"The First Flame burst forth into Glawiad in the realm's infancy. Doomed to the same fate of all Primordials, he rotted in his own personal hell for thirteen million years, charred by the very flames he once controlled. Through reckless experimentation and sheer dumb luck, a group of three friends found him. Felmiras, the Primordial of fire and gateways. Out of gratitude, the newly freed Felmiras offered the trio his servitude. The group travelled together for a while, jumping from planet to planet, seeing the realm and all its beauteous sights. But with these ethereal sights came interactions with people that threatened Glawiad's peace in its entirety. With myself as its leader, the group formed into an organization, one meant to neutralize these threats to the well-being of our Realm and keep the peace. And in honor of our Primordial friend, we called this mercenary organization the Order of the Sun."

The Order of the Sun operates from the shadows of Glawiad. Known mostly through rumors of their lethality and the overwhelming skill of its members, the name carries an air of awe and fear. Though most will never encounter a member of the Order as the tail end of a hit deal, the general attitude towards the Order is one of fearful avoidance, hoping to not garner the attention of the deadliest organization in the entire Realm.

The mission statement of the Order of the Sun is to eliminate threats to Glawiad's peace as a whole. What this usually entails is killing individuals with Echoes that have the potential to disrupt Glawiad on a scale beyond the planetary. From rogue Anomylons to space destroying terrorists to rare tyrants with meta-Echo abilities, the Order of the Sun takes on foes that are far beyond most other individuals' control.

Because of the danger they face with each job and the adherence to their mission statement, the Order of the Sun has a very high price to order a hit on an individual. They don't particularly work for the profit, but the price keeps an incentive to only hire a member when it is absolutely necessary.

Base of Operations

Thanks to Felmiras' ability to create flaming portals across vast distances of space, all parts of Glawiad can be mere steps away from the home base of the Order of the Sun. The base itself is one of trillions of pocket dimensions sold as real estate on the edges of Glawiad. Spatial bubbles from the age of the Primordials still linger as these aberrant regions, appearing from the outside as small ebony orbs. With the help of the Spatial Pocket Estate Association, these pocket dimensions can be opened and entered, and are sold at decent prices for rent or for life.

The Alsol Spatial Pocket does not just serve as a base for the Order of the Sun to operate from, but also a home for all of the members to return to. While some members do have homes elsewhere, each one has their own dedicated room within Alsol. The base is complete with access to many databases, including the full Anomylon Registry. Being hired out by larger regulatory organizations so often, the Order of the Sun has been given permanent access to some of these organizations' data.

Notable Members

Aaron Neriota - The Cloaked One

Aaron Neriota founded the Order of the Sun along with two of his long-time friends and the Primordial Felmiras. His strategic intellect and extreme resourcefulness are the traits that the other members pointed out when appointing him as the leader of the Order. Aaron takes on the most jobs of anyone in the Order, often gaining deep interest in the Echoes his foes possess and wanting to experience it for himself.

Being an Astrin, Aaron's Echo relates more closely to Essence and Aeter than those of most people in Glawiad. While he possesses no internal energy to output into magic, he has the ability to distort the magic of others with incredible precision. He uses physical stamina for this, while most magic takes ethereal stamina instead. Despite how weak he thinks himself in comparison to others of his race, his analytical mindset and resourcefulness make him one of the most difficult people to beat in any sort of combat.

Aaron's title of The Cloaked One refers to his special magical cloak, sold to him by an old and weary artisan. The special properties of the cloak can only be exploited through extremely precise alteration of the Essence contained within it. The Etherean Aegis, as it was formerly called, can absorb and replicate part of the Echo of any being killed by the cloak itself. Aaron has collected a multitude of Echo fragments in the cloak. As multiple similar fragments overlap, the many forms the cloak takes can become more powerful over time.

Felmiras - Guardian Flame

The first race in Glawiad was the Primordials, conjured by Amaranth-Azurade's reminiscing about the idea of people. Each one had Echoes more powerful than any modern ones. The age of the Primordials ended slowly after the introduction of Death to the Galvyria, likely a product of Amaranth-Azurade's annoyance with the destructive fights the Primordials would commonly have. Among the last few Primordials to die was Felmiras, a Primordial not very well known by his brethren.

Felmiras originally served as a guardian of boundaries and gateways, but was killed by another Primordial who was denied passage to another area of Glawiad. Thirteen million years of torment in the Primordial Hell assigned to him ensued. Scorched by the flames he once controlled, Felmiras rotted away, nothing more than a charred spirit. By complete accident, Felmiras' Primordial Hell was breached by Aaron Neriota, Phoenix Orikawa, and Spiriatus Aesturon attempting to access the Feltheous inside one of the Spatial Pockets left behind in the Primordial age. After this, Felmiras joined the group.

