Overarching Imperial body responsible for "handling" the Gifted population.Two official programs present as humanitarian outreach, but in truth feed into the Empire's arcane experiments and bloodline control systems.
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1. The Ascendant Programme
"To uplift the lost and refine the chosen."
Public Image: A social mobility programme — "offering education and opportunity to the impoverished gifted."
True Purpose: Harvesting talent and raw aetheric potential for the Empire's own use.
Field Division:The Shepherds — charismatic recruiters posing as missionaries or benefactors.
Their creed: "We find the lost lambs of the Empire and guide them to light."
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2. The Children's Protection Covenant
"No child shall suffer under mortal cruelty."
Public Image: A rescue organisation for abused or abandoned youth.
True Purpose: Removing "unsuitable" children and rehoming them in controlled sanctums.
Field Division:The Guardians — agents trained in extraction, indoctrination, and containment under the guise of protection.
Both divisions are under the White Seraph Order, who act as the Directorate's "divine enforcement arm," reporting directly to the throne. Their white insignia (winged key over halo) symbolises purity, salvation, and obedience.
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Lore Entry — The Vanguard
The Vanguard"Bound in blood. Raised in fire. Forged in loyalty."
Every Celestial Family maintains its own Vanguard division — a corps of Gifted youths trained from childhood to embody devotion, obedience, and sacrifice. To be chosen is the greatest honour a lower-ring family can receive: a single child elevated to the House's sanctum means status, food, and safety for their entire bloodline.
The Vanguard believes themselves champions of their Houses, protectors of civilisation against the chaos of the Veil's fall. They are taught that each drop of their blood strengthens the world's Pillars.
In truth, they are expendable. Their bodies fuel rituals; their loyalty fuels control. But when they march, they march with pride — because to die as one of the Vanguard is to ascend beyond poverty, beyond shame, into the eternal memory of the Clan.
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Example of a Celestial Vanguard Division
The Long Vanguards
House Motto:"Their honour is the blade, their loyalty the steel."Formal Title:The Long Vanguards — Guardians of the Blood, Shield of the House.Common Nicknames:Bloodguard, The Steelborn, House Blades.Symbol: A crimson shield bisected by a silver sword, encircled by eight stars.
Overview
The Long Vanguards are the militant heart of the Long Celestial Family — soldiers born from devotion and bound by oath. Each of the Eight Celestial Houses maintains its own Vanguard corps, sworn to protect the bloodline, enforce its will, and serve as the first and final line of defence for their clan's honour.
To the common people, being Chosen by a House is a divine calling — a promise of salvation and purpose. A child accepted into the Vanguard brings prestige and security to their entire bloodline. For families exiled to the Eighth and Ninth Rings, it is the only hope of redemption; enough merit earned in service may see their kin elevated to true citizenship.
Belief and Indoctrination
From their first day in training, initiates are told:
"The blood of your House flows through you. You are its shield and its sword. To die in its name is to ascend beyond the mortal coil."
The Vanguards are taught to revere their Houses as divine extensions of the Celestial Order itself. Their training temples — known as Crucibles — combine military discipline with spiritual indoctrination. Every act of loyalty, every drop of blood spilled, is recorded in their Merit Ledger, determining both their personal standing and their family's place in society.
Structure
High Marshal of the Vanguard – appointed by the House Patriarch/Matriarch; supreme commander.
Steel Captains – lead cohorts of a hundred; chosen from those who have survived five campaigns.
Blood Sergeants – frontline commanders, responsible for discipline and initiation rites.
Vanguard Adepts – full members; trained soldiers and enforcers.
Initiates (The Forged) – recruits still undergoing the Crucible Trials.
Ranks are earned through Merit Ascension, a rigid system where loyalty, kills, and sacrifices are recorded as divine accounting.
Doctrine
"Loyalty before life."
"The House endures through our sacrifice."
"The blood is sacred; spill yours to protect it."
"To falter is to shame the lineage."
Role in the Empire
Officially, the Vanguards are described as "private defence divisions" for noble interests. In truth, they form the clandestine armies of the Celestial Families, answering only to their bloodlines. They are often deployed under the guise of peacekeeping, but their true purpose is to eliminate threats to the clan's influence — including rogue Gifted, rival bloodlines, or those who question the Celestial Order.
Cultural Perception
Among the lower rings, to become a Vanguard is to transcend one's station. Mothers pray for their children to be chosen; fathers boast of sons "forged in crimson." Yet within the Crucibles, recruits whisper another truth — that their honour is the blade, and their lives are the steel upon which their masters build empires.