The Order of Blades
The Order is Naru’s military force, not strictly a priesthood- though some members draw upon Naru’s divine power, The Order is not concerned with spreading the teachings of Naru; Its main objective is The Campaign.
The Campaign
Naru’s Campaign, also known within his order as The Campaign, is the Pathfinder Campaign’s main story (at least for now). His Campaign against the gods is driven by his understanding that the gods, in their endless life and unrivaled power, will cause and already are causing more injustice than any mortal will ever be able to. This is a variation on the question of “How can a benevolent god create a world filled with so much evil?”- How can “good gods” allow their peers to cause so much misery? Naru’s answer is The Campaign. Even though mortal are not just by the slightest, their injustices are limited by their trivial power, and so Naru believes the world will be more just if left solely in mortal hands.
Ranks
The ranks of members in the order are named after different types of straight blades: - Dagger - Sword - Longsword - Rapier - Greatsword
The ranks were created because Outrok created magical greatswords, in fashion of Naru’s True Blade, for all the important members Naru recruited to the order; to allow them to more easily travel and communicate. Because they all carried greatswords, they came to be known as Greatswords, and then lesser members started calling themselves after shorter swords- “I’m no Greatsword, I’m barely a dagger”- until the current hierarchy was established.
Greatswords
As the highest rank, it is easy to assume each Greatsword is like a general- but this is not the case. This rank reflects more upon the authority and trust the member curries with Naru, and less about their position in the chain of command.
Outrok the Lich
Appearance: A floating figure with light blue skin, wearing a white flowing robe.
Theme: Wrath of the Lich King Title Screen
The logistical planner for the Order of Blades. He turned into a lich long ago to have the power to exact revenge on a king who has wronged him. After the deed was done, he kept on living, dissatisfied with how the world kept on being unjust. He was later recruited by Naru, when he first began his current campaign, and operates out of his lair the logistics of the Order. He personally created the physical Greatswords for all the Greatsword members.
Another option is that he made Naru’s True Blade his Phylactery.
Urian the Blademaster
Appearance: Usually in full plate, an old human with white hair and scarred face.
Theme: Legends of Azeroth Remix
A senior blademaster for an important ciy lord, maybe church, he fought in the name of his city for a dozen years. After am horrific battle, in which his city lord and most of his comrades have died, he gave up. “What’s the point to this useless squabble? How is this justice?”. Naru then revealed himself to Urian, and promised him to let him fight for real justice.
He is one of the older Greatswords in terms of percentage of his natural lifespan, and curries great influence with Naru- Naru thinks he is the Greatsword that best understands what true justice is.
Malen the Champion
Appearance: Full plate, young human with black hair and blue eyes.
Theme: Stormwind
The youngest Greatsword, he was born to members of the order, and dedicated himself from birth to Justice and the Great Campaign. A charismatic young figure full of passion. Usually less sheltered then most people think.
Grotrur Lightguard, the Dwarf-King
Appearance: Full plate, with an iron crown welded into the helmet. dwarf with red hair and an impressive beard.
Theme: Ironforge
The king of Kinlodar, he was taught that a King’s duty is to his people and he should protect them, for any cost. That same teacher later usurped him, and Grotrur barely escaped with his life. He prayed for justice and protection for his people, and Naru answered.
Very protective of members in the Order, he sees it as a personal failure every time a member dies. His city openly supports the order, and through it a lot of the equipment and financing of the Order occurs.
Aire the Ritualist
Appearance: An elf wearing a white robe, marked with many arcane symbols (and of course the Halo).
A genius magician, he does not excel in combat- but rather in his ritual magic and his utility. Still, his extremist views alienate the other Greatswords- he believes that the unjust should be hunted and killed, no matter how small the injustice. Naru disapproves of this bloodthirst, but insists that Aire’s talents are necessary for the Campaign.
Sabathiel the Angel
Appearance: The tallest Greatsword, Sabathiel stands at 2.5 meters tall. He has a golden Halo, and two white feathered wings.
Sabathiel was personally summoned by Naru to hunt the Blades he does not know the location of- this is because he is amongst the best trackers that ever exited. Sabathiel is conflicted with The Campaign- on the one hand, as a being of pure good, he agrees that the gods are definitely not good; but he finds the idea of killing them difficult- he find the idea of killing anyone difficult, and irreplaceable and old being such as the gods even more so. He is also the least bloodthirsty among the Greatswords- his long existence and his natural tendency to do the most good he can at any point have gotten him pretty close to pacifism, for a major general in an armed force.
