The Watchers
The Watchers are one of the largest and most secretive derived groups of the Sirian Watch during the Age of Ascendants.
Descended from several early members of the Sirian Watch, the Watchers evolved from the growing fear of individuals who Ascended with an Óvættr fragment, known at the time as the Spawn of the Óvættrs. Upon realizing that the defeat of each Óvættr spirit had triggered additional Ascensions, the Watch began to tap into the Plane of Awareness in order to keep tabs on suspected Spawn.
From Awareness, the Watch was able to employ a bird’s eye view of the world, and could quickly cover long distances by Planewalking. However, accessing Awareness required access to the Black Fortress, which had become a constant celestial battleground following the Calamity. Thus, the Watch sent expeditions to search for points where the veil between the Mortal Plane and the Plane of Awareness were thinnest.
They found success at a long-forgotten temple in the northern-most point on Seori; there, they planted several new Traveling Trees, and set up a new base of operations, eventually known as Roan’s Observatory, in honor of the Avatar of Awareness.
From the Observatory, the Watch, then rebranded as “The Watchers” closely monitored criminal and nefarious activity across Seori. Using a combination of the Varr Globe, which enhanced their abilities of global monitorization, and served as a directional access point to the Plane of Awareness. The Observatory housed numerous dormitories, and, at its peak, employed several hundred Watchers.
A Watcher, an individual with a deep sense of or reverence for the Principles of Vigilance, could join the organization after coming of age. Before being admitted, applicants complete numerous trials and challenges to assess their physical, mental, and magical capabilities. Those who progress to the final round of trials are given a choice: to return to their homes, their old lives, or to forget them to serve one tour as a Watcher.
Those who commit to one tour have their memories of their past altered; while they remember many things about their pasts, a fog is draped across all detailed memories of their homes, their families, and their loved ones. The Watchers first adopted this practice one hundred years after the Calamity, when the Hime-Lemja once again ignited in the sky above the Black Fortress; in the resulting panic, most Watchers broke rank and sought to defend their own homes, rather than going where they were most needed. This resulted in countless deaths of innocent people, who had come to rely on the Watchers’ guidance during trying times.
A single tour with the Watchers lasts for four years, after which time the individual’s memories are restored to them, and they are given the same choice - return to their homes and their old lives, or to forget them to serve one tour as a Watcher. Since the first Hime-Lemja, ninety percent of Watchers return for at least one tour, usually in the interest of pursuing ongoing quests and cases.
This has earned the Watchers a reputation for being heartless and solitary, but effective. They receive intensive training in combat and field medicine, and generally pursue at least two sub-specialties prior to entering the field. While most have historically used the Observatory as their primary home during their tours, it is not uncommon for Watchers to set up smaller bases in volatile areas, in order to establish trust among the locals and to closely monitor the changes in the area.
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Intelligence Gathering
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