Post by hector C. Vinland on Dec 18, 2012 21:03:48 GMT -6
The night hunter order
[/u][/size]Politics, Philosophies, Members and Objectives[/center]
[Overview]
The night hunter order is perhaps one of the more complicated political and military organizations that has arisen in recent history. Made from various religious organizations that have, over time, meshed and melded together, the order's current incarnation acts as a sort of "supernatural police" that monitor things that are generally out of the ordinary (well, at least out of the ordinary by this worlds standards). As for their other functions, that is dependent on which "wing" of the order you look at, as in its current incarnation there are two different sides of the order that exist in an uneasy peace. These sides are:
The traditional wing, "sanctimonia"
The traditional sect of the order is based largely on the founding principles of the order and adheres largely to them. They believe that supernatural beings (demons, demonic and unknown celestial entities) are a massive threat to the autonomy of mankind. As a result, they advocate a policy of "Sword over Word": That if an object, entity or being appears to be hostile, then it is wiser to assume so. This wing of the order is highly organized, militant and even fanatical, but as a result has a relatively high rate of success on protecting the world from the denizens of the dark.
However, there is a flipside to the sanctimonia, and a rather dark one at that: as efficient, organized, and seemingly benevolent as they are, this wing of the order suffers from a high degree of racism and even a degree of corruption. An example of this would be its hierarchy, which opponents of the sanctimonia's dominance say is little more then an extension of power for the world nobles. This might, to a degree, be true, as historically the sanctimonia added the fishmen and other sentient, "semi-human" races (as they call them, examples of these are the fishmen and others) to their ranks in the last 30 years as a result of extreme political pressure from, rather ironically, pirates. At the moment, the Sanctimonia is on its own "Pure" path, but there are many in its higher ranks that believe a return to more traditional values regarding treatment of supernatural/non-human beings is necessary to prevent the order from fading into irrelevancy. This wing of the organization is largely supported by the world nobles and, by extension, a significant chunk of the world government.
The progressive wing, "conscientia"
The progressive wing, otherwise known as "conscientia" (knowledge) is a relatively new movement in the order, and represents a far more complex series of beliefs and members. They do follow the fundamental principles of the order, but are much more flexible in their interpretation and, unlike the sanctimonia, are more willing to bend, alter, or even break the rules if they believe that it is morally justified to do so. Although they do suffer from some interorganizational issues (such as slight racism in some cases) this is far less pronounced then the sanctimonia, and members are encouraged to actively fight what is considered these more "destructive" forces within the organization. This group does consist of a human majority (roughly 60% human), but has far more diverse population. Moreover, this wing has adopted a "Word before Sword". Policy regarding supernatural beings such as demons and, although understandibly leery of them, does not automatically judge a being evil based on the state of its existance, but judges it based on its actions.
This part of the order is not without its faults, however. It does suffer from a degree of internal issues as certain groups and races attempt to adapt to the conscientia's specifically placed affirmative action programs. While not meant to be overbearing, the conscientia's opponents accuse its policies of punishing "the excellence of mankind", and say that their supposedly soft policies and even willingness to recruit or ally with supernatural beings is "a recipe for disaster". Despite this, this minority in the order continues to grow at a rapid rate, and finds itself supported by many groups including parts of the world government and even pirates. A notable individual in this wing of the organization is Hector C. Vinland, who some speculate has quite a future in the order regardless of which wing he is allied with.
[Historical Origins]
The order was not always what it is today. roughly 100 years of events and shaping have gone into it, with various other organizations and their philosophies having been absorbed into it as a result of various social and economic changes that have been taken into account. For the sake of brevity and accuracy, this account will take a look at only the major changes to the order and how it has evolved over time.
