Order of the Church

> A secret society; an independent, international organization called the Order of the Church; both civilization and an organization of hunters who dedicate their lives to fight against the supernatural forces that pose as a threat to humankind, operating at beyond the highest levels of discretion.
>
> Rayne, describing the Order of the Church

The **Order of the Church**, also known as The **Church Order** or simply **The Church** for short, is a secret society and organization of supernatural hunters that was created and founded by Gabriel to oppose Lucifer and the supernatural forces of evil and darkness. The original Order was created over ten thousand years ago. All members of the Order are "preceptors, observers, beholders, chroniclers", of mysteries not easily explainable or known to men. They have knowledge of mysteries of the supernatural and many arcane arts like alchemy. They consider hunters to be a lower class to them. Thus, their order only shares its secrets to the most elite hunters they deem to be worthy.

## History

### Foundation

> Let's just say that without us, all of existence itself would be in darkness. Governments, politicians, and empires alike, only last a few years at most. But for us... we have kept humankind safe since the first evil supernatural creatures roamed the Earth. We are the last defense against evil. And if such situations ever arose, we're not just an army. We're the resistance. For over 10 millennia, we have maintained and, at times, even enforced the balance between the mortal and supernatural world.
>
> Rayne, about the history of the Church

It was constructed when Dracula rose upon the world to start his mission to free Lucifer from the Cage and bring an end to all of Creation. The Order worked with many other hunter families and organizations to oppose the Dark Lord and his followers, and played a crucial role in the first Apocalypse as well as the Order War. Victory came in after Dracula was defeated following the end of a 400 year long war, with Dracula's first defeat at the hands of Gabriel. Victory came with the high cost of many of their members.

Though Gabriel returned to his status as an archangel, the Order still remained not only to prepare for Lucifer's return, but also to keep balance and painting order between humans and supernatural creatures. For over 10 millennia, the Order kept watch and kept balance, hunting supernatural creatures that brought harm upon humanity.

## Unnatural World Lore

After an intense battle between angels and demons occurred because of Dracula, whom the Order also tried to prevent from being risen, the Order finally prepared for the Apocalypse. The following year would see the Order winning their victory as Joshua defeated Lucifer. In the aftermath of the Apocalypse, the Order still maintained their duties in maintaining balance across the world.

## Organization

Hence its name, the Order of the Church is essentially a giant church/mansion. When one seeks sanctuary at the Church, all members of the Church must allow that person sanctuary. For example, when the Team was on the run from Saige, as well as her army of vampires, they asked for sanctuary and Order of the Church offered it to them. Once that happened, even if the Team left the church, they were still under the Church's protection and therefore, no-one outside of the Church was allowed to harm or even go near them. It would only be lifted once the teams asked it to be.

## Members

### High-Ranking Members

* Joshua
* Gabriel (founder)
* Celestial Gargoyles (Autonomous part of the Order, created by Joshua to help Gabriel)
* Mark
* Rayne Van Helsing
* Christina Van Helsing (deceased)
* Mia
* Lilly Yen
* Sidney
* Nigel
* Johannes Gustav (deceased)
* Carl (deceased)
* High-Exorcists
* High-Inquisitors

### Mid-Ranking Members

* Hundreds of other human hunters:
	+ Supernatural Hunters - Hunters that specialize in hunting any type of supernatural creature. They are also the heads of all hunters.
	+ Inquisitors - Regularly sent by Vatican to help the Order. They control fire and are usually very keen on hunting witches and demons via holy methods and weapons, they are trained in Vatican schools and have a red cross on their foreheads. Usually they are immune to many demonic effects such as hallucinations, hypnosis, pain producing.
	+ Exorcists - Unlike the Demon Hunters and Inquisitors their goal is not to kill the demon but to banish it from the vessel.
	+ Demon Hunters - Hunters that specialize in hunting demons, specifically targeting demonic activity.
	+ Vampire Hunters - Hunters that specialize in hunting vampires. Armed with crossbows and wooden stakes, these hunters specialize in ending the undead.
	+ Shapeshifter Hunters - Hunters that specialize in hunting all kinds of shapeshifters, including werewolves.
	+ Ghost Hunters - Hunters that specialize in hunting ghosts.
	+ Witch Hunters - Zealous Hunters that specialize in hunting wicked witches who believe the magic of some witches is always demonic, they have sworn to kill all witches.

### Low-Ranking Members

* A number of Priests
* Many monks, nuns, and priests
* Helpers of the Inquisitors

## Weapons

* Crossbows
* Stakes (wooden and silver)
* Silver Bullets
* Crosses
* Holy Water
* Bow and Arrows
* Garlic
* Vervain
* Guns (double-barrels, shot-guns, rifles, pistols, hand guns)
* Knifes (swords, blades, axes, daggers, etc.)
* Maces
* Some Angel Blades
* Some Demon-Killing Knife