Who are the Verum?

(Excerpt from Colt's Guide to the World of Dragon Metal)

Summary: The Verum, the largest of the Three Great Schools of Magic. Operates in secret under the cover of a front company, Disciple (Disciple has numerous subsidiaries, affiliates and shell companies). The Verum believe magic comes in three currents that are one—a river that sweeps through all of creation: the Magic of Saints, Magic of Angels, and Magic of God. However, according to their beliefs, magic is granted to humans by the Saints only. The Verum have countless ceremonies and prayers to worship the long-dead Saints.

Vibes: The Verum cloak themselves in prayers and saintly imagery, but their true creed is power through purification: corrupt the heretic, purge the rival, and sanctify their own bloodlines to keep magic under their control.

Symbol: A sword against a V-shaped logo, with the crossguard at the lower point of the V. Typically white against a field of dark blue.

Name origin: Verum is the Latin word for “True” or “Genuine.” 

The Saints

The Verum group their Saints into different categories, called Choirs. In schools, these Choirs are taught as the “Five Voices of Heaven.” Each member of the Verum chooses one Saint to align themselves with, and as such, aligns with one of these Choirs. 

1. The Red Choir (War Martyrs)

   Vibes: Battle and banners, triumph in holy violence. 

   Symbol: A cross-shaped sword against a halo of spears.

   Summary: The Red Choir sees battle as liturgy. They chant battle-psalms, and their arcane Relics burn brightest while in combat, feeding on anger and fear. 

   Saints include: 

   • Saint Invicta of Antioch, “Banner of Ash” — A young woman who refused to abandon her banner while her city burned, holding it aloft until flames consumed her. The Verum teach that her death proved courage can sanctify slaughter.

   • Saint Longinus, “Lance-Bearer” — A soldier whose spear pierced Christ, later converted and martyred. For the Red Choir, he embodies the paradox of sin redeemed through holy violence.

   • Saint Georgius, “Dragon-Breaker” — The knight who fought beasts and tyrants, dying under persecution. His legend is recited to prove that monsters, whether flesh or spirit, fall before sanctified arms.

2. The Black Choir (Confessors) 

   Vibes: Secrets, pain, truth-by-torment.

   Symbol: An eye veiled by thorns.

   Summary: The Black Choir turns confession into a weapon. They whisper prayers in interrogation chambers, believing every scream is a psalm to the Saints. They are spies, torturers, assassins—they call themselves confessors. 

   Saints include: 

   • Saint Praeconis, “Tongue of Iron” — A confessor said to have wrung admissions of heresy from kings and bishops alike, proving no soul is beyond the reach of holy interrogation.

   • Saint Lucia, “Eyes Uncovered” — Blinded by her persecutors, yet in Verum lore she saw more truly than those with sight. They venerate her as the patroness of exposing lies.

   • Saint Catherine Ferrata, “The Wheel” — Tortured on a breaking wheel, her legend is invoked to show that agony itself can be a holy instrument of revelation.

3. The White Choir (Miracle Crafters)

   Vibes: Logistics, healing, warding.

   Symbol: A hammer against a radiant shield. 

   Summary: The White Choir builds the war machine of the Verum. By using specialized Relics, they heal bodies, patch walls, and consecrate bullets. Their surgeons stitch both flesh and faith; their artificers sanctify gear for crusade. When war is liturgy, they are its sacristans. 

   Saints include: 

   • Saint Cosmas & Damian, “Twin Surgeons” — Physicians who healed without payment, executed for their faith. To the White Choir, they are proof that tending the wounded is as sacred as spilling blood.

   • Saint Joseph Artifex, “Builder’s Palm” — A humble craftsman elevated to sainthood, invoked whenever the Verum prepare for battle. His story underlines the holiness of structure and order.

   • Saint Veronica, “Veil-Bearer” — Remembered for offering Christ her veil on the road to Calvary. The Verum teach that her act shows how small gestures of preservation can shield the faithful from despair.

4. The Blue Choir (Oracles)

   Vibes: Smoke, ashes, prophecy through pain and vigil.

   Symbol: A single eye within a ring of ash, the iris drawn as a spiral. 

   Summary: The Blue Choir seeks sight through suffering. Oracles burn incense of martyr’s bones, fasting until visions seize them. On the field, their prophecies guide charges and retreats alike. They are dramatists as much as prophets, stage-managing miracles to terrify enemies and exalt allies.

   Saints include: 

   • Saint Symeon Stylite, “Pillar-Watcher” — Lived atop a pillar for decades in harsh fasting. His endless vigil is recounted as proof that sight beyond sight is bought by endurance and solitude.

   • Saint Cassandra of Lyon, “Ash-Whisper” — Burned as a heretic, her dying breath was said to foretell disasters that came true. The Verum claim her ashes still whisper guidance.

