Anveshak

To uphold the law is to uphold the will of the ruling class; to uphold true justice requires something greater. Anveshaks wield the power of lhair, which allows them to sense injustice and mete out true justice. They carry chakrams and lariats.

True Justice

True justice is not defined by the laws of mortals nor Divines. True justice is about an objective right and wrong based on what represents the survival of a mortal species and the individuals that make up that species. It is the rights of the many over the luxury of the few. The crimes an anveshak is concerned with are determined by an ancient code.

The Code of the Swan

The code of the anveshak is symbolized by the swan, which their legends say brought them the laws that are above mortal or Divine. The Code specifies the most grievous crimes, the conduct expected of an anveshak, and guidance on the grey areas. This code is called Hans Kaanoon.

The Most Grievous

There are crimes that are considered unforgivable. These include murder (including genocide or war), rape and sexual assault, enslavement and imprisonment, abuse and torture, exploitation and oppression, polluting the world, and so on. These are crimes often done on mass scale or done by the powerful to the disenfranchised.

Redemption, Mercy, and Justice

The Code has room for mercy and redemption. Even the most egregious crimes can be redeemed, but they require the perpetrator be willing to spend their life fighting against the injustices they used to inflict, profit from, or champion. When an anveshak shows mercy, they expect a devotion to redemption. When an anveshak metes out justice in the form of death, they must have ascertained there is no hope for redemption, no value to mercy for the perpetrator, then side with mercy for the aggrieved.

Judgment

In many cases, anveshaks will capture even the worst perpetrators and bring them back to face judgment by the magistrates. In the field, there are times when someone's life is in danger when an anveshak must pass judgment themselves, and there are times when a crime is so egregious judgment is too clear to ignore. But most, even some of the worst, are captured and brought in. If an anveshak metes out judgment of death, they must return to the magistrates to prove it was justified. If they mete out other judgment but show mercy, they must return and ensure the perpetrator is truly seeking redemption. If the perpetrator fails, the anveshak will often bring them in for judgment before the magistrates.

Chosen of Justice

Those who are chosen to be anveshaks must be those who have experienced deep injustice. They must feel its evil in their bones, it is said. Anveshaks are always called within their hearts and driven to seek out justice, true justice, in the face of grievous injustice. As such, they gain compassion for others who suffered injustice. When an anveshak is called within their heart, they often find themselves visited by agents of justice, usually swans, which challenge them. If they are found worthy by these agents, they are sent via a vision to find an anveshak to be their mentor.

Disillusionment

Many, many anveshaks come from other law enforcement groups that work for ruling classes. Often times they are true believers in justice who conflate it with law and order or the authority of the king or president. Eventually, they see the truth and become disillusioned with the lies of the powerful. Many such simply quit or suffer through, but some few who experience or witness grievous injustice find it in themselves to become true fighters for justice. However, if they have spent much time serving injustice, they must redeem themselves first with a quest.

Quest for Redemption

A potential anveshak seeking redemption for former crimes (be they disillusioned former law enforcement or others who have done harm before) must go on a quest either to confront the powers that once commanded them or to pay resitution to their victims. If neither is applicable or possible (or simply too big to be reasonable), they are sent to confront unrelated evil.

Trial of Justice

The swans, or other agents of justice, who test anveshaks test them three times: once when they are first called, once when they finish training, and once when they seek to become an independent anveshak:

• Calling: an internal trial wherein they face their own fears, regrets, and shame.
• Deputization: once they finish training, they are deputized and face their mentor in several tests of knowledge, combat, tracking, and ethics.
• Matriculation: after a year or so, they are tested again to see if they are ready to work on their own, this time facing a independent mission as a trial.

At teach trial, they gain new powers as yellow light suffuses their bodies.

Investigations

Once someone is an independent anveshak, they are able to conduct their own investigations into any injustice they sense or are told about. They are aided in their investigations by having both PRS bonuses (+1 as deputy, +3 as anveshak) only during investigation.

Fugitives

If the target of their investigation flees or seeks to escape somehow, they gain temporary tracking abilities of 13 or +3 if they have a 13 or more already.

