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Status within the Ordo Dracul

The Ordo Dracul takes its studies very seriously. Oft times members of the covenant can be dropped back to the rank of slave for periods of time until they can prove that they are working towards progression of the great work. Those Dragons who excel at this, however, or who take the path of the Sworn are afforded a great deal of respect by their lessers. In fact the lowly members of the Covenant are expected to put the needs of their superiors before their own. Slaves are treated as just that, and must perform any sort of demeaning tasks that the status'd members of the Covenant require. The purpose of this section is to go over, in brief, the break down of status within the Ordo Dracul. Below you will find an overview of the various levels of status and what members of the Covenant would fall into that status group. If you wish to further your knowledge beyond this write up, you should refer to pages 101 to 115 in the Ordo Dracul covenant book.

Status 0

The new members of the covenant who have yet to come to prove their knowledge of even one coil are considered by the covenant to be slaves. These Slaves must perform the tasks assigned to them by their superiors, and any Kindred with status 1 or higher is, for all intents and purposes, their superior. Commands from higher authorities in the covenant take precedence over those of Kindred of status 1, but all the same most Academies are found to contain a number of slaves that pour through grimoires and perform tedious experiments and tasks for their masters. It is also possible for Kindred who do possess knowledge of the coils to be demoted to this position if their progress in the great work is found lacking. When this happens mentors teaching them coils are required to cease lessons until the time that the slave can prove he is making progress and have his status restored.

The overall goal of all slaves is to find a willing mentor to help them on their path towards learning the coils. Any number of absurd criteria, set forth by the potential mentor, must be met before they would consider taking on a student. Once he or she has found a mentor, however, and the Mentor claims the slave as his student at caucus, the slave elevates in status to level 1..but is still considered a slave. However at this point it is not considered a breach of covenant secrecy for the slave to be taught the coils.

Status 1

Slaves who have found a willing mentor and supplicants who have learned their first coil fall into this level of status. Once a dragon of status 1 or higher has learned a coil, and demonstrated it to an audience at a caucus, he or she is given a title that befits her knowledge of the coils. Slaves are slaves until the moment they can demonstrate their knowledge of the Coils, and as such are considered well below the Supplicants of the order.

Kindred at this status usually have one of two goals. Either they decide to devote themselves to their studies and continue to learn under a mentor, or they start down the hazardous path towards becoming sworn. The sworn of the covenant is the fast track towards status, but it is far from easy.

Status 2

Unsworn Dragons who have mastered somewhere between two and six coils can fall into this level of Status. As you can see there is quite a bit of range to Status 2, and as such a great number of Dragons remain at status level 2 for most of their existence. In practice, however, this sliding scale of knowledge is kind of skewed. Factors regarding the Dragon's individual actions can be added into this level of status. So a Scribe with status two could be someone respected by his covenant, whilst a Master (6 coils) who is still at only two status would most assuredly have upset some his or her brethren on their way to Master.

At this level of status the proven dragons have command over slaves and supplicants, but they still must answer to the higher powers of the covenant. The Status 2 and 3 members of the Ordo Dracul make up the main body of the organization of the covenant.

Status 3

It is possible for slaves who have devoted their service to the covenant by following the path of the Sworn to obtain this level of status when they have officially become sworn. It is actually more common then one might expect, but even still it is rare that some knowledge of Coils wasn't learned over the years required to become sworn.

For the most part this level of status belongs to Unsworn dragons who know between five and seven coils. That same Master from the previous description would move to this level of status if he mended his social standing within the covenant. It is extremely rare to find Dragons with knowledge of seven coils who have not yet been sworn. It is also worthy to note that Dragons who remain unsworn but progress beyond seven coils known will go no higher in status then level three due to being perceived as powerful, but untrustworthy.

Guardians - Usually of status 3(or higher), most Guardians have taken an oath to the sworn of the Axe. It is not required that they are sworn, nor that if they are it be to the Axe. It is just the most common Oath for Guardians to take. At this level of status Guardians are assigned to specific wyrm's nests to protect and document them.

Status 4

No Unsworn dragon will ever reach the level of status four, and neither will any kindred without knowledge of coils. Typically speaking this level of status is reserved for Oathbound dragons who have mastered between one and four coils. It can also be attributed to Sworn kindred of higher levels of understanding who have somehow been branded as untrustworthy or pariahs. At this level of Status a great deal of power is obtained and the ability to take initiative on behalf of the academy. At this level of status knowledge of secret coils and higher tiers of known coils become available to the Dragon, allowing them to progress the great work even further.

Kogaion - Always being a member of the sworn, the Kogaion is the pre-eminent guardian in any given domain. Rather then overseeing only one nest, the Kogaion is responsible for overseeing all nests. He or she is also responsible for the safety of the chapter house and usually goes to great lengths to protect it, and the artifacts of the covenant kept inside and elsewhere.

Status 5

Sworn kindred with five or more coils under their belt move into the level of status 5. This level of status allows them a great deal of sway with the local chapter house and the members of the covenant within the city. Some are Kogaions that have ascended to a higher rank, as well, and are often called upon for guidance. Finding a mentor who is at this level of status within the Order is perhaps the best accomplishment a young dragon could make.