   • Saint Helena, “Finder of Things” — Mother of Constantine, credited with discovering the True Cross. For the Blue Choir she embodies the quest to uncover hidden sanctity in a world of ruins.

5. The Iron Choir (Penitents)

   Vibes: Self-mortification as fuel.

   Symbol: A crown of nails. 

   Summary: The Iron Choir thrives on suffering. They cut their own flesh to invoke miracles, believing wounds buy grace. They lead charges with whips and chains, bleeding freely to empower themselves. To their foes, they seem unkillable—zealots who smile through gore.

   Saints include:

   • Saint Vercinget, “Nail-Crown” — Said to have hammered nails into his own skull to share in Christ’s passion. The Iron Choir hold him up as proof that pain itself can be an offering.

   • Saint Rose of the Thorns, “Perfume of Suffering” — Wrapped herself in thorned garlands under her robes, her hidden agony sanctifying her life. They teach her as the exemplar of suffering in silence.

   
   
   
   

Organization

Leadership: The Verum operates in secret under the umbrella of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. At the Vatican level, six cardinals oversee the Verum, although they appoint a board of directors via a front company, Disciple, to manage the Verum’s day-to-day operations. Outside of the six ruling cardinals, the leadership of the Vatican know nothing of the Verum’s existence except for rumors (often ignored).  

Eighteen members sit on the Disciple’s board of directors, each appointed by the cardinals. Board members come from the twelve most influential families of the Verum’s membership. 

Verum families constantly undercut one another while maintaining a facade of holy unity. The Twelve Families are:  

1. Anterus Family: Custodians of Relics. Obsessed with cataloging, hoarding, and baptizing Relics so no magic lies outside Verum control. 

2. Argent Family: Financiers. Fund Disciple’s shell companies and launder wealth. Known for wearing silver-threaded clothing as a mark of status.

3. Aurelius Family: Bloodline purists. Claim descent from saints and crusaders. Lead purification rituals, often brutal.

4. Bohemond Family: The Crusaders. Provide commanders for Paladins and Knights Templar. Glory in martial, holy violence.

5. Clermont Family: Manipulators of faith. Their descendants orchestrated the Council of Clermont in 1095 AD to launch the First Crusade. 

6. Dandolo Family: Spymasters. Masters of blackmail, assassination, and inquisitorial propaganda. Their networks rival the medieval Venetian Doges’ reach.

7. Diamante Family: Guardians of secrecy. Operate hidden schools and monitor bloodlines. Known for jeweled crucifixes filled with poison.

8. Edessa Family: Custodians of Crusader legacies. Still rule estates in the Levant through proxies. Obsessed with Jerusalem’s nexus.

9. Halberstadt Family: The Inquisition’s bloodline. Their family motto: “In torment, truth.” Believed to have invented many sanctioned torture rites.

10. Natalius Family: The Scholars. Shape doctrine, write black codices and train confessors who pen rewritten history.

11. Tancred Family: Warrior-monks. Fanatics who embrace martyrdom through Relic-baptized weapons.

12. Zephyrinus Family: The Mystics. Claim visions from long-dead saints. Provide oracles who whisper into cardinal ears. Their madness is both feared and used.

Trinity: Militant arm of the Verum, led by the Captain General, who reports to Disciple. Split into three main divisions. 

• Paladins: Grunts and footsoldiers of the Verum’s military force, often equipped with body armor and firearms. Their Relics come in the form of enchanted bullets and enchanted daggers, mostly. Typically aligned with the Red Choir (less common, the Iron Choir). 

• Inquisitors: Think of the Inquisitors as the Black Ops unit of the Verum military. They tend to focus their efforts on those who use magic outside of the Verum’s control: heretics, evil doers, and members of rival Schools of Magic. Special agents, assassins, spies, wet work specialists, investigators: all words that can describe the function of the Inquisitors. Typically aligned with the Black Choir (less common, the Blue Choir). 

• Knights Templar: The Verum’s Relic hunters. They specialize in seizing and controlling Relics outside of the Verum’s control. Typically aligned with the White Choir (less common, the Red Choir or Black Choir). 

Saints Tribunal: The “legal” arm of the Verum calls itself the Saints Tribunal, responsible for bringing the Saints’ justice to the world. They act as a global police force with the power to judge, sentence, and execute. Officers of the Saints Tribunal are called Justicars; they report to the Verum’s ruling cardinals directly and operate outside of Disciple’s control. 

Schools: The Verum hide their schools behind the facade of private schools that they own and operate. For schools and learning institutions, the Verum divides the world into Domains. Each Domain has a chantry that oversees individual Verum schools within its boundaries, and each chantry has a Regent at its head. The chantries operate under the control of Disciple. 

END ENTRY