Lorekeepers

A small figure in a long green traveling cloak bobbled along the road, heading towards the borders of the small village they were staying at. As the figure came closer, heads poked out from the corners of the buildings, as a small crowd of cats came out to greet the figure.
"It's Lorekeeper Keri!" A cat dashed out and raced into the road, greeting the cloaked figure midway.
"And look, she's brought us the herbs!"

  Lorekeepers are well regarded across the realms and are the "traveling Keepers" of the order. They travel across the realms, offering healing, mediation, adjudication and services in smaller towns, villages and hamlets that have no Order Sanctuary. They recieved their title because they are usually the teachers of history and trackers of lore at the regional level, and usually are responsible for the initial identification and recruitment of potential Acolytes. It could be said that without the Lorekeepers, the Keepers numbers would be much lower. And without Lorekeepers, the Keepers of the Order as a whole would be kept out of touch of cats in more distant and smaller places.  

Qualifications

Lorekeepers is the first rank that all Keepers attain after graduating from Acolyte level. Usually the process of graduation has Acolytes meditating in the ritual room in the Sanctuary at Nepetanopolis under the watchful gaze of at least one Prelate and five Deacons. A scroll is placed in front of each Acolyte as they meditate, and if they gradute, the scroll will be filled with text after the meditation, the text being a message from Catus indicating the actions they will take in their lifetime. Some will be told in the scroll that they will become Prelates, Deacons, others may be given a task by Catus to be Lorekeepers for life.   Lorekeeper is also a rank that all Keepers may "retire" to. Historically, many Deacons have come and gone from Lorekeeper rank, and several known Prelates too. While rare, even a few Exarchs have had their powers reduced and retired to become a Lorekeeper, living out the rest of their lives traveling around the kingdom and protecting the cats on behalf of Catus. Thus in terms of skill, whether it is healing, ritual casting or even combat magic, Lorekeepers can be anywhere, even though they are generally quite competent across the board.

Duties and responsibilities

Lorekeepers are the messangers and representatives of the Order at the remote, smaller locations in the Kingdom which cannot support a Sanctuary. Usually a welcome sight to the locals, they provide healing, documentation of events, and even perform rites and rituals. Ceremonies like the Rite of Flames may be performed on a smaller scale by Lorekeepers; Rite of Transcendence may also be done by skilled Lorekeepers for cats in remote places where Deacons do not exist. And for many cats in smaller settlements, the healing training that they receive also came from a Lorekeeper.   Like Deacons, traveling Lorekeepers are also key for identifying potential Acolytes, allowing these Acolytes to travel and train with them for sometime before they are sent to the closest regional Sanctuary for formal training. Their more important role though, is as the eyes and ears of the Order at the more remote corners where Deacons and Wardens may not reach. They monitor the magic barrier of the borders, listen to the people at the far reaches, and more daring ones will occassionally take to exploring areas thought long lost and buried to find that obtuse lore or ritual. In fact, in early history of the Misty Vale, it is said that wandering lost souls of cats in the Misty Vale were placated and brought to Dominicus Felinus by Lorekeepers, confirming that quite a few Lorekeepers were capable warriors on their own, reaching into the Misty Vale without Warden help.

Benefits and hazards

Lorekeepers are not bound to any single Sanctuary, and free to explore the wide expanse of the kingdom, documenting, learning, healing as they go. While they rarely own anything other than a few simple belongings that they can throw into a small pack to carry on their back, they are usually warmly welcomed to every settlement and provided housing and supplies throughout their travels.   But unlike other Keepers, Lorekeepers are usually in the thick of combat should danger ever arise. Being far from major settlements, often they have to resolve issues alone. And often, Lorekeepers stay in their rank not because of lack of ability, but because something in their life-scroll dictates they stay as traveling Keepers. Maybe because of some task they need to settle, a long forgotten lore that needs to be collected, and maybe a divine mission handed down from Catus from the day they became Lorekeepers.

Ceremonial Colors

Lorekeepers rarely need to appear in their human forms, and generally do not need to conduct many ceremonies. If necessary, they wear the standard dark green ceremonial robes that stretch to the toes, standard for all Keepers. As an indication of rank, the belted sash at the waist is a simple white, and a traveling cloak of olive green is worn.   In cat form, ceremony wear would be a simple thick, forest green band with a single white band in the middle, worn at the neck as a collar.