Theochrone Inquisitor

Prompt 8 of WA SummerCamp 2020: Write about a rank or title that represents order in your world.

-"Madam, may I see your children, please?"
The Inquisitor just stood in the doorway as the rain poured on her hood. Her face unrecognizable, as if justice itself talked through her words. It had been unnerving the first time she met one, and now it was no different. Leza raised her voice:
-"The children are with their father this weekend. You might as well go to his house and ruin his night for me."
-"I'm nobody to question your relationship choices or your trustworthiness, but I'll have to check for myself, standard procedure."
-"It would be my pleasure" -- Leza answered with a forced smile.
The languid figure took her shoes and her coat off on the entrance. While Leza had always thought of Inquisitors as grim, the visitor's face took her by surprise. She had never seen someone as beautiful as her, even with a simple and old eyepatch covering her left eye.
-"Very well, Ms. Kanulthrea, have you seen anything weird as of late?"
-"Ah? Oh, oh ... no, nothing that I know of. Although, recently our neighbor jumped from his window. It was a terrible tragedy."
-"I see, any chance they were a glassworker?"
-"Actually, I think his daughter was. She gladly offered to fix our lampposts on the entrance."
-"Just as I thought." -- the Inquisitor smirked. Leza knew she wasn't guilty of anything, but she still fell the coldest chill down her back. -- "Would you kindly stop here for a second?"

She grabbed Leza right as her feet stepped in front of the mirror in the hall, but Leza couldn't look at her reflection, she was still obsessed with the Inquisitors' face. Her body was really close and Leza couldn't help but feel all flustered. Suddenly, in one sudden motion, the agent turned away, lifted her eyepatch, and pulled a pistol from her belt, firing one single shot directly behind Leza's head.
Leza's breath paralyzed for a second as the smell of the incense smoke brought her back to reality. She turned to discover something on the ground. A black mass of goo, twitching, and suffering, slowly melting away only to reveal the shine of the bullet. That had been there for way too long, and she knew it. The thought of having an Inquisitor near wasn't suddenly so terrible.

As The Redeemers ensure that everything follows its course, it's only natural that their enemies push in the opposite direction. A Theochrone Inquisitor is the eye, the heart and the arm of the gods when they can't protect the citizens of Barenae from the many evils that religions might bring with themselves. It's at the core of any good Inquisitors' code to look for the remnants of cults and neutralize the menace they might suppose.

Qualifications

An electable Inquisitor has to have solid proof and a written thesis about the existence of (at least) one Major or Minor Ailan, their deeds in the history of Barenae, and the nature of their followers, if any. This thesis has to be about one Ailan no other Inquisitor has documented before and is used to determine if the existence of said Ailan is harmful to Barenae or not. The thesis is presented before a jury three veteran Inquisitors and one high member of the Redeemer's Church of the appropriate section.

In addition, once elected, an Inquisitor spends a period of one year training many skills, to prepare them for all sides of the job, be it physical, spiritual or social.

Requirements

An Inquisitor needs to serve in the Damned Theochrones at least 5 to 10 years before being electable for a promotion. Although this restriction has often been ignored, many Inquisitors have devoted many years even before obtaining their red link.

Appointment

The ceremony takes place once the training period is complete. The Inquisitor spends the whole afternoon alone in a chapel, left to pronounce their orations, and reflect on their decisions. Once the Redeemer signals the start of a new day, they leave the chapel and take a knee on the stairs to the altar of any religious building they might be in. There, their instructor (normally an older Inquisitor, specially dedicated to teaching) breaks a red chain, as a signal of the defeating of all spiritual evils. A single red link is then welded into one of the shoulder pads of the Inquisitor uniform.

Duties

As I'm breathless on the ground,
as I'm betrayed by gods and my faith quivers,
as defeat pulls my heart out of my chest,
as long as that which lurks in the darkness thrives,
as long as there's someone that falls prey to the shadows,
as long as the order is threatened,
as long as time & space crumble and collide,
Rest is not meant for my soul,
I must live to be redeemed once more,
I must banish evil from this land.

-Inquisitor Oath

Responsibilities

As an Inquisitor, an individual has to follow any leads by the Theochrones on cults and religious organizations that might result harmful to others or to Barenae as a whole. This can range from complex raids against pagan celebrations to questioning and interrogation of suspicious individuals. This also includes the interception of enemies of holy or spiritual nature that slip through the Continuum or come through a portal.

Killing Ailans can also be within the obligations of an Inquisitor given the proper circumstances, but the complexity and difficulty of this duty is usually relegated to a Godkiller or a Grand Inquisitor.

Benefits

While an Inquisitor is supposed to live an austere life, they are allowed to have relationships and that which they consider necessary for living. As a benefit, an Inquisitor is normally respected between most communities and these might offer free food or lodging to the Inquisitor if they're working.

Accoutrements & Equipment

As long as the Inquisitor keeps their blessed shoulder pads with the red link welded into them visible at all times, their clothes are their choice. However, many Inquisitors choose to dress formally in order to cause an impression of respect and sometimes, fear.

The uniform is also highly influenced by the combat style of the Inquisitor: while some that wear more nimble clothes are expert gunslingers or swordfighters, others are known to go into battle in full armor and tackle evil with brute strength.

Grounds for Removal/Dismissal

An Inquisitor is automatically suspended from service if they're actively harmful to anyone that is not perceived to be a heretic. Removal from the order comes from the murder of any person not linked to any evil Ailan or if there's proof that the Inquisitor serves an evil Ailan.

Cultural Significance

An Inquisitor is seen as a sign of possible trouble, even when those who don't have anything to fear still welcome them with open arms. These people know that something around them is wrong, and in turn, fear the Inquisitor as a representative of change.

Popular culture sees Inquisitors as much more lawful and strict that some of the newer and more reckless holders of the charge might be, always acting cold and calculating, as the unbreakable fist at the end of the strong arm that are the Damned Theochrones.

As a Reminder

An Ailan is a term meant to classify holy beings of great power, comparable to gods. A major Ailan fits this description best, being the representative of various ideas, while a minor Ailan embodies a demigod or a spirit of a minor, but still significative capacity.

Type

Religious, Military

Creation

The first Inquisitor was documented alongside the Damned Theochrones order around 1200 D.R

Form of Address

Agent, Master

Alternative Naming

Desno Link (Official), Damned Inquisidiots (Criminals and Evildoers)

Equates to

An Inquisitor might equate a Private Investigator or a Detective, able to work on their own cases and to receive help from people on the lower scales of their respective organizations. However, this independence is far greater on an Inquisitor, which also has some legal benefits and can receive help from governmental departments when necessary.

Source of Authority

The Redeemers

Length of Term

Lifetime