Also known as the Guardians of Phovezila, the Elementum Order was monastic warrior order that served Phovezila’s nobility.
The Elementum Order was formed many years ago out of the last knightly house of Sandar. The creed of the elemental warriors was to protect their people with their dying breath, and to use the forces of nature itself to protect the lands they were blessed to have dominion over. The elemental warriors harnessed the arcane forces to manipulate things found in the natural world, such as fire, water, light, rock, and more.
History
The Elementum Order was founded by the Sandarian knightly House of the Unicorn. Originally a standard order of knights, they turned to implementing Elementalism into their training as a way to combat the powerful Isutan sorceress Kin Kan, her followers the Serrated Blades, and their army of golem soldiers.
Fire, water, ice, and air were the first four elemental specializations taught by the Elementum Order. As they hunted down the remnants of the Serrated Blades, the specialization of light would be founded. The specialization of lightning was developed during the Jinifarian invasion led by Dal Kharr, and the specialization of rock was added during the Blood Trio’s Coup.
Elemental Warriors
Elemental Warriors
The warrior monks raised by the Elementum Order were all elementalists. Elemental warriors were taught to combine elemental magic with physical capabilities, often enhancing physical feats and combat techniques as opposed to fully relying on magical attacks.
Deployment
Elemental warriors were rarely, if ever, deployed to quell civil unrest or as police. They dedicated much of their day to training and mastering their craft, only being called to action during significantly disruptive events within Phovezilan territory such as insurgency, cells of somatomancers, or Hivemen sieges.
As the primary military force behind Phovezila, elemental warriors were typically reserved for use against enemy forces during armed combat with rival nations.
Classifications & Terminology
Certain elemental warriors preferred fighting with arms and armour over using their magical skills (and vice versa). Resultantly, two specializations of soldier arose in the Elementum Order.
- Slingers preferred magical combat over physical combat, and often at range.
- Jousters preferred physical combat over magical combat and usually formed the frontline.
A Note on Terminology
While Legerians used the term “elementalist” and “elemental warriors” interchangeably when referring to the elite mage-knights of Phovezila, the actual classification of an elementalist was any practitioner of magic that harnessed the power of the Plane of Ucalegon.
For more information, read about Elementalism.
These two different warrior types were easily distinguishable by their armour. Jousters wore much more armour while Slingers, who were typically in the backlines, wore less. Both classes’ armour also had special gemstones embedded in their armour for additional magical energy storage.
Vocational Titles
Prefix to Slinger depended on specialization of that elemental warrior: Fire → Heatslinger Water → Waterslinger Lightning → Shockslinger Rock → Rockslinger Ice → Frostslinger Wind → Windslinger Light → Sunslinger
Prefix to Jouster also depended on specialization of that elemental warrior: Fire → Heatjouster Water → Waterjouster Lightning → Shockjouster Rock → Rockjouster Ice → Frostjouster Wind → Windjouster Light → Sunjouster
Equipment
For most of Phovezilan history, elemental warriors wore Fire Iron armour, but after the Ancient Wars, fire iron equipment became far more scarce as the Righteous Order redirected its flow to themselves.
The elemental amulet worn around their necks, while ceremonial, also acted as a magical battery, storing magical energy for situations where naturally occurring magical forces may be weak and impractical to harness. The necklace was engraved with the sigil of the elemental warrior’s specialization.
Training
Early Stages
Within the first 3 years of a Phovezilan child’s life, the parents could choose to send them to train as an elemental warrior. The Elementum Order was also known for taking in orphans. The Elementum Order’s headquarters for operation as well as training grounds are located in a fortress known as the Towers of Power, a twin-steepled castle that was adjacent to the royal palace by a few kilometers. The Towers of Power were a focus where arcane powers happen to converge and concentrate, becoming visible streams of energy at the top of the spires. This is the perfect area to help awaken the elemental spirit that all members of the Elementum Order required.
For the first 5 years of their training, children taken in by the Elementum Order were trained mentally, learning to read and write while studying history, philosophy, and politics. The Elementum Order believed that knowledge of the world around them was the first step in achieving great power.
In their sixth year, young elemental warriors began physical training. This includes daily work out sessions lifting light weights, running several laps around the Towers of Power, and an introduction to hand to hand combat sparring. In addition to this, the young elemental warriors continued to advance their literacy and other scholarly skills.
By their seventh year, the elemental warriors began training with weapons, focused on perfecting the usage of the longsword and/or spear.
Choosing a Specialization
The elemental sigils of each of the seven specializations of the Elementum Order. Top row from left to right: Fire, Ice, Light, Lightning. Bottom row from left to right: Rock, Water, Wind.In their tenth year of training, elemental warriors reach a crucial part of their lives. This was the time at which they would swear the oath of the Elemental Creed and finally choose which force of nature they would utilize to defend Phovezila. There were 7 specializations that elemental warriors could choose, each of which corresponded to one of the arcane sub-paths of Elementalism: Fire, Water, Lightning, Rock, Ice, Wind, and Light. There were no philosophical differences between these schools—the simple difference was the type of magic that the young elemental warriors would train under. Elemental warriors are also granted the honorific of “Elementum” at this point, as well as an amulet.
The Elemental Creed
I pledge to utilize the power that I wield in ways that will bring only prosperity to my family, my brethren, and my people. I pledge to destroy all those who would dare to do wicked things against my family, my brethren, and my people. I pledge to prevent my power from tipping the balance of the forces of nature whenever I use it. I pledge to fight for all these values until my dying breath, whether it be in battle, or when my time has come.
Mastery and Career Advancement
Once a full elemental warrior, an individual had the opportunity to be promoted to a master position if they prove skilled enough. Each specialization had 3 masters to train future members of that specialization. There is also the Grand Elementum position, which the 21 Elementum Masters voted to elect whenever the prior Grand Elementum died or resigned.
Auxilia
The elemental warriors were frequently aided in combat by the mercenary group known as the White Fire Corps.
Link to original
