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I thought interesting to post canonical information about the Watchers on the series forum.
It would be interesting to devellop the Watchers past history, who they are, how their organsiastion works and how they stayed i nexistence for the past four thousand years.
FROM WATCHER TRAINING ACADEMY PUBLICATION A-32:
ABOUT THE WATCHERS
Do We Know How The Watchers Originated?
According to legend, the Watchers were created in the thousand years after the Great Flood, when Ammelatu the Akkadian, a sandalmaker in the city of Agade, witnessed the great Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, come back to life in battle. Ammelatu kept the king's secret safe and, leaving his own life and livelihood, began to follow him. Soon he realized that Gilgamesh was not alone, that there were others like him who could not die, and he began to note whom this Immortal encountered and whom he killed. As time went on, and more Immortals were made known to Ammelatu, he sought out men he could trust and swore them to secrecy, and they began to Watch, as well. On his deathbed, he anointed his three sons to lead the brotherhood he had created after he was gone, and thus created the first Tribunal.
Can We Believe The Legends?
There are many within the Watcher organization who believe that tale to be apocryphal, a fable created during the Dark Ages to explain the unknowable. There is evidence to indicate that the three-person Tribunal only came into being as recently as the Roman epoch. Still, whether the story of Ammelatu is truth or fiction, it illustrates the principles that have been the foundation of the Watchers since its beginning:
* We Observe in Secrecy
* We Record the Truth Faithfully
* We Never Interfere in the Lives of Those We Watch
This is our Vow, passed down through the ages. These are the principles to which mortal men and women have dedicated their lives for thousands of years. And these are the principles to which we swore when we completed our training, took our final vow, and were marked with the seal of the Watchers forever.
The Field
Considering the requirements for secrecy and non-interference when dealing with immortals, field operatives can face the threat of brutal torture and death in order to keep the secret of the Watcher's organization safe. Some operatives were pulled from the field after enduring particularly difficult assignments, such as Amy Brennan-Thomas, who was reassigned from the extremely dangerous Immortal Morgan Walker to Research in order to assist on the Methos Chronicle.
There are further divisions within the field section such as Special Operations.
Some Immortals were considered safer than others for a new field agent. David Shapiro, for instance, was assigned to Duncan MacLeod before he had completed his training due to a manpower shortage. MacLeod was selected due to his reasonably peaceful history and strong moral grounding.
Research
Watchers assigned to research usually have advanced skills and aptitude for detailed research ranging from the collection and safe storage of ancient manuscripts and documents to computer, language, forensic, archival and investigative skills. While not necessarily 'unfit' for the field some prefer research to the field. For instance, Adam Pierson preferred research not only because he was secretly the ancient Immortal Methos, and would have been unable to function as a field operative, but also because he had a talent and enjoyment of languages, history, and technology. He managed to be assigned to his own Chronicle which allowed him to manipulate it in order to further obscure and confuse his history. Further divisions within the field section, Don Salzer was originally referred to as an Historian, while Adam Pierson was listed in the Research section.
Additionally, the Watcher organization maintains a regularly-updated database of known active Immortals, officially designated the roster of active Immortals This database is kept up-to-date with the movements of various Immortals, added and removed from the list as their activity in The Game dictates. Some are removed after entering seclusion or simply disappearing altogether, with an effort made to reinstate an Immortal if he or she is once again sighted in an active capacity in the world.
The Hall of Martyrs
A monument to Watchers killed in the line of duty are honored. Roger Harris, the Watcher tortured and murdered by Kalas in his quest to locate Methos, as well as Matthew Martin, who was also murdered by Kalas; Jacob Galati's victims including David Shapiro, Jillian O'Hara and more; and the Watchers killed during the debacle with the Methuselah Stone including Nathan Stern were added.
Exposure
During his lifetime, Duncan MacLeod ran across mortals wearing a unique symbol or tattooed with it several times. It was not until the untimely murder of Darius in The Hunters in 1993 that MacLeod began to earnestly investigate the symbol as it was the only clue to Darius' killer's identity available.
MacLeod's search brought him to Joe Dawson, Joe was forced to reveal the existence of the Watchers to Duncan and admit that he was assigned to Duncan's Chronicle in The Watchers. Joe's decision to reveal the Watchers to Duncan MacLeod would have grave consequences down the road.
The Hunters
After Joe revealed the Watchers existence in an effort to calm and reassure the Immortal, MacLeod spotted James Horton, Joe's brother-in-law, and the mortal who had attempted to kill him. Horton was revealed as the leader of a band of renegade Watchers dubbed The Hunters, who were bent on killing all Immortals, considering them abominations, to whom they would never bend knee. Horton was the charismatic ring leader and instigator of the group. His motivation might have been that in the 1980s he spent several years assigned to the Kurgan, it is possible that this exposure contributed in forming Horton's opinion of Immortals as monsters.
MacLeod managed to confront Horton and, and Joe was unable to talk him out of his mission, MacLeod tried to kill Horton. Lynn, Horton's daughter interceded, however, begging MacLeod for her father's life, MacLeod relented only to be shot in the back by Horton. Lynn tried to stop her father, but he hit her, allowing MacLeod to run Horton through with his sword. Believing Horton was dead, MacLeod returned to his life, and began a tentative friendship with Joe Dawson.
The Hunters then largely went dormant, left the Watchers, or were exposed after Horton's initial exposure and final death. Sadly, the legacy of the Hunters would linger for years and continue to cost both mortal and Immortal lives.
