The Inquisition
Contents
Divisions
Like the Roman Church, the Society of Leopold is made up of a number of smaller divisions. The members of the Inquisition share a common goal — to deliver humanity from supernatural evil — but their interests and modus operandi vary (and even clash). The four official sub-orders within the Society are the Condotierri, Gladius Dei, the Office of the Censor, and the Order of Saint Joan. The remaining groups are merely viewed as sects.
The Condotierri
Founded in the 15th century, the Condotierri is a quasimilitary order more concerned with the safety of the Society than the actual completion of missions. A Condotierre- General (selected by the Inquisitor-General) commands the militaristic hierarchy. Condotierri do not have the autonomy of other Inquisitors, but are assigned to protect the larger and older Cenacula. Smaller Cenacula, which don’t always have the luxury of a permanent Condotierre, often request their presence for security or the completion of a particular mission.
Recently, Inquisitor-General Bauer initiated a more rigorous basic training regimen for the Condotierri Novitiate at the newly opened combat colleges in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and in the Spanish Pyrenees. Training includes security measures and warfare techniques both ancient and cutting edge. The Condotierri are as wellarmed and technologically advanced as most national militaries, though lacking the larger ordnance.
Ranks within the Condotierri mirror those of the rest of the Society, but it retains its original, stricter hierarchy. When a Condotierre operates in conjunction with other Inquisitors, she generally cedes to the highest ranking Inquisitor, unless the Condotierre feels (and can justifiably prove) that the Society is put at unnecessary risk. Condotierri on duty in the Society’s headquarters in Rome, the Monasterio di San Michele, typically wear dark blue paramilitary uniforms, although on holy days and at formal gatherings, they frequently wear an elaborate Renaissance uniform similar to the clothing of the Swiss Guard. Condotierri on duty at other Cenacula dress as they feel most comfortable, typically in civilian garb.
In their earliest days, Condotierri worked in groups of three, called “lances.” A lance consisted of a mounted soldier, a squire, and a lancer. Although military tactics have changed, the Condotierri prefer to work in lances of three.
Gladius Dei
They are the corps d’élite, the “Sword of God,” the most distinguished order within the Society. Its membership is by invitation only, and is comparable to a knighthood. Its members are the ideal Inquisitors: loyal without fault, zealous, courageous, and capable. Members of Gladius Dei are hand selected by the Inquisitor-General herself and act under her direct authority. It is often an invitation to join the ranks of glorious martyrdom, for the Gladius Dei are called together for the most dangerous of missions.
Members of Gladius Dei may originally come from any sect or faction. In the past, new members were not required to end affiliations with their former groups, but Inquisitor-General Bauer has recently decreed that those in the Gladius Dei must dissolve all other factional ties. Loyalty is more systematically transferred to the Gladius Dei. This has caused some murmur of concern amongst the other factions, though not so loudly when the Censors are listening.
Gladius Dei’s members are cocky, even arrogant, but with good reason — no auto-da-fé (a call for judgment, usually destruction, against a supernatural) called by Gladius Dei has ever failed. Their critics once referred to the order as “God’s Little Army,” though more recently as “The Iron Maiden’s Little Army.” More cynical critics wonder if Gladius Dei is nothing more than an ecclesiastical bully, picking fights that it knows it will win. Some autos-da-fé that would seem to be perfect for Gladius Dei went ignored.
Members of Gladius Dei often wear a ceremonial badge: a gold sword lapel pin, worn blade down so that it resembles a simple cross from a distance.
Office of the Censor
They who judge the judges. The Inquisition within the Inquisition.
Membership in the Office of the Censor is offered by the Inquisitor-General. Typically, however, nominations for Censor candidates come from the Office itself. This Office, administrated by a Provincial, is considerably more organized than Gladius Dei.
Some within the Inquisition feared that the Censors were becoming too powerful, too independent, and that the Office was trying to enforce its own agenda. They were right. Ingrid Bauer was herself a Censor. After she arose to power as Inquisitor-General, it was the Censors who swept through the Society’s ranks, taking away the entrenched spies of the Kindred and the loudest of Bauer’s critics. When those screams finally died away, the accusations were much less public. There is no more ambiguity; the Office of the Censor now holds the most power within the Society.
When a Censor arrives to investigate an individual or a Cenaculum, those in question are considered in a state of certiorari: they are allowed to continue their standard practices and procedures, but a representative of the Office of the Censor must accompany them at all times. Furthermore, all records of the Cenaculum are open to investigation, its members open to interrogation. These days, random investigations happen with greater frequency.
Although the practice of Theurgy is not condemned by the Society, its use is still circumspect, so the Office of the Censor requires that all practitioners of Theurgy “register” with the Office “for future reference.” This is not the polite suggestion it once was.
Censors are not permitted to remain in any other faction, but they typically maintain the ideology of any previous faction.
Order of Saint Joan
The Order of Saint Joan is not so much a “subdivision” of the Society as an autonomous Order that acts in concert with the Society of Leopold. The Order recognizes the authority of the Society and the Inquisitor-General, but maintains its own hierarchy. Members of the Order may work within standard Society Cenacula, but they rarely rise about the position of Councilor. None are ever promoted within the Society to the rank of Abbé or above. The Order maintains its own Cenacula, called Convents.
The Order of Saint Joan is led by the Abbess of Chartres, who defers to the Inquisitor-General in most matters of policy. The Order’s Convents do not welcome men, including Inquisitors, anywhere beyond specified guest areas. No one outside the Order has ever visited the Convent of Chartres. The Abbess either speaks through her assistants from offices outside the Convent proper, or leaves the Convent to call upon people.
None of the Order’s members who have worked within the Society’s ranks ever show evidence of Theurgic study, but there are some rumors that the Convent of Chartres has a number of powerful Theurgists in its midst. There are many rumors about the elusive Order, and none have yet to be proven.
Historically, the Office of the Censor has never trusted the Order of Saint Joan, which has repeatedly refused offers to fully merge with the Society. That strain has reached a breaking point with the rise of Inquisitor-General Bauer. The Office of the Censor submitted a list of members from the Order who were to report to Rome for questioning. The Order never complied, Convents have closed their doors, and all communication from Chartres has ceased.
The silence is chilled. The tension crackles. There are rumors that Inquisitor-General Bauer and the Abbess of Chartres have some sort of personal quarrel between them. Inquisitors the world over wearily wait to see what will happen next.
