The Moonsign Order

To the Moonsign Order, there is a difference between adventurers and mercenaries. Both may wander, both fight other's battles for coin and fame, but a true adventurer aspires to something more. A true adventurer lives by a code, whatever that code may be, and strives to be a representative of their values. Freedom, piety, heroism, and order are all virtues worth fighting for - and worth adventuring to champion. Many here are paladins, but any who live by an oath can join their ranks. Whenever you see the moon-sign tattoo, the hero-marked armor, know that you look upon an exemplar of power and dedication.
The Moonsign Order is a group of warriors and adventurers that meet in the similarly-named Moonsign Citadel, outside the city of Illinik. They are independent actors that regularly travel the continent and beyond, and rarely involve themselves as a faction in the wars of others. They are more like a club, where the famous and powerful can gather resources and contacts and where the ambitious upstarts can try and make their names.
Members of the Order must all swear on oath upon the Ten Divines, devoted to some ideal or another. Public breaking of that oath results in expulsion from the Order and public disgrace. In order to make their presence unconcealable, they are known to mark their faces with tattoos related to their oath (most commonly a moon-sign relating to one of The Lunar Pantheon ).
The group is very intertwined with the religion of Kamada (and increasingly Daraka ), though there is no mandatory religion for entrance to the Order.
The Moonsign Order is one of the more peaceful congregations of paladins in the world, and has a unique blessing from the Lunar Gods: what amounts to rubber-stamping of certain paladin candidates to sustain a somewhat-balanced ratio of paladins. These paladins have far less micromanaging and divine contact than most others, but are policed in their behavior by the Order instead.

Structure

The Order of the Moonsign is led by a Grandmaster Kotu the Eagle, a wind Dryad paladin of Wimbo Aizitu. Beneath Kotu is the Council of Ten, a court of ten paladins devoted to the ten Lunar Gods. The Council switches leadership each lunar change. 
The Council of Ten conducts judgments of their members by their own internal codes. The surrounding Kingdom of Umeda-Kokora gives the Order free reign in punishment and policing of its members, and the Order is perfectly willing to fine, imprison, or execute disobedient members. The Order's codes are sometimes a tad unhinged, favoring values and oaths over basic morality or common sense; but such is the echo chamber of the upper leadership.
Below the Grandmaster and Council are several ranks of adventurer: Master Adventurers, Adventurers, Journey-Adventurers, and Moonsquires (apprentices). There is also a non-adventuring employment hierarchy of acolytes, which manage the printing presses, food, equipment, accounting, and castle upkeep. The hiring of these acolytes is a bit nepotistic, and favors retired adventurers and failed moonsquires.

Culture

There are ten 'default' codes that come with their own values and initiations. A few examples of these:
The Oath of Valor, for Wimbo Aizitu, is devoted to ideals of bravery, compassion, and kindness. Initiates must prove themselves through an act of public valor.
The Oath of Beauty, for Hiku the Muse, is devoted to ideals of beauty, innovation, and grace. Initiates must prove themselves through an act that marks them as interesting, artistically capable, or capable of beautifying others
The Oath of Faith, for Emesh, is devoted to ideals of tradition, community, and knowledge. Initiates must undergo a proving of their choice to demonstrate their commitment to their faith and culture.
The Oath of Healing, for Haru, is devoted to ideals of healing, knowledge, and joy. Initiates must prove their worth as a doctor or healer.
The Oath of Wisdom, for Orchid of Blue, is devoted to ideals of progress, social betterment, and ultimate social good. Initiates must prove themselves in a public debate with the existing keepers of this oath.
Initiates can also create their own oaths, as long as their values are articulated, understood, and approved by one of the Ten. This is a fairly rare occurence.

History

The Moonsign Order draws on a long history of Kokoran religious traditions of warrior-priests, but is a fairly recent creation. It was founded by Egeretu, Paladin of Haru, in 1830 as a symbol of regional unity and religious power in the Kingdom of Umeda-Kokora . The chaos of the paladin-led 1895 Rakaran Youth Revolution forced many paladins of Theia the Liberator  to flee from Rakara to the Order, beginning the Order's international expansion. Paladins of Agamine the Lost, whose association with the religion of Keveket makes them highly distrusted in the Empire of Zerua and its tributaries, also began to migrate to the Order's welcoming embrace. The Lunar God Wimbo Aizitu took the Order under his personal wing in the early 1900s and encouraged other Lunar Gods to donate paladins to the cause - leading to its substantial growth and increased legitimacy.
In recent years, the Order has managed to use the new technology of the Printing Press to gain a gravity of its own in the public imagination. The Order has also started conducting missions to the The Megadungeon  of Asalay in the name of fame and fortune - attracting a number of ambitious adventurers of all stripes to their banner. As these expeditions have become quite popular, The Moonsign Order has brokered a special partnership with the Greater Makal Trading Company for transportation and general logistics: The Order lends itself to the GMTC's public image and general mystique, and in exchange the Order receives free transportation and an immense discount on Healing Potions, printing press access, and luxury goods. The GMTC also curates relationships with cliques within the Order, and has hired on adventuring teams from the Moonsign Order for special operations many times in the recent past.

"Glory, Balance, Unity"

Founding Date

1830

Type

Military, Knightly Order

Parent Organization

Kamada

Location

Makal

Related Plots

• Moon Talks