The Court of Ravens

The Court of Ravens
The Court of Ravens are a paramilitary religious organisation found on the continent of Corazon, who have a divine mandate from the deity Sudca to find and destroy the Undead wherever they may be, and also to eliminate or at least restrain and chastise the activities of necromancers. Undead are a breach of the natural order, and the Raveners are one way Sudca has to deal with this.

The Court are not affiliated to any single government on the continent, and try to avoid political entanglements where possible. Their goal is to protect the living from the undead, and keep the natural order between life and death, not to further any other agenda.

The Grand Orders
The court is divided into five grand orders, the Raven, Crow, Vulture, Bat, and Moth The court of ravens split a long time ago into the court of ravens and court of bats, but after the bats were brought low and had their numbers reduced, they rejoined the ravens and became a grand order under the court. Other grand orders were established later, as their focuses become more specialised, but cool heads prevailed to prevent full schisms.

Raven:
Ravens are all-purpose undead slayers, the archetype for which the Court is known. Ravens are the most numerous Grand Order, some say perhaps the only truly Grand Order within the organisation, the others being lesser in various ways.

Crow:
Crows are often given tasks of clearing out lesser, more automata undead, like zombies and skeletons. However, they are also the only members of the Court permitted to use direct necromancy and necromancy-adjacent magic, sometimes to raise undead, but this is only used for training/demonstration purposes to learn how to fight undead, or to move large numbers of bodies away from a danger zone, to prevent those potential undead from being raised by unnatural forces or necromancers, and then to lay them back to their gentle repose, safe from vile tampering. They often provide fresh research into the nature of undeath and necromancy.

Vulture:
The Vultures are a desert-specialised group, as the terrain of Certa differs dramatically from much of the rest of Corazon, and there are unusual undead rising from the ruins of the Empire of the Sands they have specialist training to fight. Some members of this order are found in the rest of Corazon however.

Bat:
The Bats split from the original court of ravens because they belived that going into the dark places of the world was the best plan to fight undead, rather than the more patrol/defensive angle the original court took at the time. Bats are specialised at fighting in caves, in the depths of the world, and at fighting the living monsters who would summon undead to aid them. They tend to be more pro-active in seeking than other orders. The order of the Bat has a long-standing stain on it's honour, as prior to being reabsorbed into the Court, several of it's more prominent members began to practice necromancy actively, causing a great deal of harm. As a result, some member of the order are a bit "try-hard", seeking to undo the remnants of this shame.

Moth:
The order of the Moth are the most mysterious branch of the Court. Lower ranking members of other orders are fobbed off with dull answers when questioned about them, but the truth is that the Moths deal with extraplanar undead, in extraplanar environments. They are the newest Grand Order in the Court, and as such have less reputation and standing within the organisation than the others, although it is a very foolish courtier who does not recognise their abilities.

Court of ravens ranks:
Initiate: You are now initiated into the court and the lowest mysteries of Sudca.

Novice: You have completed the basic training of the order, having the least level of knowledge and ability to combat the undead.

Apprentice: A higher ranked member of the Court is now conducting your training, honing you into a fine blade to cut down the darkness.

Squire: At this rank, your knowledge and ability is recognised as worthy, although your master is still sanding off the rough edges.

Journeyman: At this point, you are released from your master's instruction. Now a fully-fledged member of the court, your fight against undeath begins in earnest.

Courtier: A proven light against darkness, the Court or Ravens needs you to fight undead!

Pennant bearer: A champion of the Court, recognised by bearing a banner of Sudca.

Knight: A hero of the Court, laden with deeds of repute.

Baron: Now the more abstract end of court proceedings start to become your purview, as a stake of land will be yours to oversee and protect from undeath.

Viscount: Less focused on individual undead slaying, at this level in the heirarchy, you will be responsible for several towns and villages.

Count: A city and its surroundings are usually overseen by one at this level, with the Viscounts of surrounding settlements reporting to you.

Marquee: A whole region of a country falls under your protection at this point, as you marshal the forces of the court against the vile foe.

Lord: The Lords of the Court are in charge of court activities on a countrywide level. There are at least 3 Lords for each country, and together they form a council that co-ordinates undead and necromancy purges across the whole of Corazon. The only authority greater than them within the Court of Ravens is Sudca and the supernatural beings under her direct purview.

Rank prefixes:
The court uses prefixes to denote ranks more granularly.

Acolyte
Acolytes are new recruits, or those who are simply not very well trained or knowledgable. It is not a mark of shame to bear the prefix of acolyte in the court.

Warden
Wardens are order members who settle in specific place to guard it from all undead threats. They also act as death-priests to the places they protect, administering the rites of death and preparing bodies for burial or cremation. These are the most common kind of Ravener that the common people of Corazon will have met.

Chaplain
Chaplains are those who stay at the chapterhouses to guard them and provide respite and training to agents who are out in the world, acting as an administrative and support system for Court operations. They are often much more priestly in their activities, leading devotions to Sudca and dispensing blessings. They are something of a reserve force of the Court as well in times of great need. If an army of undead should be raised (a thing that has not happened in a long time, largely due to the efforts of the Court), the Chaplains would take up arms and fight.

Agent
Agents are general... agents of the Court. They do all manner of field work, not strictly slaying undead, but also scouting and patrolling for their presence and performing light clerical duties in Sudca's name to smaller towns that do not have a dedicated Warden.

Raven
Ravens are agents who are proven specifically in the slaying of undead, they have several proven slayings to their name.

Ravendark
Ravendark is the prefix given to those of the court who have slain sentient undead, in recognition of the danger that intelligence brings to the undead.

Provost
Provost is the title for a guildmaster, but it's somewhat archaic, and Guildmaster is more often used now.

Examples:

Cindarr Darkstorm started the campaign as a Raven-Courtier of the Order of the Raven, indicating that he is a trusted member of the court, who has also personally slain many undead, and is assigned to fieldwork, under the auspices of the Order of the Raven.

Provost Marquis Darius of Floresta is the Guildmaster of the Floresta chapterhouse of the Court in the Team NL universe, found at 5 Angst Street in Floresta. He has formerly held the title of Ravendark.

Rekon Maddoc, Guildmaster of the Floresta chapterhouse of the Court in the Team GB universe, found at 5 Angst Street in Floresta. He's a twat. Nobody really knows how he got the job.