Ordo Emelia

I am a child of Emelia. I am a student of Kutydis. I am the enemy of Pestis, Harbinger of Decay, and I will never cease to fight her. To protect the healthy. To heal the ill. To cleanse the corrupted. This is my duty. This is my fate. From now on until the end of days.

— Oath of the Ordo Emelia

Plague has been a companion of humanity since its earliest days. From minor nuisance to grim reminder of our mortality, disease shapes the existence of humans, in ways few forces can. But if there is one thing one can say about humans, its that they like to fight. Themselves, beasts, gods and whatever else might have looked at them the wrong way.
And so there are those that have taken up the fight against mankind's ancient spectre. Most famous or infamous, depending on who you ask, the Ordo Emelia.

Born among the Fires of War

by Chris Ostrowski

Its origins lie within one of the most devastating wars to ever be waged on Vardanian soil. Known as the Divine Sundering, the Feran rebellion, driven by a mix of religious fanaticism and hatred for Vardanians, tore the continent apart. In its wake, disease spread like wildfire and only the commitment of the armies medicae units prevented an all-out disaster. Chief among them Emelia Junia, who was awarded the title of Archea Medicana, for her service. Using her newly gained influence, she began to build a corp solely dedicated to matters of medicine.
Over the years, this new corp only gained influence and fame, doing much to contain the third outbreak of the Valerian Plague in 2767 DA. The organization began to increasingly separate itself from the army, opening hospices and archives across Vardania. No longer part of another organization, the corp survived the fall of the Third and Fourth Hegemonies and even established itself outside of Vardania. Renamed to Ordo Emelia, in honour of their founder, in 3012 DA, the organization has become famous for its interventions in crisis areas. Best known among these the large scale rescue operations, following the Brightflame Hour in 3100 and the containment of the Interran Outbreak in 3301.

Fanatical Doctors

by Gabriel Tanko

Today, the order operates a vast array of hospices, archives and other institutions across Vardania, Interra and Anidara. A few smaller sub-organizations exist in the largest cities of Scetia as well. It is not bound by any national entity but operates under a series of contracts. These differ from country to country and regulate the amount of influence the order has.
Operations on such a scale are costly of course and so the order has taken a multi-pronged approach to finance itself. They produce and sell medicine and medical equipment, take donations, charge for their operations and even work as mercenaries of a kind, serving as medical units for foreign armies.
How many members there are exactly, is not common knowledge. The order remains rather secretive, regarding its inner workings. A basic distinction can be made between active and passive members. Passive are considered those that administer the order's various possessions and businesses. Active members put their own livelihoods on the line, based on the three aspects of the order.

Religious Fervor

Over the years, the Ordo Emelia developed an increasingly religious connotation. It is unlikely that this is based on Emelia's own views, as she was noted to have a heavy disdain for religion, after witnessing the devastating Sundering. In its own form of religious doctrine, disease and its avatar, Pestis, Harbinger of Decay, are the eternal enemy, to be fought at every turn and to be eradicated from existence.

Scientific Curiosity

One would be foolish to simply reduce the order to a group of religious zealots, however. Large part of its concept is still the pursuit of science and how to combat disease effectively. For this purpose, the order operates a variety of institutions, sometimes in cooperation with the great archives of the world and sometimes on its own. Rumours that it experiments on living humans are widespread.

Martial Ability

The order never forgot its martial origins. To this day, its medicae follow the same principle as the medicae of the Vardanian armies, fight and heal. Every field medicae is a trained fighter, more than able to defend themselves from regular soldiers and bandits. Special emphasis is put on the protection of individuals under their care. This is direly needed, as field hospices are often the target of marauding soldiers.

The order is divided into chapters, each administering a region. All of them are subservient to the Ring of Thirty, a council made up of the most experienced and earned members of the order. Should the outbreak of plague be noticed by the orders vast network of agents, a small scout troop will be dispatched. Once the scale and severity are confirmed, appropriate measures are taken. Usually small groups, but in extreme cases, even entire chapters are dispatched. With military precision and acumen, the threat will then be contained and fought. How exactly this is done can vary from occasion to occasion.
Now, one might ask as to why the order has its infamous reputation, the rumour of human experiments aside. This is due to a certain policy. Should the disease turn out to be extremely dangerous and incurable, the order will conduct what it calls a Cleansing. Every human, animal and building in the affected area will be burned as a result.

You might call our methods extreme, but to vanquish the eternal enemy, one must use all available tools. No matter how cruel they may seem. If we have to make sacrifices for the good of all of humanity, so be it.

— Eugenius Heleris, Member of the Council of Thirty

Type

Medical

Founding

2712 DA

Overall training Level

Professional

Used by

• Tarquinnian Hegemony

by Francis Goeltner

Emelia Junia
Emelia Junia, the healing maiden, perhaps the most famous medicae of all time. Merely one of many field medicae caught in the catastrophe that was the Divine Sundering, she soon gained fame for her steadfast battle against death of any kind. Countless times she had been seen, running onto the battlefield to save some wounded soldier. No matter how hopeless a case seemed, she never wavered, often working weeks without sleep.
Today, the order worships her as a holy figure, a development Emelia would have frowned upon. Living through the insanity that was the Sundering, she was known to fiercely detest religion after all.
Medicae - Angels on the Battlefield
Since the middle of the 2nd millennium DA, the armies of Vardanian nations fielded small groups of specialized soldiers. Medicae (from Old Rhomeion = Healers) trained to be able to be somewhat capable fighters, used to prevent unnecessary casualties.
Similar to the engineer corps and secret service, the medicae are also frequently made up of both men and women. While technically not part of the main army, members of these groups can, and have, reached some of the highest positions in the military hierarchy.
The Cleansing of Maradur
Most infamous of the over four dozen known cleansing operations was without a doubt the case of Maradur. The small city, located in northern Interra, suffered a severe plague outbreak in 3009 DA. What exactly happened after the order arrived is not known. Fact is that they completely burned the city, including its 10,000 inhabitants, a week later. The entire region was placed under lockdown after and remained so for over a decade.

by Oleg Kapustin