The Order of Unyielding Light

> *"I swear that I will be an agent of good,*
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> *That by my light all darkness shall be dispelled,*
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> *That by my steel all evil shall meet its end.*
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> *I swear that I will be an envoy of justice,*
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> *That by my hands order shall always be kept,*
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> *That by my words civilization shall flourish."*
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Often shortened to just "the Order", the Order of Unyielding Light is a group of Niphu worshiping paladins who patrol the skies and occasionally send envoys and missions to islands to attempt to end criminal activity. Depending on who you ask, they're either the only ones keeping the skies safe or a bunch of pretentious meddlers who cause more harm than good. They maintain a center of operations on the flying fortress *The Indomitable* on which new paladins are trained and the Order's leadership passes decisions.

## Organization

The Order has an explicitly laid out hierarchy of power in order to facilitate the oversight of a wide variety of islands.

### High Iusticiar

The highest authority of the Order is the High Iusticiar. The current High Iusticiar is Xandrak Flamestrider, a powerful and charismatic dragonborn. He shares authority with a council of highly experienced paladins, and is widely considered to be the most ambitious leader in the 400-year history of the Order.

### The Inquisitors

The Inquisitors are a group of specially appointed members of the Order who are charged with policing the order from within and investigating corruption that has recently become a problem to the Order.

They were established by Xandrak Flamestrider following an embarrassing incident involving an artifact of monumental importance to the Order being stolen and sold to Goldscorn Bank. Most members of the order support the Inquisitors, some because of the job they accomplish and some because of the unique powers they wield.

### The Threefold Duties

There are three primary divisions of the Order, each with a different duty. The different divisions can be seen as separate organizations, entirely distinct from one another but for the same central authority and a few linking positions, such as the Inquisitors in charge of rooting out corruption.

#### Guardians

Seen as the face of the Order to most of Osidria, the Guardians are stationed within the cities of Osidria. They are charged with protecting civilization from the forces that would destroy it. The Guardians are usually among the most socially adept of the Order, which means that the public generally backs their opinion on internal matters. This has earned them the resentment of the other branches of the Order in more cases than one.

#### Questers

The Questers are tasked with finding and destroying evil. They are sometimes given specific jobs from higher ranking members of the Order, which has earned them a reputation of being akin to bounty hunters. Most Questers, however, are devoted to their cause and will stop at nothing to see their charge through to the end.

The Questers have their own hierarchy, which they take pride in keeping. Each rank has its own special symbol which is usually displayed alongside the symbol of the Order.

1. Cavalier, represented by a jousting knight
2. Seeker, represented by a shining star
3. Bravo, represented by a thin dagger
4. Courser, represented by a galloping horse
5. Hound, represented by a hunting dog

Additionally, the Seekers have a special corps called the Light of Extermination. They given missions to kill targets who are listed too dangerous to attempt to capture and to be automatically killed on sight.

#### Knights Errant

The Knights Errant are a group of Order members who, rather than pursue any singular goal, are sent to travel throughout the world, following Niphu's doctrine of destroying evil and protecting good during their travels. They also have an implied second goal of acting as a missionary corps, especially to the monstrous races that might not have encountered Niphu's teaching before.