Sanctuary of Stone is primarily a monster hunting organization, the most elite members of the order practice strict religious worship of the Spirit of Lune. Most of the regular applicants are aware of this worship, but were largely unaware of the exact practices unless they took interest with the worship. In which case would enable them to ascend to higher ranks within the order.

The strict religious practice compliments the order's stance on Lycanthropy. The order treats Lycanthropy as a gift and a curse. A power that must be used responsibly or destroyed. The order uses their worship of the spirit of lune to control and tame the inner beast that lycanthropy creates. The exact connection between the spirit of lune and lycanthropy is a well-hidden secret of the order.

Those who have undergone the ceremony of lune are also taught the secret, ancient art of Blood Magic.

This obsessive worship of the spirit of lune has granted the Sanctuary of Stone cult-status among many of the educated world. Though, since joining the Apothietic Knights they have legitimized the Sanctuary of Stone's beliefs in the Spirit of Lune, and transformed the order into a full-blown religious practice.

Lycanthropy and the Sanctuary of Stone
While the order is strictly against sparing monstrosities, the Sanctuary had another more secret objective that involved collecting those who have suffered under the curse of Lycanthropy. Most people assumed when a member of the Sanctuary of Stone took a bounty on a were-beast, the beast was as dead as any other monstrosity. But more often than not, the reality was far less direct.

Whenever a member of the Sanctuary of Stone came across a victim of lycanthropy, they would give them a choice. Be cured, come with the order and redeem themselves, or die. Though, often the choice would be made for the target if needed. They would then be transported and brought to the Sanctuary's Stone Citadel in Stormhall, Belloskaya. There the cursed person would undergo the ceremony of lune, also known as "the taming" by members of the order. If they survived, they would be inducted as official members of the Sanctuary of Stone, and serve the order for the rest of their life.

The ceremony of lune involved many months of physical and mental preparation and a sponsor in the form of an "advocate" who had already undergone the ceremony. During the ceremony, an applicant would be chained with silver and brought under the light of a full moon where they must drink the blood of their advocate and confront their inner beast. If they come to understand and tame their beast, they then go on to recite the oath of the Sanctuary (seen above) and become an official member of the order known as a "Blood Hunter." If they do not come to terms, and the beast takes over, their body is instantly turned to stone. The failed applicant is then shattered and ground into dust.

If a Blood Hunter ever breaks their oath, they are returned to the Sanctuary of Stone and are confronted with "the judgement." A ceremony where the Blood Hunter is stripped and exposed to the moonlight and must gaze into the pool of visitation for judgement. If the spirit of lune judges the Blood Hunter's actions unforgivable, they are forcibly transformed into their hybrid state and turned into stone, where they will be moved into the "Hall of the Fallen" as pseudo-gargoyles, conscripted to serve the spirit of lune and protect the Citadel of Stone for as long as it stands. If the spirit of lune judges the Blood Hunter's actions as forgivable, they will be released and free to roam again, albeit with some smaller punishment that the Sanctuary of Stone deems fitting (if any).

Hierarchy
The hierarchy of the Sanctuary of Stone is divided into two major sections, the Order of Monster Hunters, and the Order of Blood Hunters.

The Sanctuary of Stone is largely made up of above-average hunters who have chosen to train under another member of the order. But all applicants must travel to the Citadel of Stone and submit themselves to the Council of Lune for final approval and initiation into the order. These members make up the Order of the Monster Hunters. In charge of these orders are Prefects, who guide their own individual order of Monster Hunters for their own region of the world. There are a select few monster hunters who learn the ways of blood magic from a blood hunter, but those situations are few and far between.

The much smaller and more influential elite of the Sanctuary of Stone is the Order of Blood Hunters. This part of the Sanctuary is made entirely of those who have been cursed with Lycanthropy and have undergone the taming and are masters of the ancient art of blood magic. The leaders of the Blood Hunters, and the leaders of the enitrety of the Sanctuary of Stone, are known as the Council of Lune. They are made up of 6 members, one for the new and full moons of each moon of Nibiru.