Project Wardens: Introducing the Ornan Covenant
Heritors of the Dominion
The Dominion is ruled by a holy two.
One bound by blood,
and one risen by deed.
One hand to guide the faithful,
And one blade to guard them.
One Priest-King to rule,
And one Warden to serve.
As Orna united the flesh with the spirit,
So too shall this Covenant unite its flock,
and with the Phoenix’s life-giving gift,
bring virtue into the light of day,
and throw evil into the shadow of night.
Who are the Ornan Covenant
It’s about time I put the “warden” in Project Wardens!
The Ornan Covenant serves as the catalyst for the events of Project Wardens’s story. They are the descendants of the Phoenica Dominion, the civilization that initially controlled the land that would eventually become the Western Anarchies until internal strife led to its poisoning and ruination.
The Covenant/Dominion traces its origins back nearly 1500 years prior to the events of Project Warden’s story. As a Scionic culture, they owe their inception to one of the several ancient, titanic Scions who bestowed humanity with knowledge and power beyond their physical capabilities in the form of Essenialism (more on that in another future blog post, but for now, Essenialism is best described as a type of soul-sourced sorcery). They share this distinction with Pelland in the center of the continent and the Nocclusians on its easternmost face. However, while Nocclus utilized Essenialism as the central element of their ruling class and Pelland rebuked the practice outright in light of their doctrine emphasizing “matters of flesh and earth,” the Ornans, like their ancestors, believe the Essenial arts are a gift to heal, protect, and empower those who lack the power.
After a fierce civil war led to their homeland’s devastation, the surviving Phoenicans reorganized into the Ornan Covenant, relinquished their territory and fled into the Cremata Desert to atone and rebuild. In time, the land they left behind would become the Western Anarchies, as their dilapidated settlements and strongholds would become nests for thugs and vagrants kicked out of the eastern Mainlands.
The end of their centuries-long isolation, and their first contact with those who inhabit their ancestral lands, will mark the beginning of a new age for the Western Anarchies, as decisions must be made as to who is friend or foe.
In the aftermath of a fierce civil war involving heretical advancements in the Essenial sciences—including creations like the soul harness or the Essenium golem—the survivors, guilty for the carnage they wrought, fled into exile, spending the next several centuries in the Cremata Desert to heal away from the rest of the world.
It’s been centuries since the Ornan Covenant last took the stage, but mysterious soldiers emerging from Cremata to survey Anarchies settlements suggest they may be ready to finally end their age of isolation. Ready or not, the people of the Western Anarchies will have to figure out for themselves if they are friend or foe…
As for their political structure, Ornan leadership is separated between a Priest-King (or Priest-Queen), who spearheads the spiritual and legislative affairs of the Covenant, and a Warden, who takes charge of military and judiciary matters. Joining them in the Ornan government are six “Kyriarchs,” who serve as governing bodies of the Covenant’s provinces, and help the Priest-King/Queen decide who the next Warden should be when the previous resigns or dies.
While the Priest-King/Queen and Wardens are the Covenant’s official leaders, the individual Kyriarchs hold significant power, including their own fraction of the Covenant’s military strength: in order for a Warden to be successful, he must carefully balance the priorities of and win over the Kyriarchs to give him command of their forces. Such looseness is the result of centuries of desert survivalism, but they distinguish themselves from the Western Anarchies to the southeast by having any large-scale government at all.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Originally, the Ornan Covenant was called the Ronan Covenant, inspired by both the Roman Empire and “corona” in light of the sun/light/life motif of their deity. However, after using that name so many times and in light of a certain infamous pathogenic virus, I figured a minor corruption to the name might be what the doctor ordered. I’ll let you decide if this change was made for better or worse, but personally, “Orna/Ornan” certainly feels comfier to use.
As someone who isn’t much of an artist, cementing design philosophy can be a bit of a struggle. However, I would describe Ornan garb to be a cross between the standard fair for deep desert-dwelling civilizations and a mix of Greek/Roman/Byzantine with a hint of classic medieval to keep it aligned with the stylism of the rest of the Project Wardens world. The goal is to make them come off as a people who adapted to the desert, not a people who originated from it.
MORE TO COME…
While I’m ashamed to admit I’ve spent more time away from Project Wardens than I’d like, I’ve had some good opportunities to reflect on my mission statement for the project and make some sweeping adjustments and changes to the plot, setting, characters—pretty much everything. In light of that, a release timeframe of next spring, never mind any part of 2023, feels increasingly unlikely. However, if it means the book is in the best possible shape it can be in, then I understand that it’s important to take as much time as necessary (within reason, of course…)
In the meantime, continue looking forward to Writer’s Wall updates, as well as all the other content you can find on this site!