Heaven's Alliance
Heaven’s Alliance, or sometimes shortened to HA, a relatively new organization, only coming into existence around 20 years ago, created for the sole purpose of ridding the world of Iraeidin. Within the organization all factors between one another are rendered null, from race to beliefs and region of origin, all that exists to differentiate those within Heaven’s Alliance is skill and experience for that is all that is valued. While little is known about the organization, to the common people it is known that within Heaven’s Alliance there are 15 leaders known as Hall masters, each Hall masters is in charge of a certain department and function of Heaven’s Department.
History
Originally Heaven's Alliance was created 21 years ago as an organization for spirit contractors to come together and help one another in the fight against Iraeidin however, over time it has evolved far beyond that including many other types of fighters with even some Irae Mages amongst them. Other than contractors themselves, as time progressed HA had begun to plan for the recruitment and training of new contractors, as the road to understanding and using the powers of a spirit are arduous to say the least, in this effort they recruited all sorts of individuals from blacksmiths to alchemists to researchers with deep knowledge on spirits to assist newer generations.
Territory
Something unique about Heaven's Alliance is its various relationships with various nations, especially city states and small nations. Most of these do not have sufficient military power to defend themselves against Iraeidin, as such, they form a pact with HA, where they will deliver resources and occasional personnel to HA, in exchange for HA agents to defend themselves. Additionally, through this pact, HA also receives the information of ongoing events in and around the nation/city-state, because of these factors some nations consider HA a federation of sorts due to how operates with the nations/city-states near it. Thus, a large portion of the territory in the center of the Mainlands is ostensibly referred to as Heaven's Alliance's territory.
Hall Masters
There are 15 hall masters, however, the halls of Heaven's Alliance are split into 3 categories : the Peacekeeping Halls which are primarily management and keeping the city HA resides in safe. The War Halls focus on combat against Iraeidin alongside specialized halls for individuals who are better suited for tasks such as scouting. Lastly there are the Eclectic halls which are niche but important halls for HA which fall into neither previous categories. Becoming a hall master within Heaven's Alliance differs depending on the hall in question, however, for every new hall master, a majority of the other hall master must first approve of the individual before they can be fully instated as a hall master. Due to this, some of the hall masters are extraordinarily powerful individuals, while others are just regular people who may highly knowledgeable in the field their hall specializes in. The hall masters within heaven's alliance have control over each of their relative fields in relation to the organization as a whole, however, for complex matters it will often be discussed and voted upon by all the hall masters.
Peacekeeping Halls
Halls whose primary purpose is the goal to keep Heaven's Alliance a safe and comfortable place for agents to return to once they finish grueling combat or difficult tasks.
Ascendancy Hall
This hall is in charge of Agents seeking to rank up whether it is a simple sub-rank or a whole new letter rank. A majority of those from the Ascendancy hall are formerly from various War Halls, as veterans of combat know best the qualities required by agents desiring to rank up. Newer agents within Heaven's Alliance are often recommended to seek advice from those within this hall, as most veterans have likely experienced every trouble a newer agent could be suffering from.
Drawing from the military culture of Zavrisians from the Joint hall, in recent years the Ascendancy hall has begun creating as distributing medals of service bearing the HA symbol to all the veterans of HA. These medals correlate to at least 10 years of service to HA, with an additional medal being given every 5 years. While veterans can be found all across the different halls, they are most commonly found within the Ascendancy hall
Of the three original founders, only one has survived till today, that survivor is Torben, a earth contractor (specifically metal). Torben has an unbreakable tenacity that has allowed him to survive all forms of horrific battles and scenarios that would have killed any normal man hundreds of times over, however, while he has survived, his body is covered head to toes in scars from decades of battle.
Resource Hall
Between the extensive blacksmithing commissions of the various halls, and the constant construction and re-building across the city, Heaven's Alliance has a material demand equivalent to that of an established nation's capital. It is the resource hall that does the grueling task of importing or outright directly obtaining the materials required by HA, a process which requires dozens of convoys of carriages to and from the city. Additionally, they do not just have to handle the acquisition and transport of these materials, but also the defense of them on the way to HA, as there are all types of monsters, Irae, or villains who would eagerly cut down a convoy, a single one of which, could cripple a key hall of HA. As such, it is of utmost imperative to those within the Resource hall, that the protection of the convoy comes first and foremost, to this extent it is common to employ agents from other halls or at times even mercenaries from outside HA. All of the efforts of the hall is for the goal of keeping HA running smoothly to better defend the world against the threat of Iraeidins.
