The White Order

## **White Order Hierarchy (Simplified)**

The Lady Matron

Council of Matriarchs

Matrons

Sisters/Mentors

Apprentices

Novices

Acolytes

Initiates

The White Order rank themselves according to a strict hierarchy based on the levels of powers in magic and also the ruling positions established by elections (such as the Lady Matron and Council of Matriarchs) or directly chosen and appointed by a higher-ranked woman to another ruling position (such as the Mistress of Novices, the Head of a mission, etc.

## **Vocations**

The seven Vocations are the different groups within the White Order that each have their own specific purpose and rules. The heads of the seven Vocations take several seats within the Council of Matriarchs, serving alongside five other high-ranking women of the White Order selected to sit on the council, including the Lady Matron. Each Vocation is governed by its own internal leader. In order to rise from the rank of Acolyte to Novice, therefore choosing her Vocation and later being selected as an Apprentice by one of the Sisters belonging to her Vocation, an Acolyte must be deemed ready by the Mistress of Acolytes in order to take part her Acceptance ceremony.

Once deemed ready, the Acolyte is summoned to take part in her Acceptance ceremony so she might be Accepted and raised to the status of Novice, and choose a Vocation. The Acolyte has the right to refuse the ceremony twice, but on the third time if she refuses, she will either be put out of the Order or sent to serve with the Service Corps. Once she starts the ceremony she cannot stop, or she will be sentenced to the Service Corps or banished from the Order.

The Acceptance ceremony consists of the Acolyte passing through a labyrinth of ice where they will face their greatest fears, one each from the past, present, and future. Some who take the test never return. Whilst inside the labyrinth of ice, it is extremely dangerous to use magic. When the ice labyrinth was first discovered, several Sisters were burned out by using magic within. However, walking through the labyrinth affects the memory, and during the test most women don't remember that they can wield magic; thus, a warning on the dangers of using magic isn't considered overly important.

The Acolyte has the right to refuse to enter the labyrinth, but three refusals result in her being sent from the Order or sent to the Service Corps. The Acolyte will also be sent from the Order or sent to the Service Corps if she refuses to continue once the testing has begun.

If the Acolyte is successful and she exits out of the labyrinth on the other side, she is greeted by the Lady Matron and the Council of Matriarchs. Here, she is officially Accepted as a Novice and chooses a Vocation to enter and study for as a Novice, ultimately being selected by one of the Sisters in her chosen Vocation to train under as an Apprentice and later become an official member of the Vocation and a full-fledged Sister. The newly dubbed Novice declares her Vocation and must ask if the head of that Vocation will accept her. The head of the Vocation will accept her and she’ll be warmly welcomed by her new sisters-in-arms in her new Vocation.

Every Accepted Acolyte requests acceptance into a Vocation when she becomes a Novice. No woman is ever refused entry into the Vocation of her choice unless there are extraordinary circumstances that wouldn’t permit her to join the Vocation of her choice, but such an event is almost unheard of. The Lady Matron is the only Sister who no longer belongs to a particular Vocation - formally she is "of all Vocations and of none." The Vocation she was raised from is significant however, since that Vocation enjoys the prestige of having a sister of their Vocation as Lady Matron, and key roles such as Mistress of Acolytes or seats on the Council of Matriarchs are commonly given to women from the Lady Matron’s former Vocation.

Each of these sub-societies, each dedicated to their own particular task, has representation on the Council of Matriarchs and other administrative councils, its own ideology and purpose for its members, own ruling head or heads, and most have their own spy network. They also have secret magic techniques, spells, enchantments, and skills that are only taught to members, and own traditions governing things ranging from conduct in everyday life to what one might wear inside the Citadel.

The seven Vocations are the following: the Red Vocation, the Green Vocation, the Blue Vocation, the Silver Vocation, the Gold Vocation, the Purple Vocation, and the Coral Vocation.

### **Changing Vocations**

Upon joining a Vocation, there are generally thought to be only three ways to leave it: death, being banished/demoted to the Service Corps, or being raised to the Lady Matron. The selection of a Vocation is an incredibly important and sacred choice, and there are only a few cases of Novices being permitted to switch Vocations, and practically none after passing her trials and becoming a full-fledged Sister.

