With a population with a greater propinquity to the radical beliefs of the common Chaos Cults, Kallig needed a reliable solution to up root the radical groups which will inevitably form within his borders, and ideally one which didn’t depend on Kallig’s constant oversight to function. The solution in the form of the Justicar Orders were formed after the onset of the Knightly Revolts by the ever loyal Desolator.
Designed as a form combined security roles, the Justicars could fill any role from overt security personnel for Governors and forming Kill Teams to hunt cult leaders to creating webs of informants and surveillance throughout entire worlds which would all be at the disposal of a few reliable leaders which Kallig could ensure loyalties for. With their wide variety of roles and tasks, the Justicar Orders can as easily recruit a gangster as a Praesidium veteran for their purposes and often work outside the legal system.
The more militaristic members of the Justicars often refer to the Orders as Battalions despite the more free form nature of the organisations. At the head of each order sits a single High Marshal which deal with major coordinations of the Orders and are only superseded by Kallig and his retinues. To allow for a manageable division of the Orders, Covens are formed for individual cities or fields of work such as governmental security and are commanded by Marshals but their authority can be overturned by the higher planetary governors. Further divisions are common but they aren’t as clearly defined.
Individual Orders
Deus Gemma - The Abbanic Children
As would be expected of an order given dominion over a hive world, the Abbanic Children are the largest Justicar Order with the most active, reserve and sleeper agents at their disposal. They also have the largest number of specialised Covens with some entirely setup to monitor and utilise criminal organisations. Compared to the presences on other worlds, the Abbanic Children are one of the more subtle often working behind the scenes like a early humanity secret service organisation.
Mechanica Petram - The Larvatum Nobles
With pre existing internal policing and the lack of connections with the dominant faiths of the worlds, the Primas Artificers rarely need an external force controlling them. With this freedom, the Artificers have developed stronger bonds with the wider Empire and the Justicar Order was mostly set into reserve and kept as a ceremonial force.
Opera Agri - The Wraith Brethren
Starting as the original template for the orders, The Wraith Brethren were founded by the Knight Desolator during the starting days of the Knightly Revolt. Befitting their bonds with the Knights of the Void, a small cult of reverence exists among the Marshals for the Knight and a common right of passage to becoming a High Marshal is to visit the Great Shrine to receive his blessing.
Despite their minor cult, the Brethren often act as an overtly physical presence instead of the more subtle nature of other Orders. This is primarily to work with the Clans planetside which are often more mobile than other population groups.
Vorago - The Akkvaden Wardens
Acting as the main policing force on the dead world, the Akkvadens forgo their more subtle methods and focus entirely on being a clear force around the convicts and other dangerous people.
Despite their limited domain, the Adriatic Knights and the Larvatum Nobles are two orders which are leagues smaller than the Wardens.
Malagast - The Adriatic Knights
Currently only the foundation of the implemented Order, the Adriatic Knights are intended more as a way to prevent internal hostilities between the Malagastians and Empire personnel. With the lingering bigotry in the population, this Order was started by request of Kritski to ensure some reliable security on his home world. Until reliable warp travel is created to Malagast and integrations of the world into the rest of the Empire is undertaken, the Order current works with the Wraith Brethren to gain an understanding of its purposes.
Alongside their High Marshal, it is noted in the command structure that Kritski Twinhorn is to be able to act with the same authority when they are finally transported to Malagast.
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Random thought but picture Samara in Dora Milaje (from Black Panther movie) clothing.
God I love the movie and I love them, btw, they were amazing. And someone will definitely yell at me or give me a long essay if I get it wrong but apparently it’s inspired by African and Filipino artifacts?
Samara would definitely look better in this but I always thought the Justicars should get their own customes, where we could see old asari traditions. If you go with the idea that she’s using her biotics all the time and doesn’t need a full body armor, you can still get a light custome but one that reflects asari history. The republics could be a source of inspiration. Samara could have one specific item added to her costume that would indicate her origins.
Ancient Justicars as Traveling Judges & Courts (Headcanon)
I like the idea that before the various Asari Republics began to accrete into cohesive political units, Justicars also acted as traveling judges, like with Henry II’s assizes, in addition to their modern duties of investigation, executions, and dealing with Ardat-Yakshi.Â
Justicars are likened by Samara to samurai or knight-errants, so there is, or was, an element of traveling to being a member of the Order. So when a Justicar passed through a town or village, people with legal matters to take care of would seek her out for arbitration and mediation. Maybe even an assembly like the old Germanic “Thing” would pop up whenever a Justicar passed through.