A Zavrisian merchant who specialized in porting all forms of materials from wood to the highest grade ores, that is who Klein is. Before joining HA Klein had single handedly built their own miniature merchant's guild, but with his success he also gained the ire of other merchants. These merchants thus conducted several raids killing almost everyone who worked for Klein, together with a few of his most trusted comrades in a desperate attempt to live Klein sought refuge in HA, where they let him stay despite knowing the danger. This is a story that everyone within the Resource hall is well aware of, as it is said that due to this event he has always felt as if he had an unpayable debt towards HA. As such, he is not afraid to spend any amount of Dreons to destroy any who dare to assault or meddle with his convoys to obtain resources for HA. With time, he naturally began to lead those within the hall, and the previous Hall master passed on the title to Klein a few years ago.
Benevolence Hall
As a result of Iraeidin appearing all over the continent, there are many secluded villages who are ravaged by these monsters with no hope for recovery, the Benevolence hall was initially created to mitigate this factor. Unlike cities or towns which often have measures to at least hold off any Iraeidin until reinforcements arrive, most villages have no such thing, making it so that any survivors, if there are any, will have no home and no way to rebuild. The Benevolence hall actively seeks out villages and survivors to either re-locate them, or to provide supplies so that they may rebuild their village. Unfortunately, as the resources of HA is not unlimited, the efforts of the Benevolence hall is limited to HA's "territory".
Agents of the Benevolence hall wear a silver badge with the symbol of a tree, upon arrival to help a village, at least one agent will give their badge to the group of survivors, with the information that if they bring this to the gates of HA, they will be able to receive ready made supplies or temporary refuge.
The hall master of the Benevolence hall is Xellen, a spiritfolk who even before joining HA had dedicated his life to helping the unfortunate. Perhaps the reason behind this decision is that the sacrifice for his spirit is he must be actively protecting one far weaker than himself. Xellen himself does not care to dispute such claims and instead focuses on compiling various reports from the Scout hall to figure out which Iraeidins that have yet to be dealt with are most likely to come across a village.
Administration Hall
The Administration hall is the largest hall as it is effectively the hall that runs the city. As such, the administration hall is also in charge of various matters including handling funds and organizing supplies for all the other halls. Because the Administration hall handles a large amount of relatively mundane tasks, within their ranks are a large amount of agents who are otherwise regular individuals without notable qualities, as the talents of mages and contractors are wasted on paperwork. Another important task within the Administration hall is the inspection of individuals who enter HA alongside a background check should the individual wish to live within HA. While not extremely common, in certain cases HA will allow certain skilled individuals to live within the primary city should it be beneficial in some notable fashion. Often this comes in the form of blacksmiths, alchemists, or individuals who want to create a certain business which will profit both themselves and Heaven's Alliance. Should a task be required of these individuals, it is the duty of the Administration hall to inform them, alongside delivering any requisite materials.
A majority of those within the Administration hall wear a suit in order to express the formal nature of the matters and tasks they are entrusted with. While it is not impossible to see those outside this hall wearing a suit, especially those of Stisedan origin, when one sees an individual wearing a suit, they will assume them to be from the Administration hall.
The hall is currently lead by Kaduin Estrans, a man who once stood as a Xiarch of Neorell within Stisedo. Some within the hall question if his previous title was just a lie, as they cannot imagine an individual who would give up the monumental wealth and power that comes with being a Xiarch of Stisedo. If Kaduin's own word is to be believed, "After decades of service to improve Stisedo, nothing had changed, so I decided to join an organization that had yet to be steeped in corruption and greed".
Development Hall
The development hall is quite simple and self explanatory, those within it focus on the construction of buildings or necessary endeavors throughout all of Heaven's Alliance. Those from the development hall are often quite stressed as they are always in a constant need for Dreons to either repair or begin construction. The development hall will often attempt to scout earth spirit contractors as they can often speed up construction tremendously.
Those from the Development hall can be easily identified by the large bags their eyes and a thousand yard stare of wondering what life would be like if they ever got a vacation.
The Hall master Pathiel Sevras was once a Stisedan noble who treats regular people like peasants for daring to make eye contact with him. In current day however, Pathiel will easily kneel to any "peasant" who just so happens to have a contract with an earth spirit in order to make his, and everyone else in the development hall's life easier. Additionally, anytime free time he has is usually spent hunting down Kaduin in order to demand (aka beg) for a higher budget for the development hall.
