The Order of the East Wind

"For what else could it have represented or offered but evil? It crept from a place that knows not what it is to give, to create, to build. You claim I acted in haste and in doing so overstepped. I contend I acted with the conviction of faith required to survive here. Evil incarnate must be struck down, not left to bureaucratic ineptitude" Grand Commander Geoffrina de Charney

A military order predating the modern era, the Order of the East Wind (OEW) is committed to protecting the last bastion of conscious-kind, Marsétan, against any perceived encroachment from The Lost. Based in the district of Cynórm they serve The Order of the Earth’s Prayer as a military arm and somewhat follow their interpretation of Elizamism. However, the OEW resting in the Loqean tradition, diverges from the official faith in their belief that the Lost is not simply an unassailable geography that the world rests upon. Instead they believe the lost to be an active agent of chaos and a manifestation of evil in the universe. Within this faith, the continent of Nénar is viewed as a haven of good caught in an unending struggle against evil. Catastrophes such as The Split, where the Cedalian empire collapsed into the Lost are viewed as failures by conscious-kind to act in defense of Nénar. Their role as first responders to any perceived threats from the lost and a zealous belief in the inherent evil of such threats has led them to frequently overstep politically acting beyond the influence of Cynórm and The Order of the Earth’s Prayer.

Organizational Structure

The OEW is a hierarchical organization separated into three ranks. The highest position is that of The Grand Commander who is in charge of coordinating the entire organization. Underneath rests the Commanders, people who oversee individually or as pairs the various bases of the order. Finally the bulk of the OEW is made up of Chaplains. Both Commanders and Chaplains may be given a range of distinctions denoting further seniority within ranks. The OEW expects all members to be capable and willing to fight and thus do not have an administrative or noncombatant core. Instead when outposts, armories, or other facilities are lacking in members with neccessary skills they contract private civilians or members of the Order of the Earths Prayer.
Upon induction into the OEW all members receive advance training related to facing unnatural threats. This training allows members to specialize in using divine power to enhance their weapons and fighting form. Some say they harness the power of the Lost itself in order to fight it. The OEW trains with polearms, shortswords, shortbows, and hammers in small units most effective in small-scale combats.

Core Tenets:

Denial and inaction is worse than a wrong made with conviction

The righteous have no room for doubt

Order is required for progress

Theology

The OEW follows the Loqean tradition of Elizamism which predates the collapse of the lands to the east of the city. Unlike more popular interpretations of the continent of Nénar as resting upon the Lost, a geography that may eventually be understood and conquered, the Loqean tradition sees the Lost as a counterpart to Nénar. Within this tradition Nénar and the Lost are diametrically opposed. With Nénar embodying order and good while the Lost representing chaos and evil with both perpetually caught in conflict. The Lost is thus seen as having agency and some form that if eradicated would deliver Nénar from perpetual calamity and erosion.

History

The OEW is said to have been founded by Saint Resial, then Resial Loque (he/him), during an existential crisis faced by the Cedalian empire in 6th century PS. Legends speak of some sort of corruption emanating out from the Lost on an east wind as punishment for the Cedalian's explorations into the Lost. Resial Loque led a crusade against the Lost, that ultimately quelled the crisis on the 30th of Cumanique during the six days of perpetual twilight. The defeat of this threat cost Resial Loque his life. A sacrifice that led to the sainthood of Resial and the establishment of the OEW as perpetually vigilant force standing against the Lost.
With the events of the Split leaving only scattered remnants of conscious-kind on Nénar, the OEW's conviction in the evil of the Lost was renewed. They would come to dominate Elizamism in the years following, heavily influencing the emerging Order of the Earths Prayer and the interpretations of Elizamism across the peninsula. While many outside the order did not adopt the fundamental belief in the Lost as an enemy, a distrust of anything not clearly of the earth has become deeply engrained in the emerging society. In addition the East Wind established themselves as a violent, but necessary, institution to ensure further existential threats would be handled swiftly.
Since the signing of the Lotus Treaty and the establishment of a united city, the OEW has found their freedom curtailed. They have been relegated to the borders of Cynórm, unable to officially act in other districts without the permission of the Marsétan High Council. Based in the perception that the rest of the city at best denies and at worst courts the dangers of the lost, the OEW have repeatedly acted in violation of these guidelines. The most notable of which in recent memory was the exiling of Geoffrina de Charney from the city and peninsula for her assault on an Eleznór outpost supposedly corrupted by the Lost. Since then, in partnership with Cynórm, OEW have been petitioning city leaders to adopt Elizamism as the religion of the city with the OEW as an official body with the power to operate throughout the peninsula.

Crest of the Order of the East Wind

Active: Pre-Split - Present Day
Allegiance: The Order of the Earth’s Prayer
Type: Militarized Religious Order
Role: Specialized containment and eradication of threats from the Lost
Size: a few hundred
Headquarters: Cynórm
Motto: A conviction in order has no place for doubt or denial

High Ranking Officials:

Grand Commander Gerard de Molay (he/him)
Commander Thora Fairburne (she/her)
Commander Sigismund Stoutbane (he/him)
Commander Mallory Geisslerg (she/her)