The Phylarch

Overview:
The Phylarch serves as the military institution of the Proximian Temple. It consists of two orders that serve very different roles; the Templar and the Crusaders. Collectively, it is commanded by the Primus Aetherius who serves as the highest ranking military officer within the temple’s organization.

Named after the establishment of the Crusader order, the Phylarch has existed—though not in name—since the establishment of the faith as an organized religion. Its members are tasked with the defense of the Faith and the enforcement of its doctrine. They are warriors by profession, trained by the temple in martial combat and bolstered with arcane tools and skills; they are holy knights sworn to uphold the faith and defend those who follow it.

The Templar Order:
As an order, the Templars are an establishment almost as old as the Faith and have existed for as long as the Clergy. They make up the largest portion of the Temple’s militant arm and serve as its primary defenders. Stationed all around Phoenicia, they are tasked with the defense of all Temples, Shrines, and other holy sites and make up the primary defensive force of Nova Carthago.

Though its members consist of warriors of varying skillsets and purposes, they are perceived by the people based on the appearance of their more ceremonial members that parade about temple grounds.

Ranking:
Templars utilize a true military ranking structure, with each rank identified by amulets wore around their neck. On the battlefield, cloak colors are used to identify higher ranking officers.

Templar ranks are as follows, listed from lowest to highest: Recruit, Armiger, Ordinator, Errant, Knight Errant, Knight Commander, Paladin, Paladin Prefect, and Primus Aetherius.

Paladin Prefects serve as generals within the organization and are traditionally assigned to command the templar in a given nation or large region. Paladins are assigned to cities or very large temples while Knight Commanders are tasked with command of Templar Barracks at temples.

The Crusaders:
In contrast to the Templars, the Crusaders serve a single purpose—eradication of heresy and the subdual of heretic lands. The youngest establishment within the Temple’s Hierarchy, they were created by the Proximus Vitem Mortem Hadrian Valkyrion after the Vendilyrian Schism as a means of enforcing temple doctrine without the support of the Illian Legion. It is the Crusader order that was responsible for the exterminatus of Torvendis.

As a military organization, the Crusaders are unique in that their ranks consist only of officers. While this was not true at their inception, the change was implemented by the current Proximus, Alexander Valkyrion who did not see the need for a second standing army. Instead, the Crusaders now rely on members of the faithful to take up the call to arms in the event that their order is needed.

Ranking:
Crusader ranks mimic Templar ranks and are as follows: Knight Commander, Paladin, Paladin Prefect, and Primus Aetherius. Universally, members of the crusader order are stationed in Nova Carthago unless deployed.