The Orders

Overview

For a thousand years, civilization has been protected by four Orders of warriors. Each represents a different philosophical approach to the same mission: protecting humanity and shepherding souls to Source.

Originally six Orders existed, but the schism that created the Necrosynths reduced them to four — plus the Fifth Order that arose to maintain balance.

The Four Orders

                        THE SOVEREIGN
                              │
                    ┌─────────┴─────────┐
                    │   THE THIRTEEN    │
                    └─────────┬─────────┘
                              │
    ┌──────────┬──────────┬───┴───┬──────────┬──────────┐
    │          │          │       │          │          │
    ▼          ▼          ▼       ▼          ▼          ▼
 THE ASHEN  THE WEAVE  THE CURRENT  THE VEIL  THE EXEMPLARS
  (Fire)    (Pattern)   (Spirit)    (Shadow)    (Fifth)

Order	Element	Core Philosophy	Primary Role
The Ashen	Fire	Purification through destruction	Front-line combat, Purging Protocols
The Weave	Pattern	Understanding through analysis	Strategy, technology, piloting
The Current	Spirit	Healing and guidance	Medical, spiritual care, soul-shepherding
The Veil	Shadow	Victory through hidden action	Intelligence, infiltration, assassination
The Exemplars	All	Balance and judgment	Arbitration, elite forces, Archive keeping

Shared Elements

Despite philosophical differences, all Orders share:

The Technology

• Power Suits — Exoskeletons responding to haptic commands
• Neural Companions — AI entities sharing consciousness with Knights
• Gesture-Based Control — Katas and movements that activate abilities
• Linkstone Access — Quantum communication and coordination

See: Magic System

The Theology

All Orders agree on fundamental beliefs:

• Source is the cosmic unity souls return to after death
• Death is passage, not ending
• The Necrosynth heresy — trapping souls in matter — is the ultimate evil
• The mission — protect the living, shepherd the dying, oppose the trappers

The Hierarchy

Each Order follows the same rank structure:

Rank	Title	Role
I	Initiate	Training
II	Knight	Standard operative
III	Master	Experienced; can lead operations
IV	Lord Commander	Second to Ordermaster; sits on Thirteen
V	Ordermaster	Leader of the Order; sits on Thirteen

The Fifth Order

The Exemplars are unique — not aligned with any element but drawing from all four:

• Created after the schism that birthed the Necrosynths
• Purpose — Maintain balance between Orders; prevent another split
• Training — Must master basics of all four traditions
• Role — Arbiters, elite forces, and keepers of the Archives

A Knight can transfer to the Fifth Order but must demonstrate aptitude across traditions. It’s the most demanding path.

See: The Exemplars

Order Relations

The four Orders have complex relationships:

Relationship	Nature
Ashen vs Veil	Tension — direct action vs hidden action
Weave vs Current	Complement — mind and spirit
All vs Exemplars	Respect and resentment — the “superior” Order
Unified against	The Necrosynths — the one thing all agree on

Historical conflicts (the Order Wars) are studied but officially transcended. In practice, rivalries persist.

The Lost Orders

Before the schism, six Orders existed. Two were lost:

Lost Order	What Happened
The Threshold Walkers	Became the Necrosynths; denied Source
[Name TBD]	Destroyed or absorbed during the schism

The Threshold Walkers’ fall is the origin story of the enemy. Their transformation from protectors to trappers is the central tragedy of galactic history.

See: Order History

Story Role

The Orders provide:

• Luden’s context — He’s an Exemplar; his perspective bridges all traditions
• Political tension — Different Orders, different approaches to the crisis
• Philosophical depth — The enemy is a corruption of what they are
• Visual distinction — Different fighting styles, aesthetics, cultures

Questions to Resolve

1. What are the Order headquarters called?
2. How many Knights in each Order approximately?
3. What are the ceremonial colors/symbols of each?
4. Do Orders ever work jointly, or in rivalry?
5. What happened to the sixth lost Order?