Odo is an initiate of The Hospital. The Hospital is an order of The Church made up of priests/monks and consecrated knights devoted to (a) the establishment of law and order and (b) caring for the sick and injured on the frontiers of civilization. Due to commitments elsewhere, the Order has had little presence on the Eastern Frontier thus far. After completing his novitiate, Odo was dispatched to the Eastern Frontier to investigate and, perhaps, lay the preliminary groundwork for the establishment of a commandery in the area.