The Assembly

The Assembly operates off of a rank tiering system, that subordinates lower individuals to higher ranked individuals as is standard in a normal military force. When on mission, the highest ranking Inquisitor is the de facto leader and commander, unless explicitly stated by another, higher ranking Inquisitor. The ranks of Inquisitors are as follows: Initiate, Neraphyte, Lower Inquisitor, Inquisitor Sergeant, Inquisitor, Inquisitor Commander, Inquisitor Primus, and finally the head of the organization, The Grand Inquisitor.   Initiates are technically not inquisitors, and have yet to truly earn the rank and privilege that comes with the title. These are typically recent graduates of the Inquisitorial Academy of Vrellman, and remain at this rank for 1-3 years, working under a higher ranking inquisitor until they prove themselves worthy of being graduated to the next rank.   Neraphytes are greater initiates, given more responsibility, more power, and are often used as the right hands and close advisors of their Inquisitor's cadre. From here, a Neraphyte may branch into one of two paths, that of a Lesser Lawbringer, or of a Lower Inquisitor. Typically a neraphyte remains in this position for 1-2 years.   Lower Inquisitors are the first real rank of Inquisitor that one can attain. Granted the full powers, rights, and accesses of an Inquisitor, they will be given assignments by an Inquisitor of higher rank, but have far more freedoms than the lower two ranks. At this time an Inquisitor will begin to experiment and research with what they were taught in the Academy and what they have learned in the field. There are many unique schools of thought in The Assembly, that forms its various facets and sub-organizations that form the monolithic entity it is today. Lower Inquisitors are always granted one other Lower Inquisitor as a partner, so in the field in their more amateurish state in their career they may assist and learn from one another, typically for another 1-2 years.   Lesser Lawbringers are an alternative path that a Neraphyte might take. Considered the inter-organization police of The Assembly, the Lawbringers are those who maintain the status quo, order, and sanity in The Assembly where egos, insanity, magic, and power hungry individuals might see to move too far above their station.   Inquisitor Sergeants are the next rank above Lower Inquisitor. Having proven themselves as agents of the throne, the next rank grants an Inquisitor Sergeant further authority and power. Often personal attendants and leaders of much more powerful Inquisitors' cadres, Inquisitor Sergeants are typically utilized for diplomacy between Inquisitors, other governmental bodies be they federal or local, and general attaches to powerful nobles, military personnel, and more. This rank and its progress is emphasized through the teaching of diplomacy, a trait that forms the most skilled and revered of higher ranking Inquisitors. That, or subterfuge, manipulation, and shadowy dealings. This rank typically sees the most time spent here, with an average of 3-5 years spent here before being granted the next rank.   Inquisitor is the quintessential rank of The Assembly's inquisitorial branch. The penultimate field rank that one can achieve, the rank of Inquisitor is met with extreme respect and reverence. To achieve this rank, an Inquisitor must provide a movement forwards in science, theology, social sciences, prove themselves an excellent warrior, commander, or in general display ability and competence above any of their peers. Upon reaching this rank, an Inquisitor is granted a necklace containing the Inquisitorial Eye. In the iris is a fragment of an extremely powerful metal that grants the necklace magical protective attributes. An Inquisitor is granted access to the most restrictive of archives, locked rooms, secrets of the Empire, and more. They speak with the authority of the Grand Inquisitor himself, and their word is absolute law. Inquisitors are often accompanied by a cadre of hand chosen, trustworthy, and often powerful allies that they trust with their lives. To be an Inquisitor's chosen for their cadre is an extreme honor, that itself comes with benefits beyond many roles and jobs. Many Inquisitors will spend years, often 5-7 years here before potentially being granted the honor of the next rank.   Inquisitor Commanders are the final field rank that an Inquisitor can achieve. They override standard Inquisitor's orders, and any orders they themselves provide are to be obeyed by an Inquisitorial agents to the letter. They wield even more, immensely intense influence, can move entire regions to war, scour towns of dissidents with a single command, can field armies of loyal agents at the flick of their wrists, and can condemn entire prisons to death without a second thought. Their command and authority is beyond reproach, and all do well to heed their words. Typically, an Inquisitor Commander takes command of up to 10 separate Inquisitors, but this is more of a hands off ranking, but it can become more involved if the scenario calls for it.   Inquisitor Primus is the penultimate rank inside The Assembly. This rank is the attache to The Council and sits on it as an advisor, and are the personal assistant of the Grand Inquisitor himself. Despite this, technically, the Inquisitor Primus is an attache to The Assembly, as they are sworn in and loyal to the Council first, then the Grand Inquisitor. This is a protective technique, a check over the near unlimited power of the next rank. The Inquisitor Primus is chosen from Inquisitor Commanders upon every 6 years, voted by other Inquisitor Commanders, and the same cannot be elected two times in a row.   The Grand Inquisitor is the final and ultimate rank that any Inquisitor can achieve. To achieve this lofty position, upon the death of the current Grand Inquisitor, a vote is held by all Inquisitor and above rankings, with a majority securing the position. They then don The Asterias Plate and are therefore until their death, the Grand Inquisitor. This position holds such power that it threatens to overtake and command over the other aspects of government. Laws and precedence grants the Grand Inquisitor truly absurd power, able to command the entire military, theological sects, academic institutions, and nearly every facet of the Empire if the need is great enough. The Grand Inquisitor is one of the closest advisors of the Emperor himself, and speaks with his authority.