Envoy Hall
In simple terms this hall focuses on the diplomatic relations of Heaven's alliance, as while HA is not its own nation, it is sometimes treated as such due to the power and influence it holds, garnering a mixture of caution and respect by other nations. Within the Envoy hall are those educated on the etiquette and culture of various nations in order to smoothly handle any diplomatically tense situation that may occur. A somewhat common example of the use of an envoy from the Envoy hall is when a dangerous Iraeidin appears within a nation, it should be dealt with immediately, but certain nations (especially Stisedo) are wary of allowing any from Heaven's Alliance within their territory. This causes an envoy to be dispatched and attempt to convince, or if need be, negotiate with the nation's leader(s) to allow agents from Heaven's Alliance to exterminate the Iraeidin.
The attire of the envoy hall changes often, as they will wear the attire most suiting to the nation and sometimes even the individual. The purpose of this is to lower the potential hostility of the high ranking entity that they may be meeting, as a Stisedan noble is more likely to be receptive to an Envoy diplomat in a dress, compared to Zavrisian armor, or Kelazhurian robes.
The hall master Laelya has an unknown spirit and abilities, all that is know about her powers is that it is a large factor towards her position as hall master. While Laelya is known to be kind and helpful, she is also extremely professional for just about any interaction.
War Halls
Halls whose explicit purpose lies within combat and fighting in a majority of their tasks and/or missions. Almost every agent within these halls are combat capable individuals. These halls are often referred to as the "War" halls as they consist of the primaries forces who lead effort in the war against the Iraeidin.
Extermination Hall
A combat hall which houses a majority of the combat squads within HA, those within this hall are explicitly taught key details about recognizing signs noting that an Iraeidin has been through an area, alongside how to best combat one. This hall is the second most numerous hall right behind the Administration hall, as it has warriors recruited all across the world who are willing to defend the world from the Irae threat. High rankers within the combat hall make up a majority of the military power of Heaven's Alliance and is the reason most nations don't provoke HA.
Due to the eccentric nature of the hall master of the Extermination hall, most within it are required to wear a cape with the HA symbol embroidered on the back. In some rare cases for individuals the hall master has gotten a liking towards, he would imbue his magic within the cape, allowing a one time use of powerful "defensive" magic... in the form of a large explosion, which does not harm the wearer.
The closest thing the Extermination hall master has gotten to a compliment is being called a gambling addicted waste of space. Maru is an eccentric individual whose inability to resist gambling is only tempered by his amazing fighting expertise and an intriguing ability to befriend almost any individual he meets... just before begging them for Dreons to continue his addiction. While many other hall masters are quick to insult Maru, they cannot deny his skill alongside just how frequently he seems to "know a guy".
Spirit Hall
This hall is close to that of an education hall but with a purpose much more closely linked to combat, which is the usage of a spirit's power for the sake of combat or assisting combat. There are many experienced spirit contractors and knowledgeable individuals within this hall to provide a varied knowledge and experience of different spirit elements and their unique usages. Some agents of HA join this hall in order to help with certain tasks that require a specialized spirit contractor. These tasks could include jobs such as sending a earth contractor to slightly change the terrain of an area to make it more suitable for a defending a particular village which may soon be attacked by an Iraeidin. Alternatively, it could be more direct, with requesting a fire contractor to an area where an Iraeidin is hiding, and using controlled mass fires to smoke them out. However, there are times when it is simple tasks to help other halls, for instance a water contractor that would be sent to an area experiencing a drought, which would be assisting the Benevolence hall. One of the most important matters handled by the Spirit hall is the healing and care of other injured agents, as any light spirit contractors capable of healing will often be sent to work for the spirit hall and help prevent critical injuries from returning agents.
To those trained in Irae sensing they would quickly note the lack of Irae energy in any of those within this hall, as the presence of a spirit within a contractor erases any of the Irae energy within their body. However, even without a trained Irae sense, one could make note by a half shoulder cape on the right shoulder, with the primary color of the cape representative of the element their spirit has.
Mazaii is the newest of the current line of Hall masters, being promoted for her extreme precision with her spirit magic. However, before Mazaii, the hall master position was empty for quite a while, while Mazaii had been nominated a full year before her eventual promotion, it was initially denied due to seemingly having no background whatsoever. Additionally, many within HA avoid Mazaii as her chaosborn mutation is disturbing to most, as such, after her promotion to hall master she began to wear a large cloak to conceal her mutation.
