Order of Wardens

"*Created to be **knights**. Forced to be **monsters**,*"
—Esken St. Raivan about the state of the Order[src]

The **Order of Wardens**, later known as the **Old Order**, the **Warden Guild** or simply the **wardens**, is a partially extinct order of warriors who have been ruthlessly trained and magically modified to thrive in the wilderness of Pydwell and protect its people from monsters and evildoers. Gifted with unmatchable fighting talent and primitive combat magic, the wardens were once a mighty force employed by numerous kings, queens and warlords across the history of Pydwell. However, the Old Order has long since fallen out of favour across the continent, leaving only a few individuals remaining, many of whom are forced to live as mercenaries.

## History

### Formation & Early History

#### Background

As humans settled in the northern part of Pydwell, they had to deal with a vast array of monsters that inhabited the land and which humans were poorly equipped to deal with. To fix this, the Northern rulers tasked their mages to create magic-wielding warriors to deal with the monsters for them who would regularly move between armies as they were needed.

Unbeknownst to all, including the wardens that were the follow, the Order's creation had been orchastrated by the Wild Lords, who hoped to eventually produce a "Shadow" that could battle any foe and protect the Hero of Mortals, as part of their plan to oppose the Great Will and preserve the world come Ragh nar Roog. It was one of these lords, the Lady of the Lake, that gave the mages the knowledge to create wardens in the first place; feeling guilt for the tortorous experiments required to create wardens, the Lady became a calming presence for the few that survived.

The first warden to be created was a man named Aromir, who suffered greatly at the hands of the mages only to be deemed a failure by the kings that had funded the effort. Driven mad and thinking himself cursed, Aromir disappeared and took refuge inside the Painted World. The Order of Wardens seemed dead before they had truly began, but the efforts to create magic-wielding knights were reinvigorated by the infamous geneticist Verro Mansure and his two apprentices: Imrith, a talented mage, and Jerren Backwater, a darkborn with a natural immunity to magic. With the secret backing of the Pydwellian kings that were still intrigued by an army of superhuman warriors, Verro and his assistants continued their experiments at Castle Mourn, creating new wardens in batches. Through blood and sacrifice, the three men designed the mutagens and magics that make up the warden Trials and experiments. Over time, the mages assigned to the task of creating wardens began to degenerate, both from madness and the mutagenic compounds they handled, transforming into the Misbegotten.

## Overview

Wardens-to-be are usually donated while still young, typically no more than six years of age; a handful are handed over while still growing in their mother's wombs and rapidly developed in specialised tanks filled with alchemical substances and mutagens. When they reach an acceptable age, they are subjected to intense alchemical processes and relentless physical and magical training to make them dangerous and highly versatile against their vast array of opponents, many of which possess superhuman speed, strength and/or other deadly powers. The key permanent results of training and magical treatment shared by all wardens include:

* Cat-like eyes that grant very acute nightvision - wardens can constrict their pupils to see in blinding light or open them to see in near pitch darkness. Their entire sensory system is overall enhanced, allowing them to identify the species of animal from the scent of their blood, and detect nearby beings even when out of sight. All wardens have nine irises as a result of magical experiments to improve their eyesight.
* Tremendous resistance to disease (which functions in most cases as complete immunity) and a boosted immune system, allowing them to consume large quantities of potions that could prove easily deadly if consumed even in small amounts by a normal man.
* Exceptionally increased strength, speed, reflexes, and endurance, far beyond any normal or well-trained human, that allows them to swiftly end fights with minimal effort, and perform physical feats non-wardens couldn't hope to match. A warden's physical skills alone are sufficient to defeat most monsters single-handedly if combined with extensive training and proper weaponry, whereas regular men could only hope to accomplish this in large groups. Wardens have also been shown to shrug off hits that would normally render normal men unconscious. Additionally, they have been known to survive the strikes of powerful monsters such as giants, or other beings possessing herculean strength, that would otherwise kill others with a single blow.
* More magical potential than the average human, which gives them the ability to perform simple yet incredibly versatile combat magic using the Mark of Ymiir. They also develop a sixth sense that allows them to "feel" things around them, be it items of importance or people's immediate intentions. This explains their uncanny ability to track and hunt people and monsters. However, the amount of magic they possess is not as close to sorcerers and sorceresses, and is limited to the potential of the Mark of Ymiir; they can only cast the four basic principles of conventional magic: fire, force, shield and manipulate.
* Extended lifespan and prolonged youth.

In addition, wardens are irreversibly sterilized in their youth, with the rationale that their violent lives are unsuited for raising a child.

## Culture

### Trials

The Order's trials, also called rituals, were a series of difficult, often lethal, tasks that tested a trainee's survival and fighting skills. They ranged from (relatively) simple obstacle courses to prolonged survival in the wilderness, all the way up to brutal experiments that often killed the weaker children. Not all of the trials are known, but the most famous are:

#### The Growing

Some children donated to the wardens were given while still newborns; in MacDuff's case, some were torn from the womb before they had finished growing. Recruits that filled this criteria were given to the Misbegotten at Castle Mourn, who submerged the children in vats saturated with alchemicals that accelerated their growth and development; within a few weeks, the newborns would resemble toddlers. An advantage of this treatment was that trainees who underwent it developed greater abilities compared to their fellow wardens.

