The Order of the Seraphim

The Seraphim are Sargasso’s main military power. Though Sargasso has numerous small militias, their state power lies in the all-female order of the Seraphim. Numbering at best around 10,000, they are a more minute force than that of other national armies, but the sheer power they possess makes them more than a match. The Seraphim had a tumultuous beginning, but now occupy an exalted place in Sargasso’s hierarchy of power, and are greatly admired by those whom they protect.

History

The Order of the Seraphim began as a religious group tasked with “caring for idle and orphaned girls.” Near the end of the Aptoan age, as modern legal institutions began to crystallize in Sargasso, a strange trend began toward the depreciation of female children. This was unprecedented in Adelian’s societies, and has not happened again since – but during the end of the aptoan age and into the start of the intolerable war, a trend toward patriarchal paternalism, made male labor, male military and male political power favored. It was burdensome to have girls. Where Adel was once egalitarian, this small period brought on by the Aptoans brought misery to many girls. Rates of abandoned girls began to rise in Sargasso, and something had to be done with them.

The traditionally egalitarian Church of Sargasso resisted these trends, and its Grand Cardinal Esther Benedictine II sympathized with the plight of Sargasso’s girls. She established the Seraphim convents to feed, house, educate and give the myriad of lost girls a chance at life. Her efforts were resisted first by the Aptoan hierarchs, and finally during the Intolerable War by the self-crowned king Audarius Volg. After the declaration of their independence, and the beginning of the battle to secure their homeland and wipe out the imperial presence, the military crowned Audarius king. Audarius had once been a monk. But he had a dark and clouded mind, and saw conspiracies everywhere. Esther Benedictine’s order of girls was one such.

However, things began to turn against Volg. The Sargassans were never quite known for their military engineering, while the Aptoans had golems and even reactivated Pre-Cataclysm war machines. Soon Audarius’ all-male army found itself diminished and incapable. Within the convents, however, Esther Benedictine II and the Church of Sargasso mounted successful defenses against the Aptoan military. Esther brought once-forbidden religious texts back into the canon, one containing a powerful weapon – a dangerous ritual of investiture known as “Freyja,” attributed to the greater spirit Inunkuru.

Powerful Seraphim Paladins, scarcely trained but fueled by the Pride goddess’ incredible ritual, beat back the Aptoans. They were Audarius’ only weapon, and begrudgingly, he used them. Eventually, Audarius began to warm to the Seraphim, even keeping many as his personal guard – but his eyes still looked upon Esther Benedictine II with scorn and suspicion. Once the Intolerable War was near-finished, Audarius executed Esther and placed his own son as the new Grand Cardinal.

This was the final mistake Audarius and his family would ever commit. Numerous enraged Seraphim, who’s loyalty was to their savior Esther first, to the king a dead last, revolted against him. The Seraphim were split into two: those who sought to destroy the entire edifice of Audarius’ rule, who saw Sargasso as a symbol of oppression and hate, and who sacked and burned his capital to the ground, and slaughtered him and his family; and those who were conflicted as to whether there was any correct way to avenge Esther, any way that would not betray her love of her country. Eventually, one group forced the other. The “King-Killers,” later labeled as “Furies,” were forced from Sargasso by the other Seraphim in a short civil war. The Seraphim had direction, while the Furies were fractuous even within themselves, and quickly falling prey to their own power. Eventually the Furies disappeared into Noshiki and other dark corners of the world, while the Seraphim were left to rebuild.

The Seraphim were welcomed as heroines, the saviors of Sargasso in all of its darkest times. They sought not to rule, but instead chose to continue the king’s line by promoting a blood relation to rule (to this day, however, the line that currently extends to Queen Shiripo is doubted as being truly connected to the king, due to the massacre committed by the Furies). They act as the de-facto military of Sargasso, though official regional guard also exist to protect regional governors and hold border garrisons.

The Life of A Seraphim

Thanks to a return to the egalitarian tradition, Seraphim convents have not been needed as orphanages for quite a long time. Now that girls are not being discarded and have equal opportunities in other areas, Seraphim need only take volunteers. Each convent has outlying satellite villages from whom prospective recruits are drawn. Trainee Seraphim are known as Cherubim, and travel to the convent at the age of 10. Over the course of their first four or five years, they are trained to become full-fledged Seraphim.

The Seraphim Ritual was once applicable only to adult women. In the modern age, Seraphim begin younger than they used to. Adult men given the ritual suffered uncontrollable growth that would kill them. Young boys could survive but would eventually be crippled by gigantism or other conditions. Young girls would die of shock from the pain, but adult women could agonizingly survive the ritual and become Seraphim. Females given the ritual don’t suffer the circumstances males do. Nowadays, advancements in the magical languages and arts have been made to divide the ritual into multiple smaller investitures over the first two years of a girl’s training. Along with a controlled diet and exercise, it allows the ritual to be mostly painless and completely successful.

Convent life consists of daily training and education, as well as living in dorm-like arrangements with other Seraphim. Meals are arranged in the training fields and around the convents, to be eaten wherever the Seraphim feels comfortable in their off-time. Seraphim have time given to them for hobbies, such as reading, writing, physical events, and other passtimes. While in the convent, Seraphim wear a robe of a light, breathing material, with a broad neckhole that exposes some of their shoulder. Cherubim are also not allowed to grow their hair beyond the shoulder, or cut it closer than that, until they become Seraphim. Both the robe (it is believed that a person’s strength can be seen in their shoulders, symbolizing their burden) and the hair traditions create marks of visible hierarchy among the Seraphim that distinguishes them even in normal life.