Joint Hall
This hall is unique in that most of the agents within this hall are not agents of Heaven's Alliance at all, rather they are soldiers or agents sent from other nations as a show of friendship or to simply assist in keeping the Mainlands safe. The most notable members of the joint hall are Zavrisian knights, sent due to the strong relationship between Zaveron and HA. Most agents of the joint hall often operate by themselves or in squads with other joint hall agents of similar origin, this is due to certain nations such as Zaveron having an extremely different military culture, that could cause dangerous conflicts in the heat of battle.
Those who join this hall are given a medal with a symbol of clasped arms upon joining, part of the reason for this is to thank them for their help despite allegiance to another nation or faction. The other reason is that its an easy way to inform others that the individual is a newcomer, and beyond that, potentially foreign to many of the concepts or rules within the city. However, a small minority of those within HA use this as signifier of an individual as an outsider, and thus discriminate against the individual because of it, to the grand majority this is seen as reprehensible behavior, unless they are Stisedan.
Alsin Dawkin, a little over a decade ago he was a well renowned rook class knight within Zaveron, but now he is the Hall master of the joint hall. Originally, when Alsin joined Heaven's Alliance, it was before they had formed an alliance with Zaveron, as such, his leave was seen as desertion at the time, he had joined because he believed that HA was in dire need of more forces in order to bring peace to the continent. While the event still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of some within Zaveron, most now believe Alsin did the right thing, as after the alliance was formed he was pardoned. With the completion of the alliance, Zaveron began to send a large amount of knights. Following this, Alsin created the Joint hall with the unanimous approval of all the other Hall masters at the time.
Scout Hall
Within the combat halls of HA the Scout hall is often looked down upon as their agents never intentionally engage in any form of combat, instead they are used to find the approximate location of an Iraeidin and attempt to rank it (see Ranking below). Many of the agents within the scout hall are both incredibly agile alongside having a highly developed Irae sensing ability, this allows them to often conduct their duties at extreme distances from their target and escape should the Iraeidin notice them. Lastly, it is rumored by some that HA additionally uses the scout hall as spies for other nations, although this is disregarded by all but the most paranoid.
The Scout hall lacks any real notable apparel for which one could easily discern their identity, primarily as their hall master has a blatant disregard for decorations. The closest one could get to inferring one could be a Scout hall agent is by a minimalistic appearance with only tools or supplies visible on their person.
The current Hall master of the scout hall is Intecris, it is rumored by some that he used by a dangerous assassin that operated within Stisedo, while others say he was a noble of a secretive family of spies. Regardless of the truth, Intecris is currently one of the hardest working hall masters within Stisedo, as proven by how he has reached his rank with a minor wind spirit. Such a feat is not a common one, as it is relatively common knowledge within HA that the lower rank the spirit, the lower the ceiling for skill, power, and overall magic. Intecris has helped shatter this preconceptions as he continues to excel not just as a scout but when needed also as a combatant.
Vigil Hall
This hall is one that is rarely used or even spoken about, as its primary purpose is to hunt down and kill corrupted contractors and renegade Heaven's Alliance agents. All those who know of this hall are likely accompanied by a story befitting it, perhaps a squad mate who decided to sell out the rest for some quick cash, or a previously respected agent who tried to kill them. Regardless of the story, each experience had lead these individuals to the conclusion that the Vigil hall is a necessary existence. The hall master of the Vigil hall has the special task to directly watches over the decisions of other hall masters, this is to ensure that hall masters themselves don't do anything corrupt or step out of line with the powers they are given as hall master.
Both a signifying appearance of agents of the hall and the hall master of the Vigil hall is unknown even to those who know of its existence.
Eclectic Halls
Some Halls have a purpose which falls neither within "Peacekeeping" nor "War" halls, as such, they are lumped together as "Eclectic" Halls. These Halls are often far more niche than the other two categories, nonetheless, they are still often incredibly important.
Education Hall
This hall primarily focuses on teaching new agents how they should act as members of Heaven's Alliance, while HA is relatively loose on what its agents can do, there are still certain rules, regulations, and etiquette, so that they do not endanger themselves or HA as a whole while journeying outside of HA. For all intents and purposes, the hall is in charge of making sure agents can survive as part of Heaven's Alliance, this includes skills such as Irae sensing Additionally, the agent regimen informs new agents about information such as how to increase their rank, where to accept missions, or answer general questions about HA.
