The Noble Brothers of the Ark
During the crusades against the Evangelists, there was a great fear in both Georgia and Baltimore that the retreating heretics would destroy the relics and pilgrimage sites of America's Patriot-Saints during as they retreated, both as an expression of their reverence for the 7th commandment, and as a final display of disobedience to what they considered the diabolical Non-Denominational Church. As such, several knightly orders emerged in this time to protect the great monuments of the Old World. One of these were the Noble Brothers of the Ark.
The Noble Brothers were formed largely by New English Yankees from Boston and environs. They did so in response to tales of the Great Ark of Kentucky, a massive construction that was said to have been the original ark of Noah. With funding from New English merchants, the Brothers joined Ohioan lancers in their conquest of the hill tribes of Kentucky. As recompense for their service, the Commander of the Brothers were rewarded by the Chief Justice and the then-Governor of Ohio with the County of Grant, which he would rule from his seat in Williamstown.
The Brothers would go on to be moderately successful for the next few centuries. They managed the pilgrimage to the Ark, mostly coming out of Cincinatti but still attracting visitors from across the nation. A grand menagerie was exhibited inside, consisting of a few typical creatures of bucholic America, but also several more exotic specimens imported from the mysterious Carribbean. They also controlled a few more modest pilgrimage sites in Kentucky outside of Grant County, and even held a small trading concession in northern Massachusetts, which would be named Arkham. They sent troops to participate in the major crusades of the Non-Denominational world, and continued to remain watchful for the emergence of American Evangelism.
However, as the threat of American Evangelism faded, the Brothers of the Ark went native as it were. Pulled by the Non-Denominational Church away from explicit Buckeye control, the Brothers increasingly saw themselves as Kentuckians, and struggled against the excises imposed upon them by the now-President of Ohio. While the Brothers never explicitly rebelled against their lord, they certainly lent whispered words of support to the restless fiefs of the Kentuckian hillside.
In the 2800s, Cincinatti moved against the Brothers as a part of its ongoing efforts to consolidate its control over Kentucky. Despite objections from the Church, the President claimed that the Brothers had fallen under the sway of Evangelism, New Israelism, Mormon eschatology, and "Yankee Esotericism." Though the President failed in his efforts to have the Commander of the Brothers burned at the stake, he was able to banish the brothers from Ohio.
The Brothers moved their headquarters to Arkansas for a time, serving in the ongoing re-construction of the city. It was the Brothers who constructed the great marble spires in the wharfs of St. Louis - true, it was a poor replacement for the lost Gateway to the West, but they are handsome enough monuments themselves. According to the enemies of the Brothers, the towers are engraved with their strange symbolism. Indeed, the Brothers proved fairly friendly to the Apostles of Nauvoo, bolstering the claims of the Buckeye Crown.
The Brothers of the Ark would go on to join as a fairly sizable contingent of the crusading force that would take back Arkansas, both due to its proximity to their new headquarters and some obscure link to the groups esoteric beliefs.
Unfortunately, the Brothers of the Ark would not rise to become the primary power of Arkansas, the Sons of the South ensuring that their compatriots in the Brothers of Little Rock would take over. Many Noble Brothers would break ranks and join the Brothers of Little Rock outright, weakening the order. The Commander would be rewarded with only a few pitiful townships for his efforts. It is therefore no surprise that the Brothers are one of the many groups that are quite keen on a new crusade, to finally take the fight away from the agricultural lands and into the Great American Desert to do battle with the Israelite.
Arkish Esotericism
The claims of the Buckeye Crown against the Brothers are confusing and at time contradictory. They are roughly as follows;
The Brothers are crypto-Mormons, crypto-New Israelites, and crypto-Esotericists. They (heretically) believe that a second deluge will come before the New Jerusalem can be built, and that they will use the remnants of Noah's Ark to save mankind and build the new world themselves. Further (and somewhat more truthfully), they compare their belief that the ark of Grant County is the true ark rather then a reverent reproduction to the Mormon belief that the Garden of Eden is to be found in Mississippi, and that this is where the 2nd Coming will occur. They push for war with the West on two accounts - one, to link up with their allies in Deseret, and two to draw the ire of the New Israelites to such an extent that Armageddon will occur, allowing the Deluge to come. Finally, and most scandalously, the Brothers believe that the shadowy (and likely fictional) tenants of New English Esotericism are compatible with the Bible.
Of course, the Brothers of the Ark feverishly deny all of this. They profess to be nothing but good American Christians, and the Supreme Court is inclined to agree with them. However, none can deny that they are a bit queer - the symbolism they use in their art is indeed strange, and they do have the rather eccentric habit of building both their riverboats in St. Louis and their trading ships in Arkham on the basis of Noah's Ark, the result of which is an unfortunately high incidence of sinking as it is a rather dreadful design for a boat. They are indeed friendly with the Apostles of Nauvoo, though this would likely not hold if the Supreme Court finally moved against the Mormons (which has likely not happened due to economic concerns).
One strange story that pre-dated the Ohioan accusations was recorded by the venerable Carl of Frankfort. Frakfort, a Churchman and celebrated scribe, claimed to have had a conversation with the Commander of the Noble Brothers. In the course of this conversation (during which the Commander was said to have been quite drunk on Michigander wine), the Commander told Carl of a strange ruin in the Furthest West. A mountain called Yucca, buried in which are the secrets of the Old World. When the secrets are decoded and the seals broken, Armageddon will be unleashed. Perhaps this secret is why the Brothers are so eager to drive westward.