Orpheus

The **Orpheus** Association or the Mage Association is Earth's strongest line of defense. They are an international form of military that work above all others.

## Overview

Created by the original Nine Magistrates over 50,000 years ago, they have sworn allegiance to Earth and it's people, vowing to protect it from all sorts of intergalactic or supernatural threats that arise unexpectedly and have upheld this promise since the very beginning. At the center of the organization sits nine people, The **Archons,** who were blessed with otherworldly powers, have practically unlimited levels of power over the concept of magick and Ars Magna itself. These beings are easily identifiable by their glowing eyes while channeling seithr or using spells. When it comes to the applications of magic, they cannot be beaten by anyone else. This is not to say that they are invincible as magic still has it's restrictions and limitations. They are however, capable of battling the likes of the God of Calamity, Drauga, and his creations to seemingly no end without exhausting themselves. The title of Archon or Great Sage is bestowed upon each of them as they are the ones who shape the material world and all things in it. The mountains, the oceans, the atmosphere and the vast vacuum of space are under their complete control. Originally a legion of Nine people who were all Nonus Level threats, some ended up dying and reincarnating over and over into new bodies and that caused the power levels of some Archons to dwindle and be lowered to Octavus Level. Lead by the Second Sage who is a facilitator for the Nine, they deal with all threats in their world and dispatch abnormalities with no hesitation. They know a seemingly endless variety of secondary and teritary magick arts while still maintaining their full power when applying them.

Bishops are direct disciples of the Nine Sages and they are next in line to become the Archon, who will choose which one is worthy of taking their place when they retire or die. All Bishop seats are named after a Major Arcana and is thematically fitting with each of their natures. Takami, who later became known as the Fool was selected as a bishop and given that title because of his personality. Each of the Bishops are High-Leveled Ascendants, humans who interacted with the Akashic Points or special creatures who were already born with an Anathema. There was not a single Bishop who was below Septimus Class until Takami came along, with the strongest three Bishops being The Devil, Death and Justice who sit at Octavus Class.

Members of Orpheus dress in clothing that is interwoven with a special fabric that produces a thin barrier which provides a great resistance to eir and seithr so that they are not immediately killed when fighting threats who can use magick or anathematic arts. Safety is the most important thing in their line of work so they take precautionary methods to avoid fatal outcomes.

## Objective

They wish to uncover new forms of magic that have never been seen before and protect the planet from all dangers. Orpheus has the only ones who can bring an end to Ascendants who have gone rogue, because a standard military does not have the firepower to stop one, they get involved and execute or prosecute criminals. Each squad has a different objective and serves a unique purpose. Gyokuto Squadron, explores a separate dimension called The Divide through by entering coordinates through a special cellphone and prevents anomalies from entering the main dimension to usurp the place of their counterparts. Cerberus Squadron are reckless force of a chaotic good nature, this can sometimes lead to causalities but they try to prevent this as much as they can for civilians. Above all else, they are primarily focused on eliminating any active terrorist threats. The ultimate goal of the organization is to educate people on Magick and regulate the world of Ars Magna so that people do not run wild. Every person who receives a license is tucked away in their files so that they can easily find the person if something goes wrong.

## Public Response

Members of Orpheus are treated with the highest respect, perhaps even greater than The Seven Stars as they do not have to pay for housing, school, shelter or clothing. They have a black card that gives them the highest-level of access to even the most secret of facilities. As they are the defenders of the planet, they cannot be charged for their needs as long as they continue to serve the world righteously. The public praises the organization as heroes but some who are very religious consider their use of Magic to be the devil's work and may subject them to unnecessary prejudices. This however does not deter them from doing that they believe is right. The organization is known worldwide, earning the respect of Emperors, Kings and Queens all over the place. Some members take a more vigilante approach and while the public do not necessarily like to see brutality towards criminals, they are well within their right to act in such a fashion.

## Ranking

Archon: The highest honor among the organization, they are publicly known as the Nine Sages or Magistrates. They have overwhelming power and remain unmatched by most of the Ayn Sof universe. They sit on a council of nine and guide their bishops so that they may know how to respond to threats in case they are unavailable to help them themselves.

Bishop: As the second highest rank in the organization, they are the students and disciples of the Archons. They have more authority than the other three ranks and fight at a level close to the Nine Sages. Their mastery of Ars Magna and physical fitness is incredibly good. It is possible for someone to skip the other ranks and jump straight to the title of Bishop if one of the Sages believe they are prepared for the task. Yashin has regrettably made that decision before and ended up losing a student once because they were not prepared to face the threat.

Inspector: The third rank in the organization. These people are allowed to teach lower ranks and create a squad with them. They have a close relationship with most members within the organization as the mentors to both agents and the knights. While leading a squad, they are supervised by a Bishop who will work alongside them as backup to prevent unseen causalities.

Knight: The second rank in the organization. They are stronger than Agents and have more authority as well. With a wider variety of magick arts under their belt, they make up the powerhouses in most squadrons and protect the agents that work alongside them. Knights have the authority to tackle enemies by themselves without a squad as well.

Agents: The first rank in the organization. The title of Agent is given to entry-level members who work as part of a squad under an Inspector. They can be mentored by any of the ranks above them but cannot do missions by themselves without being accompanied by other agents or a knight. They are comparable to the A-Rank students of Ikadonia.