#### Trial of Wheat

When trainees were around 2-3 years old (or, at least, resembled such), they underwent the first trial of the Order: the Trial of Wheat. Although not known as such to most common folk, the Trial of Wheat is the most famous trial of the Order due to its excessive brutality; it was named for the old adage "separate the wheat from the chaff": distinguish the strong youngsters from the weak ones. The trial involved magical enhancements, mutagens, exposure to curses, and physical torture, all in the name of improving the young wardens at the cellular level; this included particularly painful modifications to their eyesight, which resulted in the nine pupils that all wardens share. Aside from the eyes, the trial granted trainees lightning-quick reflexes, slower aging, great physical strength and sharpened senses.

The trial was agonizing and responsible for more trainee deaths than any other trial, usually due to the sheer physical strain; at best four out of ten youths survived, while the others died in agony. Between sessions, some succumbed to hallucinations and madness; others cried and wept, only be to be beaten by their fellows for their weakness. A few youngsters ended their own lives to free themselves from the pain.

#### Trial of Fur

The Trial of Fur was typically held when the youngsters were in their mid teens and had survived the agonising magical enhancements of their childhood. During this trial, the trainees were rendered unconscious and placed at random locations in the surrounding wilderness, stripped naked with no food, water or weapons. They were instructed to make their way back to their keep, while crafting their own clothes and weapons and hunting their own food.

As one would expect, the Trial of Fur was one of the more deadly trials trainee wardens faced; many died within hours of starvation or exposure to the elements. Some were lucky enough to stumble across their fellows in the wilderness, but this did not ensure survival as some recruits would turn on each other. Some, like MacDuff, enjoyed living in the wilderness and were gone for weeks before returning.

#### Trial of Strain

Long before they would earn their Mark of Ymiir, young wardens had to learn how to cast spells. Unable to manipulate magic, the wardens would have a glyph cast onto their arm that would replicate the physical and mental strain of spellcasting. The strain of these glyphs would cause some weaker wardens to hemorrhage.

#### Trial of Joining

The final trial of a trainee's life was one that consisted of three: the Joining. This final trial involved three tasks: the forging of their chosen weapon from saturnite; the swearing of the oaths, followed by a combat challenge; and the branding of the Mark of Ymiir on their palm. Typically, no more than four trainees survived to complete this trial, after which they were to leave their respective keep and set out on the path as a warden.

#### Trial of Title

The last trial a warden was to complete could only be done outside of the keep where they were trained. Called the Trial of Title, it involved the young wardens finally claiming a name for themselves; all were born nameless and given nicknames by their masters. They would take the name of the first man - or woman - that they killed, with some bending the rules slightly so that they could go by a name that they preferred (for example, "Hermoor MacDuff" was a man that committed suicide before his crimes could be exposed by "Tuny", and the first man "Tuny" killed directly was named "Robert Drejyek"). This caused many wardens to take on names bearing surnames describing places that they themselves had never been to nor heard of; for example, Hans of Gruber took the name of a man from the city of Gruber, Niildard, a place to which Hans himself has never been.

### Oaths

All wardens are to swear a series of oaths regarding their profession before they are allowed to leave their home fortress and head out into the wilds.

* The Oath of Neutrality: wardens are to remain neutral in matters of politics, unless the lives of innocents are in danger or they have been paid for their loyalty
* The Oath of Business: wardens are to only use their saturnite weapons to kill those for which they have been paid
* The Oath of Brotherhood: wardens are to avenge the death of another, including members of other disciplines
* The Oath of Names: wardens must take the name of their first paid target; before this, they are to remain nameless

Of all the oaths, only the Oath of Neutrality and Oath of Names were kept as the Order began to decline. The Oath of Business became all but forgotten once new wardens realized that their saturnite weapons were well beyond the quality of any steel blade. The Oath of Brotherhood was constantly broken due to rivalries between Disciplines, for example the blood-fued between the Manticores and the Basilisks that has been held for centuries.

## Disciplines & Notable Members

### Current

#### Basilisk Discipline

The Basilisk Discipline, taught at the keep of Caer Cefneidr, ascribes to the traditional role of the wardens: noble warriors oathed to protect the people of Pydwell, often by any means they deem appropriate. Wardens trained under this discipline are infamous for their apathy, even more so than other wardens, and their willingness to kill with little to no cause. The Basilisk Discipline holds an ancient blood feud with the Manticore Discipline.

#### Manticore Discipline

The Manticore Discipline, taught at the fortress of Caer Blygoch, values the natural skills of its members and their tolerance to mutations. Only children that survived exposure to manticore mutagens while developing at the Glow were assigned to this discipline. As a result, wardens trained under the Manticore Discipline prioritize being extremely versatile in all areas of their craft, including combat magic, tracking and many different fighting styles.

* Esken St. Raivan
* Cullen
* Hans of Gruber
* Hermoor MacDuff
* Shae