Candela Obscura is a secret society of investigators whose primary aim is the survival of mankind against supernatural forces. Your involvement with the organization begins with the mysterious tales set in The Fairelands within Hale; however, their origin predates even the city of Oldfaire.

In ancient times, the ruling class of Oldfaire used and abused the powers of magick, deeming themselves alchemists. As with any development that eases the burdens of daily living, the citizens of Oldfaire embraced the technological advancements born of this power. Out of either irreverence or ignorance, the corrupting force of bleed soon overtook the city. Supernatural forces from this disaster tore a chasm into the sea, and Oldfaire was overtaken by a great flood.

Before its fall, upon the first signs of this civilization’s destruction, a covert alliance of altruistic scholars arrived in Oldfaire. With a History of settling their chapter houses around locations of high magickal incursion, this was the beginning of Candela Obscura within The Fairelands. Almost all written records from Oldfaire were buried with the city, but it is clear that in the centuries that followed, this chapter of Candela Obscura slowly expanded in both size and influence.

For centuries, Candela Obscura has utilized Lighthouses around the world to hold together large rifts in the Flare, and to warn away innocent civilians from the dangerous magick that passes through. These Lighthouses can be found all across the Fairelands— deep in the Scarlet Wood, tucked within the snow of the Bridleborne Mountains, at the bottom of the Vastchasm, and beyond. Their strange locations have resulted in homespun, though inaccurate, folklore about the purpose of these structures and the surrounding geography.

These formidable structures are modeled after Candela Obscura’s central lighthouse: a massive, magickal vault known as the Pharos. Over the centuries, the Pharos has risen and fallen to the forces of magick, and today, this citadel is in its fourth iteration. After the fall of the Third Pharos, the organization’s council of Lightkeepers found a way to access the Flare, the protective veil between realms, and constructed the Fourth Pharos within its bounds. Now straddling the mundane and magickal worlds, this vault is only accessible from specific thinnings that lead into the Flare. Chapter houses soon began to form around these special thinnings, creating the present-day network of Candela Obscura members all over the world.

Values: Members of Candela Obscura are protectors of the people. With their wealth of supernatural knowledge passed down through generations, they focus their work on collecting and studying magickal phenomena.

Atmosphere: Libraries full of ancient and esoteric literature, working by candlelight, formal attire, strange artifacts in glass cases, secret entrances, hidden passageways.

Key Assets

• The Fourth Pharos: A vault located within the Flare that houses phenomena to keep them from corrupting the world with bleed.
• The Chapter House Archives: Every chapter house—the secret meeting location for each Candela Obscura circle—contains a highly protected collection of books, artifacts, and records.
• Lightkeepers: Veteran members of Candela Obscura who are retired from field work. They oversee circles of investigators, sending them out on assignments.

Notable Figures

• Shyla Bhaduri (she/they): A fearless adventurer. This lightkeeper is best known for her work in the ruins of Oldfaire.
• Naomi Malik (she/her): The Conservator of the Fourth Pharos, she leads the team that protects and controls this vault. Any requests to access artifacts, information, or other restricted resources cross her desk.
• Robin Suarez (they/them): An investigator of Candela Obscura currently in isolation within the Fourth Pharos. They faced intense exposure to bleed on their last mission.
• Xander Ikari (he/him): An art dealer now aligned with Candela Obscura. He has intimate knowledge of the underground world of magickal artifact trafficking.

-Shyla is on this list and I’m not?