Founded around 1080, during the First Crusade, the order was largely wiped out by Mongols when they captured the mountain fortress of Alamut. The founder, and first Grand Headmaster, lived out his days there, devoting himself to expanding the order’s reach and power, and spreading his Isma’ili beliefs.

The structure is hierarchical, and descends from the Grand Headmaster, to Greater Propagandists, Propagandists, Companions, and Adherents. The Adherents were also known as the “self-sacrificing agents”, and were the actual killers of the group. Although the lowest members of the Order, they were well-read, and well-trained. Usually young, strong, cold, calculating, patient, bold, and skilled in both combat and subterfuge, they often carried out public killings to instill fear, and usually used poisoned daggers.

The attackers frequently did not survive, and believed themselves holy warriors, enacting Jihad, and The Old Man on the Mountain became a legendary figure in the region for his political power and the extreme loyalty he commanded in his followers, possibly through the use of hashish, earning them the sometimes derogatory name of “Hashishins.”

Some recent high profile assassination’s origins have been traced back to northern Iran, where Alamut was once located, and it seems that rumors of a new Old Man on the Mountain have spread through local communities in the decades since Aden levelled Tehran. The Syrian “hajal” bird is a common sigil of the Order, and the surname Hajaly is often used by their operatives. They seem to have an ongoing dispute with the Catholic Church, especially the Knights Templar religious order, as well as the successors to the Augmented Soldier Program.

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