The Assembly believes in a simple system of the primacy of the Empire, the Emperor, and its people. They are fanatically devoted to what the Empire stands for: loyalty, service, and faith. To them, to lack faith, to lack loyalty, to shirk your duty to serve is to essentially welcome death, and they will deliver it. Having said this, Inquisitors are not all the same, and many separate factions have formed in the organizations 2,000 year history. They have broad interpretation of the rules of law, precedence, and general understanding of the Empire. As such, the various and different lives each has led leads to unique outlooks and interpretations on life, the future of the Empire, and more.    Inquisitors often find themselves joined into a loose and unofficial school of thought depending on their actions, attitudes, and beliefs. Some are accepted, celebrated, and have reputations of their own. Some are feared, hated, or worrying to other Inquisitors. Others are even illegal, and actively discriminated against by other Inquisitors, deemed too dangerous, deviant, or otherwise harmful to the greater organization and the Empire.   Generally, the spectrum has been created to be understood as an axis of two directions. One one axis, the relationship of Deviant to Fanatical, and on the other, Forgiving to Vengeful. Another article will cover the different schools of thought and their applications, statuses, and practitioners.

The public agenda of The Assembly is to secure the Empire, it's safety and future now, and forever.

The assets of The Assembly are nearly unlimited in truth. The headquarters of The Assembly is the Palace of Whispers in the city of Setrak, a large city in the south central mountainous region of Enlaes. Various other castles, redoubts, forts, secretive conclave buildings belonging to various schools of thought in The Assembly, and more.

The Orders of the Assembly are many and varied. These orders vary from one to another, being very unique in the way that they function. For each Order is an operational unit that conducts missions, operations, and strategies differently from one another. Typically formed in the ancient annals of history that trace back early into the Empire itself, many of these are proud, noble Orders that members bear their allegiance and membership of proudly with heraldry, weaponry and armors, as well as adopted philosophy.   Others are newer, or equally as ancient as the celebrated Orders and are dangerous, counter to Imperial culture and accepted ideology, and a dangerous combination of religion, and fanatical operational ideals. Much like the Church, many of these deviant, alternative, dangerous Orders are highly scrutinized or even outright banned with members who are discovered as claiming their allegience to them being declared traitors to the Empire and hunted down at all costs.   To document all of the Orders in existence is simply an impossibility, as many fade, deactivate, reactivate, emerge and are destroyed as quickly as they can. Others are established names as previously stated.   For example for well established, respected, and storied Orders:  

The Prime Order: This order is a generalist order of The Assembly, seeking to operate as Inquisitors and agents of the Empire in the most effective, flexible manner possible. A 'jack of all trades, master of none' order, Prime Order Inquisitors often have a solution or idea for any problem or roadblock they are faced with. They obtained their name from the relative tangential integration of the Prime Sect of the Church believing that Harbinger is their new god here to create a utopia on the Material Plane. Furthermore, the name is also believed to simply have a double meaning meaning that this is an Order that claims many for its membership due to its safe. Their Order headquarters is in Setrak, and their Order Leader is one Inquisitor Commander Kavyan Shrys.

The Unseen Eyes: This order is noted as specializing in subterfuge, espionage, and specifically, tracking and spying on individuals, that is, reconaissance and studying targets for strange behavior, weaknesses in defenses, daily schedules, gaps in stories, and any and all items of interest that might help more combat or police oriented orders or Imperial forces complete their mission with minimal risk and casualties. They are known as being secretive and reticent to reveal any information at length on the order. It is unknown who their Order Leader is exactly, although it is believed to be one Raiden Kojiro and it is believed their Order headquartes is in 'The Eye', the highly secretive, clandestine Empire base believed to house experimental weapons, chemical, and magic testing.