Felmiras knows that his second death will not return him to his Hell storage, but will simply be the end of his existence. Being particularly weak for a Primordial, he instead opts to act as the primary communicator with the public and information gatherer. While Felmiras' abilities would allow him to take on jobs of his own, he uses them to collect job requests, gather locative information on targets, and be transport for the other members of the Order.

While not the most powerful fire wielder, Felmiras has the greatest pyrokinetic control of anyone in Glawiad. He is able to take control of any flame and manipulate it with nigh-infinite precision. His own fire can burn holes in space itself, acting as gateways to far-off areas. Even though he considers himself weak in a general fight, he would be among the strongest people on a planet like Brimstata, where pyrokinetic Echoes are the most common form of magic.

Vyster Indorium - Distortionist

Among the Anomylons who evade the neutralizing kill-switch and must be hunted by the Order of the Sun, very few have survived. Vyster Indorium is an outlier, even among these. While fighting off three members of the Order simultaneously, he asked what their goals were and negotiated joining instead of being killed. Vyster found that the ideals of the order resonated deeply with him and is extremely loyal to the cause.

The reason the AVA tried to kill Vyster, as well as the reason he was able to escape, is his extremely unlikely Echo. It follows along the lines of two common types of Echoes: Form Echoes and Ether Echoes. A Form Echo is an Echo that allows manipulation of basically any concept so long as it follows a certain form, such as a helix or a wave. an Ether Echo is one that allows manipulation of a specific concept or ether, but in a less limited form range. Vyster's Echo is something of the perfect hybrid between the two. He has the ability to distort anything in any way, shape, or form. This uniquely powerful Echo has earned Vyster the title of Distortionist.

Due to the lack of limits on his Echo, Vyster has never been creatively challenged to use his abilities to their maximum capacity. He claims he doesn't have Aaron's "eye" for such things, but Aaron contends that he simply needs to train himself to think creatively. Theoretically, Vyster could become the most powerful person in all of the Galvyria, able to extend the Essence needed for his Echo to work into Caledwyr.

Vyster usually fights using his scarf, manipulating its properties to make it into a powerful weapon. It is incredibly rare that an attack reaches Vyster, as he needs to be caught off guard completely to be hit. Of his favorite concepts to twist, space and kinetic energy are his most commonly seen alterations.

Blumei Altram - Wave Master

Blumei Altram joined the Order of the Sun through the typical process of application. After seeing them in action near Blumei's town, they were inspired to protect Glawiad similarly. Blumei's Echo is a typical Form Echo, allowing them to manipulate many concepts or ethers specifically in the form of waves. While not the most interesting of the Order, Blumei has a very special part in the group by acting as an emotional anchor. Most other members look to them for emotional support or to get a reality check on their perspectives.

Blumei works very hard to live up to the standards of the Order of the Sun, and takes on a decently large portion of the jobs the Order receives. They know that the more people they protect, the better Glawiad as a whole will be for the people that have to live in it.

Phoenix Orikawa - Undying Flame

Lord Phoenix Orikawa was born on Brimstata as the next heir to the illustrious Orikawa family. His family history had many turns and excitations, but Phoenix himself was always doted on by his parents and siblings. Being an adventurous person, Phoenix travelled far and wide across Brimstata with his friend Aaron. After the destruction of the impassible barrier around Brimstata, he explored the rest of Glawiad as well.

The Orikawa family was already famous, but Phoenix's echo made him a local legend. His Echo gave him birch-white flames that could burn away most of a chosen aspect from whatever was enveloped in them. It was a nice ability, but the more well-known part of his Echo is where his namesake comes from. Mere hours after being born, Phoenix died in the arms of his mother. Erecting a small grave, his family mourned for three days. On the third day, flames burst from the grave and Phoenix returned, alive and healthy. Phoenix will return from death in that same spot on Brimstata every time. A shrine and supplies are built at his resurrection point.

Phoenix's body burns and is reduced to faintly glowing ashes exactly 327 seconds after he dies. Three days later, he returns at the Shrine of the Undying Flame, with all the injuries of his past life having been undone.

Phoenix is a reckless fighter. Pressurizing his flames to gain every bit of destructive power he has from them, Phoenix fights every foe with every bit of effort he has. He has been dismembered several times during a job, and he often kills himself afterward to regain the limbs he lost in battle.

