The Order

Overview

The Order is the central faction in Phantom Blade Zero. It is a secretive espionage organization that operates within the jianghu, the shadow world of wandering martial artists and underground power brokers. The Order was founded to maintain stability in a chaotic martial world where individual fighters with extraordinary abilities could destabilize entire regions. Its methods include intelligence gathering, covert operations, targeted assassinations, and the manipulation of rival factions.

Hierarchy

The Order operates under a strict hierarchical structure with the Patriarch at its apex. Below the Patriarch sits an inner council of senior operatives who oversee different branches of the organization's operations: intelligence, enforcement, diplomacy, and recruitment. Field operatives like Soul report to branch leaders and receive missions through a compartmentalized chain of command designed to prevent any single operative from knowing too much about the organization's full scope.

Purpose and philosophy

The Order was founded on the principle that the jianghu, left to its own devices, tends toward chaos. Individual martial artists and small factions pursue their own interests without regard for the broader consequences, leading to cycles of violence that harm ordinary people caught in the crossfire. The Order positions itself as a stabilizing force, intervening to prevent any single faction from growing too powerful and mediating disputes before they escalate into open warfare.

In practice, this mandate gives the Order enormous latitude. 'Maintaining stability' can justify anything from diplomatic mediation to targeted assassination, and the organization's leadership has historically used this ambiguity to expand its own influence. Critics within the jianghu view the Order not as peacekeepers but as power brokers who have simply become the most successful faction of all.

The Patriarch's assassination

The assassination of the Patriarch is the inciting event of Phantom Blade Zero's story. The Patriarch was murdered under circumstances that implicate Soul, one of the Order's most trusted operatives. Soul was found at the scene with evidence pointing to his involvement, leading to his poisoning and the beginning of the 66-day countdown that drives the narrative.

The true architect of the assassination was Zuo Shang, who manipulated events to remove both the Patriarch and Soul from power simultaneously. With the Patriarch dead and Soul discredited, Zuo Shang positioned himself to fill the resulting power vacuum, though his path to control was not as straightforward as he anticipated.

Power vacuum and internal politics

The Patriarch's death created a power vacuum that fractured the Order into competing factions. Without a clear successor, inner council members began pursuing their own agendas. Some aligned with Zuo Shang's vision of a more aggressive, expansionist Order. Others sought to preserve the founding principles. A third group, loyal to Mu Xiaokui as the Patriarch's daughter, believed she should inherit leadership.

This internal fragmentation is central to the game's narrative. Soul must navigate not just external threats but the shifting allegiances within the organization that trained him. Former allies may have switched sides, and apparent enemies may be acting out of genuine loyalty to the Order's original mission.

Key members

Key details