The Captains' Club is the largest of the social clubs that the residents of Otter Lake belong to, but it isn't the only one. Probably second to the Captains' Club in size and influence is another organization called the Obsidian Order. Unlike the Captain's Club, the Obsidian Order is not something unique to Otter Lake; it is in fact a fraternal organization with local groups called courts in many cities; the Otter Lake court isn't even the only one in Lüm, though it is the largest. While the Captains' Club meets in the Dockhouse, the Obsidian Order has its own "grand hall" in the northeastern part of the neighborhood. The court has members from other neighborhoods as well, but the majority of the members are from Otter Lake.

Despite the fact that the two clubs have many members in common, the Captains' Club and the Obsidian Order do occasionally come into conflict. One of the largest sources of disagreement between the two is that while the Captains' Club focuses mostly on socializing and on developing the neighborhood, with a little philanthropy on the side, the Obsidian Order is much more directly focused on gaining and exercising political power and making a difference in the city. What perhaps prevents it from being more effective that it is is that there is plenty of internal disagreement within the court as well, largely between members who genuinely want to help the poor and oppressed and better things for everyone and those who prefer to look after the interests of their own class first.

The meetings and rituals of the Obsidian Order are full of ritual and symbolism, and the process for electing the court's leaders is no exception. The current overall leader of the Otter Lake court, however—or the "Grand Eye", to give him his official title—is a fank named Weshen Shkhey who made his fortune in communications. Shkhey belongs to the faction that wants to give aid to the downtrodden, but his power is not absolute and he does not always manage to realize his reforms.

Weshen Shkhey is a large blue fank with patches of cilia the size of a dinner plate. He usually prefers to maintain humanoid form, placing two of his patches of cilia on the palms of his "hands" and two red and one white spot in his substance in the rough location of eyes and a mouth. He speaks more clearly than most fanks but not without a certain muddiness to his voice; he has a tendency to change his pitch significantly between phrases. Shkhey usually wears a thick white gown that hides most of his shape.