Order of Seekers

## Statistics

**Founding**: 680 million years ago.

**Head**: High Seeker

**Headquarters**: The Forge

**Main faction**: Oro Convent

## Overview

The Order of Seekers are an independent religious order within the Oro Convent, unbound by the directives of the Grand Cleric and the Herald, as the High Seeker is the third head of the Convent's leadership, designed to balance out the two other parts of the Convent. Seekers act as Hunters, Scouts, Assassins, and Warriors for the Convent, occasionally leading troops into battle when non-Clone leadership is needed. Due to the nature of their position, Seekers only reveal their faces to the Convent's leadership and to other Seekers they trust., as well as their Page. Seekers tend to be above Convent Law as even a Temple Acolyte cannot give an order to a Seeker unless the order aligns with the mission the Seeker is on or is meant to preserve the sanctity and safety of the Temple and the people within. All Seekers fit a specific theme and identified with a one word codename that fits their specific theme. The number of active Seekers has never been given and only known by the High Seeker. Psychic Seekers are a rarity and Seekers of races not mostly part of the Convent are even rarer.

## Seekers

### Duties

Seekers are always on missions, assigned by the high Seeker, though the missions itself usually consists of "This is the result," with each Seeker free to determine their own method of accomplishing that goal. Missions are usually long term and take the Seeker all over the galaxy. Aside from their missions, Seekers are tasked with specific goals and duties that missions are either in line with or that supersede the missions:

1. The defense of Temples and Temple personnel, to include those given sanctuary.
2. Hunt down and punish heretics.
3. Destroy enemies of the Convent and of The Way, when they are found.
4. Defend Convent members outside of Convent space.
5. If asked with genuine curiosity, a Seeker is allowed to teach non-believers about The Way.
6. Explore space.

### The Birth of a Seeker

Seekers start off as devout children of devout families within the Convent, usually those that seem to be heading toward a life in the Clergy. Children that seem a little more focused on martial aspects, be them hunting, roughhousing with siblings or other children, or even just those that seem to be stealthier than others, are singled out by Acolytes and either watched closely or outright approached if they are old enough for priesthood vows. Upon acceptance of the one time offer, the individual is made a Neophyte and begin basic training in martial aspects. The training is a rigorous regimen, designed to perfectly hone the Neophyte's body to the needs of the position, with each race having a different set. Upon completion of the physical training, usually about a year, the Neophyte is brought before select psychics of the highest ranks in the Clergy and are required to willingly open their minds to the psychics, holding nothing back. The psychics search the mind of the Neophyte for anything that would disqualify them from the process of becoming a Seeker, as well as anything that would cause their death. If they are denied, they are given the option of joining the Pages, individuals that serve the Seekers and assist them in their lives between their missions. This is also the final point in which a Neophyte is allowed to change their minds.

Neophytes that pass are given a short period of time to bid a final farewell to family and friends before they are transported to the Forge, the Temple devoted entirely to the Order, who's location is only known by the Pages and the Seekers. Upon arriving at the Forge, the Neophyte is given the title of Seeker Initiate and they meet with the Seeker they will be replacing or with Seekers that will influence the creation of a new type of Seeker. After the Seeker or Seekers feel the Initiate is ready, they will spend on night in absolute silence, in a chamber that strips them of all their senses, to meditate and prepare themselves, as they are to be awake for the entirety of what is to come. The Seeker is taken to the Anvil for the first of a long series of surgical procedures, designed to make them a Seeker. Once started, it cannot be stopped until completion or death. It starts with grafting Orovium, the sacred metal of the Convent, onto their bones or equivalent biological structure, to the point of incredible strength. The nervous system, or equivalent, is lined with a biological circuitry. And the final touch is the grafting of the Orovium armor. The skin is stripped off in its entirety, except for the head, and the material is grafted on, acting as a skin, allowing the Initiate full range of motion and feel, fringes of Orovium embedded down to the nerves. Upon completion, the Initiate is given time to rest and get used to the feel, as well as recover, for not all survive the process. Those that die in the process are given the honors that a full Seeker would have upon death and their remains are interred within the Mausoleum of the Seekers. The Armor will never come off and will remain upon the body of the Seeker until death. The head is to be covered by a helmet or mask made of Orovium. The Armor can be molded for artistic purposes at a later date, if the Seeker so wishes. Smart Paint is usually applied at a later date, so the Seeker can alter the coloration of the armor for better camouflage.