Later this particular area of Justicar authority would be ceded to formal asari justice systems as asari civilization rapidly developed. We know from the Codex that the Order does occasionally cede authority to the Republics via the “Oaths of Subsumation,” as with the concession that Justicars will never “overthrow an existing government, and will instead preserve the existing laws of the asari without the risk of staging a coup should the government be judged unjust” (ME Wiki).
I also like the idea that Justicars have retained the ability to arbitrate small claims, and even mediate divorces, and that their rulings cannot be overturned by asari courts. It just seems neat to me for a bit of their ancient past to have stuck around.
Why all asari would recognize the authority of Justicars, especially in antiquity, is beyond my ability to explain, but it just seems to have always been a thing. Justicars are part of the fabric of asari civilization. Asari even have a regular publication, “Justicar Heroes,” about them, so Justicars almost seem to be living superheroes to the asari. I do think they may have at one point been priestesses of Tevura before they were Justicars proper, or both at once, before the Athame Doctrine began to fade away. If this were the case it’d give them a divine authority more easily universally recognized on religious grounds.
This is a sincere question I don’t have an answer for. I’ve always wondered where the Justicar Order gets its money. Surely being a Justicar has related costs that need to be paid for by someone - things like travel costs, maintaining arms and armor or buying new, buying fresh ammo blocks, food, water, and lodging, health care, etc.
I’m not accusing Justicars of being corrupt. I’m pointing out that that I don’t see any hint of any kind of explanation in the games and lore.
What I know:
Justicars surrender their worldly possessions upon being inducted into the Order
See: Samara’s list of surrendered property in her “Lair of the Shadow Broker” Shadow Broker file
Justicars are sworn to Poverty
Justicars “generally” work alone
The Justicar Order has its own arms designer and manufacturer, or contracts arms manufacturers to design and manufacture their own exclusive firearms
Flavor text for the Disciple shotgun: “Originally handcrafted for the exclusive use of justicars, the Disciple Shotgun's schematics were finally released to asari commandos after centuries of negotiation.”
Perhaps asari arms manufacturers provide their services for free to the Order, seeing it as a kind of charity?
Justicars have access to a vast resource of intel (or just “knowledge”)
“Although justicars generally work alone, their effectiveness arises from the huge body of knowledge they can access. Any asari who enters the ranks of justicars has already spent centuries in a combination of criminal investigation, military intelligence, and combat experience; the collective body of justicar knowledge exceeds even that of the Spectres.” Codex Entry: Asari Justicars
What’s meant by “knowledge?” Is it actual intel, and Justicars maintain a vast network of informants in the criminal world? Do they also have have access to a database of criminals and criminal activity? Who’s paying for it all?
So where’s their funding coming from? Are all of these services provided to the Order gratis by asari organizations? Why? Do they do it for free because they view the Order as a noble institution? Is it considered charity to donate to the Order? Does each Republic has its own chapter of the Justicar Order that it pays out to? Wouldn’t that risk putting some chapters at odds with others? Couldn’t it be viewed as conflict of interest or possibly corruption for Matriarchs to be disbursing money to Justicars from a Republic’s coffers or their own pockets?
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Part of any Justicar's duty is to bring Asari like Morinth to justice. I would assume that it would be part of their training to know the abilities of an active ardat yakshi, so that's how Samara knows about Morinth's seductive voice, etc.
Good point. Samara's story as a Justicar is also interesting, she became a Justicar *because* she wanted to follow Morinth and bring her to justice.Â
I think she can resist an Ardat-Yakshi's attempt at mind melding, but I don’t know if/how she learned and if it took her long. After all, Shepard can also resist by being Full Paragon or Full Renegade. On the “first try”. I wonder if that had to do with getting cybernetic implants.
Going back to the training, the codex is pretty clear about it:
“Trained for extreme strength, biotic capacity, resourcefulness, asceticism, and ruthlessness, the fanatical justicars are romanticized and feared throughout asari society. Although justicars generally work alone, their effectiveness arises from the huge body of knowledge they can access. Any asari who enters the ranks of justicars has already spent centuries in a combination of criminal investigation, military intelligence, and combat experience; the collective body of justicar knowledge exceeds even that of the Spectres.”
Since we know they’re also quite independant, it’s not certain that all Justicars had to face an Ardat-Yakshi or that they all have the same mental resistance, but on the whole, I agree with you that they must have had the basics taught to them. I really didn’t think it through when I posted about it, and it shows now. Sorry!