Power of the Anveshaks

Individual anveshaks have powers that are usually circumstantial:

• Sensing injustice: their bones resonate when active injustice is played out near them and as a faint buzz when they are near major, ongoing injustices. Because within class societies, injustice is everywhere, many anveshaks learn to ignore the buzz.
• Deputizing: anveshaks can temporaily deputize others for up to 25 hours, granting them faint injustice sense and bonuses to tracking, reaction, and prowess.
• Rallying: when in desperate danger, when in most need, anveshaks can call other anveshaks who are within range of rescuing them.
• Steed: many anveshaks form an emotional bond with their mounts and can speak to them rudimentarily, call them if they are in range, and move gracefully with them.
• Stunning rope: if a target is caught in their rope and is truly believed to be a source of injustice, their rope will stun them into insensibility at command.
• Speed draw: anveshaks can give themselves higher reaction, but it will slow them down later, depending on the bonuses they apply. The higher the bonus, the quicker the come down, capping at +6 for one round of combat, -6 the next.
• Swansong: if an anveshak is about to die, they can sing to the swans and call upon a flock from anywhere in the world to continue their present fight.

Collective powers are less circumstantial, but require a number of anveshaks working together:

• Yellowflare: a brief flare of yellow energy stuns all alleged perpetrators within 30 yards of a group of three anveshaks working together to invoke this power.
• Blackrope: a single rope becomes as long as the ropes of all anveshaks within 30 yards and has the stun and entangling power of all ropes together.
• True invocation: 12 or more anveshaks together may place hands upon a target and invoke the truth, forcing them to speak honestly.
• Speaking the Code: 12 or more anveshaks together may speak the Code, word for word, in unison, to make it the binding law of a place delineated by their riding around it.
• Red badge: a single anveshak's badge glows red, giving its wearer major protections from infernal powers, if seven or more anveshaks place their power in the chosen anveshak.
• Blue star: a single anveshak's badge glows blue, giving its wearer major bonuses to combat against infernal powers, if seven or more anveshaks place their power in the chosen anveshak.
• Light of justice: 12 or more anveshaks together may call upon the light of justice to burn the unjust within 30 yards.

Inventory

An anveshak is given three items to serve justice: a badge, a lariat, and a weapon.

Badge

The badge of an anveshak is a yellow swan carrying a blue star in a black circle. It is a source of protection, authority, and discipline. If the anveshak strays from the path of justice, the badge will tarnish into a white disc and leave them bereft of any powers unless they go on a new quest of redemption. It gives them a PRS bonus when they introduce themselves with it, and it gives them protectiom from infernal powers if they are true to justice.

Lariat

The lariat, or lasso, of an anveshak is a 75' long black rope made from rassee, a plant common in subcontinental Dabusen and the wide plains of western Palhur. It is a stiff rope so that the noose at the end stays open until pulled tight by the anveshak around a target. It has an entangling strength of +7 and gives a shock of stunning pain at +4 when wielded against an alleged perpetrator.

Weapons

• Disc: women among the anveshaks often get a circular, bladed weapon similar to a chakram called a jasmine disc. In subcontinental Dabusen, there are female anveshaks known as shikaarika (see below) who have special powers and wield actual chakrams. Whether disc or chakram, they are made of paksheen.
• Gun: all anveshaks get a small revolver if they exist within a technological era where that is possible. The revolver will have six shots that stun and one that kills.
• Staff: men among the anveshaks often get a quarterstaff that is banded with yellow paksheen called a prosopikó. In southern Ranu, there are anveshaks known as dikastís (see below) who have special powers and wield staves with greater power.

Steed

Steeds vary greatly by culture for anveshaks, but they are almost always a supernatural version of the commonest steed available. Peelaghodas, swanhorse seahorses, tulpars or garudas, and mǎ xīyì lizards are commonest.

Societal Role

Anveshaks are outlawed in every autocratic, feudal, or capitalist society in the world, as their drive for justice fundamentally puts them in opposition to the powers that be within those socieites. In pre-class societies, they are welcomed, but often they do not appear in them as there is much less and much smaller injustices to fight there, save for when said socieities are threatened by outside powers. In socialist socieities, anveshaks are agents of the people and honored among them. Even in autocratic, feudal, or capitalist societies, they are often heroes to the people, for they fight on their side.

Variations

Though there are subtle variations across cultures, most anveshaks vary by which order they belong to.