The exact location of the order's birthplace is highly disputed, but it is accepted and agreed that it is a largely human-created organization whose birth occurred roughly 100 years ago in the grand line. It was an organized religion that preached peace and "freedom from "the oppression of corrupt gods": they focused on trying to teach the difference between believing in a god and believing in what a god stood for, and also taught that just as gods were believed to punish humans for their acts, humans could punish gods with their faith. The order, despite allowing the worship of other gods in its wake, had its own special gods that individuals were also allowed to worship. These two gods that were worshiped were meant to be synonymous with the orders beliefs, and any agents of the order are taught to remember their tales today. The two gods in question are:
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Vita: Goddess of life, love and forgiveness. According to order lore, she is a "creator" who gives birth, teaches and nurtures. Like a mother, she watches over her children and supposedly gives them guidance and strength without interfering in their affairs. While she is said to have many forms, the most often seen one depicting her are that of the phoenix. Ancient prophecies indicate that when "Judgement Day" comes, she will appear in order to protect mankind.
Ormus: God of Death, Justice and Conviction. Ormus is unusual in that he was once said to be a corrupt mortal with great power, who, upon gazing into a mysterious mirror, gained reflection and repentance. He then sacrificed his mortal body to "pay for his crimes" and devote an infinite existence to justice. for it is he who finds the wicked and judges them to be redeemable or irredeemable, then deal with their soul in the appropriate fashion. Ormus is depicted in lore most often as a spear. Ancient prophecies state that, at humans darkest time, Ormus will bring about "judgement day", where he will appear in the world to not only judge the dead, but the living, and attempt to bring absolute justice to the world.
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The order, throughout its hundred year existence, has grown and manifested mostly through absorbing other churches via social acceptance: thus allowing the absorbed churches to still practice their religion uninhibited (barring a few exceptions). Acceptance in the churches grew and the movement was more progressive until, after terrible attrocities against the order were commited in "Tenebris Anno" (the dark year) by fishmen as the chruch neared the halfway point of its current existence (50 years). At this point, the order took steps to become more protective of its flock and adopted an almost militaristic protection of its elders, thus resulting in a more "purity" based movement and unfortunately allowing in certain racist and supremacist elements that had, at that point, been kept at bay by the church's diverse population.
Moreover, it was at this time the church became more paranoid about possible attacks against from both followers of gods that it had shunned for being too "extreme" and mysterious forces it deemed to be "demons". This was when the church ultimately became more proactive about hunting demons and expelling gods it deemed to be "unworthy of their praise", and thus led to the current incarnation of the churches two wings: "Sanctimonia" ,the purity wing who exposes demons and those that are different, fearing they would destroy the peace of society, and "Conscientia" ,the progressive wing that wants to work with demons and other supernatural beings for peace even secretly employs some in their service.
[Known Agents/Species of interest]
[/u][/size][/center]Agents[/u]
Hector C. Vinland: A young, yet well ranked "paladin" (high ranking officer) in the order, Hector is somewhat of a representation of the Conscientia wing of the order, despite his claims that he is "Neutral". He works hard to protect the interests of the order in general, but uses his privilege of "discretion" as a paladin to protect supernatural beings he deems to not be a thread. Some see him as naive or even stupid, but Hector has proved himself anything but such. His relation to his father, Jacob C. Vinland and the world governments connection to the order usually spare Hector unnecessary harassment from the hawkish Sanctimonia wing of the order, But Hector still finds himself the victim of political attacks from time to time.
Ryuu Kobayashi (NPC): A secret if influential member of the order, Ryuu, like Hector, is a young paladin with heavy influence. Unlike Hector, however, Ryuu's leanings are far in favor with the Sanctimonia instead of its opposite, thus making him a constant and secretly even bitter rival with Hector C. Vinland. Ryuu is a poster-child of the "reformative power of the order" (as the leaders call it), being a criminal once and joining the order as his way to repent. the Sanctimonia uses Ryuu's impressive record to forward their agenda with his approval, stating him as "the future of the order and an example to all templar aspiring to become paladins". Ryuu's political and personal power may be vast, but he is not without his enemies, as some members from both sides of the order believe that he is hiding a deep, dark secret and darker ambitions for the order should he be given power...Only time will tell the truth about Ryuu.
