Order of the Flame

*"The Priests? They deny it. The people? They've no idea. Me? I know better than to believe what I'm told."*

## The Order of the Flame

The symbol of the Order of the Flame. Commonly noted to have been prominent on the robes of Temple Partisans.

### Name/Plural

The Order, Temple Partisans, Partisans

*- An Unknown Traveler*

The Order of the Flame as it is known of today is considered to be a myth, a twisted extension of the very much real ancient militant arm of the Way of Fire. This group was once responsible for protecting the holy temples of the faith, though this old order has since fallen into disuse and obscurity even within the faith itself.

## History

During times of greater unrest, before the unification of nations and the end of clan warfare, even running a temple of faith was an inherently dangerous undertaking. To combat marauders, bandits, and other unsavory visitors temples of the Way of Fire began to employ individuals with the skills needed to provide safety and security to the temples and their faithful.

As time went on, these employed swordsmen began to be further integrated into the temples themselves, eventually gaining permanent living spaces at most temples and after quite some time even being included in certain decisions and ceremonies by the Priests. As the swordsmen began to be further integrated into the Way of Fire they were given a name and a special position within a Temple. This name is the Order of the Flame and the position that of a Temple Partisan.

Though these Temple Partisans proved irreplaceable, it became clear after the warring clans period that the world had changed, and the need for temple guards was once more unnecessary. Quietly the Order of the Flame flickered out into obscurity as Temple Partisans transitioned into roles as Priests, caretakers, and temple assistants until today the Order is a little known fact of a bygone era.

#### Additional Names

Known by several different names throughout the West, below are several of the most common.

* Hourousha (Wanderer - Northern Taika)
* Mara (Hon)

* Óvelkomnir ([The] Unwelcome - Cho)
* Partisans (Eastern Taika)
* Qareen (Western Taika)
* Sluagh (Vetei)
* Uppvakningur (Walking Dead - Sarutobi)
* Venandi (Hunter - Yakimara)

## Outfit and Equipment

According to old administrative papers, Temple Partisans commonly wore dark-colored robes with the symbol of their order prominently featured on the sleeves. Along with the robe, it was commonplace for Partisans to wear some form of a kasa, or straw hat, to help with the elements.

Equipment within the Order varied, though most commonly a Partisan could be expected to wield two katana or a polearm of some kind. Equipment was not provided by the temple and had to be acquired by the Partisans themselves.

Many Partisans took part in the generous use of tobacco pipes. Though it is not referred to as a vital part of a Partisan's outfit and equipment, it has been noted in records that so many Partisans received a stipend of the leaf as payment it could be reasoned that most within the Order partook in smoking.

## Recent History

In recent history, the Order, and it's Partisans, have begun to make a comeback in the public memory. Stories of claimed Partisans appearing in areas ridden with unusual crimes and disappearances have become a rare, but no longer unheard of, talking topic in taverns, guard posts, and around travelers fires. A mining town with disappearances in the mines, a mountain logging village with gruesome deaths high up the logging trails, fishing towns with strings of unexplained drownings. In many of these strange stories are claimed to be one constant, robed outsiders bearing the old markings of the Order of the Flame.