The Powder Court: This order deals with all items heavy ordinance. Including its procurement, control, registration, usage, and any and all manner of intersecting needs, requirements, and possible placement of it. This is the administrative side of the order. The Powder Court brings to bear a frighteningly powerful combat unit, clad in heavy Syndalia-class powered plate with mounted cannons, rockets, explosives, and any and all manner of heavy weaponry. This is their calling and their schooling. Members of this order are some of the most intelligent and gifted pyromaniacs and firearm specialists who have a penchant for explosives, guns, chemical reactions and just in general things that go boom. Agents of this Order are called in to deal with seriously armored and dug in heretics, traitors, or xenoplanar entities that have given previous attacks or attempts to dislodge or otherwise harm them trouble. This order is headed by one Iaxis Bloodlight, and they are headquartered in the Edrian city of Devil's Respite.

The Bloodied Blades: A fanatical, yet highly loyal Order of the Assembly is that of the Bloodied Blades. Frenzied, fanatical adherents to the Empire's creed and culture, the Bloodied Blades operate off of their unofficial motto of 'kill now, ask questions never'. Seen as absolutely uncompromising, this Order deals with matters of utter annihilation. Their members are hound dogs of battle and heresy, the ultimate religious and fervent warriors against the enemies of the Empire. Specialized in close range firearm and blade combat along with fire as a natural source and magic source, they scorch, slash, blast and burn away the enemies of the Empire. Should one cross the path of an Inquisitor dedicated to this Order, beware of your prayers, your reverence, and the time of church today. One of the only negatives known and held against this Order is that at times their members can be obstinant and stubborn to a dangerous and furious degree, unwilling to listen, hold back or compromise on what they see is the correct path of the Empire. Regardless, they are loyal protectors of it and it's people, and when one may be allied to your cause, they are supremely loyal friends, despite their frightening zealotry and would wade into hell itself for you. Headed by one Inquisitor-Zealot (a unique rank only granted to this Order) Mekrila Lanyvs, they have the incredibly honor to headquarter in the holy city of the Hallowed City.

With examples of those more accepted Orders out of the way, we will now venture to the darker, more obscure and more harshly judged Orders. These, while not outright persecuted and banned, are seen by many Inquisitors of a wide axis of opinions as pushing the envelope of accepted belief, acts, and capabilities that an order should have.  

The Ghost Seers: A strange, disturbing, and borderline heretical order tolerated for its often useful practices, the order of the Ghost Seers deals with the processes, mechanics, science and magic of death, spirits and souls. Utilizing their grim practice, they extract information from the dead and long buried, sense the presence of beings long passed in rooms long abandoned, and even have the capabilities to defy death itself for some time with their esoteric, archaic and disturbing magics. Many accusations of heresy and calls for disbarment, declaration of Traitoris es Hereticalus, and outright extermination come from the allegations and burgeoning proof that the order participates in a banned form of magic, soul-magic. That is, the usage and often times destruction of souls to power incredibly potent and dangerous magic that is fueled from a soul's destruction. They are led by one Inquisitor Commander Crynm Derevol, and headquartered in the Ghray-Lekorian city of Leper's Sanctuary

The Xenoplanar Hunters: While a core, highly important aspect of the Empire lies in this order of the Assembly, never the less it is under an intense amount of scrutiny at all times due to its nature, that of dealing with the xenoplanar. This order in its immense size is further divided into sub-orders dealing with specific types of beings. For this is the order's holy charge, to study, understand, hate, hunt, and destroy any and all xenoplanar entities that threaten the sanctity and order of the Empire. Many times, Inquisitors who become too loose and familiar with these dangerous and deceptive creatures and their technologies, languages, and mannerisms can fall victim to their machinations and magics. Some beecome tricked, leading their allies or operations to ruin before they can even begin. Others become tainted, turning their back on the Empire and Harbinger and becoming fully traitorous. This wide range of potential ends and happenings is why despite the order's immense membership size, administration to it is incredibly difficult to aquire, and is a grueling, brutal task to earn the right to have it. They are believed to be led by Inquisitor Commander Sedric Vale.

The Imperial Assembly Security Agency: The IASA, while not necessarily an order in the strictest sense, is the Order tasked with the specific and defined monitoring, policing, reporting and maintaining of records of Assembly members, their whereabouts, their proclaimed Order and Sect memberships, their leaderships structures and their assigned missions and the results of those missions. Often seen as 'snitches' by their other, more 'in group' Assembly co-workers, the IASA swears an oath to both the Inquisitor Primus first and The Grand Inquisitor secondly, making them technically agents of the Imperial Security Bureau, the Imperial Army, and the Council itself.