Chamber of the Crypteia
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| Active: | 1642 AN - Present | ||
| Motto | Obedience through Loyalty Loyalty through Fear | ||
| In use by: | Imperial Household | ||
| Allegiance: | The Kaiser | ||
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| Type: | Inquisition | ||
| Size: | 6,000 officers 7,200 Palatini Guards (force support unit) | ||
| Nickname: | Domini canes | ||
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| Current Commissioner: | Vivian Azari | ||
| Notable Actions | |||
Established by Imperial Decree in 1642 by Imperial Decree 829, as part of Dominus' reforms of the Imperial Household, the Chamber of the Crypteia under the Commissioner of the Crypteia, is responsible for coordinating those Imperial agencies investigating and reporting on corruption, malfeasance and disloyalty in the Imperial Republic to the Kaiser, the MinInt, the MoMA and the Imperial Inquisitor.
The first Commissioner of the Chamber of the Crypteia, Tokaray al-Osman, subsequently used the post and the implicit trust placed upon him to organise the Oustfest Massacre in an ill-fated attempt to seize the Golden Mango Throne. Subsequently the office has acquired an ill-favoured reputation. His replacement, Vivian Azari, was appointed by Kaiseress Noor in 1645 and has yet to attempt to overthrow anybody.
The Commissioner of the Crypteia enjoys an honoured place in the table of ranks and nobility, being of the 3rd grade (Zir Illustris) on a par with Imperial Ministers and the heads of Imperial States. The Commissioner is accordingly entitled to a guard of twelve sentinels and a distinguished personal retinue.
The central role played by the Chamber in organising the Putschists was reflected in the severity of the purges which swept through the organisation following Noor's triumphal entry into the Imperial Capital in the year 1645.
In spite of this the Chamber's wide-ranging powers remained unaffected.
The Chamber of the Crypteia is permitted, by virtue of Chapter 5.A.5.(e). of the Lawbook, to command the Imperial Constabulary to perform any lawful order it may issue. Specifically any order that is not expressly contrary to administrative and criminal law must be considered lawful and carried out.
Crypteia personnel provide the controlling Political Directorate of the Puritanian Guidance Authority, established in 1642 as an interdepartmental Imperial Agency providing oversight and assistance to the autonomous governments of Dietsland, Puritania and Voltrue.
Agents of the Chamber of the Crypteia bearing the seal of the Steward, were responsible for the release of Aleksandra Volkova from the notorious Elwynnese Dragonsfold prison in the year 1650. This brazen intrusion into the jurisdiction of an Imperial State on the grounds of National Security, proved to be a pivotal moment in the Struggle for the South, leading to the establishment of a new provisional government and the expulsion of Elwynnese settlers from Mishalan.
Although a civilian Imperial Agency, the Chamber maintains a paramilitary force, the Scholae Crypteia which contributes a force of Auxiliaries to the Palatini Corps charged with the defence of the Imperial County. The force is listed by the Imperial Army as a Scholae Legion for the defence of the Imperial Household.
The legacy of the Oustfest Massacre still lingers in the notoriously abysmal relationship between members of the Crypteia and the Sentinels, the Kaiser's close-bodyguard, who bore the brunt of the treacherous ambush that cost the life of Kaiser Dominus. Irrespective of this, the Chamber of the Crypteia of the Imperial Household, under the Commissioner of the Crypteia, has responsibility for directing the Order of Sentinels in their provision of security for the Kaiser, Ministers, the Landsraad, embassies, consulates and visiting foreign dignitaries. [1]
Representatives of the Chamber of the Crypteia have occasionally been alleged to have intimidated rival competitors and opponents of those corporations strongly favoured by the Imperial Government, such as the ESB-Jörmungandr Group and Ryker Airships. These allegations have been strongly denied and the names of those making them duly noted.
In spite of these close relations, the Crypteia can be ruthless when dealing with corporate corruption. The Chamber of the Crypteia, invited in by the Imperial Commissioner of Equipment and Support Hanns Drumpf, conducted an audit in 1643 of the ill-fated stealth fighter programme which had cost the 4,160,000,000 Erb for forty STVOL platforms introduced into service between 1639 and 1643. A number of catastrophic design and production flaws were consequently discovered, resulting in the platforms being grounded and scrapped. Consequently, following the Crypteia investigation, those ESB Imports employees involved in the planning, design and introduction of the ill-fated aircraft, along with their families, were disappeared from the public record so utterly that it was as if they had never existed.
The Crypteia has responsibility for a number of classified programmes, including the biological integration of central processing units into the Panopticon sensor suite and the instruction of higher level Imperial Officials in the so-called Jadu ye Siyah (Black Arts), in cooperation with the Vigiles Arcani, to help ward against and detect daemonic infiltrations such as that perpetrated by the Harald Entity.
During the long lasting War of Lost Brothers the Crypteia became responsible for the punishment of negligent officers in the Imperial Forces. Notable victims included Legate Teodor Doru Vasile who was summarily executed for the disgrace brought to the Imperial Republic by the Vth Legion in abandoning its fortified castrum (forward operating base) in the face of a surprise Jingdaoese attack.
The Chamber is reputed to have an entire squadron (120 personnel) dedicated to gathering and collating compromising material on all public figures in the Imperial Republic.
Commissioners
- Tokaray al-Osman, 1642–1644;
- Vivian Azari, 1645–'the present'.
Notable Crypteia officers
- Nona Vasilica, Tribune (angusticlavii) attached from Rrakanychan Watch in year 1644. Investigated Project Phlegethon and retrieved materials subsequently employed in the Oustfest Massacre. Subsequently enduring a miserable and stalled career on the island of Kezan as belated punishment.
- Gwilherm Albus, head of the Political Directorate of the Puritanian Guidance Authority. Murdered by the Lich Kossar known as Hafizov on the orders of Laqi Hyrrion in a doomed attempt to forestall his own destruction by the Putschists during the Year of the Four Kaisers.
