Bavonian Order

The Bavonian Order, known fully as the Worshipful Company of San Lauren in Bavonia are a Chivalric Order headquartered in Highfall Lodge, which overlooks the city of Boischateau in The North, named for the region in which they range, which is most of the southern reaches of The North. As with all of San Lauren's worshipful company, the Bavonians are an order of rangers and conservationists first and a military force second, with fealty alongside the Boischateau City Guard to the Duke of the North. The head of the Bavonian Order, its Lord Captain, is always a ranger and cleric of San Lauren and is almost always the eldest issue of the Count of Bavonia, therefore themselves a Baron. The title of "Lord Captain" is conferred upon the leader of the order even if the eldest issue is not that officer, usually through a royal letter patent declaring them to be a Baron-In-Right, styled properly as Lord/Lady/Baron <Surname>; such titles are not hereditary.

The blazon of the Bavonian Order is argent, a saltire sable; the saltire is frequently associated with San Lauren in Bastonian heraldry. High Ranking Bastonian Officers, especially those who have been knighted, are further entitled to an additional blazon: argent, a saltire sable; a stag rampant nature and this blazon in particular is associated with members of the order who are strongly aligned with San Lauren; ranger-clerics or clerics who make up the organizational core of the unit.

The Worshipful Company organizes itself into Lodges, each with their own captain and one or more units of 150 or fewer men and their Lieutenant - each such unit known as a troop - along with a number of administrative staff. These lodges maintain responsibility over certain geographic territories and act as rangers and scouts within that environment, targeting beasts and monsters in those areas and reporting the movements of other groups back to Highfall, who often reports such findings to the court of the Duke of The North.

The Bavonians have been known to tacitly permit druidic practice in their territories and historically have adopted a lax attitude toward enforcement of Church dictums, which is a contributing factor to the sense of The North being comparatively lawless.