The Wayward

To take the Wayward Path is to journey beyond the realm of what is known; to a place of what could be, to a place where chaos and randomness reign supreme. It is a path of vice and virtue in equal measure. A trail of exhilarating highs and heartbreaking lows. The Wayward Path is the road least travelled, for not everyone could survive. It will test you, drain you, perhaps even break you. There are those who say the path is not a path but a river, a driving current you cannot turn against. Can you keep your head above the raging waters? Can you ride the river to where you want to be? The depths claim those who fail. The water knows the way.

"So I just choose one, do I? I’ll take this one then. I like being in the water.."

*~ Alvin Monk - Wayward, at The Three Gates.*

## The Taste of Chaos

The Wayward are a people of contrast. They live their lives between extremes - crushing lows and enthralling highs, and as such are prone to unpredictability. There is no set path for a Wayward to follow once their faction has been chosen, no stability, at least not to the same extent as that of a Watcher or Guardian. Wayward lives are more transient. They exist in a place of change and flux and embrace this and thrive. Of the three factions, the Wayward are the most versatile. You can throw them into any situation, any environment, and they will succeed. There is a kindness to the Wayward people, and a fierce rage inside them. It is the nature of their path. You are sure to see them both as they walk the road between darkness and light.

## Wayward In the City

**Community**

Although they will be found throughout the City, Wayward citizens are often drawn to the Eastern Districts, a densely populated region of somewhat lower economic fortune, which encapsulates the infamous Slums and Sewer sectors, as well as a large percentage of New Central’s manufacturing and production plants. The region is a heavily industrialised area, and as such many of the Wayward are found working in the mines and factories that surround their homes. Social mobility from this region, although not impossible, is certainly difficult, and many of the Wayward are generational. To those new to the City, whilst not a place of great wealth, the region provides ample opportunity for employment, as well as a well-established community with strong and loyal people to reside amongst.

**Houses and Governance**

The Wayward have no clear House structure as that of The Guardians. Instead, they admire those with independent thought, and follow those who they believe are the most well-rounded and informed. Because of this, leadership often changes amongst the Wayward depending on what is required, or what is at stake. Independence and self-governance are well considered qualities, and a Wayward will often tread his own path if he feels that it is in his best interests to do so. The people are loyal to one another, and will fight for each other, but each is able to make their own decision and go their own way should the need arise.

## Military Use

**‘et regnabit chao’**

***Selection Report for Resistance Fighters*. (Approved Documentation)**

Selection for The Wayward ranks based on speed of thought, improvisation and ferocity. A Wayward candidate will be used primarily as an assault and counterstrike operative. Fast and lightly armoured, The Wayward aim to weaken enemy positions and break their resolve before the main cohort engages, sowing chaos and confusion within enemy ranks. Once committed, The Wayward will follow no orders and use their own intuition to survive in the fire and fury of hand-to-hand combat. Casualties can be high but there is no shortage of applicants.

The Wayward are used primarily as fast, effective shock-troops in combat situations. Strong, unified, with an efficacy for hand to hand fighting, they are ideal as vanguard operatives designed to weaken and soften an enemy before the main force commits.

As independent thinkers, they follow a loose command structure in battle as the relay of orders between committed troops and HQ is often hard to regulate. Momentum is everything for a preemptive strike, and no one is better suited to this theatre than that of the Wayward Faction.

**Weapons and Armour**

Hand-to-hand weaponry, with limited projectile usage. Although most of the Wayward will use modern, specialised weapons specific to the task in hand, there are some in the Wayward who will use their working tools and equipment in brawl-like situations, as the potential for causing damage with industrial equipment is very high. Armour is light, covering torso and head, with full range of movement accessible. What stands the Wayward apart is their battle cries, a howling, screaming cacophony of rage, a wall of sound that will take the heart of even the most steadfast of enemy troop. Many flee long before the weapons fall.

## Battles

Below is a list of famous battles that the Wayward have been involved in:

* ***Those Unfit to Lead*** - Wayward were used to break a siege that started when the ousted city leader, Hoolio Merrik, refused to leave power, holding the government hostage. Merrik and his army were routed by the Faction.
* ***Unity Wars*** - The Wayward joined with the army of the coalition to end the wars in the wastes beyond the walls, unifying the districts and bringing something more akin to peace to the troublesome region.
* ***The Smokestack Rebellion*** - Wayward regiments successfully defeated a band of disgruntled thicket workers rampaging through the Northern forests, ravaging the frontier towns.
* ***The Awakening*** (Active Campaign)

## Ways and Culture

Kind-hearted, loyal, but impulsive and independent, the Wayward are good and formidable allies, whose governance is best left to themselves. Community is a big part of a Waywards identity. Though smaller in number than that of the other Factions, the Wayward ranks are home to some of the smartest, most creative and ferocious warriors seen in the city. A contrasted people - some reserved, others outgoing, yet all of them worthy, they are a people to be admired, and perhaps to be a little wary of, for you cannot predict the unpredictable. And the Wayward are certainly unpredictable.

## Famous Waywards

***Alvin Monk*** - Alvin Monk was born in The Slums, in a district officially titled Eastern District 5, but more commonly known as ‘The Sink’. Alvin had a rough upbringing - his mother died some days after his birth, and his father, who was never suited to the role, died fighting in the Unity Wars that ravaged the territorial districts of the Slums for many years. Orphaned before his 5th birthday, Alvin scratched a living selling cultivated moss that grew on the rocks by the flooded sinkhole from where his district got its name. Filled with nutrients, this moss was a staple food source for the inhabitants of The Sink, and for those who could not afford the inflated prices of meat from the Rat Trap Gang, more often the only thing that kept them alive. Life was a constant struggle for Alvin, but somehow, he survived into adolescence. His temperament was one of vigilance, with bouts of impulsiveness. He grew lean and agile and was famous for his street fighting capabilities. To the underhive gangers who fought for control of the streets and alleys, he was ‘Alvin Rockhard’. When whispers of the rebellion grew, Alvin decided to enlist in the resistance, the first of the Slums to do so, and thus with this noble act, set himself on the path to legendhood.