The Haradim Orders are the chief unit of organization of both the contemporary Maninist Faith and the social, economic and political arena in which that Faith operates. They may broadly be described as networks of religiously-motivated communities of like-minded Faithful.
Nature[]
The Orders are notoriously difficult to describe to those outside the Maninist realm. The Synods and the Concourse have imposed a greater measure of uniformity than once existed - in the early years of their existence, entities claiming to be Orders ranged from lone hermits to organized crime syndicates - but the commonalities are still relatively few. Each Order is committed to follow the example of a single patron from among the Haradim, each required to file and adhere to a Sequora, and each required to accept the ultimate authority of the Concourse, High Ward and Synod, in that order. Just as there are many ways to become Haradim, open to men in all walks of life, so are there many ways of forming an Order and emulating those Haradim. Even the Synothal Orders exhibit a dizzying variety: the Sadorishi are, for most intents and purposes, a strictly disciplined and ascetic military force garrisoned throughout the continent, while the Tehavi bear a more than passing resemblance to an Accan nuccion with holdings in a hundred towns. Speaking very broadly, Orders tend to appeal to a specific cross-section of society, and form networks tying those sections together. Viewed edge-on, so to speak, the Halyrate would then be divided by numerous layered striations stretching across the entirety of the geographical area, where, say, the Aitahist world would be cut into slices like a cake, each containing a cross-section of the whole.
Functions[]
Within the Halyrate nearly all of the powers once exercised by territorial rulers have leeched away into the Orders. Orders handle juridical affairs, public works projects, the maintenance of public order, and defense against invaders. Most property in the Halyrate is owned by an Order, and each of the Synothal Orders controls a vast amount of property and resources. Order-owned property is held in trust by the Order as a whole, and distributed to its Initiates and Associates as the Order sees fit; as advancement within an Order is typically not contingent on birth, the Halyrate has comparatively high levels of social mobility and economic opportunity. The activities of the Orders are funded by the proceeds of directly administered properties and the tithes of Associates. Competition for public loyalty is accordingly fierce, and provides much of the impetus for the public works and charitable activities of the Orders.
Initiates and Associates[]
Even in the most fervently Maninist areas, a majority of the population is not initiated into an Order. Initiates into the Order are required to live according to the Order's Sequora and fit into the Order hierarchy. Nevertheless, almost all people consider themselves to be associated with an Order, even if they are not initiates, and consider their primary loyalty to lie with that Order. So, for example, the farmers in the Pale of the Sadorishi would consider themselves inextricably linked to the Sadorishi, despite ostensibly existing outside it. The manner in which an Order deals with its Associates varies tremendously, naturally, from Order to Order.