Legion of the Dancing Winds

This page is missing information from Call of the Father The Tenets of Sovereignty say that Rallia will provide an army to fight the forces of Nezeril should he return. On an island off the coast of Carufell, she trains and houses the Order of the Cracked Sky. One branch of this force is the Legion of the Dancing Winds. The members of the Legion, walk the lands of Var’Tareen. Their main responsibility is to help those who do not have protection, and to keep the monsters of the Old Gods in check. They have created the Legionnaire’s Bestiary to detail the monsters they find.

Origins
After the War of Ascendance was concluded, the new gods were faced with a tremendous decision. They had run the War against the Old Pantheon. They had acted as generals and Monarchs of the many people. But the war was fought so that mortals could be free. The gods decided to abdicate all power and in turn set up orders with the goal of making the world better. It could not be so simple that they could abandon their military. Nezeril Herald of Change, the most dangerous of their foes still lived. Mortals and gods alike agreed that he would return. Two orders were dedicated to stopping him. Selviir created the Watchers Beneath the Stars. Their goal was to find the cultists of Nezeril. Rallia created the Order of the Cracked Sky. Their mission was to fight the cultists. These orders were detailed in the Tenets of Sovereignty, along with the gods declarations that they would let mortals rule themselves. The Order retreated to a small island South of Maristoll. This was their home, their training grounds, and their temple.

The Order of the Cracked Sky obeys these ideals In the Modern Age, the ideals are followed in spirit, rather than by the letter. To protect these ideals and command the Order, Rallia appoints a general from it’s ranks.
 * 1) "Serve no Nation, nor bring your blade against one who serves a nation."
 * 2) "Any who joins the Cult of the Herald forsakes their claims to the nations of mortals. They must be brought to swift justice."
 * 3) "Serve the Queen of Storms in her fight against the Old Gods. She remains ever vigilant for the return of the Herald."

A few decades after the Order was established, several members expressed the desire to leave the Island. They cited the need to fight the remaining monsters. After speaking with Rallia, the current General allowed them to leave. They named themselves the Legion of the Dancing Winds. The first group was only six people. They took a sailboat to the coast of Toalla and departed from each other. Since then many have followed their steps. The Legion has established a post in the city of Veleso where they first landed, and the city of Raspon in Carufell. Now, these posts serve as both recruitment centers, and offboarding locations. Legionnaires who arrive at these posts are given food, gear, maps, and enough coin to get by.

The Decision to leave the Island and join the Legion is often deeply personal. Few of the people who grew up on the Island leave. People who enter Legion are choosing to leave their homes and their allies. They are choosing to live a life with limited resources and a life that tests their ideals. They may own no property, nor can they practically keep close friends. The life requires the Legionnaire to be on the move constantly, and they are expected to put their lives on the line everyday. When Legionnaires fight monsters they are allowed no reward but food and shelter.

Recruitment
The Order recruits in two ways. First, any who wish to join the fight against Nezeril are allowed to join, provided they can either fight or teach those who wish to fight. To join they must swear off any claim they have to the heritage of mortal nations. Then they must travel to the Island and remain there in training for at least three years. The second way people are recruited is as children. The order finds orphans and offers them a life in service. People distrustful of the Order accuse them of kidnapping.

The Island
The Island is the home of the Order. Given that it is not a nation of mortals, it has no name other than Island. At any given time several thousand people live here as soldiers, teachers, priests, and scholars. The Island includes a central complex with training grounds, barracks, a temple, a port, and a library only accessible to members of the Order. This complex is on the Southern parts. The North is forested and stocked with monsters for training. Very few not of the Order have ever visited the Island.

Training
Members of the Order receive intense physical training. They run carrying stones, climb sheer cliffs, dig trenches, and stay awake for days. By the end of the physical training members of the order can wear armor and carry heavy weapons without issue. They receive basic training with nearly every weapon. Members receive advanced training in swords, knives, and bows. They are taught to fight individually and in small teams with combat tactics centering around taking out mages and monsters. The Order does not expect to fight armies. Members of the Order also are trained in military history and tactics with the goal of being able to command a group of recruits. They are taught monster biology and medicine. Those who express interest in joining the Legion of the Dancing Winds are taught basics of current politics and geography. All receive minor training in Unamancy centered around storm magic. The training Order members receive goes beyond military theory and practice. They also receive strict moral training. In addition to the ideals sworn, they are taught never to harm innocents, to serve people, to use only what they need, and to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. Only those deemed to follow these standards are allowed off the Island. Almost all of the people who leave, represent the Order well.