The Orders

There are seven different orders to which most anveshaks belong:

• Atallati Qograijirar: the inter-lunar and inter-planetary order who patrol the near-realms to Shem, known for their nomadic style and longer-distance rallying. They are called nhuriqar.
• Blue Stars: the most dangerous order to be in, as they work out of Ansulym, where they are killed on sight by any citizen wanting to collect a high bounty. They are known for their secretive operations and alliance with the Theresans. They work only in Ansulym. They are called marshals.
• Custodes Justitiae: made up mostly of escaped slaves from Urayme, they patrol the skies and use an airship as a base somewhere in deep cloud seas. They kill slavers on sight. They cover all of the skies. They are called offertors.
• Nyaay Kee Betee: the all-female (or non-male) shikaarika order known as the Daughters of Justice operate out of subcontinental Dabusen and have a special focus on fighting the crimes of patriarchy. For them, rape is the highest and most grievous crime. They cover the southern hemisphere.
• Poe Malama: the undersea order known for their patrolling of the entire Island Bridge out of their headquarters in the south. They are known for always traveling in small groups of seven and hating environmental crimes most. They cover the surface of the Island Bridge and the Reever Sea as well as the high seas in general. They are called ilamuku.
• Staves of Justice: considered the original order out of Maraddon in southern Ranu, they are led by Paul Driver, a Gift-bearer who wields a staff made by the goddess Zid-Du. Called dikastís, they are more tied to orderly conduct and have powerful magistrates. Their staves are stronger than most. They cover the northern hemisphere.
• Zhèngyì de shǒuhù zhě: the underground order known for their alliance with various unifiers and miners unions. They hate exploitation more than other crimes, and they are heavily suppressed by the powers that be. They cover the entire underground. They are called yuánshuài.

Specializations

There are many special roles within the orders. While not the original order, the Nyaay Kee Betee were the most innovative, and thus, many roles bear the names they originated:

• Calanara: an anveshak sworn to protect a range, focusing on environmental crimes, who has special connections to that range, much as a ranger would.
• Dikastís: an anveshak who wields a staff empowered by the Warden of Justice. A memeber of the Staves of Justice who is one of the most elite anveshaks in the world.
• Hatyaara: originating amongst the Nyaay Kee Betee, hatyaaras are anveshaks tasked with hunting down and killing a specific perpetrator who has already been judged. Also called dímios, guìzishǒu, or mea hoʻopaʻapaʻa, amongst other names. They are given either a special gun with seven killing bullets or a special lariat that can be used for hanging and killing.
• Ma'heóneéestséhetane: in western Palhur, these Sutaio [cheyenne] preachers serve as both anveshaks and religious leaders, and the term is often shortened among other orders to "Maheon" to indicate a religious leader among the order.
• Pujaarin: an elite shikaarika who is also a priestess of Hans Maan, the Mother of All Swans, Mother of Justice, Yellow Light, Bringer of Justice. They are the best wielders of chakrams in the world and the riders of garudas.
• Shikaarika: the women of Nyaay Kee Betee who can kill a rapist with their ropes.
• Schwanenkrieger: an anveshak, originating in central Jesenya, who is tasked with taking care of the order's swans. Often, they have some influence over them and can call them more readily. Some very, very powerful schwanenkrieger can even turn into a flock of seven swans when in gravest danger. In other orders, their name always translates to "swan warrior".
• Taarak: a messenger and deliverer of news who serves an order as a deputy anveshak, usually accompanied by a full anveshak, to communicate with other orders, groups, or organizations allied to justice, or to bring news to communities being subjected to unjust lies from their local news agents.
• Peela Doolha: "yellow groom", the anveshak, usually retired from field work, who runs the stables for an order. They have a much stronger bond to the animals there than other anveshaks.

Nyaayaadheesh

The nyaayaadheeshes (magistrates) are older, more experienced anveshaks, usually ones who have retired from field work for various reasons, who do the administrative work for anveshaks and who serve as judges against the accused. They work in panels of seven. They have the power to invoke the Code from their panels, can call upon any collective power even without having 12 of them, and have much higher read people scores.

Isdharas

The leaders of an order are nyaayaadheeshes called Isdharas (bringers of justice). There are seven of them, they are elected, and they wear yellow robes. They are the most powerful anveshaks in terms of invoking true justice.

Similar Occupations

Other occupations who use lhair:

• Bandookaavnevaala: gunsmiths who make the weapons used by anveshaks and others interested in justice.
• Eumenidia: a witch who metes out justice in small communities.
• Watchman: a criminal vigilante who fights against organized crime that preys on the poor and oppressed.

Skills

Some common skills include

• Tracking
• Investigation
• Interrogation
• Hunting
• Legal knowledge
• Horsemanship
• Rope work
• Firearms
• Marksmanship

Stats

Modifiers from base of nation/species:

PRO +3
ATH +2
STR +2
AWA +4
WIL +1
STH +2
PRS +3