It would be interesting to devellop the Watchers past history, who they are, how their organsiastion works and how they stayed i nexistence for the past four thousand years.
FROM WATCHER TRAINING ACADEMY PUBLICATION A-32:
ABOUT THE WATCHERS
Do We Know How The Watchers Originated?
According to legend, the Watchers were created in the thousand years after the Great Flood, when Ammelatu the Akkadian, a sandalmaker in the city of Agade, witnessed the great Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, come back to life in battle. Ammelatu kept the king's secret safe and, leaving his own life and livelihood, began to follow him. Soon he realized that Gilgamesh was not alone, that there were others like him who could not die, and he began to note whom this Immortal encountered and whom he killed. As time went on, and more Immortals were made known to Ammelatu, he sought out men he could trust and swore them to secrecy, and they began to Watch, as well. On his deathbed, he anointed his three sons to lead the brotherhood he had created after he was gone, and thus created the first Tribunal.
Can We Believe The Legends?
There are many within the Watcher organization who believe that tale to be apocryphal, a fable created during the Dark Ages to explain the unknowable. There is evidence to indicate that the three-person Tribunal only came into being as recently as the Roman epoch. Still, whether the story of Ammelatu is truth or fiction, it illustrates the principles that have been the foundation of the Watchers since its beginning:
* We Observe in Secrecy
* We Record the Truth Faithfully
* We Never Interfere in the Lives of Those We Watch
This is our Vow, passed down through the ages. These are the principles to which mortal men and women have dedicated their lives for thousands of years. And these are the principles to which we swore when we completed our training, took our final vow, and were marked with the seal of the Watchers forever.
The Field
Considering the requirements for secrecy and non-interference when dealing with immortals, field operatives can face the threat of brutal torture and death in order to keep the secret of the Watcher's organization safe. Some operatives were pulled from the field after enduring particularly difficult assignments, such as Amy Brennan-Thomas, who was reassigned from the extremely dangerous Immortal Morgan Walker to Research in order to assist on the Methos Chronicle.
There are further divisions within the field section such as Special Operations.
Some Immortals were considered safer than others for a new field agent. David Shapiro, for instance, was assigned to Duncan MacLeod before he had completed his training due to a manpower shortage. MacLeod was selected due to his reasonably peaceful history and strong moral grounding.
Research
Watchers assigned to research usually have advanced skills and aptitude for detailed research ranging from the collection and safe storage of ancient manuscripts and documents to computer, language, forensic, archival and investigative skills. While not necessarily 'unfit' for the field some prefer research to the field. For instance, Adam Pierson preferred research not only because he was secretly the ancient Immortal Methos, and would have been unable to function as a field operative, but also because he had a talent and enjoyment of languages, history, and technology. He managed to be assigned to his own Chronicle which allowed him to manipulate it in order to further obscure and confuse his history. Further divisions within the field section, Don Salzer was originally referred to as an Historian, while Adam Pierson was listed in the Research section.
Additionally, the Watcher organization maintains a regularly-updated database of known active Immortals, officially designated the roster of active Immortals This database is kept up-to-date with the movements of various Immortals, added and removed from the list as their activity in The Game dictates. Some are removed after entering seclusion or simply disappearing altogether, with an effort made to reinstate an Immortal if he or she is once again sighted in an active capacity in the world.
The Hall of Martyrs
A monument to Watchers killed in the line of duty are honored. Roger Harris, the Watcher tortured and murdered by Kalas in his quest to locate Methos, as well as Matthew Martin, who was also murdered by Kalas; Jacob Galati's victims including David Shapiro, Jillian O'Hara and more; and the Watchers killed during the debacle with the Methuselah Stone including Nathan Stern were added.
Exposure
During his lifetime, Duncan MacLeod ran across mortals wearing a unique symbol or tattooed with it several times. It was not until the untimely murder of Darius in The Hunters in 1993 that MacLeod began to earnestly investigate the symbol as it was the only clue to Darius' killer's identity available.
MacLeod's search brought him to Joe Dawson, Joe was forced to reveal the existence of the Watchers to Duncan and admit that he was assigned to Duncan's Chronicle in The Watchers. Joe's decision to reveal the Watchers to Duncan MacLeod would have grave consequences down the road.
The Hunters
After Joe revealed the Watchers existence in an effort to calm and reassure the Immortal, MacLeod spotted James Horton, Joe's brother-in-law, and the mortal who had attempted to kill him. Horton was revealed as the leader of a band of renegade Watchers dubbed The Hunters, who were bent on killing all Immortals, considering them abominations, to whom they would never bend knee. Horton was the charismatic ring leader and instigator of the group. His motivation might have been that in the 1980s he spent several years assigned to the Kurgan, it is possible that this exposure contributed in forming Horton's opinion of Immortals as monsters.
MacLeod managed to confront Horton and, and Joe was unable to talk him out of his mission, MacLeod tried to kill Horton. Lynn, Horton's daughter interceded, however, begging MacLeod for her father's life, MacLeod relented only to be shot in the back by Horton. Lynn tried to stop her father, but he hit her, allowing MacLeod to run Horton through with his sword. Believing Horton was dead, MacLeod returned to his life, and began a tentative friendship with Joe Dawson.
The Hunters then largely went dormant, left the Watchers, or were exposed after Horton's initial exposure and final death. Sadly, the legacy of the Hunters would linger for years and continue to cost both mortal and Immortal lives.
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