Aleister Smythe

Aleister Smythe is a member of the Fraternity of Shadows and the avatar of real-life Fraternity member Rock. He was first introduced in Quoth the Raven Issue 29.

Background

Aleister was born into a family already strongly involved with the Fraternity of Shadows. His father practically forced him to join the secret society, when Aleister would have preferred to become an artist, a professional scribe or even a Warlock of Hala.

Aleister did not enjoy his time in the Fraternity. Due to a relative's conniving, his career was sidelined and he was reduced to running messages all across the Core for superior Brothers, as well as performing fact-checking and verification tests for others' research. As a result, he at least became a practised horseman and sailor.

Aleister's life took a sudden turn for the positive when he made the acquaintance of a shapeshifting creature in Sithicus. The creature named itself Livia Hemlock. Surprisingly, the two of them hit it off to the point that they developed genuine romantic love for one another. Eventually they were married, creating a well-matched union. Livia even helped jumpstart Aleister's career in the Fraternity with her superior social skills, but Aleister was more than ready to tender his resignation from the group when the two of them discovered Livia was pregnant.

In due time the couple's child was born: a healthy son, whose existence filled Aleister's life with unexpected extremes of joy - until the baby was poisoned in his crib. Livia left Aleister, fearing that the infanticide had been a warning shot of sorts from the Fraternity, which she suspected had discovered her non-human ancestry.

Aleister sank into a numb depression, performing his duties mechanically until he made the acquaintance of a very different shape-shifter during one of his journeys. The Red Haunt introduced Aleister to the Scions of Irul, in whose company he felt more at home than among his supposed Brothers in Shadow. While he understood the Fraternity would kill him if they discovered his dealings with the Scions, Aleister continued; at least among the Scions he was able to stimulate his mind, swapping lore. From context, it is clear that he was among the Scions who were ousted when Tressac seized control of the group.

In 748 BC, Aleister received a missive from the Red Haunt, asking for his assistance in founding a new group. She made it clear that she wanted Aleister to speak on the nature of the Dark Powers and the Demiplane of Dread - secrets jealously guarded by the Fraternity. In return, Aleister would be able to join the Centurions' apocalyptic quest for Cosmic Necromancy and ascension to power. In full awareness that doing this constituted betraying his oaths to the Fraternity, Aleister cooperated with the Fiend, becoming a co-founder of the Centurions of the Night.