Once the survivors have fully recovered, they undergo one last surgery, this one while asleep. A Biological Aritificial Intelligence is implanted into their brains, tied into the biological circuitry implanted earlier. Once complete, the Initiate is sent into another round of training, this one lasting around 20 years, to perfect their movement and their martial skills with their chosen weapons. Every Seeker is allowed to commission two different ranged weapons and one Orovium melee weapon from the top artisans in the Convent, in order to carry out their duties. One of the ranged weapons fires Hard Light projectiles. The other is usually utility, acting as both a weapon and a tool. Once the Seeker is complete and ready for duty, they forever shed their birth names and familial ties and are only known by their code names, though some Seekers still reveal their birth names to other Seekers they trust.

## History

The Order of Seekers got its start as the scout and vanguard contingent of the nomadic Oro Fleet, long before the founding of the Convent. The Scouts would appear days or even weeks before the rest of the fleet, making sure they weren't about to enter into anywhere dangerous, as well as scouting out the flanks, to handle trading and information gathering. Most races would rarely actually come across the fleet, but instead interact with the Oro, and later Natah, races purely through the scouts. Because of their dangerous and important role, the scouts developed their own unique culture, separate from the fleet, which can still be seen today in the Order. When the fleet, now called the Oro Convent, decided to settle down instead of remaining nomadic, the scouts became more important than ever, handling the duties of scouting out sufficient worlds, resources, and dealing with potential dangers before civilians got there.

During the Supremacy War, the scouts were instrumental in warning of an incoming attack and finding safe passage for the fleeing members, as well as rooting out and destroying their Dom'Kavosh counterparts. when the war was over and the Convent eventually started moving back into the Milky Way, as always, their arrival was preceded by the scouts. It was the return to the Milky Way that caused the Herald and Grand Cleric to finally recognize the importance of the scouts and declare the formation of the Order of Seekers, letting the new Order determine its own path and culture, as they had for millions of years prior.

During the Bloody Age, the Seekers were given the additional task of scouting suitable Cattle Races, as well as assisting in the culling of particularly stubborn races. Once in a blue moon, a Seeker would find a member of a Cattle Race as fit for becoming a Seeker and would whisk them off to the Forge. This caused them to come into conflict with the Corti, who were operating behind the Seeker's backs, doing the same duties, but without authorization. It took an actual open conflict between Corti scouts and a Seeker for the leadership to unanimously declare the Corti's actions as against Convent law and to stop or risk being declared Heretics.

During the Convent Civil War, the Order was essentially split in half, with one side supporting the Grand cleric, the other supporting the Herald. This marks the only time Seekers have been killed or captured. After the Civil War ended, all Seekers returned to the Order, with the exception of Seekers Nightmare and Terror, both of whom were declared Heretics and all Seekers were given Kill On Sight orders.

## References

1. ↑ Official founding. The group has always existed since the founding of the Convent.
2. ↑ Heresy is a very rare and very severe crime. It is not something taken lightly and the most common form of heresy is attempting to give out Convent secrets or technology, or to subvert Convent restrictions on technology. Heresy can only be declared by the Herald.
3. ↑ there are exceptions to this rule, such as Seeker Huntress, if the skill and devotion are already there.
4. ↑ 12 humans from the Samurai Imperium were granted access to this year of training, as a reward for assisting in the eradication of an Arorzrag infestation on a Samurai colony. This marks the only time non-Neophytes have ever experienced Seeker Training.
5. ↑ Of the three scout ships with crews of ten, none of the Corti survived their fight with Seeker Brawler. The Corti never forgave the Order for this.
6. ↑ During the events of the Checkmate Arc, the two Seekers returned to the Order after they finished their missions.