The Grey Order

The Grey Order is a guild consisting of group of rangers, or Wardens as some prefer to be called, that serve as the official protectors for the Free City of Kertos. They are the law when it comes to keeping peace in Kertos and providing protection to the city.

Leadership and Organization

Chapters of the Grey Order

Most members of the Grey Order belong to one of several "chapters" of Wardens which focus on maintaining different aspects of the city's safety and overall security. Each chapter falls under the authority of a specialized unit of ranking officers that ultimately answer to the Commander of the Grey Order.

The City Watch

The majority of Wardens work among the City Watch, often referred to as Watchmen, and work to ensure that the laws of the city are upheld, mediate disputes, or arrest those who break the law. Watchmen also staff several small prisons scattered throughout the Roots, and police the city under the direction and authority of the Manticore unit of the Grey Order.

The Greenwardens

Greenwardens spend their time working to maintain the health and wealth of natural resources available to the city of Kertos. Many folk of the shamanic persuasion are drawn to this chapter of the order and spend their lives working to maintain and grow nature's bounty within and without the city. The Greenwardens have a tight-knit community as the hands, eyes, and ears on the ground of the Gryphon unit out in the Kevlorn Forest that surrounds the city.

The Sentinels

The Sentinels are Wardens who specifically oversee the security and management of various ports within the city and along the local rivers. They answer to the Selkie unit, in particular, and specialize in transport and protection of delicate or valuable goods.

Leadership

To assist in overseeing the function of everyday rangers that keep guard over the city, the Grey Order has five specialized units within their ranks. These units are made up of the best of the best that the Order has to offer. Each unit is made up of about six members, meticulously chosen to provide complementary skills and support to their unit's purpose within the city. Each unit plays a role in the day to day functions of the Grey Order, with varying numbers of lesser-ranking Wardens under its command.

Cerberus

The most well-trained and senior of the units, they are often stationed within the city itself and are ready at a moment's notice to protect Kertos from far-reaching threats. The best of the best, this unit is versatile and is capable of responding to any number of threats. The unit is fairly autonomous within the Order by necessity, and answers solely to its Captain who also serves as the Commander of the Grey Order: the highest authority within the entire organization.

Notable Members

Role	Name	Description
Captain	Taelon Skythorn	The half-wood elf, half-human Commander of the Grey Order. He serves from his position as the Captain of the Cerberus Unit.
Cerberus

Gryphon

Coordinating the movement of scouts in and around Kertos, the purpose of Gryphon unit is to discover nearby threats and assess them. The Gryphon unit is considered first line of defense, and it's their job to make the city aware of anything dangerous uncovered by themselves or the Greenwardens under their command.

Notable Members

Role	Name	Description
Captain	Deidre Mistwalker	The daughter of a freelance scout who taught her his trade, Deidre is both the youngest and newest of the Grey Order Captains and is very aware of the fact. Her no-nonsense attitude is a reflection of her resolve to keep the city and those under her command safe.
Vice Captain	Liam Conti	A man of mixed ancestry, Liam was never content with working for his family business. Sharp-eyed and keen of mind, he found his way to the Grey Order and worked his way up into the Gryphon Unit. Liam serves as Deidre's second-in-command.
Gryphon	Ember Sharpsight	Adept. A wood elf whose many years as a Greenwarden honed her into an exceptional archer and a master tracker.

Manticore

The Manticore unit is most focused on ensuring the security of the city walls, and works to find and amend breaches in security or possible weak points. They not only maintain the city's borders with the help of the City Watch, but in the event of an attack on the city it is their job to coordinate its general defense. In the event that Cerberus unit (which includes the Commander of the Grey Order) is deployed in response to disaster, Manticore unit’s captain steps up to assume temporary command of all Wardens within the city.

Notable Members

Role	Name	Description
Captain	Luca Verde	A human man, the deceptively laid-back Luca Verde serves as the captain of the Watch - the city guard - and manages their day-to-day affairs as part of his responsibilities as Captain of the Manticore Unit.

Selkie

This unit of Wardens is in charge of policing the waterways to the North and South of Kertos. By tradition, the Selkie unit is comprised of all female members; based on the legend of Hazel O'Neil, who created her own unit within the Grey Order when her husband was slain by a band of roving river pirates. When creating the unit, she primarily recruited other women that had been widowed in the attacks, resulting in the city's first ever all-female Special Unit.

Due to the sheer size of the rivers on either side of Kertos, Selkies staff and maintain military outposts along the Camie'el River (Camellia Outpost) and Nessie'el River (Nemesia Outpost). Each outpost is directly managed by the Selkie Unit Captain or Vice Captain at the Captain's discretion. From these outposts, a small fleet of ships captained and crewed by Selkies patrol the rivers in search of pirates or anything that might pose a threat to the Free Cities.

