Veilkeepers

The Veilkeepers are a global organization of magically empowered and controlled beings, most often humans but occasionally demi-humans, sworn to the protection of the human and demi-human communities alike, and responsible for maintaining the Masquerade Unlike other organizations in the world of Offetstine, the Veilkeepers were not formally instated nor have a traditional leadership structure; they are composed of a global, decentralized network of individuals who share the same magical powers and goals.

The Veilkeepers claim the power to selectively erase parts of history. The exact mechanism of their power is unclear even to veteran members of the organization, but it is nonetheless their hallmark ability. Upon erasing history, the world attempts to heal around the erased area, effectively allowing insurgent attempts by rogue mages and demi-humans, and unwary spectator humans, from disturbing the Masquerade. In the process, it often costs the Veilkeepers their own memory of the event, and as a result their bookkeeping is often lackluster at best.

Members of the Veilkeepers are usually indoctrinated through the Will of the People, specifically that of local Veilkeepers branches. While some branches operate on a global scale and attempt to regulate information pathways and telecommunications networks such as radio and internet communications, most branches operate locally with the stated goal of protecting the demi-human populations of individual districts. New Veilkeepers usually awaken to their powers and duties in a spontaneous moment, and are further introduced to their responsibilities when contacted by members of their respective branch.

Veilkeepers of Offetstine
Cognomina	Veilkeepers
Industry	Financial services (front) Maintaining the Masquerade (private)
Owner	Clarise Ledford
Employees	Approx. 100 (c. 1998)

The Veilkeepers of Offetstine are the respective branch of the network in the Greater Offetstine Area, headquartered in Offetstine. They are led by Clarise Ledford, a human mother who was first introduced to the demi-human world through her husband, a werewolf. In order to operate effectively in the otherwise treacherous environment created by gang warfare in Offetstine, they maintain a corporate front nominally focused on stock trading. Many other branches of the Veilkeepers are comparatively more subversive or grassroots.

History

Little is known about the exact history of the Veilkeepers, although one common origin myth is largely accepted by individuals both in and out of the organization who are aware of its existence. As the myth is propagated primarily by oral tradition, several variations on the tale exist, but common threads exist between all iterations of the story. The exact location of the story is unknown, although it is often posited to have taken place in modern-day India or China.

Creation myth

As per the myth, in approximately the third century BC, a relatively powerful human witch adopted and cared for a number of demi-human children. While the group was ultimately benevolent and harmless, they faced contiued antagonism from the local people citing prior encounters with more vengeant demi-humans. (Depending on the specific version of the tale, these vengeant demi-humans are usually cited to be rakshasa or, more abstractly and especially in western iterations, ogres.)

Due to the persecution increasingly endangering her family, the witch grew isolated from the local human population and, eventually, unable to resist it much longer and adamant on protecting her children, used her power to separate local mundane and magic civilization. Again, the exact fate of the witch or her children vary by version. While the effect was initially local, it spread over the course of centuries to most corners of the world through the Will of the People. Rather than being upheld by nature itself, nature called upon people to uphold the nascent Masquerade, and they dubbed themselves the Veilkeepers.

Demi-humans who travelled and traded on the Silk Road vied particularly for the Masquerade, and by about 300 AD the Masquerade was present across the majority of Europe and Asia. Over time and with increased global trade, it became a global phenomenon, though, all the while, entirely unbeknownst to humans. With it, many more branches of the Veilkeepers appeared across the world, and their culture as an organization developed primarily during this period.

Modern effects

The Masquerade is an often frowned-upon aspect of the history of the world of Offetstine, even from within the membership of the Veilkeepers. However, as the Veilkeepers are magically bound to their duty, they do not as individuals have the power to release the Masquerade. Some scholars argue the Masquerade is a consequence of a broader tradition of demi-human isolationism, disregarding the common origin story. While the Masquerade arguably accomplishes its stated purpose of protecting demi-humans, it is often considered overwrought and tyrannical even by demi-humans and Veilkeepers.

Some analysts suggest the Masquerade has limited the scope of scientific and technological progress in Offetstine, by preventing advancements in the world of magic from tricking back to the world of mundane science. Furthermore, many analysts suggest the Masquerade has exacerbated the fundamental problem of discrimination and fearmongering about demi-human populations, and prevented humans from coming to terms with the world exactly as it is.

Culture

Veilkeepers are often entirely willing to allow individual encounters between humans and demi-humans slide, in part because it would be a meticulous ordeal to strike every such happening from the historical record, and partly because it is broadly understood that exposure to the demi-human world on a per-person basis is not antithetical to the spirit of the Masquerade. This belief is especially pertinent in the Veilkeepers of Offetstine, where their leader Clarise Ledford was herself a human married to a werewolf before being indoctrinated into the organization. This belief usually goes hand in hand with magical epistemology, the belief that magic and mundane science have an inherent duty to benefit each other even if they cannot overtly communicate.

Veilkeepers often show a caring and motherly disposition to humans and demi-humans alike. Some branches of the Veilkeepers go so far as to formalize the filial relationship between them and their subjects, addressing human populations regularly as their "children".

The color blue is symbolically important to most branches of the Veilkeepers. Following the original creation myth, it is stated that the witch who was initially responsible for the Masquerade had vibrant blue eyes. However, the veracity of this claim is disputed, as the myth is largely held as fiction to begin with. Many branches of the Veilkeepers that operate out of a corporate front often prescribe blue uniforms, including the Veilkeepers of Offetstine.