Infiltration report: The Specializations and Command Structure of Aeros Academy

The following is a report from an operative from Restan Army Intelligence. It details what they have learned about their rivals in Galeon while infiltrating their ranks.

The Disciplines

Direct Contact(DC)- Disciples of the Direct Contact discipline are exclusively combat-oriented. Their role in the order is to confront savvy and hostile sources of information and extract it through either intimidation or force. They are extensively trained in hand-to-hand combat as well as the use of short swords and concealable weapons such as blowguns, shuriken and kunai. Their use of magic revolves around controlling the wind in the following ways:

• Light- In a situation where delicacy is crucial, windlords can subtly alter the movement of the air around them in advantageous ways, such as knocking an opponent off balance or distracting them by whipping up their hair or clothes while delivering deciding blows with their weapons.
• Heavy- In situations in which shocking a target is the way to go, Windlords will attack their enemies with winds powerful enough to send them flying. Those with exceptional control can effectively “juggle” an opponent by blowing them back and forth.

Soft Contact (SC)- Like their DC counterparts, Soft Contact Windlords specialize in making direct contact with the sources of information. Rather than taking what they need by force, however, SC Windlords focus on manipulating their sources into giving information freely. This school is least dependent on wind magic and instead encourages the windlord’s natural talents as well as disguises to entertain and confound their targets. They can take the form of an entertainer or unassuming server, among other things, comfortably and work with their silver tongues and open ears.

Shadow- Shadow Windlords are masters of stealth who focus on infiltrating restricted areas to steal and spy. Though their primary training is in avoiding line of sight by any means necessary, they use their wind magic in the most different ways.

• Retrieval- In the right situation, windlords can steal target objects, usually documents, by summoning a gust of wind that brings said objects closer. Although this can be helpful for a windlord contending with security too tight for them to get close, the gust itself can be easily noticed and therefore this spell must be used carefully.
• Catching whispers- All windlords have the ability to sense the air movement generated by speech, They can use magic to bring this air closer and determine what was said. The Shadow discipline sees the most use of this technique and have mastered it to the point of being able to hear through walls, which would otherwise negate the technique.
• Distraction- Shadow Windlords tend to use wind in various other ways to distract people in their path or even encourage them to go in a certain direction. The only limit to this power is the windlord’s imagination, but careful thought must go into the best way to use this spell as savvy targets can’t be allowed to suspect windlord involvement.
• Windwalking- Targeted blasts of wind propel the windlord further with each step, dramatically increasing their run speed and jump height.

Although fledgling windlords are instructed to choose a path at the beginning of their training, those who are recognized as proficient can change their discipline any time so they can learn new skills. While most windlords tend to choose a discipline and stick with it, the Grandmaster and Master tend to pay special attention to those who show interest in all of them.

The Structure

Most windlords are considered equals as they mostly reject a formal ranking system in favor of offices that are decided based on knowledge, merit, and popular support.

• Grandmaster- The Grandmaster is the one who is recognized to have the most skill and knowledge of the order. They are recognized as the face of the organization and the point of contact for Galean officials who wish to enlist their services. The current Grandmaster is James Hawke.
• Master- This role customarily belongs to someone with a close relationship with the grandmaster. Their role is to assist the Grandmaster in their duties, stand in their place when they are indisposed, and succeed them if they die. The current Master is Ellie Skye.
• Captains- These accomplished windlords are those who’ve mastered their discipline and now represent all of those who study beside them. Their role is to dispense missions to others of the same discipline and coordinate the trainers. 

• The current DC Captain is Markus Vilkoff
• The current SC Captain is Iekika Winstrom
• The Shadow Captain is customarily anonymous. While they may not correspond with other windlords exclusively in writing, this is the only form their mission orders can take. Only the Grandmaster and Master can ever know the Shadow Capain’s true identity.
• Trainers- This position is assigned to the five most skilled windlords of each discipline. Their role is to teach new recruits the skills of their discipline, based on the curricula decided by their captains.