Notable Members

Role	Name	Description
Captain	Ardreth Gilvyre	An elven woman with a powerful presence, Captain Ardreth Gilvyre has been patrolling the waters surrounding Kertos for nearly a century as she worked her way through the ranks of the Grey Order achieve Captaincy of the Selkie Unit.
Vice Captain	Nieven Nightstar	Ardreth's right hand, the Vice Captain is known for her loyalty and efficiency as much as her temper. Her nautical knowledge is second to none when it comes to navigating the myriad rivers of Vicisi.
Shipmaster	Avril Lucceius	The most senior shipmaster, Avril is a weathered human woman who stands at the helm of the Bulrush, ever-prepared for combat.
Shipmaster	Bea Everlast	The vibrant, half-elven Bea is master of the Cattail, which maintains a reputation as the fastest ship on the Rivers.
Shipmaster	Helena Sagia	Helena is rather soft-spoken - except when she's at the helm of the Hyssop, guiding her crew and any vessel under Selkie protection through dangerous waters.
Shipmaster	Renata Ros	The captain of the Sedge, Renata is a wily woman of elven descent. The Sedge occasionally works alongside the Hyssop to escort precious cargo downriver. Most often her crew is kept in reserve, ready to support others when needed.

Basilisk

This unit of Wardens are based within the city of Kertos, and maintain a special focus on finding and dealing with organized criminal elements. The unit's membership mostly consists of those who are particularly stealthy or experienced with subterfuge. As Basilisks often operate on their own to investigate and infiltrate criminal elements within and without the city, the identities of most of the unit's members are kept tightly under wraps, though they are occasionally called upon to assist with other units' endeavors. While most other units consist of only six members, Basilisk's focus on discretion and its habit of sending members on undercover investigations or long journeys of information-gathering means that few regular Wardens are involved in its operations, so the unit requires more actual members to operate.

Unknown to most, captaincy of the Basilisk unit is most often shared between multiple members of the unit. As many as four individuals may share the responsibility so that, should one of the co-captains need to disappear for a time on a delicate assignment, the unit will not be left without leadership. The captains generally work together to cover as much ground as possible when managing the day-to-day affairs of the unit, though each has an area of specialty. All of captains' identities are known to the Commander of the Grey Order.

When a public representative of the Basilisk unit is required, an iconic (and heavily enchanted) uniform is used to mark the wearer as the unit's liaison while perfectly concealing their identity. The role, referred to as that of "The Serpent," is frequently handed off between the members of the unit; however, it is rarely held by one of the captains as they strive to stay out of the public eye in any capacity.

Due to the nature of the unit and its leadership, the Basilisk unit is often afforded a certain degree of freedom within the confines of the law to do its job, however their methods sometimes lead to conflict with the other units. They have a bit of a mixed reputation among those who are aware of them, and are almost entirely unknown outside of the city. Recruitment into the Basilisk unit is strictly controlled, though its members come from all walks of life and wildly varying backgrounds. Potential recruits are often scouted by current members before being approached and offered training similar to that of an apprenticeship.

Notable Members

Role	Name	Description
Captain	Doran Lightfoot	Adept. Experienced in information gathering and infiltration, he is responsible for managing the findings of the Basilisks' intelligence network across Vicisi.
Captain	Lastorion Darcassianor	Hailing from an affluent family, Lastorion and those who work under him keep a close eye on the Black Market and its operators, watching for trouble on the horizon. He is especially passionate about disrupting smuggling operations.
Captain	Fabri Elossa	Fabri keeps an eye on the flow of gold and labor through the city. He also serves as a handler of various field agents while hunting for talent that might be honed in the service of Kertos.
Basilisk	Saoirse Sweetsting	Adept. A sharp-tongued wood elf being groomed for captaincy, she possesses a strong affinity for both the pen and the sword. She serves the unit as The Serpent - the Grey Order liaison and public "face" of the Basilisks.
Basilisk	Timo Algabaen	A former career scholar who once found himself on the wrong end of an assassin's blade, his life was saved by a Basilisk and he offered his knowledge and service to the Order in return.
Basilisk	Errol Bramblewine	Adept. An old hat at gathering information, Errol travels the countryside hopping from town to town maintaining contacts and safe-houses for Basilisk use.
Basilisk	Marin "Dawnseeker" Algabaen	Shaman. A reformed wild elf assassin who fought her way out of the Divided Lands with the hope of turning over a new leaf in Kertos. She lived honestly until blackmail forced her into a job that ran afoul of the Basilisks, who offered her a more palatable alternative.
Basilisk	Flynn and Glynn	A peculiar pair, these nearly-identical twins often serve as discreet guards (or tails) that might be assigned to persons of interest within the city. They are also rather skilled infiltrators.
Recruit	Naeryenye Ithinildar	A young high elf who currently trains with Errol, already having some proficiency in the bardic arts.