Order of Preservation
| Motto | “ Life is sacred;
Life cannot be recreated; This world seeks to consume life; Life must be preserved through any means.” |
|---|---|
| Parent Faction | Starlit Court |
| Type | Knightly Order |
| Focus | Support |
| Leader | Grandmaster Adara Tanis |
| Homeworld | Sihi |
| Colors | White, Gold, and Green as an accent |
| Capital Ship | SCS Scalpel |
Founding History
Fierabras des Communs was a military leader who, after years of working her way up to the title of General, immediately changed the battlefield tenants and tactics to a defensive role. This initially cast them in an unfavorable light, as most other Knight-Generals favored an aggressive approach to the war, yet Fierabras was applauded by the common folk for preserving their lives instead of expending them. Instead of instructing how to deliver a mercy-kill, troops were subjected to medical training and defensive combat, holding positions and securing escape routes, acting as reinforcements. While Fierabras’ forces were initially held in distaste, she was soon applauded by their fellow Knight-Generals, as Fierabras’ initiative and strategic mind impacted the end of the war, allowing the High King’s cause to outlast his father’s.
Fierabras was thought of by many to be male, but upon victory, revealed herself to be a woman whose husband had died from preventable infection from a wound received from a fruitless battle. She had taken up his rank and armor, and his closest companions had helped to hide the ruse. This impacted once again how the Warrior was received by her peers. There would have been no problem, as the High King had female Knights, but concealing her identity and deceiving the entire court to manipulate an entire section of the Knights into doing her bidding? She was called a deceiver to the High King and the Knights, and many called for an investigation and a revoking of rank.
The High King, however, made a landmark ruling, praising the innovation and tactical, practical mind of Fierabras. Fierabras was cemented as one of the High King’s twelve personal Knights, and is often portrayed as a mischievous figure in a shapeless cloak, an arrowlike face hooded in a deep cowl, smiling knowingly. Often, the eyes are concealed.
Martial Focus
- Strategy, defensive positioning, preparation, and salvaging a shitty situation.
- Protection, Healing, Reinforcement, and Tactics
Tenants of the Order
- We will be where we are needed and do what must be done, no matter how humble.
The Order of Preservation focuses on supporting the other orders. They serve as reserves in combat, protecting their allies and bolstering their numbers, as well as providing medical care and tactical, strategic support. Those who see them may think them spineless or cowardly at first, but such prejudices are immediately discarded. Those of Preservation will fight and kill with vicious precision in the protection of their allies and goals.
Hypocritical? Perhaps; but what they choose to protect is safe indeed.
Core Virtue
I will do what must be done to protect my people, no matter the means.
Recruitment
The Order of Preservation specifically searches for the souls with heart, those who are often looked over by the orders as weak or spineless, the ones who don’t wish to harm or are unable to, despite their convictions. This caste of people is trained in a variety of specialties, whether that is in combat, medical training, or strategy. Every knight and their men at arms are trained in all three, but most have some specialty amongst the three, and are used as support in such areas.
Notable Members:
Fierabras de Communs, the Shieldmaiden -Founding Grandmaster
Adara Tanis -Current Grandmaster
Branches/Specialties:
Fierabras’ Order provided support in many key aspects, often providing reinforcements or suggesting innovative ways to claim a battlefield. After the war, those same forces policed Elentar, operating as intermediaries between the people and the law. In the early years among the stars, the military might was an unwelcome presence, but they have since cultivated a peacekeeping force that is a professional blend of combat and experts on social situations and conflict resolution.
The Order of Preservation is an eclectic order. They are divided into branches: the constabulary, the strategists, and the combatants.
The Constabulary
The constabulary are trained in basic combat, made up of knights and men-at-arms units that work closely over delegated areas of land, policing and maintaining a happy and healthy society. They mainly perform emergency services, stopping violence or crime, putting out fires, or being called in response to various threats. Their lives are relatively peaceful and easy; many older knights and men-at-arms retire to the Order of Preservation, especially to raise families or simply keep active once they are past their prime in combat.
The Strategists
The strategists are those specialists who are focused abroad. Many ships have a crew of specialists aboard to quickly research the current combat scenario, cross reference it to prior battles, and suggest courses of action. Many Grandmasters listen, and many do not. In case of a great travesty, such as a ship’s command crew being entirely wiped out, these people are authorized to take control in an emergency, salvage the situation, and retrieve court assets and personnel. In cases of mass warfare, they are deployed alongside loyal combatants to support parts of the military that are weak, either due to their leadership or their lack of troops. The strategists of the Order of Preservation have labels associated with them; they are often seen as elitist or snobby, involved where they shouldn’t be. However, in emergency situations, these complaints dissolve.
The Combatants
The combatants are a fairly typical example of knights. They are rigorously trained, much the same as any other order, to achieve their personal pinnacle of physical fitness and capability. These combatants favor disabling attacks over lethal, but do not hesitate when put into action. While the combatants of the Order of Preservation do mainly stay with the SCS Scalpel, it isn’t uncommon to see these units sparsely on ships of other orders, usually as support and a defensive guard of strategist teams.