S U N S I N G E R S
The Sunsingers
Reputation: Warriors. Guardians. Mercenaries.
Cornerstone Magic(s): Reaving, Negation
Tradition: Nova
Hierarchy
The hierarchy of the Sunsingers is rather straightforward. Borrowing from their military aesthetic, they adopt a militarized rank structure that coven members are expected to adhere to.
Marshal - The leader of the entirety of the Sunsinger Coven.
Warden - The leader of one of the Sunsinger Sanctuaries, they are also advisers to the Marshal.
Captain - Typically a leader of a Safe House and a field commander.
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Corporal
Apprentice
A relatively new and young coven as far as the various Covens of Zaichaer go. The Sunsingers appeared in the streets of Zaichaer a little over 20 years ago. As the persecution of witches increased, the safety of magic users in Zaichaer had become increasingly at stake. Their arrival changed this. With stunning efficacy, the Sunsingers appeared and proved themselves capable of fending off raids and attacks performed by the Order of Reconciliation, even going so far as to be able to cut through the various Negation traps set up by the Reconciliators. They established themselves as highly militarized and able to rapidly deploy to areas of the city where their assistance was needed. Up until that point, the Covens had been facing increasingly desperate circumstances as their ways of life were on the verge of being wiped out. The arrival of the Sunsingers proved a shift that the Order of Reconciliation was ill-prepared to handle and as a result saw a string of severe setbacks that forced Zaichaer to put its eradication campaign on pause. A cause they have not been able to pick up since.
As quickly as they appeared however, the Sunsingers quickly vanished again. This left the Covens to go back into the defensive, albeit without the pressure of the Reconciliators constantly performing raids.This did not last however, as the Order of Reconciliation quickly began to marshal its forces again and attempt to infiltrate and expunge the witches. In the year 106 Steel, during the next major summit of the covens, the hierarchy of the Sunsingers made itself known. The young coven informed the Witch’s Council that they would offer their assistance and protection to the covens that called for them and paid for their services. While at first outraged, it was the Railrunners and the Myshalarai who voiced support of this idea. They posited that it was no different than charging coin for the services that each major coven provided. Given the pressure that was rising from the Reconciliators, there were few who argued with this arrangement in the end.
So it was that the Sunsingers established themselves as fighters, mercenaries, and guardians for the other various covens. Whenever and wherever the protection of a Sunsinger is needed, a witch need only reach out to their Coven Hall in the Market and, provided the services are paid for, it will be given.
Coven Dynamics
The Sunsingers are a highly militarized group of witches that deviate from the other covens in that they operate more like a mercenary guild as opposed to a circle of ancient arcane lore. However, while that might be the outward appearance, there are still a great many traditions to be explored as a member of the Sunsingers. The moral guidelines of the coven are as follows:
My Word, My Honor - A promise made by a Sunsinger is one that must be fulfilled. As a result, promises are not made lightly. To go back on one’s word as a Sunsinger is to bring dishonor and disrepute to the coven as a whole, something that the coven at large has little tolerance for. In order to continue to provide the services that they do to the witches of Zaichaer, they must be trusted to fulfill their promises. Thus, if a Sunsinger makes a promise or enters an agreement with another person, that individual can trust that the Sunsinger will go to great lengths to fulfill it.
Unrelenting - Sunsingers have a reputation for being a tenacious bunch. Once they have committed themselves to a purpose, there is little that will stand in their way. Whether it is simply guard duty or escorting a group of mages attempting to leave Zaichaer unnoticed, they will often be quite methodical in their approach.
Actions Over Words - It is common for Sunsingers to be a rather quiet group when not among their own. They are a people who tend to let their actions speak for themselves and from those actions, others can be the judge. Stemming from this mindset, the Sunsingers will often put forward those most suited for the tasks given to the coven. This means that when a Sunsinger is dispatched to a situation, they are often equipped with the skills and mentality necessary to face that given task.
The Sunsinger Sanctuaries
The Sunsingers operate various Sanctuaries across the territory of Zaichaer. Each of these Sanctuaries also serves as a base of operations for the Sunsingers overall. Over the years, the Order of Reconciliation has made various attempts to penetrate these sanctuaries, only one of which has ever fallen. The major sanctuaries serve as homes for the Sunsingers themselves, if they have no other accommodations. There are various lesser sanctuaries dotting the Zaichaeri territory.
The Sanctuary of the Dawn
The prime sanctuary of the Sunsingers, it is located somewhere to the east of Zaichaer City proper, within the woodlands. This is where the leadership of the Sunsingers and the bulk of their coven is located. It contains the chief repositories of their knowledge and has many accommodations to allow for members to stay and live in the sanctuary. Only proven Sunsingers are allowed into the Dawn Sanctuary. This means that only those bearing the Rune of Reaving and who have successfully proven their loyalty to the coven will be let inside. In the rare event that others are allowed entry, they are carefully watched and escorted for the duration of their stay in the sanctuary.
The Sanctuary of Twilight
Located within the city of Zaichaer proper, the Twilight Sanctuary is the second most heavily guarded of the Sunsinger sanctuaries. It is located somewhere to the west of Zaichaer City proper and is often the place where mages seeking to leave Zaichaer are taken. This sanctuary is the Sunsinger’s primary waystation, where those being smuggled into and out of Zaichaer are taken for rest and recuperation. It is a fortress that remains a thorn in the side of the Order of Reconciliation who have expended many resources attempting to locate it and penetrate its walls.
