aka Blackwing Champions, Hand of the King/Queen
To join the Champions, a changeling must be politically savvy, socially wise, and reasonably well-connected to freehold life. These are the minimum prerequisites to join the order:
Upon joining the order, every champion's mien changes to reflect the community that they serve, as well as manifesting the black wings iconic to the order. Most gain an element from each court: licks of flame burning away constantly-falling snow, for example, with leaves crunching underfoot as they walk leaving trills of arcadian music in their wake. A sunken chest is also common in freeholds with a large population of courtless changelings.
There is another change to the mien that is easy to overlook: a square metal ring appears on the smallest finger of the champion's dominant hand.
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The privileges of the Champions are built around service and sacrifice.
Champions are expected to serve the freehold's reigning monarch, and they get benefits when doing so.
Champions who abandon this duty out of hubris lose these benefits and are cursed: all ones rolled subtract from the total successes. The curse can only be lifted by the offended monarch's forgiveness, usually after some penance by the champion.
The ring that appears as part of the champion's mien is intimately tied to the function of the order. It grows more tarnished as the champion loses clarity and more brilliant as they regain it.
When an awful act is unavoidable, a champion will often volunteer to do the deed themselves. When they cannot, they can give this gift instead and sacrifice their own mind for the greater good of the freehold.
No one can demand that a champion use this gift, not even a monarch. Champions can refuse such demands without risking the loss of their other privileges.
While it is easier for a champion to lose clarity, it is also easier to regain it. They are grounded by their service to the freehold and spend four less experience points when purchasing clarity.
Like the Viziers, a crowned Champion brings hideous ruin to the freehold.
If the king is mad, the champion is unbound and might raise an insurrection against the monarch. Perhaps they can do this anyway.
Their sacrifice is false and they're eager to give it, no matter what they say. The other person becomes dependent on the champion's help, ensure that they're indispensable to the monarch.
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