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A fairly young organization, having only been around for the past 30 years, The Order of Faranth has none the less come to the forefront of society for better or worse and made themselves a household name as the self proclaimed defenders of Pern. They are dedicated to protecting and uplifting it's people both with their widespread humanitarian efforts and relief programs as well as with the heroic, charismatic power suits known as Paladins. Though the militaristic organization is often criticized for its reliance on militant structure and values to accomplish its goals, it still cannot be disputed that The Order is at the very least is here to stay.Should you ever find yourself down on your luck and without a soft place to land, The Order of Faranth awaits you with open arms.Please note - All information posted here is meta knowledge unless stated otherwise so please refrain from granting your character unreasonable knowledge obtained from this OOC source.

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Public Knowledge

The Order of Faranth is a globally recognized coalition of volunteers, workers and soldiers who, despite following a rigid militant structure and hierarchy, are known for their global humanitarian efforts and charity. Originally formed by members of Benden Weyr the organization has grown beyond this in the years since its founding, but does retain ties to the Weyr and holdstate itself. The Order has become a global player in its 30 years of operation, with the ability to operate in some way in almost all holdstates of Pern.The Order was formed 30 years ago as an answer to terrorist and criminal organizations and to combat the lawlessness that has spread across Pern. They are renowned for their humanitarian aid, providing relief to struggling communities and communities negatively affected by the actions of terrorists and criminals, uplifting and saving suffering outposts with supplies, food and employment as well as spearheading several programs to help struggling people get back on their feet and find education, housing and livelihoods. They recruit heavily from beneficiaries of their services.While their humanitarian efforts are the focus of the Order, they are supported by their military foundation. In holdstates they have allied with, they have a significant military presence. This military power is intended to combat all enemies which threaten Pern as a whole and can be called upon by the holdstates which have affiliated themselves with the Order. While this is primarily northern holdstates, there are some southern and western holdstates which have also entered into agreements with the Order.As far as military organizations go, the Order is widely regarded as one of the most impressive that Pern has to offer. They work with state of the art technology, impressive research and development, and a military training program often touted as the best in the world. The Paladin and Squire system is incredibly dominant, though the Order of Faranth also maintains infantry and other troops. These suits are designed to engage in combat with even the largest of dragonkin misguided by terrorist organizations, and are able to navigate the vacuum of space.Their official stance on the question of dragonkin equality is that it should be left up to the individual holdstates and that their primary interest is in the preservation of history, Pernese culture and the people of Pern.The Order of Faranth: Pern's army, guardian of its culture, and defender against threats to its people.

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Member Info

There are two divisions of the Order of Faranth, Defenders and Keepers. Defenders are the military of The Order of Faranth, including the Paladin and Squire pilots, and their role is to maintain military discipline and to muster whenever they are called - either for routine training or for actions. Keepers however are the support network of the Order, and though they are given a rank similar to defenders, they are never expected to enter the field but all are given basic military training and education so that they can be called from reserve. Keepers can be anything from cooks to therapists and everything in between - if a global military organization could make use of a profession, there is a Keeper which holds it.The Order of Faranth follows the military hierarchy below, with all ranks being open for auto join with the exception of Queen Commander which is a filled position and Warden and Justicar First Class which are the highest rungs of the Order's hierarchy and are thus Ask to Join positions. All of these ranks apply to both Defenders and Keepers and in the event that a Defender and Keeper share the same rank, the Defender out ranks the Keeper. Paladin pilots can have any rank between Justicar First Class to Lieutenant and Squire pilots can have any rank between Guardian and Lancer First Class.Dragonriders and wherhandlers are heavily encouraged to join the Order by its recruitment officers, however dragonriders are restricted to being Defenders and with the exception of clutch bearing golds, all dragons are required to flame to be part of the Order. Wherhandlers and whers are all restricted to being Keepers with emphasis on taking construction, mining, manual labor and security positions. While dragonkin themselves do not hold rank, they are considered to share the rank of their rider/handler.

