Gatekeepers
One of the three sub-factions governing the Veil on velhuneth. Cross-house in membership, non-hierarchical, no parent organisation sits above them.
Role
The Gatekeepers control physical access at the Veil threshold itself. They stand at the doorframe, confirm that those who approach are legitimate, and decide who passes. At that threshold they hold absolute kill authority, and they answer for its use to no political power in the system.
Who they are
Their armour and weapons are supplied in equal measure by all six houses, a visible neutrality bought through equal contribution so that no one house can claim to arm them. The armour is ornate as well as functional, and the position carries enough honour that the finest warriors in the system actively seek it out.
How they operate
The kill authority has been exercised, though rarely, and never once abused. A handful of incidents from the early years still stand as precedent, the cost of a wrong word or an ill-judged gaze at the threshold, and the memory of them has been enough that the threat alone has sufficed ever since. The Gatekeepers are feared and revered in equal measure across all six houses, and their presence has a way of silencing a room.
What the houses know of them publicly is the impression they are meant to have: the Gatekeepers carry the best power armour in the system, the best weapons, and the best and most loyal warriors, and they maintain a command ship in orbit above the temple.
Leadership
The Gatekeepers are led by a single Commander at a time. The current Commander is Vincent Umberlin, a hero in the strictest and most universe-specific sense of the word, whose honour has never been questioned in any act or any word. He is stoic, humble, and severe, and he has never once had to cut down one of his own, because he has chosen every one of them so well.
The Gatekeepers also secure the Archive on Varuna, handling both its physical security and its network security, because no single house could be trusted to guard it alone.
Membership
Members are nominated by their birth house, but the choice belongs entirely to the sub-faction, which accepts or rejects each candidate only after a full investigation into their DNA, communications, history, finances, and relationships. Once a name is put forward, nothing about that person stays private. A house can nominate, but it cannot insist; the sub-factions cannot be forced to take anyone.
Members (assigned)
Twelve members, two per house for balanced representation, all male (per the warrior-guardian brief). Members swear off house loyalty on joining; birth house shown for provenance only. (assigned 2026-06-01)
- Henry Highmarch — birth house Imperia (M)
- Lawrence Highmarch — birth house Imperia (M)
- Atlas Lumenhart — birth house Solari (M)
- Justin Voltaren — birth house Solari (M)
- Aaron Verren — birth house Myndari (M)
- Sanjay Quendar — birth house Myndari (M)
- Hayden Karrow — birth house Kael (M)
- Sterling Karrow — birth house Kael (M)
- Phoenix Starwright — birth house Astraea (M)
- Silas Edenroth — birth house Astraea (M)
- Gideon Umberlin — birth house Nox (M)
- Wesley Hollowyn — birth house Nox (M)