### **The Red Vocation**

The Red Vocation, also known as the “Battle Vocation,” specialize in military tactics, combat, and war. They act as peacekeepers and the main defence of the Citadel, and the Order as a whole. They’re the largest Vocation, essentially a standing army ready for battle at a moment’s notice. They act as guards and soldiers and security detail. They stand ready for battle with Thysticals or any other dangerous magic users. They have a close, warm camaraderie with each other and have much more relaxed rules regarding attachment, although they’re still highly disciplined.

Red sisters may bond as many Sentinels as they wish, though a Red with only one Sentinel typically has a very deep and close bond with him. The head of the Red Vocation is known as the Warmaster.

### **The Blue Vocation**

The Blue Vocation, also known as the “Justice Vocation,” focuses on causes of righteousness and justice. They are the second largest Vocation, and the leader's title is the High Justice. After the Silvers, they have the largest spy network. They root out corruption within the Order and enforce the rules, laws, and vows of the Order.

### **The Silver Vocation**

The Silver Vocation, also known as the “Espionage Vocation,” specializes in diplomacy, politics, spying, information gathering, mediation in politics, and mediation. They’re the third largest Vocation, and by far the most secretive and distant. They’re famous for being the most emotionless and calm, the most detached from relationships and worldly attachments. Their work is also some of the most dangerous, but also glamourized. They infiltrate the courts and households and inner circles of monarchs, powerful crime lords, aristocrats, and anyone else who holds enough power to change the world. Silver sisters don’t bond with Sentinels. They, naturally, have the largest eyes-and-ears network. They often act as mediators within internal disputes.

The head of the Silver Vocation is known as the Grand Spymaster.

### **The Purple Vocation**

The Purple Vocation, also known as the “Knowledge Vocation,” focuses on gathering and preserving knowledge. They are the fourth largest Vocation, and are governed by a ruling council, the head of which is called the First Curator. The librarians of the Citadel library are mostly Purple sisters. They also generally cover the teaching and instruction of Initiates and Acolytes.

### **The Green Vocation**

The Green Vocation, also known as the “Soul Vocation,” focus on emotional, spiritual, and mental health, agriculture, botany, connection to the natural world, the balance of magic, worship to the Goddess, interpreting guidance from the Goddess, caretaking of the Order’s animal companions, spirituality, and acquiring new additions to the Order. They’re the fifth largest Vocation. The head of the Green Vocation is known as the Dream Weaver. Sisters assigned to be dames in the creches and overall care of Initiate and Acolytes are generally from the Green Vocation. The Creche Mother is also generally a Green sister. They also are commonly selected to be teachers and instructors, or help around the Order whoever help is needed.

### **The Coral Vocation**

The Coral Vocation, also known as the “Healer Vocation,” specialize in healing, medicine, health, and physical well-being. Accepted Acolytes who show a talent for healing generally join the Coral Vocation upon raising. They’re the sixth largest Vocation, and the head of the Coral Vocation is known as the Chief Healer.

### **Gold Vocation**

The Gold Vocation, also called the “Mage Vocation,” focuses on logic, philosophy, and magical theory. They’re the smallest Vocation, and the most mysterious, almost as secretive as the Silver Vocation. They rarely bond Sentinels. While it’s not expressly forbidden, it’s frowned upon from within the Gold Vocation, seen as a distraction to your duties, missions, and thoughts. They’re generally the most knowledgeable about magic, and the most powerful magic-users. They also focus on castigating the wrong and dangerous use of magic, or searching for and eradicating users of dark magic outside of the Order. Ironically, they themselves have historically produced the highest amount of corrupted Sisters wielding dark magic. The head of the Gold Vocation is known as the Archmage.

## **The Service Corps**

The Service Corps is the group that keeps the Citadel and entire Order running smoothly. They handle things like laundry, cooking, cleaning, tending to the greenhouses and gardens, serving meals, tending to the animals of the Order, and other menial chores. They also aide the seven Vocations with whatever’s needed, and while they’re generally failed Sisters or those who aren’t disciplined or talented enough to pass the ceremonies or trials, or become full-fledged Sisters, they’re just as important to the survival and smooth running of the White Order as the Lady Matron or Council of Matriarchs. However, despite this, many may look down upon those sentenced to serve in the Service Corps, and many dread such a life. They’re considered members of the White Order, but at some point they failed in their training or was deemed unfit, and could no longer continue in their training.

The Service Corps is led by the Matron Administrator.