Uniform and Armament
Every member of the Legion has the same basic gear. They wear a dark grey robe, a gold cloth belt tied off with one end hanging down to the right knee, an amulet of Rallia, black leather boots, and an eight inch Threnish Iron Dagger. Each Legionnaire is also allowed to own a primary weapon (usually a greatsword or bow), supplemental armor such as grieves or chainmail, a pack and tools to patch their gear. Legionnaires often carry a copy of the Order’s bestiary and several sky godstones. These magical stones seem to find their way to successful members of the legion. Some Legionnaires have a horse, additional weapons, and trophies taken from monsters. They are also allowed anything else that can help them with their quests like maps or weather appropriate gear. Legionnaire’s almost never use local dress or personalize their clothing. It is not uncommon for some to have tattoos but these are always religious in nature. They are not allowed homes or anything they can’t bring with them.

General Operation
The Legion has no central command. Every Legionnaire acts on their own. The typical life of one in the Legion is to wander from town to town looking to help people by taking down monsters. Legionnaires have also been known to help townsfolk fight bandits. Members of the Legion usually travel alone. It is rare to see multiple members at once. At any given time there are usually several hundred active members of the Legion. Some choose to retire after decades wandering. They either go back to the Island or swear off their oaths. Though this second option is technically forbidden, the Legion is forgiving to those who do it as long as they have served with honor for many years.

Sometimes a Legionnaire will be called upon. Rallia or her emissary occasionally meet with global leaders to discuss the ways of the world. Legionnaires will be there to form an honor guard. Alternatively if Rallia wants to send her favor to a particular church, town, or individual, a Legionnaire will be called to deliver a gift or letter. The other reason a Legionnaire will be called upon, is to bring justice. If a crypt, artifact, or even a cultist of Nezeril is discovered by the Watchers, a small group of Legionnaires will be assembled to take it down. This rarely happens and is often secret. Since the War of Nezeril, only a few cultists have been found. The Legion quietly took care of them but with great difficulty. Relics are more common but still dangerous. On average a relic of Nezeril is found once per decade. The closest Legionnaires will be called upon to take it out. The relics often attract monsters and devastate areas. They are cursed, carrying ancient and secret magic.

Specific Activity
The Legion cataloged information on the monsters of the Old Gods that still walked the land. Around AeP 325, this information was published into the Legionnaire’s Bestiary. This became the defining text on monsters. It was updated a few times and in AeP 445 there was an effort to officially make a second edition.

The Legion and the rest of the Order fought in the War of Nezeril. Legionnaires were the first members of the Order of the Cracked Sky to engage the cult of Nezeril. They proved invaluable to humanity’s success in the war. They continued the fight after the War was over. The Legion would have to deal with relics of Nezeril or holdout cultists. In AeP 446, several Legionnaire’s including Zonah Safar encountered and killed a group of Cultists. However Zonah was cursed in the fight. Wherever he went there would be a bitter winter. He was removed from the Legion since he couldn’t perform his duties while carrying Nezeril’s magic. Zonah travelled to Carufell where he then used the skills he learned in the Legion to help fight the Dawn Priest and her army of Drel’Mareath.

Members
Orna Wellis was a Legionnaire who was active in Toalla in AeP 445. She was one of the members who was working on updating the Legionnaire’s Bestiary. In Sharus of AeP 446 she was in Pruzer and worked with locals to kill the Draining Spiders in the old mines.

Zonah Safar was a member of the Legion. In his time with them he learned magic, swordsmanship, and how to hunt monsters. However he had to leave once he was cursed by Nezeril’s Cultists. He took his training North, where he helped Curaheim.

Tennith was a member of the Legion who hunted Drel'Mareath in the Jarem Desert. He was slain by two Lion-Lizards in AeP 447.

Appearances
Campaigns
 * 1) The Hunters’ Codex: The Melting Stag
 * 2) The Hunters' Codex: Draining Spiders
 * 3) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session One: The Blizzard’s Bite
 * 4) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Two: The Grip of Frost
 * 5) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Three: The Winds That Blow
 * 6) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Four: The Sunshine's Lost
 * 7) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Five: The Force of Cold
 * 8) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Six: A Host of Force
 * 9) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Seven: In Frozen War
 * 10) The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Eight: Beneath the Cold
 * 11) Call of the Father Session One: Evert Gate

Supplemental
 * 1) The Tale of Storms and Clay Supplemental: The Emissary