Nightwardens

The Nightwardens are an association based in Zescore with the sole purpose of guarding the regions's artifacts. An ancient order shrouded in secrecy, their numbers are dwindling due to lack of popularity in recent years, as well as the advent of the slow decline of High Penguins. Within their hideout is an intricate series of levels, vaults, containment chambers, and crystal containment prisons for both artifacts and prisoners that do not deserve to walk the land, per a deal made with 9 in exchange for complete secrecy. Their weapons, consisting of spinning axes and warglaives, are primitive in comparison with the more modern weapons, yet the existence of runes dating back to the arrival of The Infinite Engine allows for the defenses to be supplemented quite well. They are at frequent odds with explorers and relic hunters who seek to steal the magical relics they guard in exchange for profit, foregoing the process of procuring the relics by means of hard-work.

History with Runes
Runes are the embodiment of magic in Munijoch and theoretically the entire region, according to some SI:9 scholars. While the Runes themselves are not magic, the Runes call upon the magic that exists around both the region, world, and the universe. It is speculated that the first person to master all the runes, known as The Visionary, created several artifacts strewn with their own power in order to teach others to wield it. In all, it is unknown how many artifacts have been produced, and it's speculated that some might be in private collections unbeknownst to those that found them. These new Rune masters then created more runes, and eventually started an organization to make sure all are accounted for. Knowledge of their magic conjugation spread from the island, and eventually became known throughout the region, albeit diluted and modified to fit the style of the user. This resulted in more artifacts that were eventually stored in that same collection. Eventually, the new Visionary decreed that this organization shall be called the Nightwardens, and established an honor code and methodology of interacting with others that might not use magic.

Examples of Artifacts

 * The Great Brace of the Mancer: A bracelet containing the runic empowerment inscriptions of the 10 Runes. Meant to add on to existing runic weaponry to increase their power.
 * Black Orb of Graxxar: An orb made of pure condensed Abyssal runic magic that, when attached to a staff, allows for great manipulation of Abyssal magic.
 * Glaive of the Sky: A glaive that exudes Cosmic rune magic.
 * Glaive of the Night: A glaive that exudes Abyssal rune magic.
 * Great Ring of the Liar: A ring that can spit out Pyros rune magic, at the cost of setting themselves on fire.
 * Bucket of the Deluge: A bucket that has an almost infinite amount of water thanks to the Aquos rune.
 * Gloves of Scornful Love: Gloves, with Blood and Death runes, respectively, that are meant to be used in tandem with each other.