## **Sentinels**

A Sentinel is a person, traditionally male, who is bonded by a White Order Sister through the use of magic to become her bodyguard and protector.

There's benefits for both parties, as the Sentinel gains greater stamina and physical prowess, a greater capacity to resist evil, the ability to sense magic or magical disturbances at a distance, and greater resistance to injury. Their proximity to a Sister also means she could probably help heal their wounds or aide them using magic if necessary.

The Sister, for her part, gains a bodyguard, confidant, and ally-in-schemes who is intrinsically linked to her and can be compelled, to a certain extent, through the bond. Both parties are able to sense the other's general location, physical well-being and, to some extent, emotional state. When a Sister dies, her Sentinel rarely survives. He completely loses the will to live and will almost always die attempting to avenge his Sister. A Sentinel's death is nearly as terrible for his Sister, creating so much emotional turmoil for her that often Sisters take many years to bond another.

Most Sisters bond one Sentinels, but the Red Vocation allows the bonding of multiple Sentinels and the Silver Vocation does not bond Sentinels at all; in addition Purples and Golds often do not bother with Sentinels unless it is necessary for their research. Blues, Corals, and Greens also commonly bond with Sentinels.

A Sister who already has a Sentinel is capable of bonding another, though only the Red Vocation has been known to actually do this; done this way, the Sentinel bonds are separate, and the the two warders do not have the same awareness of each other as each does of his Sister. Finally, Sentinel bonds can be dissolved unilaterally by the Sister at any time.

A Sentinel will drive himself to death looking for a way to save his Sister, as the bond creates an overwhelming instinct to protect her life above all else. Sentinels share a unique bond with one another, and proudly enter a lifelong brotherhood when submitting to being bonded by a Sister. Many Sentinels live at the Citadel with their Sister, and usually spar with one another, as well as the young men who hope to become Sentinels  themselves one day.

Bonding between a Sister and a Sentinel is a highly sacred and special thing, and a forced bonding is akin to rape in the eyes of the Order. A Sister who forcibly bonded a man would be severely punished, and forced to release the unwilling Sentinel. Usually, orphaned boys or boys volunteered up by their families, or young men looking to become Sentinels are brought by Sentinels or Sisters from various missions to be raised and trained within the Sentinels section of the Citadel, with the knowledge that they’ll someday be bonded to a Sister. Prior to being bonded, they’re allowed to leave at any time they wish, although their memories of the location of the Citadel and such would be erased for the protection of the Order. Other times, Sisters might encounter men who willingly volunteer to become bonded as Sentinels.

## **More Hierarchy Info**

The Lady Matron is the leader of the White Order in the Citadel in the Drowned Mountains. Her full title is "Grand High Priestess of Isolde. Mother of Wolves. True Defender of the Peace. Harbinger of Justice. Daughter of the Ice. Kingslayer. Queenmaker. She Who Dances With Dragons and Sings With Storms. The Lady Matron." Usually, she is just referred to as the Lady Matron.

The Council of Matriarchs is composed of the heads of the seven Vocations, the Lady Matron, the Matron Administrator, the Creche Mother, the Mistress of Acolytes, and Keeper of the Citadel.

All the Initiates are raised in an area called the "creche." Initiates are also sorted into groups called "sororities" which are each headed by a “dame.” The Dame will effectively act as a mentor and mother figure to the Initiates in the sorority they head for the initiates’ duration in the creche. The head of the creche is called the Creche Mother.

Novices are taken on by sisters in their chosen Vocation to act as their Apprentices, trained and aided personally by them for a number of years until the Apprentice takes their trials and either passes or fails. The terms used are “Mentor" and “Apprentice." Mentors also help the Apprentices hone their particular talents and skills for their Vocations, and educate them on Vocation history and rules.

There are four trials an apprentice must pass in order to take the fifth and final trial. There is the Trial of the Mind, the Trial of the Heart, the Trial of the Soul, and the Trial of the Body. The fifth and final, the most important one, is the Trial of Ice. If an Apprentice successfully passes their Trials, they’re welcomed into the Order as a full-fledged Sister and become an official member of their Vocation. Shortly after passing their Trials, they have their Vows ceremony where they swear their vows to the Order and are Welcomed as a Sister.

