International Societies

[ZacharyTC]

We already have a civilizations thread, but what about the groups of people on an international scale? This is where you can describe those that you make. Any group and organization spanning over more than one nation is mentioned here.

The format goes like this (note that IS means "International Society"):

IS Name:
Place of Origin (it could be anywhere; please be specific on the location (use the map if the IS originated within the Middle Realm)):
Reason for Existence (what the IS hopes to achieve):
Symbol (optional; must describe with words, even if a picture is included):
Sphere of Operations (areas of the Middle Realm they can be spotted at):
Membership Nationalities (Civilizations where the members of the IS come from):
Leadership Structure:
Headquarters (if there is a set location for the leadership to be):
Deities Worshipped:
IS Culture:
Interaction with Non-Members:
History that Led to the Creation of the IS:
Extra Information:

[ZacharyTC]

(This IS will rise after the Betan-Sacriran War. For now, this is all for future reference, describing how the IS described here will be once fully developed. You will find the History of how it forms coming into effect after the formation of the Sacriran Republic. If you hate spoilers, don't read that part!)

IS Name: Second Sacriran Order (aka SSO)
Place of Origin: Fertile Sacrira (An-Teng area)
Reason for Existence: The continuation of the Sacriran way of life, including, but not limited to, humility, charity, respect for others, medical and agricultural research, etc.
Symbol: Because the Order wishes to return to the core standards of the Sacriran lifestyle (the lifestyle which was nearly lost to the Old Order's increasingly militant responses to foreign aggression), The Second Sacriran Order has adopted the Tulip and Heart (Adarani's personal symbol) as their icon, adding a Dove (representing Adarani's bird form) to the left and a Crane (representing Ahuv's bird form) to the right. The lines are white, with light blue as the background.
Sphere of Operations: The Second Sacriran Order's members travel to any location they can so to help mortals in need. As such, where they operate varies with the nations' political climates.
Membership Nationalities: The Order is a mix of various races and nationalities across the Middle Realm, but mainly Sacrirans from the Old Order (as in, the Sacriran Order that was conquered by the Betans).
Leadership Structure: The Second Sacriran Order contains numerous mini-societies across the Middle Realm, each headed by an Abbot or Abbess. They all, however, answer to the Arch Abbot/Abbess. An Abbot/Abbess of a mini-society keeps it organized as it conducts charity work and some sort of research in the medical or agricultural field. An Abbot or Abbess even inspects the supplies to ensure sanitation and health quality. Whenever the SSO needs to make decisions involving the entire organization, the Abbots and Abbesses send representative and letters the Arch Abbot/Abbess’ way for a meeting at wherever he/she is at the time.

These leaders all have assistants who take over certain tasks for them whenever they are preoccupied with something, be it personal or professional. A typical Abbot or Abbess will have seven to twelve of these assistants at any given time. The Arch Abbot/Abbess has fourteen to twenty-four assistants who help them, all because of the sheer amount of work that falls squarely upon their shoulders. Such magnitude is a small price to pay for running an International Society as massive as theirs.

What determines who is next in line is an apprenticeship with the exact leader whom he or she will be the successor of. Assistants of those leaders have apprentices who eventually take their place, as well. These criteria must be met before an individual becomes an official’s apprentice: Temperance, Integrity, Commitment, Wisdom, Humility, and Maturity. Once accepted, an apprentice learns all he/she can about the position he/she will be filling in his/her future, all the while gaining hands-on experience.
Headquarters: Wherever the Arch Abbot/Abbess is, the other Abbots/Abbesses will gather for meetings (or, at least, send letters and representatives to the Arch Abbot/Abbess, so to address certain problems being dealt with). The Order has no set meeting place.

Deities Worshipped: By tradition, the primary deity worshipped within the SSO is Adarani, with Mathias having a following close to matching hers. (Again, all SSO members consider Adarani the main deity in their pantheon.) Among other deities commonly worshipped are Acanthus, Merida, Hanriot, Equallis & Disballis, Kazus, and La'Moire (once Adarani and the Sacrirans are aware of her). And then, there are deities whom are worshipped, yet on a smaller scale. Those with such minor followings include Torsc and Riomu.

The three deities whom are considered a major taboo to even pray to are Nylia (the Betan invasion has led many Sacrirans to consider Nylia an utterly irresponsible goddess), Othuma (the God of Death that wants nothing short of world conquest to spread death in its wake), and Jute (as the so-called "Queen of Gods"; the SSO does not know that the Klik'kik-t are worshipping Jute; even if they did know, they would still consider her a cold-hearted immortal usurper on a power trip). Anyone within the Order found worshipping any of those three are often frowned upon, especially worshippers of the latter two of the three, since Othuma and "Queen of Gods" openly look down on anyone who worships deities other than themselves (plus, this "Queen of Gods" was never a queen, to begin with). Because hardcore worshippers of "Queen of Gods" that come from the Hive (where the Goddess' religion started) are often violently hostile, such zealots frequently find themselves unwelcome among the Order's ranks.

