The Spacepiress of Chaos
A subfaction of the Confederacy of Independent Systems
A Military Order with a unique focus on the promulgation of law. They are interested less in the social goodness and charity seen in other such Orders (though are not completely against providing aid to those in need); but rather in the foundation and stringent maintenance of order at all costs. In their iron-handed exaction of law Knights of the Order emulate the organized and effective armies of Clones once fielded by the Old Republic at the height of the Clone Wars. They are not concerned with morality or methods, only results. In their view, if people can not be trusted to obey the law out of their own senses of civility and social righteousness, Knights of the Order provide the need to obey out of fear of a master's stern hand.
Every being plays a distinct and crucial role in the social fabric of every society - as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link - a society is only as strong as its weakest members. Thus, anyone who would renege from their social duty and seek to escape or take advantage of their social bond, must be hunted down and chastised severely. Prisoners and servants are bound by this steely credo - but the chain binds both ways: masters, ship captains and merchants who exploit or waste their people risk the wrath of the order as well.
Those members of the Order of the Chain are known as the premier manhunters of the Hellknights - counting among their ranks some of the greatest Bounty Hunters and Jailers - thus they rarely execute those they capture, preferring to imprison them in their fortress.
Punishment is a response to the failure of the law - thus true order can be achieved only when criminal behavior is quelled before it is committed - preferably before it is even considered. Though they do not seek to convince every free-willed being of a lawful society's virtues - rather believing that a stronger force beyond simple rhetoric must be used to prevent the sickness of criminal impulse. To this end they employ a unique means of force not often seen throughout the galaxy.
The Order of the Gate is so named after this technique - as often their members appear on worlds as if they had used some ancient infinity gate - though it is through the use of drop pods that they appear upon unsuspecting worlds. They believe that swift and decisive action is required to quell the criminal sickness on any world - which is achieved via their preferred means of deploying their forces.
Five stern, armored paragons, the deities of this pantheon known collectively as 'The Godclaw' - those Hellknights of this order follow a sculpted doctrine of the harshest, most exacting philosophies to stamp out disorder; particularly those embodiments and beings of absolute chaos, with religious zeal. Rather than targeting the faiths of prominent religions, they set their eyes upon supporting lawful crusades and being at the vanguard of battles against the forces of chaos. They believe that no land is beyond the lawfulness provided by the Hellknights.
While other Orders enforce their visions of law out of duty and necessity - the Godclaw does so out of religious zealotry and a clear belief that the Galaxy must learn the righteous path through force.
The leader of the Order of the Godclaw also serves as the religious figurehead for the religion that many members of the Godclaw follow.
Civilization is under siege. Beyond the bulwarks of planets and the borders of interplanetary governments lies an endless expanse of wilderness populated by those who all too often shun the rules of settled, lawful societies and follow their own calling. These beings enviously prey upon the children of the law, seeking to drag civilization into a regressive mire of barbarity.
The Order of the Nail makes it their duty to answer barbarity with barbarity - seeking to quell "savage" practices and bringing their ideal of civilization to the inhabitants of the wild frontier. Of all the doctrines held by theHellknights - it is the doctrine that "Savagery must be quelled , in the land, home and mind" - that those of the Order of the Nail hold fast to the firmest. Thus they view it as their duty to bring civilization to "primitive" races across the galaxy.
The Order of the Pyre strictly adheres to the promulgation of the law and it is they whom brought about the doctrine that "Reason's flame consumes the shadow of corruption". They are those who seek out what they considered fanatical and blasphemous elements within society - both within and beyond. Whether unhealthy beliefs take root in the mind of religious fanatics, practitioners of strange Force beliefs, or students of radical philosophies - they seek to stamp out all outlandish convictions.
This has earned them a reputation as cultist hunters who are intolerant of Religion and beliefs - yet they also seek to thwart philosophical revolutions and the insidious spread of dangerous ways of thinking. The Order uses the beliefs and mores of a lawful society as the standard of acceptable beliefs; however the order views whatever does not mesh with this thinking or does not have an existing role in society as dangerous - for to the Hellknights of the Pyre - they are the law.
Holding a reputation for raiding the homes of those that speak out against the status quo - as well as breaking up groups of malcontents before they become guilds, unions, or revolutionaries - they are the enemies of foreign ideals and innovations. This though is not because they lack merit - rather - it is because the Order of the Rack views them as detracting from what they believe are traditional values. They view Art and Technology as wasteful or dangerous - even more so when they meet in unison.
None can say how many valuable historical relics or thousands of pages of unique stories, songs and philosophies of alien origin they have destroyed for being viewed as a threat to the status quo.
With anonymity and no consequences, every being becomes a criminal - and it is these lawless tendencies within every beings heart that must be curbed through ever-present watchfulness and brutal reminders that no crime shall go unpunished. Its members hunt for political manipulations and abuses of power, but their efforts also include an endless war against organized crime. At the fringes of the influence of The Hellknights - the Order of the Scourge may hunt gangs of burglars or cutpurses - though at its heart these Hellknights wage an endless crusade against faceless guilds of thieves, sprawling criminal organizations and nobles whom crime has become a family business.
SIGNIFER CORPS
The Signifer Corps are an internal formation within The Hellknights whose members are all force Sensitive - however - they are not trained in a singular aspect of the Force. Rather they are focused on the collection of knowledge of the Force - both the Ashla and Bogan - as well as knowledge of various other force sects and practices. They're meant to be more like the Imperial Knights of old - in that they seek a balance between the two sides of the Force and often their members know a mixture of Force Powers that are considered to be Dark Side Powers or Light Side Powers. Some may lean more towards the Dark Side and others more towards the Light Side - though they are unified in their promulgation of the law and are bound to the Order by its Doctrines.
Members of the Signifer Corps may serve in any Hellknight Order that they desire - as their skills and capabilities are just as varied as the Orders themselves. As they are more akin in terms to the Imperial Knights than any other Force group, there is no individual with a role akin to the Jedi Grand Master or the Dark Lord of the Sith - this is due to the de facto leader of the Signifer Corps being the Inperantike themselves as head of The Hellknights. Otherwise a Signifer's direct superior is any individual with a rank higher than their own.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
It has been a long time coming to get to this point from the idea conceived of years ago as the Knights of Kal'Shebbol though the various iterations that would ultimately become the Hellknights. The faction itself is a subfaction of the Confederacy of Independent Systems; the Order finally having arrived at its long awaited home after years of searching. Our focus remains though on establishing and creating over arching narratives, stories and characters that you can be proud of and share for years to come. The Hellknights as an organization will focus predominately on Wild Space, striking out into those regions from their base on Trendivar to bring the Laws of the Confederacy to the uncivilized parts of the Galaxy. Our greatest draw of inspiration - and where many of our logos and images come from - are the Hellknights of Pathfinder (and Starfinder) lore; with a sprinkling of Chaos Marines, because, why not?