I was sorely tempted to call this one “The one after Christmas” but even I’m not that creatively sterile.

This is just a quick post-Christmas update, to establish a few general things, and sort out something we’ve had on the back burner for far too long.

Also gifs from Farscape, because why the hell not.

Don’t we have an Order?

To answer the title - Yes, yes we do.

This was discussed and brought up a few months ago, but nothing was done with it for two reasons:

• We wanted this to be reserved to highlight some of the House’s most dedicated members, and give them an additional thanks atop of medals.

• We needed time to analyse and consider the above, so a year with a major Brotherhood event, a House story event, and an event with us facing another Clan seemed like a good start.

Another factor is simply that some of the outlines needed to be reworked as well. Originally the Order was to have the role of bodyguards, advisors, and other things. Given how past answers have tried to emphasise that the Corps is a means to bolster characters and support them in the setting, I wanted this to be a wider defined role. You can be the above if you want, but it’s just as open to outriders, hunters, or champions who disappear into the dark beyond the Kiast system.

So, for our first inductee, we have Jafits Skrumm!

As someone who easily keeps the Guardians afloat and is the single-most avid gamer among us, this was a no-brainer here. He’s willing to try his hand at everything and anything, and I can think of no more fitting choice as the Order’s first member. For both this and his character's history of returning from apparent death, he's also given the title of The Eternal within the Order.

Member Accomplishments

Even in the post-Christmas (and pre-Christmas due to the time period this is covering) chaos we’ve been lucky enough to have a few active people. So, here’s a few of our members to celebrate:

Revs

• 1 Cluster of Ice Awarded

Ryan Hawkins

• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star

Jafits Skrumm

• Crescent with Diamond Star
• 8 × Crescent with Ruby Star
• 4 × Crescent with Amethyst Star
• Crescent with Sapphire Star
• 31 × Cluster of Fire
• 183 × Cluster of Earth
• 21 × Cluster of Graphite

Essik Lyccane

• 4 × Crescent with Ruby Star
• 10 × Cluster of Ice

Ongoing Competitions

• Star Wars Street Art

• The Path

• DJB-Ball Fantasy Basketball League

• Koda's Monster Menagerie

• Arcona Presents: VD 2023, Sabers and Sandals

Questions & Answers

Blade: What the next adventure?

Essik: Most likely following up on dealing with the underworld and going beyond Kiast's borders. We've been focusing on events within our system a lot for direct contests with enemies (the events surrounding the Desired One being a big exception) and I'd like to push to change that.

The last story finished up with a wealth of individuals representing (or claiming to be) the Black Sun escaping, along with a number of Sith Relics. So, we'll be working to figure out why those relics were here, but also to track down and try and end whatever the Black Sun is planning to do with them. That's going to close out Streets Painted Crimson, and from there we'll move on to more single-shot stories that can be done in one go and finished up with quick payoffs.

Revak: Odan-Urr has no shortage of specialized factions. Which of these groups do the Guardians associate with the most?

Essik: I'd personally argue that's down to the individual in question. We've got Mandalorians, we've got Jedi, we've got Smugglers, and I've tried to treat the Corps as a network of specialists that work as a group (Make any XCOM, BPRD, Torchwood, or even Global Frequency jokes you want). To that end though, I'd be tempted to argue that they align with SPEAR the most due to the scale and nature of operations when they're required to act as an aligned force. When they're not, they're closer to the Sentinel Network due to the group's structure.

Closing Statement

So that’s this done, another month finished up, and with a full year ahead of the Guardian Corps. Next time you see this it should be kicking off the finale to the story, and from there we can move on to the final part of the Guardian Corps storyline, and onto more isolated one-shots.

Expect a lot of Art and Gaming competitions this time around.