Vigilant

In darkness, and in light.

The motto of the Vigilant.

The Vigilant
Major Species	Revenant, Vasacar, Human, Ashderian
Homeplanet	Operates from a series of void-borne fortresses inside the Milky Way Galaxy
Year Founded	Unknown
Leaders	The Midnight Council, Alaric
Status	Active
Notable Allies	Alarian Splinter, Ashderian Regime, Empire of Namine
Notable Enemies	Grand Order of Avalon, Arbiters of Kiron, Compact of the United Civilized Systems of the Milky Way Galaxy
Other Affiliations	One of the Syndicate powers

The Vigilant are a secretive ancient order of space-faring warriors who utilize advanced technology to further their own agenda within the Milky Way Galaxy. They can be further divided into three sub factions, the Umbra, the Radia, and the Gray.

Flag

The plain form of the Vigilant flag is divided into two colors, the left being black and right being white. A circle is placed in the center and possesses an inverted scheme.

The ornate form of the flag is an illustration of two figures stylisticly drawn back to back, separated by an ornate spear wrapped in a thin trailing banner. They are encompased by a set of wings from below.

The left half is black, and is illustrated in white. It depicts a hooded agent who's dagger is held in reverse grip, ready to plunge into the back of an unseen target. In the blank space of the upper left hand corner it says "In darkness,".

The right half is white, and is illustrated in black. It depicts a knight who's sword is held in hanging right stance, ready to duel an unseen opponent. In the blank space of the upper right hand corner it says "and in light.".

Origin

The Vigilant began as an important expansion fleet of the Grand Order of Avalon, sent to conquer territory within the Great Divide. During this takeover the faction took many casualties, forcing them to recruit new members from foreign populations. Over a process of decades, the cultural blending began to erode the values of the order, and in this subversion, new leaders rose.

Chief among these newly-appointed officers was Alaric, an Ambir whose ambition and knowledge of the enemy saw him soar through the ranks of the Avalon command structure. After rising to the position of second-in-command and becoming the trusted advisor of the Director of the fleet, Alaric convinced him to personally lead an assault on the world of Castellum that, while risky, would cripple the enemy war effort and ensure victory.

Betrayal

During the battle, the Director and those loyal to him were found in dire need of support, as their position, which was previously thought safe, was overrun by an unknown force sporting Kirone technology. His distress calls were met with silence, as this betrayal was orchestrated from the beginning. Alaric had conspired with one of the major houses belonging to the Arbiters of Kiron to assassinate both factions' current leadership in exchange for the founding of a union that would free the houses from their fading position in Arbiter politics. With the inducted house hailing him as their new king, and the rebellious GOA forces organizing a new council of governance, the foundation of their alliance had been forged.

Flight

Taking leave of the conflict, the new organization would travel through Cybil's River to the Milky Way Galaxy in its attempt to evade the ancient powers of its home territory. In doing so, they caught the attention of the Enlightened Ones, who were currently immersed in a ongoing rebellion against the Currai Imperium. Seeing this as a route to establish themselves, the union allied with the rebels, suffering even more losses in an attempt to carve a better future for their society.

Revelation

It was in this critical state that the faction would make a shocking discovery: an inactive Kirone vessel being cracked open and studied by the Imperium. Staging what many would equate to a suicide mission, the dwindling force liberated the ship from Currai control at the expense of King Alaric's life. Demoralized and nearly broken, they utilized forgotten knowledge kept by the rogue house to reactivate the remarkably well-preserved craft. In doing so, they discovered the truth about its origins from the vessel's on-board artificial intelligence. It revealed that the Kirone had not settled for conquering just Andromeda, but had actively sent out expeditions to terraform dead worlds within the Milky Way. These vessels, whose progress had long ago been halted by a mysterious lack of support from their parent civilization, were forced to enter a state of hibernation and now remained dormant throughout the galaxy as priceless vaults of arcane technology.

Transformation

When further questioned about the its own nature, the AI expressed that his name was Vigil and that he, like his companions wired into other exploratory ships, was actually a Kirone himself, who had taken a different path of ascension. He was once responsible for overseeing the entirety of the terraforming affair, and remarked with hatred that while most of his companions remained lost, some had found their way into the hands of those that would abuse them. With his original mission now an abject failure and his home evidently gone, he proposed an agreement to the remaining council and those loyal to them: Vigil would help them endure and thrive in the Milky Way if they liberated his brother and sister vessels from foreign control. The council agreed, but on the condition that they would be equals, not servants. The union was once slaved to an AI, and had no intentions of repeating history. Thus was the union given new life under the name of the Vigilant.

Retribution

Years passed, and the Vigilant, armed with the knowledge of those long gone, renewed their contribution to the War of Deliverance tenfold. King Alaric rose once more as the first Revenant at the head of a vast crusade of warrior automata and piloted war machines known as Hardsuits. The aforementioned pre-Vigilant governance council formed from the GOA rebellion forces following Alaric, now known as the Midnight Council, lead a host of covert operations across the span of the Imperium, utilizing their technological advantage to cripple its military infrastructure and assassinate key leadership positions. Through immense effort and equal support from the Enlightened Ones, the Imperium's dominion over the Milky Way was broken, and the Vigilant secured their existence for ages to come.

Establishment

In the years after the War of Deliverance, the Vigilant would claim enclaves of stars within the Milky Way. Utilizing the recovered Kirone vessels as mobile fortresses, they would continue to bolster their order by stripping many systems of their natural resources with machine labor. Whilst having an immense stockpile was a useful asset, not having enough manpower to utilize it to its fullest content was an unbecoming issue.

Whilst they could recruit from the wide mass of sapient alien life present in the Galaxy at that time, they had problems with this idea. The concerns stemmed primarily from the matter that mass recruitment of foreigners would water down the Vigilant's long standing traditions, so nonnative recruitment would end up sparing during this period.

Investigation

It would be during this time that they would discover ancient humanity, who's pre industrial societies they would watch with great interest. Unbeknownst to the population, human-kind possessed Kirone heritage, though in a manner unlike most Vasacar. Instead of being a regressed evolutionary branch of the defunct Kirone Empire, they appeared unique in that they were the product of the Kirone's failed colonisation efforts in the Milky Way. Even Vigil himself was surprised with humanity's advent, comparing it to an unexpected bearing of fruit in an otherwise ruined garden.

Induction

While some outlying members of the Vigilant would pose as divine figures attempting to bestow early humanity with knowledge, these elements were seen as foolish and were quickly stifled in favor of other methods. By utilizing Earth as a wide recruitment pool they could uplift the canidates they found potential in while keeping the Vigilant's traditions from becoming diffused. This was the beginning of the modern-day Vigilant's process of induction.