Umbral Court
Formed at the dawn of the Age of Darkness, the Umbral Court is the name for the Kuthite aristocracy that rules the nation of Nidal with an iron fist.
History
Faced with extinction due to the many deprivations visited upon Golarion by Earthfall and the subsequent Age of Darkness, the horse lords who controlled the land now known as Nidal made a pact with the darkest of deities: Zon-Kuthon. They traded their own survival and that of their people for eternal subservience to the Midnight Lord. The horse lords became known as the Black Triune, and under their guidance, the Umbral Court was born. Their descendants continue to maintain this agreement, in constant fear of disappointing Zon-Kuthon and losing their divine mandate. The Court assumed control of Nidal as early as -5275 AR.
Even though Nidal was once a subject of Cheliax, the Umbral Court has regained most of its power in the last century. In exchange for supporting House Thrune in the Chelaxian Civil War at the beginning of the Age of Lost Omens, Egorian rewarded the Umbral Court by withdrawing all Chelaxian agents and handing back sovereignty in 4640 AR.
Structure and authority
The Umbral Court can consist of hundreds of members at a time. Few outside of the highly secretive streets of Pangolais know the identities of individual members of the Umbral Court, although there are rare exceptions. Membership is meritocratic and not hereditary. All initiates into the Umbral Court undergo an occult ritual, called Enter the Umbral Court, that fills their eyes with black shadows, a sign of their eternal bondage to Zon-Kuthon. Some also conduct processes that transform them into creatures like vampires or shadow creatures.
The Umbral Court rules by the divine decree of the god Zon-Kuthon himself. They work diligently and desperately to maintain that mandate by opposing the local Desnans, diabolists, and any others who would dare challenge the authority of the Midnight Lord.