Magic Council: Seekers VS. Paladins

Now while thinking about joining the Council you probably encountered something referencing "Seekers" and "Paladins". You may be asking yourself what are these two things and which one do I choose for my character? Or Why does this matter?

Well its my job to answer this question, as your trainer recruits. You see, your job is important, and it determines who you will interact with most during your jobs for the council. Not to mention how much power you can hold when you start to climb up the metaphorical ladder.

We'll start with Seekers as they are the easiest to explain. Seekers are like private detectives, mercenaries, or even assassins, except they only work for the Magic Council not for the highest bidder. They have a wide range of jobs ranging from scout work, geography, Data Gathering, Investigations, and many other things. They have no actual superior officers as they are expected to work alone, unless they are assigned a Cadet to Mentor of course. However when they do report back to base to debrief they always report to the head of Intel within the Council, who is a Paladin. This could be called a bureaucratic nightmare if you debate over timing, however Seekers are expected to deal with situations on their own, and are kind of on a long leash in that regard. There is an issue with this system however, as some Seekers can get a little trigger happy and not get punished for it, because they are allowed to dictate how they react to situations as they see fit.

Due to this when a Seeker returns from a mission, their mission reports are evaluated by several higher council members. If there are problems the Council members act accordingly to the laws of the land.

As for the Seeker uniform, there really isn't one "officially". While out in the field they are allowed to wear what they wish, to best complete their assigned task. However when they return to their base they are required to wear the colors of the Magic Council, and the uniform they were given when they graduated into a Seeker.

Due to the fact Seekers have no rank, they are not allowed to wear one on their left arm's, like you, or me. As such they all are required to wear a form of tally mark on their uniforms or armor, that says how many years they have been a Seeker in the council. This allows us to name our senior Seekers by recognizing veterans, from greens. And that about summarizes Seekers.

Paladins are a much more broad category. Where Seekers act as the eyes and ears, and sometimes even the hand of the council. Paladins act as the rest of the organization, ranging from foot soldier, to town guard, to police officer, to politician, even all the way to General, and King. Due to this Paladins are required to hold rank within the Council, and as such wear their rank on their left sleeves. Paladins are required to wear the Uniform at all times, unless acting undercover for some reason. As you are the face of the Magic Council, something for the people to look up too, and must always stand proud of who you work for.

Paladins will always have a higher up, unless they are at the top of the totem pole. But even then they are there to serve the people of Fiore, not themselves. As such Paladins serve the biggest role within the Magic Council forming the back bone of the organization, and running the country itself.

It should be Noted, Neither of these two groups fall under Research and Developments Control.

While both sides of the Magic Council recognize both Seekers and Paladins, each side tends to use them differently.

Loyalist:
Seekers tend to be used to do the majority of the grunt work against the Crusaders, and to defend the masses.
While Paladins stay at base within the Woodsea to keep it hidden from the Crusaders and shadow heart, as well as to defend it from attacks. Paladins will normally not leave the Woodsea unless under direct orders of a mission or job, and almost always undercover.

Crusader:
Seekers tend to act as scouts, and assassins, keeping the dark secrets of the Crusader faction of the Council under wraps in the dark where they feel it belongs. However they are also all assigned a personal reward for each Loyalist traitor they bring in, dead or alive, as such they are willing to go to almost any means to find and take down Loyalists.

Crusader Paladins are rarely seen outside of Era. If they are its for a specific reason. Whether that reason is "Guarding a Town" or "Crushing a Riot" is only known to them and those that gave them those orders. All town guards are Paladins, but after the outburst by Shadow heart they are rarely seen out in the public. Some places dont even have town guards anymore.

It could be said, on the Crusader side of the Council, the Seekers wage war against the Loyalists, while the Paladins hunt down Shadow Heart.