Fraternal Order of the Raven

"We dare defend our country."

- Fraternal Order of the Raven's Motto

The Fraternal Order of the Raven is a Founders-affiliated organization in Columbia, concerned with maintaining the city's "racial purity." Worshippers of the deceased Lady Comstock, they honor the symbols of the sword, the raven, and the coffin in her name (as contrasted with the sword, the key and the scroll, the holy symbols of Columbia). Their emblem is that of a stylized eye with five swords crossing behind it, and a banner which reads "Audemus Patria Nostra Defendere", Latin for "We dare defend our homeland".

Ideology and Practice
The group glorifies John Wilkes Booth as a saint for assassinating Abraham Lincoln, "the Emancipator" or "the Apostate" (a term Zachary Hale Comstock often uses in reference to the same), whom they view as wicked for abolishing slavery. Members of the Order cloak themselves in hoods and robes, with lesser members wearing indigo and leaders wearing black. The Order believes that Columbia's racist ideals make it and its citizens superior to the rest of the world, and they seek to enforce a doctrine of racial purity.

The most prominent members of the Order are the Zealots: fearsome, sword-carrying, coffin-bearing enemies whose powers mirror that of the Order's namesake. They count among the elite forces of the Founders, and are occasionally sent to kill Booker DeWitt.

BioShock Infinite


Booker discovers the Order's headquarters in Comstock Center on his journey to Monument Island. The courtyard has a statue of Comstock fighting the "Serpent of Nations", depicted as a hydra-like creature with gross caricatures of a Jewish, Black, and Asian man for its three heads. The building's interior is squalid, with debris littering the floor, lights dim and continually flickering, and raven guano scattered throughout. Platters of rotten food are ubiquitous, especially in the dining hall, and attract many flies and ravens. There is also a statue of John Wilkes Booth in the foyer, a lounge and bar which contains a painting of Booth, in golden glow, assassinating a Devil-horned Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, a reading room, a large ceremony hall, a dungeon cell hidden behind a bookcase, and a marsh-like indoor garden where victims are kept in golden cages hanging from trees.

In the ceremony hall is a mural of George Washington holding the Liberty Bell in one hand and the Ten Commandments in the other, standing above racist caricatures of people of different ethnicities. While traversing the building, Booker clashes with several Order members when he happens upon their meeting. After taking them out, Booker takes the elevator to the upper level. In the circular room is a projector displaying a phrenological study of Comstock. When Booker opens up the only door, he witnesses a prisoner getting executed by murderous black birds, and sees the leader, a Crow, walk away and vanish. Suddenly, the black-robed Zealot appears again and starts attacking Booker, sword drawn and all. After the casket-carrying Zealot falls, Booker acquires the Murder of Crows Vigor.

New Vigors

 * Murder of Crows

New Enemies

 * Zealot of the Lady

Voxophones

 * 1) Zachary Hale Comstock - The Gift of the Emancipator
 * 2) Zachary Hale Comstock - The Lie of the Emancipator
 * 3) First Zealot - Symbols of Our Lady

Behind the Scenes

 * Due to their appearance and ideology, it is likely that they are based off the real-world Ku Klux Klan.
 * Their aprons and headquarters are also reminiscent of Freemasonry, which is significant, as George Washington was a famous Freemason. This may also be found in The Art of BioShock Infinite, which show aspects of their attire were inspired and combined from the Freemasons, as well as military and religious orders from history. Revisions of their attire were also alternated with their inspirations, such as a Freemason helmet with a satin attire, or a military uniform and cap with the Founder's religious symbols and a order's masked veil. There was even a concept for a leader resembling a Catholic Cardinal, which may or may not be meant as the Resurrector, one of Siren's earlier revised concepts.
 * Their motto is supposed to mean "We dare defend our country", but actually contains a grammatical error, which only allows for translations such as "We dare to defend with the help of our country" or "Oh Our country, we dare to defend!".
 * A flask of Unknown Booze can be found in the bar of the Order's headquarters. If the player acts quickly after imbibing it, they should be able to achieve the Achievement/Trophy "Lost Weekend" in a single game.
 * If one is to speed up the enviromental sound in the Raven headquarters significantly, one can hear that the enviromental sound is actually a song. This song is slowed down so much so that a singing female voice can only be heard as a very low pitched noise. This is also present in one of the houses in the Comstock Center Rooftops.