What are the Wings of Faith (TWoF)?
TWoF is a benevolent secret society, very small in number but large in purpose. It is not officially aligned with any race or outside organization (like The Council, despite it being made up of exclusively guardian angels). It does not answer to Peacekeepers or any other authority of law, making it a renegade organization by definition.
Members of TWoF take on a vow to protect the people of Loom. Each individual claims a precinct of the city and forms a small group to look after it. With the use of their ability to bond, they may perform a variety of actions, from rescuing folks in danger to curing the sick and injured who can't afford care. Outside these small groups, they don't formally communicate with other members of TWoF (meaning it is leaderless, and no one knows its exact numbers).
How does TWoF function?
The group in charge of a precinct spread word of their presence in two major ways--through churches and poor intercity communities. Pastors are provided with the sacred 'first' names of serving angels and pass around the incantation needed to activate the angelic wards of their precinct. Similarly, word of these incantations are spread through humanitarian centers and poor schools. Thus, the community in general is made aware of rune locations and how to access them, though the community also tends to guard this information from outsiders (like Peacekeepers).
When a person activates a bond, the angel basically drops everything to come and assist. They don't strive to conceal their identities (so they don't wear masks and things like that), but tend to blend so well into human society that not everyone who has activated a ward knows what human identity an angel may be attached to.
How do other organizations interact with TWoF?
TWoF is an organization “for the people,” and thus does not formally attach itself to any other group. However, isolation is impossible, and so TWoF does run into the agendas of other organizations at times. Peacekeepers are the most common, as TWoF makes a point of killing only when it is absolutely necessary. It is not unheard of for some member of TWoF to deliver a criminal into the hands of the Peacekeepers after successfully defending a charge. Less beneficial interactions occur with TWoF and the Black Guard, as TWoF members will protect someone under their bond, even if that bond is in violation of law. The Council has, on rare occasions, acquired assistance from TWoF members, but only in the form of temporary protection when other methods have failed. Finally, the Academy has no affiliation with TWoF, as mages are typically very capable of defending themselves, but some students from poor areas of the city have invoked TWoF for protection.
TWoF is seen as too small to be of great consequence, and because its objectives never spread from beyond helping poor and defenseless humans, it doesn't have a large role in the overall politics of the city. Even so, humans tend to have a high opinion of TWoF because of the selfless acts from angels it demands, and the organization could be blamed for giving some humans a higher opinion of all angels, promoting a not-entirely-true notion that all angels care for the well-being of humans.
Who are members of TWoF?
Adrian, Deorwine, and Malvina form the group of their precinct. All three of them are friends who share both duty and their 'human' lives. The runes of their precinct resemble graffiti, large cursive letters that spell “M.A.D.” The phrase to activate it, as rumor goes, is “
absit iniuria.”