Kyyrk
Vylmira's Wrath
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To offer background to Dorin Arkx, and the order that he serves, based loosely on the Witchers from the franchise of the same name
Image Credit: Image found here, created by Nicolas "Sparth" Bouvler
Links: Dorin Arkx' Character Sheet
Company Submission: N/A
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organization Name: The Order of Force Hunters
Classification: Guild
Loyalties: Neutral
Organization Symbol: N/A
Description: The Order of Force Hunters operates as a bounty-hunter's guild, specializing in advanced contracts. All members are Force Sensitive, study under a sub-school offering specializations in Beast Handling, Artifacts, Combat, and Smithing, and selected to join the Order at age ten, via a "Ritual of the Hunt." If they pass, individuals are inducted into the order as Acolytes. If they fail, they are returned to society to carry on their normal lives. Once members have obtained sufficient training to be considered full members of the Order, they are granted the rank of Journeyman and sent out into the galaxy to fulfill contracts that would prove difficult for typical bounty hunters.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Headquarters: Arbra
Realm: Arbra [HQ]
Domain: Temple of the Force Hunters, Temple Village
Notable Assets: N/A
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Hierarchy: The Order has a fairly simple hierarchy, explained below starting at the highest rank:
~~High Councilor:
The leader of the Order of Force Hunters council. This figure is selected from members of the governing council who have held a seat for at least two (2) decades. Under extreme circumstances, the council and Elders will select the best candidate, regardless of time spent on the council. This title is held until Death, or a unanimous vote among Councilors and Elders to resign.
~~Councilor:
The effective governing class of the Order. This group is comprised of four (4) Masters that the existing councilors and Elders have deemed to be worthy of leading the Order. One Councilor is selected from the Masters of each school, and then takes on the task of overseeing that particular school in its entirety. This position is held until Death, Reaching an age considered Venerable/Senior by one's species, or selection as High Councilor.
~~Elder:
Councilors that have surrendered their seats to the younger generations. Some continue to actively serve as advisors to the council and order as a whole. Otherwise, they are known to retire to the countryside near by the temple, pursuing other life interests and only return to their duty as elders when the need arises. This position is held until Death.
~~Specialist:
Considered slightly more prestigious than Masters, Specialists have displayed particular aptitudes for certain sub-specializations (Beast handling versus Beast Hunting, for example), and have stepped down from field work to take positions as teachers within the Temple. In Legality, Specialists carry the same amount of authority as Masters. This position is held until Death.
~~Master:
This rank is the highest that the average member of the Order can achieve. Members achieve this rank in a Ceremony of Masters when Councilors nominate Journeyman Hunters to join the ranks of the Masters. If any Journeyman is pledged to a patron, the Patron may nominate the journeyman, though there is a much more in-depth investigation into the legitimacy of the nomination in this case. Masters answer only to the Council and Elders. At this rank, they are also eligible to select an apprentice, whom they will personally train to Journeyman. Master Hunters are able to, with the approval of the Council, take an apprentice from any Force Sensitive being outside of the Order. Many Journeyman Hunters maintain the relationship with their training master, and are often life-long friends. This position is held until Death, or Promotion to Councilor.
~~Journeyman:
The standard rank indicating that a Hunter has completed his/her training and apprenticeship. At this rank, the Hunters are allowed to take their own contracts without aid or supervision from the Council or any instructing Masters. Beginning at this rank, Hunters are allowed to swear loyalty to Patrons, usually nobility or high ranking political officials, and serve a long-term contract with the Patron, provided the Order's code is not broken. This rank is held until Death, or Promotion to Master.
~~Apprentice:
This rank is achieved when an acolyte is selected by a Master as their apprentice. Most masters will wait until a certain threshold of knowledge is met before selecting someone as their apprentice. If a Master takes an apprentice from someone outside the Order, they will be initiated at this rank instead of Acolyte. Apprentices will usually be taken by Masters of the same School they show an aptitude for, so as to nurture a deeper understanding of their best field of study. This rank is held until Death, or Promotion to Journeyman.
~~Acolyte:
This rank is the standard entry point to the Order. Those living in the society around the Temple, called the Temple Village, are subjected to the Ritual of the Hunt at age 10 to determine if they are suitable candidates for the Order. Those that fail are returned to the Village to live out whatever life they are being raised into. Those that succeed begin training under the specialists until a Master selects them as an apprentice. Within a month of passing the Ritual, Acolytes are subjected to a suite of enhancements that increase physical attributes including Dark Vision (at the cost of extreme light sensitivity), Fortitude, Poison resistance, Awareness, and most importantly, Lifespan. Individuals that undergo the Enhancements often live double the normal life span of their species before dying of natural causes. Other attributes may improve in addition to these, but results vary from case to case. This rank is held until Death, or Promotion to Apprentice.