As those from this hall are inherently newcomers to Heaven's Alliance they are given a uniform so that others know to deny them access from certain areas that may be dangerous to the inexperienced. However, something these new agents are often unaware of, is that these uniforms are slightly magical are made with the express purpose of alerting the professors if one of them tries to leave HA. The purpose behind this is that while Agents are relatively free to leave HA whenever they like, one exception is when one first joins HA, as they are required to learn the minimum information in order to properly defend themselves, so that they do not die an unfortunate death outside the safety of HA.
The hall master of the education hall is a light spiritfolk with the unique ability to inherently understand the emotions of those she talks to this has made Aria an exceptional professor within the hall as she can tell if her students understand what she is trying to teach. Otherwise not much else is known about Aria, she seems to be heavily invested into her job and allegedly spends all of her free time either trying to connect with certain students or learning different information that she may want to incorporate into her teachings.
History Hall
The entire reason for the existence for this hall was due to an event early on during the creation of Heaven's Alliance. This event was essentially the founding members, of which were from all parts of the world, realizing that no part of the world is truly free from bias or propaganda. In response to this realization, they decided to create a library which would create books describing history in an unbiased fashion. They would seek to achieve this Initially by recruiting historians and scholars from every major nation, the founders then compiled the collective knowledge of these individuals and used it as a basis to formulate the closest any person could get to the truth of the history of the Mainlands. Following in the footsteps set by the founders, most within these halls collect information from several sources for any matter, before adding it to a book, or general storage of information. Unlike a normal library, the library which also serves as the base for the History hall, has floors of book that are restricted. The first floor has books that any individual, even guests temporarily visiting, can read. The second floor can only be accessed by agents of HA, as this often contains about specific existences within particular nations that agents should be wary of. The third floor contains highly confidential books and information, such as information on the now destroyed empire, which at one point Zaveron had used all its might to make sure no information would survive, this information can only be accessed by high ranking agents or Hall masters. This hall is said to have more collective knowledge about history than any singular nation within the Mainlands, a detail which vexes a number of Stisedans, sometimes even ones within HA.
Due to the the inherent duty of those within the History hall, Heaven's Alliance often commissions blacksmiths to make a custom lightweight leather book case. This allows those within the hall to carry a multitude of books and journals in a case that can protect them from the elements, it also serves as an easy way to identify those within the hall.
The hall master Shinzaki Sanase, was a Kelazhurian scholar and water contractor, who initially joined Heaven's Alliance out of curiosity. Before Shinzaki became the hall master she rose through the ranks and initially joined the Spirit hall, she quickly left after a year, before joining another hall. She would repeatedly join and leave several halls until eventually joining the History hall, where she would end up staying and contributing to such a significant degree that she was the first choice when the previous hall master died of old age.
Analysis Hall
This hall heads most of the independent research done within the Heaven's Alliance towards the existence of Iraeidin and Irae energy as a whole. The Analysis hall has possibly the largest amount of funding throughout all the halls, a large reason for this is essentially buying out researchers from Stisedo who are angered from their achievements being stolen by their superiors. Additionally, the Analysis hall is in charge of storing and protecting all Irae Orbs, which are brought back by agents of the Extermination hall after defeating an Iraeidin. The focus on this Hall in terms of funding is largely due to the belief that by knowing more about Irae energy, and how it creates Iraeidin, they would be able to potentially find a way to prevent them from existing in the future.
Due to the nature of the experiments conducted within the hall, a byproduct of poisonous Irea powered mist fills the inside of the structures within the hall. Because of this, members within the hall often wear masks that cover the mouth and nose. This is a special recent tool from Vuttera that prevents one from inhaling Irae mist similar to that from the Cursed Wastes.
While not necessarily the most powerful individual, Drazon is indisputably the most dangerous person throughout all of Heaven's Alliance. So much so, that as per a decree several years ago, Drazon is not allowed to leave HA or participate in combat for any reason, with the exception of the Analysis hall being attacked. It is rumored that Drazon is being actively hunted by several high ranking figures all throughout Stisedo, the reason is unknown but if questioned he will scoff before explaining that Stisedo was not ready for his ideas.
Nomad Hall
This hall is how HA receives a majority of its members, veterans of all ways of life who explore the entire world to find individuals willing to help save it. The hall received its name due to many of the agents within this hall roaming akin to nomads for years on end, few return to HA excluding personal reasons, even after decades of searching. Only agents who are already seasoned members of HA are allowed to join this hall, as it carries with it a heavy, and often lonely, responsibility. Additionally, those who are about to depart on their journey are given as many spare supplies as Heaven's Alliance can offer, to hopefully make the start of their journey easier.
