Spirit Wardens

X Worldbuilders:

GM James R

Spirit Wardens

The iconic mask of the Spirit Wardens

Location	City of Ahol, Bellweather Crematorium
Tier	IV

The Spirit Wardens were a mysterious and Powerful order of spirit hunters serving the city of Ahol. Membership remained strictly anonymous - with warden identities protected by masks - and compromised entirely of non-Aholers, due to the sensitive nature of their work.

Wardens had two key functions within the city. First, following the death bell signaling a citizen's death, they collected the bodies of the deceased to be properly disposed of. This was to ensure the spirit was safely destroyed, and didn't contribute to the city's rampant spirit problem.

Their second role was to hunt down rogue spirits that escaped its body before destruction. This was achieved through specialised equipment and even more secretive rituals, unknown to the uninitiated.

Assets

The Spirit Wardens operated in an official capacity within the city's bureaucratic structure, similar to the city's Bluecoat police force. Thusly, substantial resources were are their disposal in the form of equipment and manpower.

Notable Locations

• Bellweather Crematorium - Located in the Charterhall area of the city, the crematorium was operated by the Spirit Wardens in their fight to contain rogue spirits. From this central location they could efficiently collect the bodies of the city's dead to ensure they were fully destroyed. Complex rituals were also performed here, far from the eyes of the oblivious public; secret tasks such as the destruction of Hollow corpses, which - as discovered by undercover Neighbours - required the use of leviathan blood.

Notable People

• Due to the anonymous nature of the organisation, no person is known to belong to the Spirit Wardens. However, this anonymity could be exploited, as members of The Neighbours were able to successfully infiltrate or masquerade as members of the group by acquiring the masks of current wardens. Any form of structure or hierarchy was secret to outsiders of the order.
• Non-Spirit Wardens could be found working in the Bellweather Crematorium such as Flint, a spirit trafficker with ties to less reputable characters.

Equipment

• Every member of the Spirit Wardens wore an identical bronze mask. This both ensured their identity was kept a secret, and maintained the mysterious and intimidating façade adopted by the order.
• The order possessed a vast armoury of tools, both mechanical and arcane, to aid in their hunt for lost spirits. With the backing of the city's treasury, only the finest of spark-craft equipment found it's way into their hands. One device - the Ghadar - could be attuned to a specific spirit by using DNA of the deceased.
• Whilst the Spirit Wardens were not necessarily an martial organisation, such as the Bluecoats or the military, all members were equipped with simple weapons in case of violent unforeseen circumstances.
• Speed was a necessary factor in collecting the bodies of the deceased, so the wardens owned a number of vehicles to navigate the city. Their armoured tank-like patrol vehicles were seen flooding the streets during the Mothers' Day Spirit Riots of 1010 PR, attempting to quell the mass of spirits.
• The Spirit Wardens had trained a number of crows known as Deathseeker Crows, which could detect and smell out a fresh corpse. Releasing the crows into the city at the sound of a bell, Spirit Wardens would race through Ahol to pinpoint even the most hidden of bodies.

Trivia

• One of the city's most popular newspapers - The Bellweather Boots - took it's name from the crematorium, which it's offices were just down the road from.