Fallen Sanctuary
The Fallen Sanctuary was once known as the Sanctuary of the Sunstar. It was built and established in the southern portion of Zaichaeri territory, within the First Deep of the Warrens. While dangerous, it was well fortified and at the time, served as the Sunsinger’s primary waystation of smuggling people out of the territory and toward more friendly, southern nations. In the year 113 Steel, the sanctuary was successfully infiltrated by the Order of Reconciliation who attempted to bring the sanctuary under their control. During the battle, a terrible chain of events ensued wherein various magical leylines erupted and decimated the sanctuary. None survived the event and the site has remained abandoned ever since.
The Safe Houses
Aside from the major sanctuaries, the Sunsingers operate various safe houses dotting the city of Zaichaer itself. They can be found across all of the city’s districts if one knows where to look for them. Witches or mages who are in trouble and need a safe place to stay in the interim can seek out these safe houses and will be provided a safe haven from the city’s authorities.
Tradition of the Sunsingers: Nova
The origins of the tradition of Nova are a mystery to all but the Marshal of the Sunsingers and those who are most trusted by him. However, one thing remains true; that in order to acquire the tradition of Nova, an individual must be initiated into Reaving by a Sunsinger already in possession of the quirk. As far as anyone knows, the quirk can only be passed in this manner. To date, there are two known manifestations of the Nova Quirk.
Flamewarden - The fire of Nova manifests as a protective shield against that which would harm the Sunsinger. So long as the fire is manifested on one of their Reaved weapons, the Sunsinger is able to shield themselves against things both magical and mundane. This protection is largely physical in nature. For example, the flames will absorb a fireball chucked at the Sunsinger or will even incinerate a caster shell fired at them from a gun and will perhaps shield them from a violent gust of wind from stormlike conditions. The fire will even prevent a spirit from crossing its threshold. The manner in which these flames manifest and their extent is largely dependent upon the individual Sunsinger.
Spellbreaker - No falsehood, corruption or perversion of something’s natural state will be tolerated in the light of a Spellbreaker’s fire. Nova manifests in Spellbreakers as a cleansing fire that will burn away curses (such as those put in place by Affliction), poisons, toxins and even break the influence that Dread Mists have over a given area, burning such mists away. Additionally, the fire will also cut through and disrupt other magic that the Sunsinger views as impeding or harmful to them. The extent to which a Cursebreaker’s Nova can break such things is dependent on their individual power as a mage.
Gregoire
Gregoire Norickson
DoB: 38 Glade 66 Steel
Race: Human
Title: Marshal of the Sunsingers, the Witch of the East.
Gregoire is a stoic man who has seen his fair share of war. He arrived in Zaichaer as a young man with his father many years ago, hailing from the city of Antiris. He helped his father establish the Sunsinger Coven and assisted him in beating back the influence of the Order of Reconciliation with stunning efficiency. He assumed leadership of the Sunsinger coven when his father died during the tragedy of the Sunstar Sanctuary. That event still causes him no end of pain but he had taken to guiding the Sunsingers well. He is seated on the Witch’s Council of Zaichaer, presiding as the Witch of the East with governance of all the lesser covens in the eastern half of Zaichaer’s territory. Gregoire is known to be a shrewd judge of character. He is slow to anger and is almost never surprised at the depths of depravity that the authorities of Zaichaer are willing to go to in order to exterminate mages at every turn. Even as he has begun to turn grey and the years of fighting have begun to catch up with him, he remains a formidable witch and warrior who the witches of Zaichaer have come to rely on for protection where it is needed.
Oriana
Oriana Norickson
DoB: 74 Frost 94 Steel
Race: Human
Title: Captain
Daughter of the formidable Gregoire Norickson, Oriana has a great deal to live up to, with many expecting her to one day step into the role of leadership of the Coven. She is a dutiful woman who has risen through the ranks of the Sunsingers of her own volition, absolutely refusing to be shown any favoritism because of her father. An impressive witch in her own right, she commands an assortment of powers both Runic and World magic. She is one of the most active Captains of the Sunsingers, often accepting the most challenging petitions available to her. She takes her role and the role of the Sunsingers seriously. Having grown up in Zaichaer, she has known no other life. She has seen firsthand the oppression of the Zaichaeri regimes, its archaic ways of approaching magic and just how harmful the Order of Reconciliation is with regard to suppressing not just mages, but the population of Zaichaer at large. She believes firmly that the Sunsingers should be freedom fighters first and foremost, an approach that has often led to heated conversations between her and her father.
Rhiftan
Rhiftan Hawke
DoB: 61 Searing 91 Steel
Race: Human
Title: Captain
Known as a risk taker among the Sunsingers, Captain Rhiftan Hawke is among one of the most notorious witches that the coven has. He has remained a target of the Order of Reconciliation for years because of his repeated success in thwarting their efforts to curb the witches of Zaichaer. It is no secret that the Reconciliators have placed an open bounty on his head, to which he simply laughs. In his mind, if they are going to place a bounty on him, he is going to go to every length to make it as impressive as possible. Despite his outward demeanor of being a thrill-seeker and diehard adventurer, Rhiftan takes his role as a Captain quite seriously. Anyone and anything placed in his charge is guaranteed to receive the epitome of the protection that the Sunsingers are known for. Again and again, Rhiftan has proven that he is up for any challenge and approaches each challenge with a surprisingly tactical mind.