“This was over nine hundred years ago. Somewhere along the way, the Shining Stellar Dancers established a truce with the Church, agreeing on several points of doctrine and bowing to the supremacy of the orthodoxy, while retaining their mysticism and independence. Possessed of the skills of infiltration and murder, they soon found the newborn Houses eager to engage their services in the new never-ending feud -- not over doctrine and religion, but power and wealth. Not even Maestro Romà could refuse the share that they offered him if he but directed his students at targets particular, according to their wishes. With the blessings of the Church, Maestro Romà saw a bright future for his order in the wallets of the Houses, and insisted only on certain ritual rules for the execution of such contracts."