Once a Cherubim is fully invested, she is given the breastplate of her armor. The Seraphim’s suit of armor is a crucial part of their tradition. Too heavy to be used by non-Seraphim and made from angelic steel, it is handcrafted piece by piece as the Cherubim earns it through her training and education. Seraphim training is not just physical – they are taught everything a member of the clergy is taught, including their religious literature, national history and rudimentary sciences. Once a Cherubim has earned every piece of her armor she is considered a full-fledged Seraphim.

Cherubim are often “loaned” to other military groups for their training. This allows them to experience cultures outside of Sargasso, and to see action they would not at home. The Andaliel Archeological Society famously uses Cherubim as part of their expedition groups, often to keep motley crews of explorers organized. A Cherubim might be just a teenage girl in stature and age, but she’s as powerful as any grown man thanks to her investiture and armor.

Once a Seraphim, the girls are divided and put into Patrol Groups. These groups are assigned to help protect borders and inspect the deepest, darkest woodland areas for signs of dangerous activity. From there, exceptional Seraphim might be assigned to Squadrons, which go on a variety of missions for the nation, often into very dangerous territory.

Seraphim Powers

•Strength: A Cherubim is usually not a very intimidating sight, but she’s just as strong as any adult. Once she’s reached full adulthood, she’ll likely be as strong as two grown adults. Seraphim who focus on their physical training above all else can be truly intimidating sights to see, and these have the strength of three or four people.

•Magic: Seraphim have access to magical power. Though many don’t learn the fussy reagents and chemicals business that other magic-users get up to, limiting their utility in certain ways, a Seraphim’s magical attacks can be truly devastating.

•Durability: A Seraphim can be beaten to near-death, catatonic, and given time can recover from it as though she’d never received a scratch. Though it takes time, a Seraphim can be rehabilitated from nearly any injury.

Seraphim Equipment

•Arrowlance: A special weapon developed in Sargasso by Seraphim artificers, the Arrowlance fires steel bolts using an arcano-kinetic mechanism powered by an arcane engine. An Arrowlance is heavy and clunky for normal people, but Cherubim can hold one in two hands, and a Seraphim can hold one in one hand if she’s wearing her full armor. Arrowlances are favored by Seraphim over Shotstaves because the bolts can be easily made of any material and conveyed against supernatural targets.

•Angelic Armor: A Seraphim’s armor looks like a sleek suit of plate armor, albeit the Seraphim don’t tend to wear helmets. They are made of steel gathered from Angels, the robotic insectoid terrors from the sky and underground that seem to randomly befall the Adelian populous. The Steel can only be shaped by magic, and Seraphim artificers are the only ones with the endurance to shape whole suits of armor from it. They shape and color the suits through magic. Seraphim suits can contract and expand perfectly with body shape, except the breastplate, which is designed to be flat in front regardless of the underlying biology. Despite this, Seraphim have a tradition of only wearing the suit intended for them, and of melting down the suits of dead Seraphim.

There are a few different suits of armor. Whereas other militaries use golems, Sargassans do not, and in their place in the battlefield they have specialized suits for Seraphim to wear when necessary.

Cherubim Class Armor: A Cherubim wears only a breastplate, shoulder-guards, elbow guards, gauntlets, knee guards and metal boots. This incomplete suit represents the most weight they can optimally tolerate, and is expanded as they develop.

Seraphim Class Armor: A Seraphim wears a full suit of special plate armor. In place of a helmet, all Seraphim and Cherubim wear a Silver Crown. The Crown is worn in the head or hair, and sometimes around the neck, depending on the Seraphim’s personal comfort, and allows her to communicate with other Seraphim. Cherubim “on loan” do not wear these.

Amazon Class Armor: This is a specialized suit of armor used in place of large golems. It is large and bulky, but is driven by arcane engines, so it can be considered a type of magical powered-armor. Its thick arms give the wearer a great boost in strength and it is extremely durable. Larger kinds of arrowlances can be strapped to it, and it is indomitable in battle.

Valkyrie Class Armor: In place of Floats, Seraphim rule the skies using Valkyrie-class winged armor, a suit that includes an arcane engine and wings to power flight. Valkyrie armor is equipped with with a thunderlance, a weapon that generates electricity.

Freyja Class Armor: Only the highest among the Seraphim are given the honor of wearing a Freyja class armor to battle. This suit combines the strengths of every other, and it is said that it takes a year’s worth of work and complex rituals and obeisances to create and bless this suit of armor, making it extremely rare and powerful.

Seraphim’s Role

In Adel, the word “paladin” is really synonymous with “Seraphim.” The Seraphim order represents the utmost in justice and virtue in the eyes of others – though each Seraphim is deep down an individual, a woman, and may or may not uphold these virtues strictly, and definitely does not see herself as an object of glory (and most likely does not want to be seen as one). The Seraphim carry on the tradition of safeguarding their country from invasion, as well as performing the humanitarian and disaster relief that the armies of other nations do. Most people outside of Sargasso are unlikely to see a Seraphim, but Cherubim are part of many organizations during their “loan” period and most people come into contact with them that way. When a Paladin-esque figure joins an unruly group of adventurers, it is likely a woman, and likely an up-and-coming Seraphim.

On the flipside, however, the Seraphim also exist to safeguard the world at large from one of the greatest threats to it – their counterparts, the Furies, whose dark power mimics, and perhaps exceeds, their own.