Ae Lugh

The Claws of the Mother. The blind and deaf and the hand that strikes.

The Ae Lugh [a͡e luː] are the warrior-class and prime military force of the toxelugh of Khyth Vaaxa. Their name literally means "Claws of Lugh", using a variant on Lugha's name to avoid frivolous invocation of it. Made up entirely of Attuned toxelugh, they have been serving the citizens of Khyth Vaaxa for almost three thousand years.

Purpose

The Ae Lugh's stated mission is to protect the peace for the people of the Great Beast Archipelago, though what exactly this means has changed over time. As a nearly three thousand year old organization, following a semi-stable government and civilization through immensely fundamental environmental and magical changes, the interpretation of their mission statement has always been fitted against the context of that society.

Internal affairs were the original jurisdiction of the Ae Lugh, meant to prevent any future rebellions after the peoples of the Great Beast Island were reunited in the 1800s BCE. After a near century of war, the combative skills of the people were turned into force used in a powerful system of law. This is still kept up to the modern era, though "law enforcement" is much looser and puts less power on the Ae Lugh themselves. In antiquity, they were given the power to essentially become judge, jury, and executioner all in one, though now their efforts for apprehending criminals and rebels focuses on investigation and restraint. The power to sentence lies with the courts, though much execution falls on Ae Lugh members.

As the Great Beast Archipelago has been drifting into denser areas of the Evervoid, external threats have been an increasingly prevalent issue. The Humming Wilds are closer in the modern era than they have been in the past seven thousand years, and drifting bits of land with lethal Darkshine plants on them are too common an occurrence to ignore. Missions to destroy these interloping islands and venture into the Humming Wilds temporarily to learn more about them form the prerogative for the upper ranks of the Ae Lugh today.

Cultural Relevance

As the Ae Lugh are all Attuned, they do not have access to the sense of Psyche that unattuned toxelugh do. As such, they are unable to fundamentally tell members of their species apart in the same way most toxelugh do, and rely much more on visual and olfactory cues. The Ae Lugh, being a warrior class, tend to have a lot of scars, and so have built intuition for recognizing people that way. The rest of the toxelugh, taking inspiration from this, have built a vast repertoire of body modifications and patterned scarring designs for personal expression and recognition over the past millennium.

Between 50 and 60 percent of Attuned toxelugh are members of the Ae Lugh, making for by far the largest population of any career. Because other jobs need doing far more consistently and the Ae Lugh are often overstaffed for their respective work, a majority of them also take up a trade or occupation beyond their duties.

Hierarchy

The hierarchy of the Ae Lugh is a loose structure based on rank. Rank advancement opens up more opportunities for a member, though not all find their calling in the upper ranks. Higher-ranked members of the Ae Lugh hold authority over those beneath them. While there are few direct chains of command, most defer preferentially to the ones who trained or instructed them.

Advancement through the ranks happens through a series of exams, each successive one harder than the last. It can take decades for some Ae Lugh to reach the heights they envision for themselves, while a few choice individuals have breezed through the hierarchy with little resistance.

Wanderers

The first rank, Wanderer, technically applies to all attuned Toxelugh. It is at this stage that they either choose to join the Ae Lugh or simply continue living their lives with a different set of minor abilities. Those who join the Ae Lugh are brought to their respective island by a master assigned to them, who teaches them the absolute basics before their studying begins. These masters usually have twelve to twenty apprentices of varying rank under them at a time.

Wanderers are usually seen studying the theory of their respective element, learning the basic application and the most common uses of it. They aren’t supposed to be applying it yet, but many do try to experiment. Wanderers usually study in groups under the guidance of their shared master. Training for Wanderers usually takes about a year. With progression to the next rank, Wanderers must complete a written exam and demonstrate knowledge of their Attunement, its functions and its history. Some who pass this certification actually leave the Ae Lugh's main branches to become researchers and scribes for the Lunar Branch, the more clerical-inclined members who work in the high-up Temple of the Moon to write laws and regulations for Attunement use and instruction.

Initiates

Initiates are those who have studied and understand the workings of their element, and are now trained in actually applying it. Harsh specialized courses to force the Initiate to gain an intimate connection to their attunement. This strengthens the elemental output that each Toxelugh can manage. Physical and mental stamina are tested to their limits here. Depending on the Toxelugh, this rank can take 2-5 years to advance through.

Ae Lugh Initiates have the second highest mortality rate of any group within Khyth Vaaxa, due to the physical and mental strain their training imposes on them. Many are burned out fatally by overuse of their Attunement, attempting to advance faster than their bodies can take and tearing themselves apart instead of safely acclimating to higher outputs. Others neglect their supplementary physical training and cannot handle the strain of even regular output training. Discipline is absolutely necessary to survive this rank. The test to advance to the next rank is written again, but with a supplementary practical segment that forces them to demonstrate sufficient power in raw output as well as enough finesse and control to use it effectively.