IS Culture: Much of the SSO’s culture is based upon what the Old Order used to be like before the Cataclysm: entirely peaceful, without the paranoia gained due to constantly being attacked. And yet, members of this International Society do not claim any territory for themselves, since that was part of the Old Order’s downfall. The reason being, whenever a people claim a land, they become so attached to it, they often resort to militant measures to keep it. Such militaristic mindsets often lead to war. Instead, the Second Sacriran Order operates their research within nations that approve of such. During war between two countries, SSO members in them try to avoid any involvement, whatsoever, aside from healing civilians and anyone else brought to them, away from the war zones. You will only see an SSO Monk or Nun fight as a last resolve.

Politics aside, most SSO members live simplistic lifestyles, preferring not to partake in very many luxuries at any given time. Practicality and simplicity are virtues Adarani strongly promotes. As such, the SSO strives to adhere the teachings concerning that, along with the other core teachings Adarani gave.

Interaction with Non-Members: Aside from their uneasiness around people who fervently worship the Three Taboo (Nylia, Othuma, and Jute (as the so-called "Queen of Gods"), the Second Sacriran Order is in all honesty an organization that aspires to achieve peace through peace. As such, you will rarely see an SSO member make the first attack. That is not to say they cannot fight. Since the vile and unforgivable Betan Invasion of New Sacrira, martial arts training intensity tripled, causing the Order's members to become much tougher than in the past. The Order has even gone so far as to decree that no SSO member is to travel alone, grouping everyone into teams that contain wielders of all magical arts except for necromancy, each specializing in one particular school of magic.
History that Led to the Creation of the IS: Many Sacrirans who escaped the Betans' grasp reached the breaking point after the invasion and became fed up with warlike nations, forming the Sacriran Republic to unite them under a banner which would be the symbol of their outcry against all "war lovers" (people who favor war over diplomacy). It was complete madness. The victims of war have become the new aggressors, attacking any and all foreign military personnel on sight.

It was not until the Intervim (an immortal, non-Sacriran race made by Adarani in an effort to at least keep war from getting out of hand) began their interventions that many Sacrirans within the Republic gathered the courage to stand up against the extreme measures taken, in addition to the very idea of answering blood with more blood. The first of these Sacrirans to stand up against the extremists, surprisingly, was the one who was part of the catalyst that led to the Betan invasion, in the first place: Hanryyt Androscaf na Davutite. (Na translates to "the" in Sacriran). With the Bo Staff of Davu in his right hand, plus his newly-gained wisdom from experiencing first-hand the horrors brought forth by malicious desire for retribution, Hanryyt managed to rally a significant amount of the Republic's populace and remind them of their people's original purpose under Adarani, advocating a return to that purpose.

Since then, the priority of SSO members still residing at the Republic has been conducting peaceful campaigns to try and convince the government to reconsider its military tactics and focus more on matters at home. Most of the SSO is abroad, though, since there was still much left unaccomplished when the Old Order fell. Some even travelled back to New Sacrira to both 1) spread the word that the time has come to revert back to the original purpose given by Adarani, and 2) check on their relatives, friends, and other people that were close to them.

This movement, under Hanryyt’s leadership, eventually gave birth to the Second Sacriran Order, a group of people who swear no allegiance to any particular nation. Instead, they devote their lives to upholding Adarani’s ideals to the best of their ability. It is a path difficult to walk in the midst of chaos.
Extra Information: Every Arch Abbot/Abbess carries the Bo Staff of Davu with them, a symbol of their authority and promise to lead the Second Sacriran Order with the same qualities as is required before becoming an apprentice for the position. The Bo Staff of Davu is also a symbol of perseverance and redemption, due to two facts: 1) The relic survived the Betan invasion upon New Sacrira, and 2) The last Davutite to inherit it was the same Pre-Cataclysmic Vitaiim who had an unwillingness to control his anger in the midst witnessing people he cared about suffering at the hands of others, then repented and was forgiven by Adarani, even though he was punished by her –since she was the only valid authority figure to do so in regards to the Code of Monks and Nuns- for his first and only act of vengeful malice outside of Sacriran territory. That Vitaiim was Hanryyt Androscaf na Davutite.