### **The Keeper of the Citadel**

The Keeper of the Citadel is traditionally chosen by the Lady Matron, but her choice must be ratified by the Council of Matriarchs. While acceptance of the Lady Matron’s choice of appointee is strong custom, the Council’s ratification is the only legal requirement and in some cases an alternative Keeper has been imposed on a Lady Matron. This has happened in cases where the Council has sought to rein in a Lady Matron that, despite having been raised, may be unreliable in some way or as quid pro quo in getting a Lady Matron elected.

In the early days of the White Order, the role was no more than the Lady Matron’s secretary and the official historian of the White Order. Since thousands of years before the War of Frost and Flame, however, she became the de facto second-in-command to the Lady Matron and the second most powerful woman in the Order.

### **Mistress of Acolytes**

The Mistress of Acolytes is the Sister responsible for the discipline and well-being of Acolytes in the White Order. Since the care and discipline of Novices is transferred to the head of the Novice’s chosen Vocation upon the completion of her Acceptance ceremony, and later the Novice-turned-Apprentice’s Mentor, the Mistress of Acolytes is only called in to help discipline Novices or Apprentices in the most dire of situations. She is expected to be a harsh-yet-fair woman. She serves to carry out punishments on her charges, which usually take the shape of a strapping or switching. However, she may also set manual labor, such as working in the kitchens or stables. She is the ultimate authority over Acolytes, and as such she is also responsible for bringing them to their test for the Acceptance ceremony. Despite her seemingly negative role in the life of an Acolyte, it is not unheard of for her to be a comforting shoulder to those who feel the pressure hardest.

She is also responsible for the discipline of the most troublesome Novices and Apprentices, and is generally considered to be harsher on them then Acolytes, as it is believed that they should know better. Sisters can even be sent to her for a penance, though it is rare and ultimately humbling for the Sister. The position of Mistress of Acolytes has been sought after and claimed by many Purple Vocation sisters. The reason for this would appear to be that they can observe the White Order Acolytes to see which ones might be potential recruits for the Purple Vocation.

### **The Creche Mother**

The Creche Mother is in charge of the creche, and the well-being and discipline of Initiates. She is also in charge of the Dames who oversee each individual sorority, and the teachers and instructors who educate and care for the Initiates. Generally, the Creche Mother will come from the Green Vocation.

### ​**The Matron Administrator**

The Matron Administrator is in charge of the Service Corps, and is consulted when there is debate as to whether an Initiate, Acolyte, Novice, or even Sister should be reassigned to the Service Corps. She’s also in charge of the various Housemistresses beneath her, such as the Mistress of the Kitchens or the Mistress of the Laundry or the Mistress of Cleaning. She essentially keeps the Citadel and entire Order running smoothly, and is often busy from well before dawn until well after dusk. The Matron Administrator herself is often not a full-fledged Sister herself, having risen through the ranks of the Service Corps, or appointed by the Lady Matron herself. Despite this, she is respected and even feared by vast majority of the Order, for without her, the Order would easily descend into chaos. The Matron Administrator also holds the right to discipline any Initiate, Acolyte, Novice, or Apprentice, and sometimes even Sister. She also oversees the assignment of chores and manual labor to Acolytes, and works closely with the Creche Mother and the Mistress of Acolytes.

## **Acolytes & Daily Life**

Acolytes are girls who are in training in the White Order to become a Sister. It is the second level of the Order, beneath that of the Novices and Apprentices who are themselves beneath the level of a Sister. Generally, one is an Acolyte from around age eight or nine to her early teens, although how long might remain an Acolyte is flexible and up to the Mistress of Acolyte’s discretion. Becoming an Acolyte is known as being "put in white," because they are held to a strict dress code - white dresses, stockings, shoes, gloves, cloaks, coats, and even hair ribbons. All their clothing is white, but they are sometimes permitted to have articles of clothing that are either blacks, grey, or other neutral colours. For certain special events, they are also permitted to wear colourful clothing.

Acolyte life is deliberately harsh, in order to prepare them for the difficult life of a Sister. When a girl becomes an Acolyte, she is required to burn the Initiate clothes that she arrived in, in order to symbolize a break with her past ties and further build dependence on the Order. The shared dormitories, usually two to four girls per a room, is tiny, the beds uncomfortable and hard, and they must wake every day before dawn to scrub the floor and sweep the room. Meals are taken in silence and are extremely brief, so the Acolytes must eat quickly or go hungry. They will have lessons and classes; some on learning to wield magic but just as many on history, various languages, geography, politics and philosophy, mathematics, combat training, survival skills, cooking, cleaning, horsemanship, weaponry - to all of which she must pay strict attention or face punishment. Acolytes also have classes on the history of the White order, about magic in general and classes on uses of the power such as ice magic, storm magic, water magic, and other variants of the Goddess’s power. However, most of their day will be taken up with such chores and duties as labouring in the kitchens, scrubbing floors, doing errands for Sisters, working in the gardens, and other such chores around the Citadel.