Kurosejm - Master of the Unholy

This man is one of the most ancient still living beings in Glawiad. Travelling through time from one million years ago, Kurosejm was once a part of the legendary alliance that fought off the Twin Blights of the Haemagora and Apathesia. Having been one of Vyster's targets, Kurosejm used the same tactic that Vyster did. He interrogated Vyster about the Order and arranged to join it instead of being killed. He was only able to stall for so long because of one of the curses he had acquired. After a series of delays in the joining process including the Wrathmoon and the core members taking a two-year job in the Infinity Tournament, Kurosejm became a fully fledged member of the Order of the Sun.

Kurosejm is a brutal fighter, inheriting much of the methods of his creator, the vile Haemagora. Having the unique ability to learn curses without receiving Stains, he has dipped into the cruelest applications magic has to offer. Kurosejm is calm and collected, even while violently executing his targets.

Kurosejm holds the title "Master of the Unholy" over from his days fighting the Twin Blights. While he is adapting to the new era he has found himself in, he still holds a lot of emotion over his friends of the past. He makes sure to honor the curses he learned from his old friends by appending their names onto the curse. Ivolast's Dark Particle techniques and Mestocyrn's Tainted Fire are the two curses he seems most attached to.

Spiriatus Aesturon - Living Aestra

Spiriatus Aesturon was one of the founding members of the Order of the Sun, along with Phoenix Orikawa and Aaron Neriota. Created by a mysterious entity that has yet to be located, Spiriatus is the condensed manifestation of an Aestra, although more specifically a pale remnant of a deceased Aestra, known as a Spiraston.

Spiriatus had access to the entire Aestral Energy supply of his component Aestra, often using it in directed blasts. However, he mostly fought hand-to-hand, serving as the strongest-bodied member of the Order of the Sun. He had a very stoic personality, never taking the job of ending a life lightly. He was a grounding force for the other members, keeping them in check when they would otherwise be panicking or getting too emotional.

Spiriatus lost his life on the last day of the Wrathmoon. Using nearly all of the energy he had left in his body, he landed a devastating attack on the Witch of Armageddon, seemingly killing her, only to be torn apart and consumed by the regenerating Witch. The rest of the Order of the Sun still mourns his sacrifice to this day.

Contracting Process

For an individual to hire the Order of the Sun, they must have three things. First, the client-to-be must have directly witnessed the target threat utilizing their Echo. Second, they must have a sum of money they believe is worth the life of their target threat. Finally, they must have the capabilities to carry out a beacon ritual, which links their mind directly to Felmiras for a maximum of 48 minutes.

During the contact with Felmiras, the client explains the threat that their target poses and the last location they were seen at. Information such as the target's schedule, habits, residence and personality are appreciated, but not strictly necessary. While the client explains, Felmiras puts together a job profile on the target, calculating and adjusting a price as he goes along.

The payment is secured through a flame portal, and the job is officially listed. Within a few days, a member of the Order will take the job and hunt down the target. On occasion, multiple members take on the same job, but the result is usually the same. The target is killed, the job is completed, and Glawiad can rest peacefully once more.

Gaining Membership

Applying for membership into the Order of the Sun is a more rigorous and demanding process than hiring them for a job. Very few people who start applying actually end up joining. The combat skill and dedication required to become a member of the Order is more than most people anywhere in Glawiad.

To start, Echoes aren't very important to the Order. One does not need to have an inherently powerful Echo to become a member. Theoretically, Echoless people could become members if they presented some other form of combat prowess. What matters to the Order of the Sun isn't the inherent ability of a person, but the capabilities they have as a result of their experience.

A beacon ritual may be used to reach the Order to put in a request to apply. In cases where the applicant is already face-to-face with a member, they can simply ask in person. Applications are put on a waitlist and are proceeded with in chronological order. Because of how busy most members of the Order of the Sun are, it can take years for the application to be considered.

Most applicants show no promise from the start, so an interview is the first step to processing an application. Through these interviews, the Order can weed out the unfavorable masses efficiently and focus more of their time on people who show promise. The interview pries at the core values of the interviewee, glaring down the core of their being and scrutinizing its compatibility with the esteemed Order. Few leave the interview without being scorched by the words of the Order for their arrogance and hubris.

For the small fraction of applicants that pass the interview, the next step is practical observation. A senior member of the Order of the Sun (Basically anyone except Blumei and Kurosejm at this point) will take the applicant along with them on 6 jobs of varying difficulty and length to see if the new applicant can handle the stresses of being a member. The senior member is obligated to protect the applicant on the jobs, but the prospective members that make it this far are usually competent enough in actual combat that they do not need it.

If the prospective member does well enough at actual job work, they will be considered a final time by all current members of the Order of the Sun. If everyone is in agreement that the individual would be a positive addition into the Order, the new member is accepted in with open arms and a welcoming party.