Harmonium
Who Enforce Peace through Might
The Harmonium looks at existence and sees only two states: war and peace. Where neighbors share the same views, there's peace-the perfect state of the multiverse-but disagreements breed conflict and instability. Members of the Harmonium believe their purpose is to unify the multiverse into peace. no matter the cost.
The Harmonium seeks to eliminate discord by any means necessary. Hardheads use education and enforcement to convert others to their philosophy, extolling the virtues of peace as they crack down on chaos in all its forms.
Many members are good-natured protectors who protect all citizens, even those who disagree with the faction's philosophy. However, some among the ranks pursue unity at any cost. Cruel martinets who earn the Hardheads their nickname, they enforce laws ruthlessly, without flexibility or compassion.
Factol Sarin (human) commands the Harmonium. Her devotion to his fellows, particularly new recruits, is renowned, and she takes a personal interest in all members who cross her path. Tough as steel, Sarin is a decisive factol who promotes honor, dignity, and peace in word and deed.
Goals
Existence has only two states: War and Peace. Peace and Harmony are the only goals of the Harmonium by any means necessary. Achieving this, when chaos is invited to run rampant across the city is another thing entirely.
Peace is our goal. But if it takes a little war to get others to set things right, the Harmonium way, so be it. That's how we'll reach our golden harmony.
Role in Sigil
The City Barracks act as the home for 1,000 Hardheads that reside in Sigil, but as a major HQ for the 10,000 more that exist in the Outlands, Arcadia, and across prime material planes. It offers everything necessary across its two expansive floors. A large training courtyard, classrooms, messhalls, libraries, auditoriums, and dozens of rooms with lockers for recruits.
In the Barracks, Hardheads train. plan patrol routes, and keep records of every arrest in the Cage. The Harmonium works closely with the Fraternity of Order and the Mercykillers as Sigil's tripartite of justice, cycling criminals through arrest, trial, and punishment. They staunchly oppose the Hands of Havoc and others who defy authority.
The Harmonium deploy peacekeepers throughout Sigil and the Outlands to ensure safety for all, and stopping the chaotic criminals that live here.
Officially their job is to investigate crimes, detain and arrest criminals, and hand them over to the courts, often using Aoskian Hounds to track alleged criminals who cross Sigil borders into the rest of the Planescape. That said, the population of Sigil is well armed, and often unwilling to follow commands. Harmonium Officers have training to do what is needed to go home alive each day. The unfortunate and somewhat frequents deaths of citizens at their hands has sparked much controversy from the Hands of Havoc over the past year.
Factor Diana the stoic Athasian human barbarian gladly serves the Harmonium as Factor for Her Serenity's Armed Forces. This special group of Hardheads works in defense of the ringed city from potential invading threats and large scale rioting.
Factor M'ris'da the hollyphant leads the Outlands Expeditionary Corps, acting as a ranger as they trek through the Outlands to ensure law and order is upheld in all territories near the great ring.
Factor Bartholomew Aghadishu is a grizzled tortle veteran whose home was destroyed by the Xaryxian Empire. He's old, bitter, and stubborn. Under Factol Tonat's principles, a mandate was made to focus more on investigations of crimes and ensure the correct outcome was made.
As such Bartholomew was the first choice for refusing to let tough cases die, and ensuring justice is always found. He leads multiple investigative units around the city to help stop criminals.
Factor Reina is a devil-turned-Arcadian planeswalker and loyal Factor. While she had a long road to get where she is, she loves what she does, actively training with her soldiers every day as she leads the Peacemakers branch.
Despite the name, the Peacemakers are the baddest beaters around. These officers train to go into the worst situations and conduct efficient raids quickly and effectively. Active attacker with a sword? Warrant for a smuggler with a violent history? Anonymous tip of a Wreaker setting a bomb? The Peacemakers make the chaos go away. Every time.
Faction History
The Harmonium is a fascinating faction because they are one of the few with roots not in the city of Sigil, but on the primer world of Ortho, five hundred years ago.
For a hundred years, the faction grew, and succeeded in their goal to bring peace and harmony to Ortho, which is how they came to take the name Harmonium.
Ortho was peaceful for the next hundred years, and the army of the Harmonium was now one million strong, but lacked any battles to fight. Thus they decided to bring the fight to the planes, bringing order to the entire multiverse. Their first action on the planes was to march on the Caverns of the Skull Goddess in what is known on Ortho as the War of Iron.
Their failure was unprecedented, with only a sole survivor able to escape, finding Sigil, which was the factions first interaction with the great city. They reformed themselves quietly in the Outlands, waiting for 6 years before a war between a dozen factions saw the destruction of the now minor faction the Incanterium , the Zactar, and the Ochlocrats. This is when the Harmonium moved in, taking the City Barracks, and when the Athar returned.
What spawned was the 2 year war and siege of the Armory, eventually ending in the blood pact solidifying the Harmonium, Doomguard, and Athar.
The Factol of the Harmonium became one of the highest turn over factols in Sigil, as the next 300 years saw dozens of Factols assassinated and publicly murdered.
This includes the current Factol, Sarin, who was assassinated four years ago. She was able to be resurrected, but her failure with the Faction War a few years prior and her near death experience, she opted to step down and retire.
Factol Tonat Shar took her place, intent on using his nine principles to create a more peaceful Harmonium.
The approach appeared weak and was ineffectual. As the Wreakers (Hands of Havoc) exploded onto the scene, their first act was to look for revenge for the wrongful death of Bria Tomay, factol of the now minor Sigil Faction the Free League. One of the first actions they took was the complete and utter evisceration of Factol Tonat. His house and family were bombed in front of him. He was gravely injured, and his assassins then disintegrated his body and scattered his ashes in the wind, preventing a successful resurrection.
When the news came out, Sarin immediately came back as Factol, now intent on destroying the scourge of the Hands of Havoc .
Tonat's Principles
The nine principles of 'Harmonizing' originated from the ascent of Factol Tonat Shar to the Harmonium and issued to every new recruit. This is part of Tonat's moves to disassociate the Harmonium from previous Orthon style philosophy, which amounted to Planar Imperialism, and to a more open-minded approach.
Any people may find their own Golden Harmony, it is our job to enforce the Greater Harmony between these various individual Harmonies. No orchestra can be made with only a single instrument. In this, the Harmonium no longer seek to subjugate and enforce a singular vision on all, but to respect and promote Harmony across the Multiverse and its diverse peoples, achieving our Harmony through growth and mutual respect.
These general principles have been distilled into nine points, listed below:
- To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
- To recognize always that the power of the Harmonium to fulfill their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behavior, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
- To recognize always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
- To recognize always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving Harmonium objectives.
- To seek and preserve public favor, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humor, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
- To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a Harmonium objective.
- To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the fact that the Harmonium are the public and that the public can be Harmonium, the Harmonium being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
- To recognize always the need for strict adherence to Harmonium-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the Factions, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
- To recognize always that the test of Harmonium efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of Harmonium action in dealing with them.
Factol: Sarin
Headquarters: Barracks, Lady's Ward
Aligned Plane: Arcadia
Members: Authoritarians, guards, mediators
Epithet: Hardheads
Faction Attire: Most Hardheads wear the faction's standard-issue armor, a distinctive suit of red plate with bladed pauldrons. Under their helms, they sport short, no-nonsense hairstyles.
Allies: Fraternity of Order, Mercykillers
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