Orpip Kindriver, the Charmer
Appearance: A Gnome in white tunic, if he has to fulfil some sort of official function. Will not wear the robes otherwise under any circumstance.
Maybe change back story so Orpip is still the same charmer, but has a reason to serve Naru? Not sure I like having a Greatsword who doesn’t believe in the Campaign Orpip wasn’t looking for justice- he was looking for challenge. Ever the charmer, he worked his way up the ladder in the Order of Blades to prove he could. Now that he is finished, he has no way of getting out- he feels stuck, with no way of escaping the Order now that he proved he could be a Greatsword if he put his mind to it.
Naru knows this, of course, but since Orpip could get this far, he figures his talent is worth hanging on to.
Ains Wind, the Swordswoman
should probably change the title
Appearance: A tall blond woman with straight blonde hair. Wears a white sleeveless dress under light armor and carries a rapier.
Born to the blademaster of a large city, Ains was taught by her father about swordfighting from a young age. However, she never aspired to be a simple soldier, not even a blademaster- she always dreamt of the unexplored. Her father enjoyed teaching her martial arts, but ultimately did not want to endanger his only daughter, and persuaded her to take a clerical position under the army within the city. Ains was unsatisfied with this, and soon she gravitated to The Pathfinder Society. When her father found out about this, they had a fight, and ultimately she decided to run away, to explore.
Initially, the Order only sponsored pathfinders to look for True Blades or clues to their whereabouts, but soon some sympathetic pathfinders like Ains were integrated into the Order directly. There her incredible talent with the sword as well as her experience with adventuring got her promoted fairly quickly, and she got the highest rank of Greatsword within only a few years.
Bell is infatuated with her in a way only a teenager can with another teenager.
Allynna the Spellsmith
Appearance: A female elf, wearing an elegant white dress
Magic can be divided to three parts: Magical items, Rituals, and Spells. If Outrok and Aire do the first two, Allynna does the last one. An old elf, she devoted her life to studying magic and crafting spells. She avoids conflict, and generally is only intrested in magic and its applications in the betterment of society. Some churches didn’t like this, as she could do with her magic things that normally the citizens would need the church to apply divine power for. Because of this, the churches in the city plotted to have her removed and her name tarnished- thrown out of her own city because she dared trying to help her people without the churches’s approval, Naru convinced her that with the gods gone she could help many more people with her magic.
Ains’s Crew
Bonk De Bard
Appearance: a goblin of average size for a goblin (90 cm). | Usually cloaked in a deep purple vest with matching pants. He wears several heavy gold chains, lots of golden bracelets, and several rings. He carries a beat-up lute.
He thinks himself an artist, a pioneer in Traditional Goblin Music, i.e. rapping. He really likes diss tracks.
Gyrd Shieldshout
Appearance: a dwarf with ginger hair of average height (1.5m).| Wears plain clothes, with the sleeves pulled back to reveal his intimidating muscles.
He is a simple cook, the owner of a Tavern in Grotrur Lightguard, the Dwarf-King’s city. Grotrur has called upon him to join the order due to his innate talent with magic, but in his mind he is just a simple chef, in over his head.
Other Members of Note
Bell Trueflame
This is basically ripping off DanMachi, but who cares
Theme: Heroic Desire
Appearance: 16 year old male, wearing a white tunic, with white hair and red eyes.
This young man, about 17 years of age, was personally picked by Naru- but no one knows why. He wasn’t orphaned- he didn’t live on the streets and see the harshness of the world. He was no soldier, sickened by war and pushed to pursue justice. He was not born in the order, he has no experience with why justice is required. But for some reason most of the order struggles to understand, Naru picked up this specific boy to join his Order and lavishes undue attention on him. This has caused the Order to alienate Bell quite a lot, and Bell in turn feels unworthy.
But Naru picked Bell for a reason- out of all of his Order and all of his Greatswords, Bell is the truest Hero. He wasn’t betrayed, abandoned, raised or threatened. He is, of his own volition, always trying to help those who need help. He doesn’t care what light it paints him. He doesn’t do it because he knows how it feels to need help and receive none. He does it because his heart tells him it is the right thing to do, because he is a true hero.
Naru understands that his Campaign can only end with him dead. He knows the chaos and pain his campaign will bring the world in the short term. He picked Bell because he knows, deep in his heart, that himself too is a menace upon the world. He knows he will never, no matter how he justifies The Campaign, be as good as Bell. And when it is done, he wants Bell to be there.
I think Naru should think of Bell as his son- This kinda feats Bell Cranel and Hestia, but also Naru views Bell as a version of himself that can live up to be what Naru never could, because Naru needs to do what needs to be done.