@shylarah @The Angry Goat She probably also had an unspoken respect for Stina, but never outwardly showed it. She viewed anyone with noticable power as a threat to her own ascendance, but didn't go as far as like, attacking them while outside of training missions or anything. She most likely insulted him a few times, yes, but didn't do anything beyond asking for a duel. She isn't evil, just singularly driven and super arrogant about her own abilities, as well as her background and family.

Also, I view the different warbands as being kept sort of separate for much of their time in the Seminary. I see each warband as having their own individual compounds and they really only interacted with each other during joint training exercises/competitions (which probably only happened a few times a month) or rare social functions, like holy celebrations and such. This didn't stop certain people from different warbands from sneaking out and meeting in secret however.

@Lovejoy Really? interesting...I'd sort of figured that they were like a school, so you had classes with all one set of people, but then things like meal times and so on had some overlap.

@shylarah I think the Seminary keeps them isolated so as to ingrain in them a feeling of complete dependence and trust in each other. Inquisitor warbands are meant to act as cohesive units, so much so that a lot of inquisitors view their companions as the only family they have, which is why the terms "warsibling/warbrother/warsister" are used.

@Lovejoy Well it could also make them loathe each other...but hey! *amused* The issue is that with families, humans tend to want to strike out. that's what adolescence is, a moving away from dependence. And there's issues if the warbands don't learn how to people because they never really had new people around, or a large number to handle.

Watch this be Varya's downfall~ *cackling*

@shylarah I highly doubt the Seminary cares whatsoever about a pupil's feelings regarding their warsiblings or if they're feeling too cooped up. Remember, this is a civilization that uses an entire cultural group of people as fuel, and the Red Seminary is probably the most brutal place in all the empire. Concepts like freewill and comfort are unknown there. Kids are fashioned into weapons, and nothing else matters.

Warbands are meant to be kept together for decades, if not forever. While some inquisitors do rise in the ranks and break off eventually, most remain as part of their warband indefinitely. They are trained to be cohesive fighting units, with each member of the group being given a vital role in combat operations. During training, they learn to rely on each other in order to survive, otherwise they can easily lose their lives. Twelve years of this usually forges a warband into a singular, powerful unit of fighters. Those who can't cope with this were gotten rid of long ago.

That being said, it's not like they were completely isolated and cloistered away from the rest of humanity, they saw the other warbands twice a month during training exercises/competitions, and they could also interact with anyone within the Seminary. They also had outside influences like SA soldiers and civilian teachers and the like coming in to lecture them (at least Phoenix did, since it was Creid's practice). It's meant to be less like a school and more like bootcamp, where recruits are separated into different companies and learn to rely and trust each other, but taken to an extreme.

@Lovejoy Well either they're isolated or they get to interact with anyone in the Seminary. o.o Or do you mean like...their rooms and common areas, whatever wasn't in the seminary proper? and they don't go wandering into each others' areas?

Yeah, I get it. It's got inherent issues, though. <3 But Varya don't care! <3

@shylarah Each warband has their own large compound complete with servants, individual rooms, training halls, ect. Pupils can't leave these compounds except for when they go on the joint training exercises or other important seminary events. And yeah, it's definitely unhealthy to keep kids locked up with each other, but it isn't meant to be comfortable.

@Lovejoy I mean more that it wouldn't create functional warbands. Maybe that's why so many don't make it....

This is really different from what I'd thought the place was like, but nothing that can't be worked with. I'd suggest maybe not locked up, but...highly encouraged to spend their time in those compounds?

that or it's a time-honored tradition to sneak out. Probably this, actually. ^.^

@shylarah I disagree about this method not being successful in creating functional fighting groups. It's definitely cruel, but I think it would be successful more often than not. I have a brother in the Navy and two cousins in the USMC (my ex-boyfriend was in the corps as well) and I was really affected when I heard about their experiences-- the isolation they went through, the stripping down during bootcamp and how they basically had no choice but to bond with the people they were grouped with in order to succeed. My cousin, who was kind of a shy loner type before going in, said this to me at his graduation -- "Yeah I'd die for my brothers. Easily." So, I'd say it works.

That's kind of what inspired the Seminary and the warband thing. Only in this case, it's a much longer than 13 weeks and it's literal survival on the line, which is a good motivator. And yes, pupils are forbidden from leaving their compounds, just as military recruits can't leave their barracks of their own free will.

I'm curious though, what did you think the Seminary was supposed to be like?

