The Courts Royal

In the time before matter or mass there was the Word and the First Mind. Not even She knows if it was She who spoke the Word, was begat by the Word, of if She and the Word are one and the same and were brought into being by a soul beyond understanding. From the Word and She who was the First Mind came all things which now populate this, the Seed Universe. When minds decided to cloak themselves in matter, She who was the First Mind did so as well so that those who became matter could have a safe home upon which to grow and thrive. And so She who was the First Mind took a name by which these new mortals could know her, and this name was Shada, the First World.

Opening of The Elohim Chronicles, archived at Haven Citadel

The Adversary, let Its proper name be never again recorded, did not begin as the enemy of all. It began as one among equals in those counted as the first children of She who was the First Mind. The chosen role It took upon Itself was to act as the gateway for all that had become decadent and decayed to be channeled into renewal, so that nothing would become stagnant or motionless. But as minds became cloaked in matter and mortality entered the Seed Universe, it was no longer just energy which It was responsible for channeling. Minds and souls passed through Its gateway to be returned to the Word and renewed in their own way.

But It who became The Adversary recognized the power inherent in keeping these minds and souls within its own grasp. A lack of renewal became increased decay where none should exist, and this became the onset of fatal entropy, and all that was within the Seed Universe faced its final end should this cycle continue to be halted. Shada, who had been the First Mind and parent to It who became The Adversary, tried all possible ways to convince Her offspring to return to Its rightful duties but was not heeded.

And so She came to a decision and passed Her will onto those who had come to live as mortals upon Her physical shell. For the proper ways to be preserved within the Seed Universe, Her offspring must be stopped. But as those among the greater souls could not be purged from existence, another path must be taken. As It could not be destroyed, It must instead be exiled.

This plan was discovered by It who became The Adversary, and Its believers among the mortal kind made all attempt to prevent the Exile from happening. But She who was the First Mind and who became the First World was willing to make any sacrifice to prevent the destruction of the Seed Universe. And so Her faithful Children created the Seed and the Channel and fueled it with their own essencel, the first of the Outer Shell Universes was formed, and Shada cast off her own physical form to force The Adversary through the Channel and into the Outer Shell Universe so that nothing It could do would threaten the end of all.

Final Chapter of The Elohim Chronicles, archived at Haven Citadel

History

[[collapsible show="+ Ancient Origins" hide="- Ancient Origins"]]
The organization now known as The Courts Royal began millennia before the evolution of homo sapiens on Earth, when the deity-world Shada sacrificed her essence and physical form in order to remove her offspring Novoros from the universe which he was in the process of consuming. While the planet that was Shada's physical body was destroyed in this process, her moon was protected by the magic of her followers. The destruction of Shada's body created our solar system's asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and the surviving moon is its largest single object, the dwarf planet Ceres.

(bulk of this has been removed for updating and clarification)

In the modern era, this separation and specialization has taken form in a small handful of groups with specific functions within the whole. These groups are Haven Citadel, King's Cavalry, Queen's Favor, Aegis Corporation, and the Heaven and Earth Society. Collectively they are called The Courts Royal.

Haven Citadel

The headquarters of The Courts Royal and the repository of their advanced technologies, Haven Citadel is almost exclusively populated by Ceresians. Modern Ceresians are not direct descendants of the originals, but are rather the product of millennia of interbreeding with humans along with careful genetic design to make them able to inhabit the vastly different environments of Earth and Ceres. All inhabitants of Haven Citadel, as well as those on Earth who are aware of its existence, are the most dedicated to the legacy of the Eloh.

Haven Citadel acts as the center of magic in the organization as well as the home for its moderately sized stellar navy. This navy patrols the space in and around the solar system to detect and deter extra-solar threats. In recent decades they have begun acting in concert with the space departments of Earth's nations as well as hero groups with interests in space. They have not revealed the location or existence of Haven Citadel to any of these groups.

King's Cavalry

This group is responsible for maintaining the terrestrial military strength of the Courts. Its operations range from government security contracts in war torn areas to guerilla operations in areas suffering under dictatorships to individual protection. The majority of their members are a part of their two public arms: The Castleman Group (private military contractors) and Brothers In Arms Security (personal and organizational security force). The rank and file of these two public organizations are not aware of King's Cavalry, while officers are promoted from within based on the leadership's testing them for trustworthiness and suitability for the greater goals of the Courts.

The command structure of King's Cavalry is spread across six command regions, with a seventh in ultimate command of global operations. The current Commander is Nathaniel King, operating out of the North Atlantic region.

Queen's Favor

This group acts as the social face of the Courts. Politics and high society are their forte. Their members are the most individualistic of all the Courts, and every member of Queen's Favor is aware that they are a part of something greater, even if only those at the highest levels are aware of the specifics. Each individual ranking member maintains a coterie of subordinates and keeps watch over a specific nation or region's upper crust members or political power groups. They work on a long term basis to shift the policies and outlook of these groups towards being more in line with the goals of the Courts.

While comprised of individual groups with often overlapping spheres of influence, there is an overall leader of Queen's Favor. Currently, this leader is Nora Castella Queen, who runs a group focused on the high society of Central Europe.

Aegis Corporation

Far and away the most publicly known face of the Courts, with a presence in 187 countries, the Aegis Corporation is a world leader in practically every known field of science, medicine, light and heavy industry, media, finance, consumer goods, electronics, military armaments, and space exploration. They are unusual in the ranks of massive international corporations in that they do not operate subsidiary companies. All of their activities are under the Aegis banner. They are also unusual in that they operate with transparency in relation to international law and do not conduct any form of political lobbying. All operations are conducted internally save for security, which is contracted out to The Castleman Group.

Aegis was founded and continues to be led by renowned scientist Dr. Tabitha Andrews, who operates out of the company's recently completed headquarters in Thunder Bay.

Heaven & Earth Society

This is the least organized of all the Courts, with no solid leadership outside of its core cabal. It is comprised of loners, survivalists, shut-ins, and conspiracy enthusiasts. The membership of the central cabal is a matter of much debate within the Society, with theories ranging from bored rednecks to archangels to Richard Nixon.

Members

Can use a module, or just make a table to list. Players preferences, let Poseidon know in game if he should do a quick module to pull in NPCs (and later, possibly PCs?).

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