The Children Of The Light
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Walk In The Light

Sigil: The Golden Sun; The Sunflare.
Banner: A golden flaring sun on a field of white; edged with gold.

History
The Children Of The Light were founded in FY 1021, during the War of the Hundred Years, by Lothair Mantelar, as a priesthood dedicated to proselytizing against Darkfriends. Over the turbulent century that followed, the group evolved from preachers to fighters. At first they only fought as needed to defend themselves while preaching, but as the chaos of the war years grew, so did the perceived need for military intervention against Darkfriends. The Children gradually turned frmo preaching against Darkfriends to actually fighting them, until by approximately FY 1111 the Children of the Light had become a full-fledged military society dedicated to the defeat of the Dark One and the destruction of all Darkfriends. Little has survived from these early formative years to tell how gentle preachers became the ruthless crusaders of the current day.

Purpose
Also known disparagingly as "Whitecloaks", because of their trademark white cloak, the Children of the Light believe they have been called by the Light to do battle with the Shadow. These men follow very strict ascetic beliefs, and usually give the impression that they alone know the truth and the path to righteousness. They seem determined to inflict their version of the Truth on any who disagree with either their philosophy or their methods.

Though they would be offended to hear it, the organisation of the Children has some similarities to that of the Aes Sedai. Each society is controlled by one high-ranking individual; each owes allegiance to no nation, and is therefore not limited to one kingdom or region. The central headquarters of the Children, the Fortress of Light, is located in Amadicia's capital city of Amador, but only a small percentage of the total membership of the Children are ever in attendance at the Fortress at any one time. The majority are usually dispersed throughout the Land, constantly traveling in their search for Darkfriends.

Unlike the Aes Sedai, the Children have no oaths to prevent them from taking lives or harming ordinary people. Though they are sworn to do battle only against Darkfriends and creatures of the Shadow, each individual Captain or Commander is left to decide what actually constitutes the difference between a Darkfriend and an innocent, and to determine the guilt and the punishment for the former. According to Whitecloak definitions, all Aes Sedai are Darkfriends, or at least evil, as are any who support them. Their claim is based on the belief that it was the Aes Sedai and the One Power that destroyed the world during the Breaking. There is no doubt that the Children and their attitudes are responsible for the intolerance of Aes Sedai in Amadicia. Anyone with the ability to channel is outlawed there, as is anybody who even trained at the White Tower. By law any channelers are to be imprisoned or exiled, but in actuality most are killed while "resisting arrest."

The Children do not openly rule a given city or province. Whereas no Amyrlin Seat has ever denied her rule of Tar Valon and its territory, the Children of the Light insist that Amadicia is a sovereign nation, answerable only to its reigning king or queen. However, while the monarch may rule the country in name, it is the Children and their Lord Captain Commander, currently Pedron Niall, who rule it in fact, through their military and political might.

The Fortress of Light, in Amador, is the centre of the Children's power and bureaucracy. It is there, in the great hall under the Dome Of Truth, that the commanders of the Children gather to determine policy for the entire organisation. Under the gilded dome lit by a thousand hanging lamps, or within his personal audience chamber (which has a solid gold sun laid into the wooded floor), the head of the Whitecloaks, the Lord Captain Commander, presides over the Council of the Anointed, which consists of approximately a dozen of the highest ranking and most favoured Lord Captains, as well as the Hight Inquisitor.

The Hand Of The Light
The Hight Inquisitor - currently Rhadam Asunawa - ranks only slightly below the Lord Captain Commander. Though command for the military originates with the council, he alone issues the orders for the investigative Hand of the Light.

The majority of the Children, from the Lord Captains to the lowest trooper or recruit, are soldiers, dedicated to battle for the Light. They face death as a part of their duty. Members of the Hand of the Light, however, rarely if ever risk death in battle. They serve instead as interrogators or occupation forces. The fact that they rarely participate in the actual fighting, along with their morally superior attitude, frequently earns them the resentment of the regular troops.

Known among themselves as the Hand that digs out Truth, they are more often known to others as the Questioners. This nickname, however, is seldom used to their faces. Members often act as if they are a law unto themselves, entirely seperate from the rest of the Children. Although technically under the command of the Lord Captain Commander, they usually answer only to the High Inquisitor. Ranks within the Hand of the Light are largely the same as in the regular order, with the exception of the Lod Inquisitors, who are equal in rank to the Lord Captains.

Uniform
The Children of the Light always wear a pure white cloak and tabard over their clothes and armour. The left breast or each has a golden sunburst worked into it, a symbol of the Light they are sworn to follow. All officers' cloaks and tabards are further adorned with sliver lightning bolts for under-officers, and golden stars or knots in increasing quantity to indicate rank for higher officers. Each Child is armoured with a conical metal helm and plain breastplate. It is a matter of great pride to each member of the order to keep his white cloak spotless and his armour bright. Swords are worn by all Children, though never in the audience chambers of the Lord Captain Commaner or beneath the Dome of Truth.

Members of the Hand of the Light order wear the same white cloak or tabard, but these "Questioners" have a blood-red shepherd's crok emblazoned behind the sunburst. The High Inquisitor wears only the red crook, devoid of the flaring sun, as if to suggest his position allows him to stand outside the Children.

The Spymasters
The intelligence branch of the Children consists of "eyes-and-ears" spread throughout all kingdoms and provinces. All the gathered information is controlled and disseminated by a spymaster. In true espionage fashion, however, the "official" spymaster and the man who is actually trusted with the delicate job of keeping the Lord Captain Commander well informed are not the same. It is not surprising in an organisation as controversial as the Children that they believe even the true identity of the head of intelligence must be protected. Of course, the Lord Captain Commander is not the only Child to have access to intelligence information. According to high-level sources, may of the Lord Captains also have their own personal networks of "eyes-and-ears".

Organisational Structure
The Children Of The Light are always deployed as mounted cavalry, usually in groups or about one hundred; they can move very quickly when necessary. The highest rank among the soldiery is Lord Captain. A Lord Captain usually commands a Legion, which is officially two thousand men, though any given legion in the Children may actually be larger, and is often smaller. Below Lord Captain, the officer's ranks progress through Senior Lieutenant, Lieutenant, and Under-lieutenant. Below Under-lieutenant is the Hundredman, one who theoretically commands a hundred soldiers. In practice, the actual number varies widely.

The number of legions within the Children varies at any given time. Not all units are organised into legions, and not all are commanded by a Lord Captain. Some of the smaller units may be commanded by a Lieutenant or even an Under-lieutenant; except when the Hundredman and his men are functioning along, Lieutenant is usually the lowest rank to hold a position of command, though they usually act as support officers for the higher ranks. A Hundredman ranks below officers but above common soldiers and is usually a common soldier who has risen. When a Lord Captain commands a unit or legion, the Lieutenant chosen as second-in-command is given the temporary rank of Second Captain to differentiate him frmo any other Lieutenants within the unit.

Below the officer and Hundredman are the Bannermen, with Second Bannermen below them, then Squadmen and Second Squadmen. Below these are the file leaders and the regular trooper. Within the Children the actual personnel assignments are as flexible as the size of the units, and are changed often to suit the nature of the objective. There have even been times, though rare, when members of the soldiery have been "loaned" to the Questioners. Though the Questioners have been known to fight, it is doubtful that they are ever "loaned" as regular troop.