Golden Hand

The Golden hand is the branch of the Clergy of Cyridia that is responsible for capturing heretics and dangerous criminals, monitoring Athvrean society for heresy, and a range of foreign and domestic special operations. It operates out of the Drelvyndor Catacombs. The Golden Hand officially does not exist, although every Athvrean knows and fears their name. Priests and flamekeepers of the Golden Hand differ from their traditional counterparts in that they are organized using principles more akin to military units than overseeing a particular temple. The Golden Hand only answers to the Triumvirate but does prepare reports for councils within the Greater Assembly.

Common activities of the Golden Hand include espionage, sabotage, surveillance, assassination, diplomacy, and sensitive research and development. Many of these activities overlap with the roles traditionally assumed by bards, whom they supplanted. Some, though not all, bards accept payment from and work for the Golden Hand as hired guns.

The origins of the Golden Hand lie 100 years after the ascension to power of the Clergy of Cyridia. The Triumvirate at the time was known for their extreme paranoia. Feeling that they could not trust the bards or any other group, the Triumvirate pours extensive resources into the then small intelligence service of the Clergy. This expansion brought about a sixth archpontifex position as well as a number of pontifexs, priests, and flamekeepers. These were chosen from the most loyal (in the eyes of the Triumvirate) among the Clergy. The Golden Hand has undergone relatively little reform in the intervening 300 years.

The Golden Hand's most important recent endeavor is Project Second Sun.