Nomads seen across the world can be identified by a special scarf they wear embroidered with the pattern of HA's symbol. However, should they require to hide their identity during their journey, only one side of the scarf holds the pattern, as such, they can simply invert their scarf.
The hall master Aguza is a fairly enigmatic individual, partially due to the nature of the Nomad hall. What is known is that Aguza was once the disciple of one of the founders, a man known as the "Leader" of Heaven's Alliance, before the positions of Hall master had solidified. Three years after the formation of Heaven's Alliance, the Leader died, after the funeral Aguza decided to create the Nomad hall in search for talents all across the world. While those around him were initially disappointed, as Aguza was an exceptional combatant, they later learned that he developed a technique with his spirit that would let him find other Nomads as long as he knew their name and appearance. As such, once every few years, he briefly returns to HA to be updated on any new Nomads, before leaving almost immediately.
Ranking
Rankings are used within Heaven's Alliance both to indicate the danger an Iraeidin poses, alongside the agents within combat squads. The ranking goes between F - A, additionally, each rank has a sub rank of : Low, Mid, High. For example, a B ranker who is nearing A rank would be B-High, alternatively, a D ranker who has very recently obtained the rank would be D-Low. As for Iraeidin, the rank they are given largely depends on the inherent physical attributes, special Irae abilities, and intelligence of the Iraeidin, this is often investigated by the Scout hall who declares a rank for the Iraeidin. This ranking system has been recognized and used within most of the Mainlands for ranking Iraeidin, as many find that the factors used to determine the danger level of an Iraeidin are accurate to the estimated level of destruction capable of Iraeidin.
However, the rankings of Iraeidin differ from those of HA agents slightly, as an A-High HA agent is incomparable to an A-High Iraeidin. Often how Heaven's Alliance handles the matter, is that assuming a small squad (4 members) every member must be at least 1 full rank and 2 sub ranks above the rank of the Iraeidin for a high chance of victory. For example if an Iraeidin is C-Low, the 4 man squad must have all their members of at least B-High. For a Moderately sized squad (6 members) the requirement drops slightly to 1 full rank and 1 sub rank, lastly, for a large squad (10 members) the requirements drop considerably, to only 2 sub ranks. While it is possible for the requirements to drop further, most organizations and even large nations would struggle to deploy more than 10 combatants for higher ranking Iraeidin, as it would severely drain them of the organization's/nation's military power.
Within Heaven's Alliance how one would move up ranks is two fold, the first is moving up a letter rank, which can only be done by partaking a special test administered by trained individuals within the Ascendancy hall. These tests often cover several fields, to make sure that that the agent is ready for the dangers and responsibilities of their new rank. Other than moving up a letter rank there is moving up between sub ranks, for most agents this can be achieved through a challenging and combating agents who hold a higher sub-rank then themselves, for agents specializing in support or scouting they are instead given tests for each sub-rank. While the challenge does require agents to fight one another, it is not a fight that they should put every ounce of blood and sweat into, but rather closer to a motivated spar, the challenge will end once one side has proven superior, which is often long before any real injury begins. The challenges themselves are held within an arena overseen by the Ascendancy hall, as for challenging others there are certain rules and regulations as follows :
Surrendering
If the one decides to surrender it is counted as a tie unless the one surrendering is unfit to continue, or their opponent has been show to be vastly superior. Ultimately weather the surrender is counted as a tie or a victory for the challenger is up to the Ascendency Hall member presiding over the fight. This rule exists due to certain individuals bribing or blackmailing others to surrender early.
Limits
There are certain limits such as only being able to challenge a max of three other agents per day, as to allow others of a certain sub-rank to also challenge individuals. Additionally, agents are only allowed to challenge an individual who is at most lightly injured, as otherwise their opponent have an unfair disadvantage and take away from the essence of the challenge system. Lastly, agents can not challenge any other agent who they have been teammates or squad mates with before, this is to prevent instances where an agent would go easy on the challenger due to the bond between them.
Defending
Weather an agent accepts or declines a challenge is their own decision, however, for many there is no real incentive other than combat practice with a variety of individuals. Therefore, Heaven's Alliance gives a minor money reward for succeeding to defeat a challenger, the exact amount is based on the letter rank of the participants as follows : E 20 Dreons, D 60 Dreons, C 200 Dreons, B 500 Dreons, A 2500 Dreons. Any random individuals watching a challenge are also requested by Ascendancy hall agents to tip the victory if they found the challenge particularly interesting. Lastly, the reward is given by the presiding Ascension hall agent upon the defender's victory.