The Order of Wands was a militant order of magi. Its members, known as guardiennes, were originally all female. After dozens of scores as a female-only fighting order they eventually admitted men, but the feminine term was applied equally to both. In the order’s earliest rotes it was known as the Sisterhood of the Guardiennes, and its adherents strove to prove that magic made the genders equivalent when it came to combat. This goal of gender neutrality eventually led to the inclusion of men and the change from sisterhood to order. The Order of Wands was chosen as the final name due to their wands being a defining characteristic. Guardiennes can be identified by their use of short, thin metal wands as opposed to the longer and thicker wooden wand used by most magi. The wands of a guardienne were usually between 4 and 6 inches long.
By the modern era, guardiennes were known as the best bodyguards. Unfortunately for the wealthy and elite who desired their protection, guardiennes were not mercenaries. They traveled between nations and sought out worthy causes to support or people to protect. A guardienne could not be bought, but some tried to sway them. Those who gained the defense of a guardienne through chicanery were made examples of when the truth came out. To deceive a guardienne was to invite violence.
Guardiennes had no distinctive appearance beyond their wands. Many guardiennes wore the traditional wrapped attire of a magi, but others specifically eschewed any identifying clothing or other characteristics. By blending into the crowd, guardiennes were better able to identify threats without being noticed. Other situations called for a visible bodyguard, and guardiennes were perfectly flexible in this area: both stealth and panache could be weapons. Unlike the majority of magi, some guardiennes did choose to wear armor.
The Order of Wands believed they could change the course of history through the proper application of their extreme combat training. They did not seek to violently remove leaders, but instead sought to keep people, and sometimes whole movements, alive and well to continue working for the common good. A benevolent lord, an inspired advocate for peoples’ rights, or a remarkable healer all might find they had a guardienne watching over them openly or in secret.
The sanctums of the guardiennes were castles in the wilderness or fortresses in the midst of major city-states. As the longest-lived militant order of magi, they took their combat role very seriously. Legends claimed the guardienne fortress in Amathast was their oldest stronghold. It predated the change away from the original name of the Sisterhood of the Guardiennes, and most of the order’s agents trained there for at least a few movements.
Kristofor Loren Carlson 