//------------------------------// // Factions: Part 1 // Story: The Rites Encyclopedia // by CvBrony //------------------------------// Twilight sucked in a breath, then blew off the dust on her chalkboard. Coughing and heaving in the inevitable cloud of dust, she blasted the cloud away with a burst of pegasus magic. “Ugh. Should have seen that coming. I'm out of practice here.” She grabbed the chalk in her magic and cleared her throat. “Sorry about this, everyone. The author can only wrote so much with his hands before being in pain, so side projects like this are on the backburner most of the time. “But there's been repeated requests for a faction and organization breakdown, and it's high time one was provided. So, here we are. Rites of Ascension factions 101.” Twilight put a circle of chalk on the ground, then waved to the door. Trixie poked her head in. “Wow. That's freaky. And they're here all the time, but we just don't see them?” “Try to put it out of your mind, or you'll suffer an existential crisis like you wouldn't believe. Are you otherwise ready?” “Hmmm? Oh, yes.” Trixie lit her horn, and the image of a stallion in sunglasses appeared in the circle on the floor. It was the spitting image of the one she fought in Gryphonhelm. Twilight gave the image a poke. “Good job, Trixie! Everypony, this is a visual representation of a member of what we at first called ‘The Illusionists.’ Their organization was later revealed to have given themselves the name ‘Knights Templar.’ Their motives are unknown, but they appear to have been influencing politics all over the world for centuries, and they’ve been after Trixie for years.” “I still have chills looking at this bastard.” Trixie turned her face away from it, and hid her head with her hat. “I know. I appreciate your help here. You can shift the image now.” “Thank you,” Trixie whispered. The image changed into a chained, bound Duke Esteem next to Duchess Artfeather. Twilight cleared her throat. “These are a pair of the few ponies we know for certain had connections to the organization that calls itself ‘The Majestics.’ General Towers was also involved, and was murdered by the same group. “We initially called them the ‘Robber Barons,’ but now that we have the name they call themselves, we use the name Majestics. Their true aims aren't entirely clear, but their actions reveal that they are definitely trying to undermine the Crown. “The size of the organization is not known. Those who are in it are known to be under some form of geas. It's speculated that those few at the top have control over it, and those under can't leak anything because the geas has sufficient control over their minds. “We have more information on their finances. It's known they've been able to amass billions of bits in combined cash and material, through both financial shenanigans and deals with underground organizations such as the pirate Farrier.” Trixie tilted her hat and struck a pose. “We're going to kick his ass soon, right?” Twilight lit her horn, and the ground trembled in resonance. “You bet your flank.”