Difference between revisions of "Shen'ihr Inquisition"

Revision as of 23:37, 30 April 2007

The Shen'ihr Inquisition is a millenia-old institution of the Shen'ihr people. Scattered through the Shen'ihr homeworlds are a number of secret, psionically occluded institutes, dedicated to taking the finest, strongest-willed Shen'ihr, and turning them into powerful tools with which to destroy arcane influences.

History

Allegiance

Until recently, the vast majority of Shen'ihr simply assumed that, as one of their ancient institutions, the Inquisition held allegiance to their King and Queen. This was called into question with their actions during the attempted Chorus Revolution, as many Inquisitorial forces appeared to take the side of the Chorus. While they eventually did show their true colours, revealing themselves to have been playing a long game, and assisting in finally crushing the Chorus, many still question the true allegiance of the Inquisition.

However, those who have studied the founding of the Inquisition, and the mentalities of the most successful and influential Inquisitors, rightly realized that the allegiance of the Inquisition is not so clear. While they do derive some of their authority from the monarchy, the vast majority of their founding charters make very little reference to the monarchy, and instead entitle them to destroy magic on behalf of the Shen'ihr people themselves, regardless of all factors.

Structure

From the viewpoint of an outsider, the internal organization of the Inquisition is very difficult to determine. They wear few signs of rank or experience, and often use techniques of stealth to conceal or disguise themselves. When they are seen for what they are in public, they are addressed simply as Inquisitor, without further titles. Despite that, there is a system of internal organization, largely based on the practical experience and strength of the Inquisitors in question.

• Deputy Inquisitor: While not a true Inquisitor, and often only having very limited powers, Inquisitors have the privilege of deputizing Shen'ihr forces as necessary to achieve their goals. These are the lowest ranking Inquisitors, for they are not Inquisitors at all -- although they still outrank Cadets and the Commando forces.
• Inquisitor: This is the most common rank among the Inquisition, and marks one as a full-fledged Inquisitor, with all the rights and requirements thereof.
• High Inquisitor: These Inquisitors are typically the elders of the order, having centuries of experience and power backing them.
• Master of the Inquisition: This Inquisitor rules the Inquisition, dictating their overall strategic deployment. He was responsible for their actions during the Chorus Revolution, for example.

Within these ranks (with the obvious exception of Master) there is often a great deal of variation between individuals. For instance, a given Inquisitor may have been assigned certain marks of valor and service, and thus give orders to other, less-honoured Inquisitors, and expect to be obeyed. As well, the relative power and authority of a given person in a rank can vary greatly depending on the exact circumstances -- if an Inquisitor is assigned to overlook a given sector, for instance, they can often overrule any other Inquisitor who happens to travel into their territory.

In addition to the Inquisitors themselves, the Inquisition also maintains a corps of Inquisitorial Commandos -- troops especially trained to assist Inquisitors in their goals, whenever the Inquisitor might need their assistance. Often they are used to root out groups of abominations, but some Inquisitors travel with at least a small detachment of Commandos constantly, and this is perfectly acceptable to the order. The Inquisitorial Commandos are most often recruited out of the ranks of would-be Inquisitors who did not make the grade for some reason, and were deemed unacceptable for training to be an actual Inquisitor. In this way, the Inquisition retains their desire to conquer magic, and, historically, quite often future Inquisitors were the offspring of 'failures' who became Inquisitorial Commandos. Both for this cause, and their utility, the Commandos are considered a worthwhile branch to maintain by the Inquisition.

Recruitment and Training

The Inquisition very rarely actively recruits people, although an Inquisitor may recommend someone for evaluation if they deem them to be of particular potential. Typically, a Shen'ihr would present themselves to one of the known Inquisitorial facilities for evaluation. After a short initial inspection to ensure that they are of the age of majority, and of sound mind and body, they are isolated for three days. These three days are given to them to consider the state of their being, and the decision they are making. They are supplied with as much water as they wish, in the small room they are given to meditate in, but no food. At the end of those three days of complete isolation, they are asked whether they wish to proceed. At this point, approximately fifteen percent of the original candidates decline, on average. Those who answer in the affirmative then proceed into what is likely to be the harshest experience they have yet had in their lives. Unfortunately, those who succeed in becoming Inquisitors will, in time, view it as a minor birth pang on their path. A complete psionic interrogation is performed on the would-be recruit, delving down into their deepest of memories, into things they have long forgotten. Their tiniest of actions and thoughts are harshly examined, right back into the earliest days of their childhood. Their willpower and moral fiber are harshly tested. It is an exercise that causes a considerable amount of psychic and physical pain, and lasts for twelve hours without interruption. Approximately seventy percent of original candidates have failed by this point. Those who pass this test are permitted entry into one of the Inquisitorial training cadres, and they begin their initial training.

Inquisitorial training could be described as attempting to race through the harshest military boot camp ever conceived -- while writing doctoral theses for philosophy. Candidates are kept under considerable amounts of physical and mental hardship, and are lost from the cadres on a daily basis. After twelve weeks, the remaining candidates (on average, about five percent of candidates accepted for training, or 1.5% of original candidates) are evaluated, and passed to final testing. This final testing is always a field mission of some sort, although often, the candidate is not told that this is their final test. Often, they will be attached to an Inquisitor as a Junior Inquisitor and sent into the field for practical experience, until the Inquisitor deems them a success or a failure. More promising candidates are sometimes assigned a troop of Commandos and issued a field assignment. Depending on their known aptitudes, some are kept at Inquisitorial facilities, and may find their tests in dealing with unknown magical artifacts that have been captured by Inquisitorial forces, for instance.

Between casualties on final projects and failures, only approximately one in one thousand, or 0.1% of candidates accepted for training, or 0.03% of original candidates will make it to Inquisitorial status. Those in charge of training continually refine the exams and tests to ensure this number stays low, to ensure absolute quality in the Inquisitorial ranks. To their honour, while many have fallen in battle, and are honoured for that, not a single ranking Inquisitor has ever been identified as having actually fallen to the corrupting influences of abominable power.

Interactions

While the Inquisition often works in tandem with the regular military of the Shen'ihr, whenever the threat of an arcane incident is at hand, they are not part of the regular military forces, and do not bear regular military ranks. Indeed, to outsiders, often one Inquisitor is indistinguishable from another, as their markings of rank and achievement are much less flashy than most military and para-military forces -- indeed, often, they are only detectable on a psionic level. This is further reinforced by all Inquisitors, of various internal ranks, always addressing each other by the title of Inquisitor.

When Inquisitorial forces are attached to a regular military force, they often adopt 'honourary' ranks, for the purpose of being properly fitted into the chain of command. Typically, where there is a certainty of magic-wielding enemies, the Inquisitorial forces take the lead, and the regular troops act as supporting forces under their command. In a case where it is merely a patrol, the regular forces take the lead, with the Inquisitorial forces using their highly-trained senses to detect threats, arcane or otherwise, and then support the regular troops in battle as necessary.