Ranks

Commanding ranks: Equivalent to Admiral, General, etc.

High ranks: Equivalent to Colonel or Major.

Middle ranks: Equivalent to Captain (Army) or Lieutenant (Navy).

Lowest commanding ranks, also used for specialists: Equivalent to Sergeants.

Non-commanding: Equivalent to Privates.

Most ranks may be commanding (i.e. has direct inferiors who report to them and who they command in military engagements) or non-commanding (a well-paid specialist, has the rank as an honorarium, etc.).

Members

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Paladins and Squires

History

Created by the Benden based, Bitra funded weapons technology corporation Avarice, Paladins and Squires are a highly specialized form of power suit (an open air vehicle that is essentially used similarly to a crane or tractor to ease manual labor) that are designed specifically for combat. Squires were the first version to be created, roughly the size of a bus and incredibly mobile.Fifteen years ago they were originally created to aid with peacekeeping in the vastly growing holds and to act as a rescue vehicle in the event of a collapse in the areas of holds and weyrs that were still built into the ground. However as their utility became apparent, Avarice was swift to purchase all copyrights and patents to all powersuits, creating a legal monopoly on the technology and ensuring no rivals to Paladins and Squires could be made without creating a violation that would be actionable by Avarice. And thus, 5 years ago the flagship creation of Avarice, the 4+ story Paladins, capable of matching even the largest dragon’s strength and power, were unveiled.

General

Squires and Paladins are generally single pilot, fully enclosed humanoid mech suits capable of operating in a vacuum with various combat capabilities. They are powered by an onboard reactor that is patented by Avarice, thus the exact means by which it functions is largely unknown. However Squires are able to operate for three hours in combat and six hours of light use before they must power down for their reactor to build back up stored energy, and Paladins may operate for two hours in combat and twelve hours of light use.Squires often follow a generic format of a shoulderless, domelike head that is seamless with its broad, barrel chest and thick, bulky digitigrade legs. Both arms are able to be equipped with a number of plug and play artillery options, from chainsaws and net launchers to cannons and precision laser equipment. Squires are manufactured en masse by Avarice and though expensive, their modular build makes them easy to replace in full and also easy to repair, so long as all parts come from Avarice and repairs are done by Avarice certified technicians, which all Order of Faranth power suit technicians are. Squires are capable only of short bursts of flight through rocket propulsion, primarily to assist in climbing and jumping obstacles or providing thrust in a vacuum.Paladins on the other hand are much more varied than Squires, though all in general are humanoid in shape and have generally plantigrade legs. Paladins are engineered with their pilot in mind and are made to best suit their pilot’s combat style. Because of their high degree of specialization to their designated pilot, Paladins often will have aesthetic elements that do not hinder their combat ability, with the distinct purpose of making them recognizable symbols and heroes for the populace to rally around. All Paladins are equipped with two main weapons and anti artillery flak missiles, and improvements are made to them each time they happen to fall in a combat or training event. Paladins belonging to higher ranking officers in the Order are often larger and have more weapons in their armory, with some of the highest ranked and largest Paladins even having their own velocity shield equipment. Paladins are fully capable of flight through rocket propulsion.In order to pilot a Squire a Defender in the Order of Faranth must successfully go through flight academy in addition to basic training and boot camp and have previously spent a minimum of three years as part of the order - a generally easy feat as the flight academy is a four year school. Because the rank of Lancer First Class is awarded to all flight academy graduates, many fresh Lancers will choose to attend the flight academy even if they do not wish to eventually pilot a Squire. Paladins are only given to Squire pilots after they have advanced through the Order of Faranth’s ranks and proven themselves a capable leader and loyal to the Order. Once a Squire pilot achieves the rank of Lieutenant the year long process of building their custom Paladin off of their preferences and recorded combat data will begin.

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