Travellers

Once an Initiate has gained a suitable level of control and power over their attuned element, they are promoted to Traveller. Travellers are allowed to go on missions within the archipelago, as a part of their training requires real experience. They are trained for actual combat usage and integrating their abilities into their fighting style during this stage. Travellers are encouraged to get creative with their abilities.

Additionally, Traveller training is the first rank where formalized combat training is required. Initiates do often partake in sparring to test their stamina, but it is not officially necessary for them and is more a means to an end. Travellers are required to be personally trained by at least one master in their fighting styles, as combat with invasive species or belligerent toxelugh is common for their missions. Most Travellers take on anywhere between two and ten masters, combining what they learn into their own unique style.

Training for Travellers doesn’t always result in a promotion. Most are content to just stay at their rank and handle internal affairs. These permanent Travellers form the backbone of the archipelago’s justice system. However, those who do aim higher take anywhere between 8 and 16 years to ascend to the highest rank. A few exceptions exist, but they are exceedingly rare.

The Master Ceremony is more of a trial that aspiring Travellers can take on, which tests their aptitude in elemental control, physical durability, and combat application. The final stages of it require a prospective Master to face off against fellow Travellers and an established Master in single and group combat. It is brutal, and very few who pass it leave without new scars.

Masters

Masters are the end goal for the more ambitious Ae Lugh. Masters are granted special privileges as those who have passed every level of training. They are able to go on expeditions into the Humming Wilds, and are given authority by the government of Khythis. They are highly regarded as the pillars of society and are the frontliners against rogue landmasses from the Wilds that threaten the archipelago’s civilization as a whole.

Masters have a number of Emblems they can earn to signal different paths of specialization. Some opt to develop new techniques or research further into the essence of their Attunement, working with Lunar-Certified Wanderers in deepening public knowledge of their element. Some dedicate themselves to becoming Wildrunners, those who can withstand the harsh expeditions into the Humming Wilds. Many devote their efforts to the next generation of Ae Lugh, becoming overseers and teachers for the lower ranks.

Council of Grandmasters

The most widely recognized branch of the overarching government of the archipelago, and the highest order within the Ae Lugh, is the Council of Grandmasters. They consist of a scarce few members, chosen by acquisition of what they call a “divine art“. Divine arts are powerful techniques that are either incredibly difficult to learn and use in the first place or too dangerous to allow the public to learn.

The Council does not do much in the way of direct action, instead using their authority to delegate and run the world. The sole exception to this is the newest Grandmaster, Sword Havenfeller, who takes on almost as many missions as the average Ae Lugh Master. Most announced missions that aren't the result of local intelligence networks placing bounties or requesting resource aid on the citizens' behalf are written up or announced by the Council themselves.

The divine arts of the Grandmasters are largely unknown, besides the criteria they met to ascend in the first place. Sword, being the most active Grandmaster, has displayed a seemingly absolute severance technique. It is known to be both nigh-unattainable and extremely dangerous knowledge. Investigation into the divine arts, especially those known to be sensitive information, is forbidden under charge of treason.

The Council is privy to several teams of informants and monitors, which they use to write up jobs and missions. Capture requests, expeditions, and interloping island neutralizations are all managed by the Council.

Missions

These are the activities that the Ae Lugh complete for money. Because of the small-scale civilization and high density of Ae Lugh, these don’t always provide enough income for an individual’s needs or wants. Many Ae Lugh have secondary jobs, though frugal individuals can live off of the passive income afforded to Ae Lugh warriors of any rank above Wanderer.

Missions can be defined as single-objective or domestic jobs. They have many different varieties, though some are more common than others. "Interloper island neutralizations" are the type of mission regarding rogue landmasses coming towards the Great Beast Archipelago from the Humming Wilds, which often carry Darkshine flora and wild, aggressive animals. In recent decades, the Archipelago has been drifting through a rather dangerous region of the Evervoid, and these missions are a lot more dangerous than they have been in the past.

Capture missions are usually delegated out to Travellers, and are the most common type of mission. They regard the capture of a designated individual or group, usually alive but sometimes unspecified. It is in essence the work of law enforcement pursuing wanted criminals. While Khyth Vaaxa is generally peaceful, there is enough of a population for crime to be an issue, and it falls onto the Ae Lugh to prevent them from running rampant.

Wild exploration missions are only able to be taken on by Wildrunner Masters, as they are extremely dangerous and often fatal. They regard the exploration and scouting of the Humming Wilds beyond the Archipelago, often either for surveying potential future threats to civilization or for acquiring resources. Nascenium mining is a common task for Wildrunners, given how much of the Archipelago's supply has been depleted through its history. These missions are only permitted two days' time usually, as three days in the presence of Darkshine is enough to render any toxelugh eternally non-sapient.