Species/Individuals of interest
Umbre Vulpis: more commonly known as "shadetails" these mysterious, "shapeshifting fox" creatures are considered to be a misunderstood part of order history. While they were recorded existing in order records at the beginning of the organizations history, they vanished not long after the order's official inception, taking much of their lore and culture with them. Large amounts of order lore was based on what they had, so any and all information about them tends to be a high-priority on recovery for the Night Hunters of the order. However, it should be noted that both wings of the order have very different feelings regarding shadetails in general: with the more conservative, hawkish night hunters despising them and the more progressive, intellectual night hunters eager to learn more about a culture that is largely considered responsible for helping start the order.
[Ranks]
The Night Hunter Order is currently organized in a caste based system, with different castes being responsible for different functions within the order. while there are many castes, each caste has ranks similar to that of a military organization. Here are the ranks, and various information about them (starting from lowest to highest):
Military Caste Ranks
Acolyte Night Hunter: Acolytes are the basic night hunters, essentially similar to recruits, these individuals can have a wide range of power up to a degree, due to the fact that one's combat capacity only matters once you reach a certain point in ability and rank within the order. Acolytes are individuals who are in an "apprenticeship" stage of the order, learning about the necessary skills, history and regulations to advance within the order. Acolytes are essentially delegated to basic work and protection, as their abilites and knowledge of the orders rules have not yet been tested in full. If an acolyte is particularly skillful and able to learn quickly, they may "jump" ranks (something that is usually not allowed in traditional military heirarchy) to a higher rank, such as templar or even paladin.
Templar Night Hunter: Templars are a step above acolytes, and act as middle managers of sorts. They are responsible for overseeing, teaching and managing the acolytes and basic, important functions of the order. Once again, like normal military structure, the difference in ability between templar and acolyte is significant, but unlike acolytes who can have high skill/ability gaps even among the same rank, the difference in strength between individual templars is much smaller, as by this rank ones ability may have been more accurately judged. If a templar is extremely diligent in their duties and strong (or an acolyte shows incredible potential, ability and initiative) they can become the next rank of...
Paladin Night Hunter: Paladins are what many aspire to become, yet only some ultimately achieve. This rank is assigned only to those brave and strong enough to endure the difficult tasks the order sets upon them of managing dangerous or unknown supernatural affairs or tasks deeply important to the order. Paladins are strong, skilled, and considered to be some of the most revered members of the order. Their strength is comperable to that of a vice-admiral, and positions are just as rare.
Crusader: The rank of Crusader is one of the highest ranks night hunters can acheive. It is a rank many aspire to, but few can grasp. It is one of the highest rewards and highest responsibilities that can be bestowed upon a night hunter. Crusaders are, in essence, the pinnacle of what it means to be a night hunter. they set the standards and act as commanding officers, and are given authority over even the mighty paladins. Crusaders are small in number, and are one of the few combat roles in the order that are given political clout due to their contributions. Thus, both wings of the order have a large focus on trying to find powerful and strong members to become crusaders, and much of the political struggle is attempting to create crusaders so that a majority can be reached and political power of a said wing is solidified. Crusaders are the equivalent of admirals/cipher poll in the order, and are just as rare.
Arch-Crusader: The Arch-crusader is the absolute pinnacle of the combat caste of crusader, and is both a representation of the order's political and military might. The Arch-Crusader is responsible for the overall management, structure and stability of the military caste, and as such holds tremendous political privilege, responsibility and power. There is generally allowed to only be one Arch Crusader in power at a time, but exceedingly rare combat exceptions may allow this rule to be bent to two, but no more. On a power scale, the Arch-Crusader is somewhere in ability level above an admiral yet below the fleet admiral, and should not be underestimated.
