Ministry of War & Conflict | Silent Sanctum, Hollowspire
“Their watch has ended. Ours endures.”
The Order of the Fallen Vigil is a solemn brotherhood and sisterhood charged with honoring, guarding, and remembering the dead of Eyehasseen’s armed forces. Founded in Year 18 of the Reckoning, the Order is not a combat division, but a sacred military fraternity that upholds the memory, dignity, and spiritual legacy of those who gave their lives in service to the Crown.
They are monks, veterans, poets, and wardens of sacred grounds—sworn to silence in the presence of the fallen, and to speech only when called to speak their names.
⚔️ Core Duties
- Maintenance of military graveyards, battlefield memorials, and shrines
- Organization of Remembrance Marches, funerary honors, and the annual Lighting of the 10,000 Candles
- Preservation of ashes, remains, final letters, and relics of valor
- Custodianship of the Cenotaph of the Unknown Sword, where the unclaimed dead are named with new honorifics
- Dispatch of Vigil-Bearers to represent the fallen at promotions, royal weddings, and other state functions
🏛️ The Sanctum of Hollowspire
Located deep in the Mistwood, the Sanctum is built upon the site of a forgotten battle, where no side claimed victory, only loss. Its blackstone walls are etched with the names of every confirmed fallen soldier, each name painstakingly re-etched annually to preserve clarity.
In the inner courtyard, the Eternal Drum of the Unbroken March sounds a single beat at dawn and dusk each day.
🕊️ Rituals and Traditions
- The Rite of Final Breath – performed before sealing a tomb; includes reading the fallen’s name and their regiment’s marching line
- Nightwatch Vigil – members of the Order sleep beside new graves for seven nights, bearing no arms, only a candle
- The Memory Chain – a literal chain forged of battlefield salvage links, worn by the High Warden on Feast Days of the Dead
- Naming of the Nameless – once per season, the Order selects one previously unknown soldier and assigns them an honorific, family, and fabricated biography—so no soul goes unremembered
🔗 Order Structure
- High Warden of the Vigil – traditionally a retired general who has sworn never to command again
- The Thirteen Bell-Bearers – each responsible for a district of the Realm; they ring the death knell for every confirmed loss
- The Pale Brothers and Sisters – cloaked in grey and black, these are the field watchers and shrine tenders
- The Lorekeepers – poets and chroniclers who compose ballads, epitaphs, and battle lamentations
⚰️ Known Shrines & Sites Maintained by the Order
- The Garden of Echoes – a quiet glade filled with wind chimes, each representing a life lost
- The Silent Gate at Hollowvale – travelers are forbidden to speak while passing; a tribute to those who died defending the pass
- The Sea Stone at Port Lament – inscribed with names of those lost at sea, facing the waves eternally
- The Ash Pool of Greybanner – where battle garments of the fallen are burned and the ashes stirred into the soil
📜 Motto of the Order
“Their watch has ended. Ours endures.”