The Green Dragon

Out of chaos comes order

The Order of the Green Dragon was formed in Nêdong, Tibet in 1285, originally as an insurgency against the Mongols who had recently conquered the region. They focused largely on preserving Tibet's traditions against outside influence, and that include mystical and occult arts. They were instrumental in Phagmodrupa dynasty, but that family's fractious politics lead to the entire order being exiled from the nation in 1434, when they were blamed for a civil war. They wandered for a while across China, until they were invited by a powerful noble to come to Japan--which was incidentally in the midst of the Sengoku period. The Green Dragon relocated to Japan, and their mystical traditions helped fuel the stories of strange powers of shinobi assassins and mercenaries. Indeed, the monks and warriors of the Green Dragon were seen to be tengu, our shape-shifting mountain demons who were masters of strange magics and swordsmanship.

Since 1498, the order has been based out of Kyoto, using their occult powers and ancient traditions to protect the knowledge of the past and topple regimes that would seek to suppress knowledge of the past. The Green Dragon was one of Japan's most powerful secret societies during the Second World War, and worked along groups such as Germany's Thule Society to investigate occult phenomena in the East. The Green Dragon would really rather everyone forgot their fascist period, but still carry the stigma from their dark period.

Though the Green Dragons' official motto is a quote from the Tao Te Ching "Those who know speak not, those who speak know not" (知者不言，言者不知。) However, they are better known for their unofficial motto of "From Chaos Comes Order". This speaks to their history of supporting rebel movements and insurgent groups to undermine governments and create opportunities for the Green Dragons to move in and exert their influence from behind the scenes--establishing their own order within the chaos of war. Even today, the Green Dragon has their hands in dozens of insurgencies across the globe.