Another large chunk of their time is taken up by meditation, prayer, and worship within the shrines, temples, and chapels to Isolde and the other gods throughout the Citadel complex. Acolytes are not permitted to use magic except when supervised by a Sister or a teacher (though many do so anyway in secret), and must do all their chores by hand. The idea is that the hard work builds character, though it is likely that there is a desire to keep them too busy, and too tired, to start playing around and experimenting with the Goddess’s gift. Acolytes are strictly confined to the Citadel grounds, and there are no days off, except for occasional holidays or days of rest where there were no lessons or chores, except possibly chores given as punishment. For most days of rest, besides religious ones or holidays or festivals in honour of the gods, there are no set schedule for these; the Mistress of Acolytes declares them at her discretion.

In order to learn how to wield magic, various spells and enchantments are demonstrated at a strength too low to be effective. This was done simply in order to show the flows and the manner of casting and weaving them. Acolytes are forbidden to try any weave or spell themselves unless a Sister has demonstrated it, and is satisfied that the Acolyte can make it properly. No experimentation whatsoever in the magic is allowed, and Acolytes are always closely supervised when channeling. Acolytes are subject to strict discipline, decided and handed out by a Sister appointed to the post of Mistress of Acolytes. She is both disciplinarian and confidante, punishing those who have broken the rules and providing a shoulder to cry on as life as an Acolyte is very hard. It is she who decides when an Acolyte is ready to be tested (though the same could be proposed or vetoed by certain combinations of the Lady Matron, the Council of Matriarchs or ordinary Sisters, but it was always more difficult to propose than to be vetoed as it was safer to wait than to speed up a testing), or if the girl will be put out of the Order for good or be sent to the Service Corps. Punishment ranges from a lecture to a severe switching, and extra chores are usually involved. For all that White Order act like they rule the world, within the Citadel there are hierarchies and rules, and discipline and obedience are instilled from the earliest days. In addition Acolytes are carefully cloistered from men, and interaction with Sentinels or Sentinels-in-training are strictly limited and always chaperoned. They don't want the Acolytes thinking too much about hearth and family, or love or romance. Close friendships often form between Acolytes, especially between roommates, and they are commonplace and unremarkable. They are encouraged, even. A close sense of sisterhood and camaraderie is encouraged to grow between Acolytes, and many friendships forged in the creche last a lifetime.

Understandably, some Acolytes find the pressure too much, and resolve to run away. They rarely get away with it, usually being caught and returned. Life for a captured runaway makes ordinary Acolyte life look pleasant, with anything less than perfection being swiftly and harshly punished. The reason given is that a half-trained Sister is a danger to herself and those around her, and the survival of the Order, which is not untrue, but it is also the case that the Order considers itself to have absolute right over all those to are entered into it’s care as Initiate, and does not permit them to leave until it is finished with them.

The Acolytes are also often arranged into "families" of seven or eight girls, who’s dormitories are close to each other and often have the same classes. Many times, these “families” are composed of girls who were close friends in the “sororities” of the creche, making them much easier to organize and also establishing close friendships that help Acolytes to get through the day. Due to this, it has meant that the White has had almost no runaways to deal with in decades.

## **Acceptance Ceremony**

When the Mistress of Acolytes decides that an Acolyte is ready, she arranges for her to face her fears in the labyrinth of ice, which presents a girl with her greatest fears - three in total - for what was, what is, and what will be. What happens in the labyrinth may or may not be real, no one is sure. But injuries can be taken inside that are fatal, and some Acolytes have never returned from the labyrinth. Acolytes who refuse the test three times are put out of the Order or sent to the Service Corps, as are those who stop once they begin the test.

An Acolyte who successfully returns from the labyrinth is raised to Accepted Acolyte by the Lady Matron, and becomes a Novice after choosing her Vocation and welcomed into it by the head of that Vocation.  Thus begins her third chapter of life within the White Order.