Sentinel Corps Infrastructure

Mystic Elder Rep! : 19 Location : Los Angeles, California

The Sentinel's Infrastructure

1) The Sages (NPC only) - they would be the elders and spiritual leaders of the Order. Their Bond with their Spirits is so great that it is said that they can shift into a spirit form and have powers that would make the most battle-lusting Kotada freeze in trepidation. Due to their age and wisdom having seen many conflicts, they do not flex their power as they came to realize that subtly is their greatest weapon and has allowed the Order to survive for ages. Their power is typically on par with Royal Kotada.

2) The Administrators (NPC only) - they carry out the will of the Sages and keep the Order running smoothly. While the Administrators are removed from battle, it has been the folly of multiple members of the military to think that they are weak just because of their non-combative roles. Several Administrators are former warriors who decided to utilize their non-martial skills for the betterment of the Order. The administrators handle all non-martial internal policy as well as its implementation. Their power is typically on par with Nobility Kotada.

3) The Cloaks - these are the information and resource gatherers. They range from traveling merchants to spies imbedded in different factions and regions. Their role is vital to the success of all threat neutralization operations. Not only are they the ones who gather intel for the Order, but they also sell and trade goods between villages and the Order. They are everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

4) The Corps - they are the problem solvers of the Order. They are primarily broken into 3 groups: the Blade, the Shield, and the Orb.
- The Blade is the assault aspect of the Order. When subtly will not work, this force is dispatched to quickly assault the enemy target and disappear. They are known for disguising themselves as an enemy or unknown force to maintain the myth/denial of the Order's existence.
- The Shield serves two primary functions. They protect the HQ and secret outposts or any "high profile Reaping targets". They also work secretly to ensure that anyone who is getting too close to uncovering the existence or whereabouts of the Order lose interest or get sent down the wrong path. While they will VERY rarely ever kill a target for getting too close, they have confiscated or destroyed research and evidence in the past.
- The Orb is the subtle option. While the Orb originally started out as the diplomatic arm of the Corps, it evolved with necessity. The Orb is the group now that will be sent to capture or neutralize major threats to order and the balance. They typically serve as an auxiliary force to either the Blade or Shield depending on the mission. Basically, they tend to be the covert element of militaristic operations.

Mystic Elder Rep! : 19 Location : Los Angeles, California

Recruitment into The Sentinel Order
Method 1: The original families of the Order continue with their mission of maintaining the balance of power. While some have had their overt power and influence weakened over the years, their devotion to their sacred duty from the founding of the Sentinel Order has not wavered. As such, the third and fourth offspring of the lower nobility are given to The Sentinel to train.

Method 2: Dishonored and/or disgraced noble families are often contacted a generation after their incidents. Given the reach of the Syli and thus the Sentinel, a deal is often struck to welcome a young offspring into The Sentinel in exchange for the Sentinel's help in removing the family's stigma. In other cases, if the family has been made destitute, financial aid is provided to help the family recover. The greater the stigma, the greater the number of Talodari are sent to The Sentinel.

Method 3: The Sentinel has also been known to recruit from Outcast or Unaligned Villages quite often. Since the Sentinel tends to have outposts or front guilds and businesses in all territories, they are able to reach out to villages in order to find strong candidates from those areas. Financial or militaristic support and/or training are often the compensation to the unaligned. Often with the Outcast Villages, parents will offer up their children to allow them a chance at a life where the family/village stigma will not hinder them or their heirs.

Method 4: While unsanctioned intimacies within the Sentinel are heavily frowned upon, members of The Sentinel are not forbidden from bearing children. The Talodari offspring are often raised into The Sentinel. It is not mandatory, but if the parent who is a member of the Sentinel decides to keep them separate, the child must reside with the other parent. If the child is human, it resides with the other parent automatically.

Mystic Elder Rep! : 19 Location : Los Angeles, California

The Reaping - Stealing a Spirit

While this incident was created by necessity and desperation to save lives, over time, the ability to amass more power and abilities seduced more ambitious Kotada and Talodari alike. Some Kotada had grown proficient at a dangerous and outlawed practice called "The Reaping" in which a Kotada, or in rare cases a Talodari, extracts and absorbs another Kotada's spirit. This often results in the death of the Kotada being reaped. It is very rare for a Kotada's primary spirit to ever change even when reaping a seemingly more powerful spirit. They will simply enhance their spirit with new powers or energy types or strengthening physical/spiritual attributes. A new spirit bond being formed thru a Reaping was typically only heard of a handful of times per generation.

Since this is the act of robbing a Kotada of such an integral part of their being as most Talodari/Kotada who survive being the victim of a Reaping will never bond with a new spirit, the Tylas of a prior generation sent the Sentinel Order to strip all non-Royal Kotada of this ability. The Tylas told the Great Sentinel Sage that he would rather leave the spirit to re-enter the Great Cycle and select a new Talodari to merge with than to watch such a fate continue to plague his people. The Sentinel Order followed their orders thoroughly. Over the next 10 years or so, Reapings became extremely rare and after another 5 years or so, they were practically nonexistent except as a sort of capital punishment for the most heinous of crimes against the Talodari Society.

As it stands in the current era, only the Sentinel Order and Royal Kotada even seem to possess the ability to reap a spirit. Rogue members of the Sentinel who perform a Reaping are hunted down swiftly and either captured and imprisoned or neutralized permanently.