Order of the Swords of Heaven
The Order of the Swords of Heaven is a religious military order founded on the faith of the Pantheon of Heaven. Its purpose is to defend and protect the adherents of the faith from persecution and to ensure the safety and sanctity of the religious sites and buildings associated with teh faith.
The Order is 551 years old and was founded in the Kingdom of Aria by the King of Aria Clovis VII Dumont to help prevent the sort of wanton destruction and desecration that occured during the Orcist Interregnum that occured during the Great Southern Orc War of 365 BF during the reign of Clovis V, later remembered as Clovis the Craven. At its founding, the Order consisted of some dozens of pious and faithful knights that took vows of chastity and obedience and became dedicated members of the clerical orders of the Pantheon of Heaven Faith. Founded in the same spirit and structure as the Order of the Daughters of Heaven were, where the Daughters would promulgate and spread the faith and the Swords would defend and protect it.
Since its founding in 318 BF at the City of Malamor, the Order of the Swords of Heaven has grown to become a large and rather complicated arm of the Faith. It has its primary seat of administration located at the Order's Motherhouse, the Grand Commandery Demalamor and 5 other Commanderies in other cities. It counts as active members some 1,350 men (and some women) ranging in status and birth from noble knights, skilled craftsmen, healers, acedemics, seers, down to common squires and footmen. The Order is led by the Grand Master of the Order, Jack Demolay, a nobleman from Aramor with much influence and many connections at court.
Structure
The Order is structured into Divisions, each with an operational focus towards the Order's intended goals. At the top of the divisional structure is the Command Division, where the administrative and judicial aspects of daily life are addressed and managed. Under this are the Regimental Division (the military arm of the order), the Medical Division (healing and support operations), the Artificer Division (smiths, craftsmen, drivers, cooks, etc.), and the Chaplain Division (preachers, teachers, academics, and mages).
History
Founded in 318 BF in the City of Malamor by King Clovis VII of Aria to defend and protect the holy sites of the Faith and the people using them.
Demography and Population
Of the 1,350 knights and officers of the Order, all are Humans and only 48 of them are female. There are more females in other Divisions (the greatest number are found in the Medical Division), and there is technically no prohibition of women anywhere in the Order. There are no non-Humans currently sworn into the Order.
Religion
The Order is a militant arm of the Faith of the Pantheon of Heaven and as such, all members are sworn adherents to that Faith. once fully initiated into the Order, all members of all the various Divisions of the Order of the Swords of Heaven are priests/priestesses of the Faith.
Laws
The Order is a religious body of men and women structured like an army with the purpose of protecting and defending the Faith as a whole. Its members all take solemn vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, swearing to dedicate their lives and honor to the efforts of the Order. They forswear to owning land, holding titles (outside of the Order's ranks), marriage, children, extended family, and the accumulation of personal wealth.
Members join as novitiates, learning and training to become a productive and devout member of the society. A novice serves for no fewer than four years, at which time they are moved into a division of the Order that they are best suited to serve. Novice knights would move to the Regiments division while a novice iron smith would move the Artificer division. The same is true of all novitiates after four years.
Tenets of Faith
As sworn defenders of the Faith and the Faithful, the Order has a standing crusade against any and all Black Dragons that might harrass or harm anyone in their sphere of influence. These huge and terrible creatures have a particular hatred of all Knights of the Order (as well as adherents to the Faith in general) because of the doctrines associated with the origin of the gods and the creation of the world. As no other known breed of Dragons singles out members of the Order or the Faith for attack in quite the dramatic fashion that Black Dragons do, no other breeds are sought out and hunted in the manner that the Order hunts Black Dragons.
The Order is also dedicated to the defeat and utter destruction of any and all Orc threats to the Faith. The official doctrine of the Faith specifically states that Orcs are "abhorrent in the eyes of the Pantheon and shall not be suffered to live" as they have no soul and are incapable of rational thought. It is the Rule of the Order that any Orc is "abomination in the sight of the Divine" and are hunted and killed without mercy, trial or exception whenever encountered by members, under penalty of death. This is officially known within the Order as the "Eternal Crusade" and is adhered to by all members.
The Winged Sword, symbol of the Order of the Swords of Heaven
Type
Religious, Holy Order
Leader
Leader Title
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
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Related Ranks & Titles
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Notable Members