I should mention that it's not like the compounds are these super closed-in areas where everyone is squished together like a sardine. Every pupil was given their own individual chambers and other amenities, like Rodion had his workshop. So I picture it as kind of like a large college dorm. Only's in an ancient temple so everything is dark and gloomy. Maybe?

@Lovejoy My understanding was the workshop was in a greater metalworks, since it would be something many people could benefit from, instead of just the one. Seems singularly wasteful to create a full set of tools and so on for each individual that wants to use them, but perhaps that's not an issue?

Does bootcamp handle children, or do they start with teens? Because starting with children and forming units means that you're far more likely to have the adolescent phase split them up, instead of having adolescents forming their new bonds as fledgling adults with the desired group of people.

But then, I think you said warbands aren't formed until a couple years in? So that might help a bit, instead of at nine.

I had figured it sorta like college dorms, with freedom restricted (not allowed out of the warband's compound outside of whatever hours, most of your hours are assigned to a given area) but that there are times, on a daily basis, when they're out and about. It'd be harder to bond with people outside their warbands , and certainly combat training would cement those ties. But it's not only those people and teachers save for the once-a-week outing which has no time for socialization.

Especially if teachers go across multiple warbands -- and it does seem some do, especially the infirmary folks.

I'd figured rigid schedules, and there's the people you're always with, but you have knowledge of and contact with the other groups informally during, say, a couple hours' free time when you have individual work to do, be it practice or written assignments, but also time to socialize a little. Work in a specific area -- be it library stuff, metalworks, infirmary, any of the things that feel like they'd have a single facility instead of a bunch of smaller ones with more limited resources, would allow exposure to other groups and other staff. Any sort of pull out class for a specific skill would be cross-band as well. So Rodion might have his work area in a section of the metalworks, and he probably has some tools that are just his, and it might even be divided off into a bunch of cubicles, but certain things he will need to do in the main area and will need to share certain machinery with other people before taking stuff back to his space. It's simpler to have some small number of gymnasiums and shooting ranges and cycle groups through them at different times than give each one a separate one. That's sorta what I saw.

No idea if that even works. ^.^;;

If nothing else, it raises questions why Marcus was bothering Phoenix people while they were on cleaning detail in their own compound. I'd figured that was a seminary chapel.

as clarification: I'm concerned the age they start would damage cohesiveness later on.

@shylarah The main point I wanted to stress was that individual warbands are honed to operate together. They are encouraged to compete against other warbands during training exercises. It's an iron sharpens iron mentality.

Also, due to them having unique magical abilities, each warband is an individual case and so the curriculum that's taught differs with each group. We can increase the rate at which different groups share the same space (probably during Gregoroth's general combat sessions) but I don't want it to be a daily thing. Maybe some of the senior warbands are tasked with prefect duties and are allowed within the different compounds. This is probably how Magnus was able to do the kind of things he did.

@shylarah As far as Rodion and his workshop goes-- each inquisitor is highly individualistic in terms of their ether ability. It's not like there's a 'metalworking class' in the seminary. In fact, I think Rodion is one of the few inquisitors who can do what he does. He showed talent with machines so a curriculum was created specifically for him, just as one was created for Tatiana and her summoning, Astraea and her healing abilities, Ziotea and her ether manipulation, ect.

@shylarah Oh and, I do agree that we should change the age at which pupils are sorted into their different warbands. As it stands, it's during the acolyte phase, six months in (!!!) which yeah, waaay too early. I'm fine with them being in a sort of general studies kind of thing for those first few years, and once they become actual priests and are given the Father/Mother title after surviving the third Milestone they are split into different warbands. It'd make sense to group them much later on, after the faculty has observed their ether abilities for a long period.

So, let's change it so that they're sorted into their warband once they reach the rank of Warpriest, at age 14-ish. I think that could work.

@Lovejoy I figu8red his workshop was set in a place that already handled forging things. He won't have been the only one ever, but yeah, not many. But it makes sense to have a forge for weapon and armor repair.

Didn't think Seraph was all that much older than Phoenix. And maybe not daily. One day a week, perhaps, for a couple hours? Something limited but present. But not always in a specific and highly structured class, that's all. More during chore periods and self-study (and possibly socialization)

@shylarah There is a forge where servants work but I don't see an issue with Rodion having his own specilized forge in the compound. The Church isn't really hurting for resources.

@Lovejoy fair enough.

Apologies for not getting back into this. I've had an up and down month which all culminates with me moving house on Wednesday next week.

Once moved I will be able to dedicate myself to this. Apologies for my frankly shoddy performance thus far

@deathbringer *hugs* hope the move goes well.