The Order of the Hand
Originally formed in the slums of Spariani in the realm of Ostaria, the Order is a guild of mercenaries willing to turn their hand to basically any task in the name of making some gold.
Structure
Originally started as a mercenary company, though the Order has since branched out into many other avenues of business it is still organised under a military rank system. At the top you have the Commander of the Order. Their control is aided by their Captains of each discipline within the Order, who are also responsible for the election of each Commander. Below the Captains come the Lieutenants, who are responsible for the running and upkeep of each Guildhall of the Order, as well as the training of new recruits. Sergeants are generally the most senior officers of the Order in the field and are given command of major contracts and large scale operations. Beneath the Sergeants are the Corporals, the only non-commissioned officers of the Order and the ones that general have control over the smaller scale operations and contracts the Order undertakes.
Culture
Members of the Order are encouraged to leave their ties to their former homelands behind when they take their oaths and receive their first tattoos of membership. Instead, the Order replaces any allegiance to country and its members become a new recruit's family and friends. They do this so as to remain a neutral party in any and all work their are hired to do and carry out and so they are able to not let personal feelings get in the way of their jobs.
They recruit from all walks of life and social ranks, placing much more value in what the potential recruit can offer to the Order in terms of ability and application rather than their lineage an ancestry. In fact, both of these things are replaced by the Order's practice of intricate hand tattoos detailing a member's deeds and rank, as well as other information. Somewhat ironically, this practice originated as a way to imitate and reflect the obsession the Great Houses of Ostaria have with their own lineages, and does make a degree of sense given that the Order was formed in the Ostarian city of Spariani and would have been familiar with these practices as a result.
Hand shakes are seen as an important social ritual within the Order, as this displays the tattoos of each member as well as rendering the member's weapon hand useless and controlled by the other member - essentially is a way to show trust while also displaying pedigree. When, or if, a member is expelled from the order those same tattoos are removed by burning, rendering the weapon hand unusable and horrifically scarred, displaying their infamy.
Public Agenda
The goals of the Order are very simple: Make as much coin as it is possible to do. Given their reach and power in the Five Realms, so far at least they have been more than moderately successful in that aim.
Assets
There is an Order Guildhall in most large towns and cities of each of the Five Realms, with smaller chapter houses being present in every settlement of Ostaria and several smaller towns in Astril. Endsby is also home to a newly constructed Guildhall, while Alefast has had a chapter house for several years.
History
Formed in the dockside slums of Spariani in Ostaria, their beginnings were humble, acting as the bodyguards and hired security for the noble trading families of the city before seeing their influence and marketability spread and strengthen along with the steady rise in power of Ostarian trade, to the point that now the Order can be seen and felt across all of the Realms.
Their overtly military arm was the first created, followed not too long after by their explorer and scout wing to prepare the way for trade caravans. From there it was only a matter of time before prospecting and more general exploring became a staple source of income for the Order, and then they expanded further into generalised bounty hunting to the point that while they do still act as caravan guards, most of the Order's income actually comes from various flavours of bounty now.
Over the following years, they gradually replaced the law-keeping forces of Ostaria and have made themselves more and more available in that capacity to the other Realms as well, to the point that it is not uncommon to see members acting as auxiliary police forces in even small villages on the other side of the continent.
Type
Guild, Fighter / Mercenary
Alternative Names
The Order
Leader Title
Related Ranks & Titles
Notable Members
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