Orcwatch keep
Orcwatch Keep was a monastery built by dwarves during the orc wars of the 10th century, but abandoned and taken over by the order of the mark in the 11th century. The order was home to the "unwanted" knights of Sydonia, composed largely of half-breeds, plane-touched and those of either celestial or fiendish ancestry. They even accepted women into their ranks. The order maintained a constant vigil over the badlands, battling orcish warbands as they ventured into Sydonia and the north and keeping the undead at bay.
From the keep, the order planned excursions, trained and rested between sorties. They maintained a rotation of companies deploying to "The Gray" (as they called the Badlands). While not deployed, knights of the mark would train and study ancient texts from the Great Library (with many tomes on loan from the arcanatorium in Dragonwatch). The maintenance of Orcwatch Keep was considered the responsibility of all members, who did their own cooking and cleaning as well as maintaining the masonry and aging timbers of the aging monastery. The order maintained a monastic lifestyle.
The order was broken up into several "cohorts"
Scribes: Largely made up of wizards who would otherwise have joined the War Wizards' College. At least one scribe accompanies each deployment, while the rest maintain the records and lore in the library.
Chaplains: Clerics of good-aligned gods act as the religious center of the order. They accompany deployments as healers and maintain the chapel and shrines of the keep.
Scouts: Those whose talents lay in tracking, staying hidden and attacking from the shadows joined the scouts. Rogues and rangers were most welcome here. While not on deployment, the scouts hunted to keep the order's larders well stocked.
Legates: Paladins and other warriors who fought at the forefront against the orcs. The legates were the de-facto lieutenants of each deployment, responsible for maintaining order within the ranks and making strategic decisions. While not on deployment, the Legates were responsible for training recruits and maintaining the training regimen of the order.
Notable members:
Dorn, an aasimar Paladin of Tiw and former Grand Master who traveled to Arlenport to study the companion and was whisked away to hell along with it. He returned 2 years later accompanied by (and a member of) the hellraisers. Dorn helped slay an orc lich in the badlands in the 13th century and later rebuilt the order with the land and titles granted to him for the deed.
Pyros, a fire genasi Chaplain from lands beyond the badlands known for her spicy cooking and affinity for burning undead to a crisp in divine flames. Rumored to be the daughter of one of the famed Planeswalkers.
Red, a large tiefling fighter who famously rode an ogre zombie into a horde of ghouls and wielded a massive flametongue greatsword he called "father."
Pyros and Red, along with a company of knights, slew the dracolich Boraksaghegirak to allow Dorn and the surviving hellraisers to enter the lich's fortress.
Leader: Grand Master Waemar Brigman (paladin of Thunnor)
Members: 500 (at its height), now reduced to roughly 100
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