Wayfarer Order

The Wayfarer Order is a sect of non-magical warriors with traditions that span back a thousand years or more.

## Background

While much of the Order’s early history has been lost to time, the contemporary Order has been a presence in Rhesainia for six centuries, establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with and a haven for those born without magic.

Not anyone can become a Wayfarer. While magical strength and power vary greatly from person to person, a Wayfarer must be born with a complete and total immunity to magic. Magical immunity is a double-edged sword: while magic cannot affect us, we cannot use magic, magical items or anything designed, crafted or influenced by magic.

Wayfarers are many things. They are warriors, monster hunters, and curse breakers. Often times they are mercenaries. They are trained and set out to wander the world, resolving problems that require our particular skill-set. Magic is a natural part of life, but even nature can become uncontrolled, particularly when stoked by outside influences.

## Ranks

There are five ranks within the Order.

* **Recruits:** those who have recently joined the Wayfarer Order. They have not yet undergone their training and are unclaimed by a Master. Sometimes recruits find the Order on their own; other times the Order finds them, relying on rumors and stories they hear throughout their travels and reporting their findings back to the Spire. Many recruits are children, but some join the Order later in life. Joining the Order is voluntary, but most join regardless—to be among others like themselves, free of stigma, is a powerful thing.
* **Apprentices:** recruits who have elected to join the Order. They are chosen by a Master and trained at the Spire. While many forms of combat are crucial to Wayfarer training, Apprentices are also taught diplomacy and politics, study animals and beasts, and are rigorously trained in field medicine and surgery. When curative magic does not work, one must be responsible for their own injuries.
* Upon completing their training, **Wayfarers** set out into the world. Most Wayfarers remain at this rank. They may return to the Spire whenever they wish, but some leave and never come back.
* **Masters:** Wayfarers who have returned to the Spire to train the next generation of Wayfarers. They have set aside their former lives to accept a unique set of duties and responsibilities. While some do venture out beyond the Spire on various missions, most remain within the Spire’s grounds. Rindan Cenric and Brissa Varyn are two of the most prominent Masters. Both are well over a hundred years old and have trained dozens of apprentices.
* There is only one **Grandmaster** of the Wayfarer Order. The Grandmaster is the head of the Order and responsible for overseeing the Spire and the Order’s relations with outsiders. The Grandmaster is elected by the current Wayfarer Masters and serves the Order for a term of twenty-five years. If the Grandmaster acts outside of the Order’s interests, they may have their authority revoked.

## Outside Relations

Wayfarers are simultaneously viewed with respect and suspicion. Their ability to combat complications that no one else can puts them in a place of reverence. However, some see them as abnormal. To some people, there is something sinister and outright wrong with magiani, particularly among those who practice the Meissandic faith.

Officially, the Order takes a firm apolitical stance. They are not under the jurisdiction of any nation and they will not involve themselves in the politics of the countries they visit. However, this stance is much more complicated in practice.

The Orders relationship with the Guild of Mages is plagued by distrust. The Guild represents some of the most powerful individuals in the world and Wayfarers are beyond that power. Countries that have strong ties to the Guild—such as the Arathian Empire and the Kingdom of Vestra—also view us with immense distrust.

Wayfarer involvement in the Marcian Conspiracy twenty years ago has destroyed Imperial relations with the Order, exiling Wayfarers from the nation.

## Notable Members

* Aeran Kellis
* Amali Sero
* Brissa Varyn
* Rindan Cenric
* Sirin Tovar