Throughout history, the Riverkin people have been persecuted. Like most nomadic people, they were always treated like outsiders, eternally a people who were foreigners no matter where they went. Their religions and cultural belief that every river is one river lead them to many conflicts of territory and docking rights, as they saw the One River as their Homeland. Their need for supplies not readily available on rivers lead them to develop a cultural predilection for bargaining, creating a stereotype of Riverkin people as cheap, thieves, or beggars. And their religious beliefs were obscure, unpopular, and generally confounding.

The Guardians used to have rules to kill them on sight. The Vesturians enslaved them. The Srisians still have a mandate to capture and kill Riverkin. The Dhunics view them as heretics. The Agikaanis singled them out as one of the 64 groups not selected for breeding camps--and thus, for extermination instead. The Stolzene mark them as scapegoats for everything. The Azeti enslaved them. The Rendruans expelled them from their nation. The Tara'hinians view them as equivalent to the Cultists of the Mouth in terms of public opinion--crazy but harmless, not to be trusted or hired. Every race and nation has had at least one notable negative interaction or interpretation with the Riverkin, save the Roma, who view them as different but equal, a certain kinship born of mutual persecution.

Under such circumstances, the Riverkin began to defend themselves in every possible fashion. Secrecy, separatism, xenophobia, and distrust became a large part of their culture, though there is a constant conflict within their tribes to combat this. Still, certain practices became tradition, and one of them was the tradition of settling into a riverside late at night in order to avoid being met with immediate opposition. To make this possible, they set aside certain members of their tribes to land on shore near sunset and find a place to hide. They would wait til midnight or so, then carry lamps to the approved landing site. This group became known as the Brotherhood of the Lamp.

As Ages passed, the Brotherhood evolved. Some Riverkin moved onto the land, mingling with the populations of the world. Because of their experience working on land, the Brotherhood became an ally to these migrant Riverkin. A protective bond was formed. When a land-based Riverkin ran into trouble, they went to the Brotherhood for help instead of the local authorities. Soon, the land-based Riverkin started helping the Brotherhood out, becoming honorary members. When things got rough, the Brotherhood got rougher. When the law failed the Riverkin, the Brotherhood took it into their own hands. When landdwellers started exploiting the Riverkin, the Brotherhood started supporting them via illicit tactics--smuggling, extortion, theft.

The Brotherhood became a criminal organization that spanned the world. The tribes officially deny its existence.