Claret Orders

The Claret Orders is an underground organization originating from Wildemount. They consist of practitioners of hemocraft magic, such as blood hunters and blood clerics, whose primary mission is to protect those who cannot protect themselves from fiends, undead, and other shadowed monsters.

History
During the Marrow War, the high cleric of the Julous Dominion was desperate to stave off the aggressions of the Dwendalian Empire and secretly made a pact with a devil of the Nine Hells. However, the bargain came at the cost of the Marrow Valley becoming overrun with devils and undead.

Seeking to protect his people, a priest named Trence Orman prayed to The Raven Queen for help, who granted him the secrets of hemocraft magic. Using this power, Trence and his followers formed the Claret Orders and banished the devils and undead from the realm. Unfortunately, with the Marrow Valley now clear, the Dwendalian Empire was then able to advance and conquer the Julous Dominion.

The Claret Orders were scapegoated for inviting the fiends into the Marrow Valley. Once the Dwendalian Lords had made it clear they were no longer welcome, the Orders went into hiding, where they continued their efforts protecting the lands from devils, the undead, and other monstrosities. Lucien, a former member, referred to the Orders as a "disparate collective."

The Claret Orders have since spread beyond Western Wynandir, some taking up residence in the land of Tal'Dorei, across the Lucidian Ocean.

Orders
Each of the orders correspond to one of the blood hunter subclasses.
 * Order of the Ghostslayer: The oldest of the orders. Members of this order seek to study the moment of death, and use their abilities to destroy the undead.
 * Order of the Mutant: Members of this order study alchemy and concoct mutagenic elixirs to enhance their bodies for combat.
 * Order of the Profane Soul: Members of this order forge pacts with otherworldly beings to gain additional magical abilities, similar to those of warlocks.

Order of the Lycan
Members of this order, who are afflicted with lycanthropy against their will or ready to join the order, accepting the curse, undergo a ritual known as the Taming in order to control the curse and gain ability to channel the power their afliction into abilities of hemocraft. Those who rufuse to undergo the ritual are sentenced to an execution. Mechanically, the one who completes the Taming, chooses the path of the Order of the Lycan subclass.

Although one of the most sacred oaths of this order is to never infect another creature without the order's sanction, if an order member is ever cured of their lycanthropic curse, they become a disgrace in the eyes of the order. The members who have been cured against their will, return to the order to renew the Taming and reintroduce the curse to their bodies and restoring their honor, are highly praised by the order.

Notable members

 * Lucien and the Tombtakers: They were part of the Orders but split off to pursue a different path.
 * Gurge Kisgregg: He was a member until he was cursed with lycanthropy. He left for Marquet circa 833 PD and worked with the Gorgynei, a group of lycanthropes near Jrusar who have tamed their abilities.
 * Claret Director Emeritus Teresa Dulamar: Teresa is a cleric of the Raven Queen and was the head of the Orders in Tal'Dorei until 826 PD; she operated out of Kymal.
 * Claret Director Alasterre de Vitrevos: Director of the Order in Tal'Dorei as of 836 PD. Also a cleric of the Raven Queen.
 * Hunter Jorick LaMensh: Jorick is a member of the Order of the Profane Soul and was Teresa's executive officer until her retirement, when he became her bodyguard.
 * Claret Director Jette Brashan: A male half-orc priest of the Raven Queen living in Wildemount who committed to wipe out fiends on the Material Plane.
 * Elias de Corvo: Elias is one of the most famous blood hunters of the Claret Orders and operates in Wildemount.
 * Lilyana Cayd: A female half-elf werewolf and an efficient blood hunter, operating in Wildemount.
 * Ometho: A former member of the Claret Order who founded the Gorgynei and mentored Annaline.
 * Uther: Originally from the Savalirwood, he was a member of the Claret Order before leaving for Marquet due to an unstated event that made his home no longer viable.