Origins of the Order[]
The order of the Whitecloaks or "The Order manifest will of the king in the eyes of the saints to be the fist of the gods" Is an order of Holy men who defend the realms from the forces of evil, They were ordained by King Sovron Tergon to hold back the insidiious evil of the Drauglands, THeir influenced spread to include fighting Chimerian Blood Magic, Necromancy and Tyrants, Gorland Frost Seers and Mylantan War Mages.
Powers[]
The order is a branch of the goivernment but has a wary relationship with the lords of the land, The ordenmarshalls of the order are not neccessarily noblemen but may in times of need conscript the forces of any nobleman to fight back any force deemed "Pervasive and harmful to the Kingdoms" Theis rather abstract duty can lead to a lot of contention between minor nobles and officials of the order
The order only holds one castle of its own in the Grimmclaw forest where the order helped to defeat the last of the Orc warlords, The land was granted ot them to build a stronghold to train soldiers to hold back the tide of Draug Warlocks.
The Saints[]
The whitecloaks pay homage to all the Mesan gods but follow the examples of great saints of the order who were ordained by the king
The Lady of Battle[]
The lady of battle is the patron saint of the military arm of the order, Her symbol is a white fist on a black cross representing the order barring the way against the darkness, Her chosen sons aare known as "Battle Wardens"and are titanic warriors who control the battlefield
The Father of Fire[]
The father of fire is the patron saint of the Inquisition, They are specialist in anti-magic, exorcism and banishing, they also act as an internal policing force to prevent their brothers from slipping into the darkness, Inquisition soldiers tend to be specialists and are much fewer in number than the order of battle, Their symbol is a burning shephards hook, The shepherd is also known as the Saint of Lust for he had many children and claimed that the order was the purest flock of the world and it was the duty of its paragons to help their numbers grow and have strong children.
The Keeper of Secrets[]
The keepers of secrets is the patron saint of the Castles of the order, His people are the builders, administrators, archivists, scribes and tradesmen of the order, His followers believe in the power of knowledge but also believe dangerous knowledge belongs in the hands of the order, They hunt out and contain powerful artifacts and keep a close eye on the mages of the Kingdoms, Their saint is also known as the Saint of greed as he believed that the order must gain power and lands to protect the realm and he was known for safeguarding knowledge
Military Divisions and ranks[]
The order is ruled by a triumvurate who reside at the Grand Cathedral of Light in the capital city of the Kingdoms, They are Auroch the Whitecloaked, The ordained chosen of Battle, The Good Shepherd, The ordained chosen of Lust and The Light of Day, The ordained chosen of Greed.
Each Province then has a Grosskomtur, In Valengal Proper Lady Anita White Serves as head of the order.
In The Mesa Chevaltesh Lyons serves as head of the Order
In the Clanlands James Carnage serves as head of the Order
Beneath the Grosskomturs are the Komturs, A komtur is responsible either for a Keep or an army
Next is the Ordenmarshal who leads a force, This is usually used for a man who leads a large force but takes direction from a komtur
Next is the marshal who is responsible for the tactics and supply of an individual army division
THen the Fathers who are responsible for a squad of men from 8 - 80.
Next are the brothers who make up the soldiers of the order, The term Child is used for a brother in training
Lastly are the Ritterbruder, They are the mercenaries and contractors that the order pays or conscripts to further the design of the Grosskomturs, They are not required to join the order but must swear an oath of allegiance for the term of their contract.