Membership: Membership ranges anywhere from 60 to 200 members, depending on how liberally the Masters select outsider apprentices. To join, one must either be selected by a Master of the Order, with Council approval, or be born into the Temple Village and pass the Ritual of the Hunt at age 10.
Influence: The Order's influence is contained to the Temple, and Temple Village.
Climate: Monastic, Tight-knit, Familial. The Order treats its members like family, and are often supportive of each other. When a member of the order dies, the entire Order observes a period of mourning, no matter where the hunters may be, though many try to return to the Temple for the ceremony if possible. If a member of the Order has living relatives, they are welcomed into the Temple and given an honorary title of Acolyte.
Reputation: The Order holds a neutral opinion overall, though some superstition does surround the Order.
Rules: The Order maintains one rule: Do not involve the guild in matters of State or War.
Doctrines: So long as the above rule is not broken, the Order is happy to make allowances. However, many follow an unspoken code or promise to help those in need, do no more evil than is necessary, do not harm innocents, and NEVER harm children.
Goals: The Order is content to remain on Arbra until such a time as they are required to relocate to a new home. They seek no power or influence for themselves, instead training new Hunters to undertake contracts for the betterment of all sentient life in the galaxy. Force Hunters specialize in contracts centered around unusual circumstances, or what some may call "Supernatural." Hauntings, possessions, sudden disappearances, or trouble with enchanted items and relics are often seen as the realm of the School of Artifacts. Contracts dealing with beasts, particularly the unusual and exotic, are often taken on by members of the School of Beast Handling. Beasts altered by alchemy, typically Sith Alchemy, are a specialty of the School of Beast Handling, and in addition to hunting down and eliminating rogue beasts, some Hunters have been known to consult with Alchemy practitioners on how to perfect summoning, creating, or otherwise controlling these beasts. The schools of Combat and Smithing rarely operate alone. Members of the School of Combat typically become teachers, instructing both Force Hunters and outsiders alike in the ways of Melee combat. In some cases, they have even been known to help train entire armies, but the exorbitant sums they ask for these contracts result in such cases being few and far between. Smiths, on the other hand, almost never take outside work. They, instead, forge weapons and armor for their own kind. In extremely rare cases, Hunters have commissioned weapons to bestow upon allies as a gift. Receiving one of these weapons is considered the highest honor the Order will bestow upon an outsider, and such items are treasured accordingly. While members of each school have their specialties, they are by no means limited to that particular field of work.
MEMBERS
Dorin Arkx, Master Hunter
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The ancient origins of the Order has been lost to history, but what few records survive suggest that the Order was founded some time after the Sith Triumvirate, yet before the New Sith Wars. The founder worked as a hunter himself, though before the framework of any order had been established. According to legend, he gathered a collection of Force Sensitive individuals, and passed on the teachings of his Father. The five eventually took apprentices, who in turn took apprentices of their own. Almost two centuries after the original founder died, the Schools were founded, and helmed by the hunters best suited to pass on such teachings. Within the year, it was agreed to form a council of Masters, each in charge of their own school.
Near the end of the Galactic Civil War, a gifted alchemist within the order perfected the Enhancement process, making it a standardized and widely-applicable facet of life within the Order. In spite of his breakthrough, the process still took its toll. While the exact ailments varied from case to case (and Species to Species), many core issues were present across all instances. Aversion to light, sickly pale skin, mono-color eyes (often black), sterility, and vastly increased healing times. While Force Hunters could take more of a beating, they also required almost double the time to fully recover in instances of traumatic injury, like broken bones or severe cuts. In extreme cases, the enhancements could even cripple the senses, leaving the bearer unable to see, hear, feel, taste, smell, or various combinations of all five. Given the streamlining of this process, and the reliability of the results, the Ritual of the Hunt was devised to determine if a particular being was capable of withstanding the Enhancement process. The Children that were to be chosen for the Order were taken to the lowest reaches of the Temple, and tested to the utter limits of their being. Those that survived were submitted to the enhancements as soon as their bodies had recovered enough to withstand the process. While each experience is different, one constant remains: No hunter ever speaks fondly of the process.
The first temple is rumored to be on Ilum, in the location of a great battle during the Cold War between Republic and Vitiate's Sith Empire, though no one has successfully located this rumored temple, leading many to believe that it is little more than a myth. Today, the order is established on Arbra, mostly owing to its out-of-the-way nature. They keep to themselves, only reaching out to the outside world when trade is a necessity.
