Lore

History and Lore of Imarelian Knighthoods - by T.A. Saunders ©2011 v1.6

Understanding Knight Philosophy

Each knighthood represents a different religion; some favor Lawful gods, some favor the dark gods of Chaos. Knights of these differing ethos are essentially the same in every way, despite this one critical distinction. However, this striking similarity is based on deception; those who would swear themselves to dark gods and demon lords, otherwise known as Reavers, set about to lure those who would follow in the righteous path of lawful and goodly knights, or Crusaders, to their dark persuasion. While good and evil are really more of a point of view than a true philosophy, Crusaders generally follow a righteous and just path, whereas Reavers choose the shadows and perversion of justice to further their aims.

Initially, there were only Crusaders and it is believed the first Knighthood was Vasdun Mag Olum Nur Tashdan, or the Sacred Order of the Flamebringer. It is not known when the Dwarves first developed the ethos and philosophies that comprise knightly conduct, though many Dwarvish scholars believe it was ‘a long-arsed time ago'; some time after the Clan Wars and indeed may have been in direct result of them. When Dwarves and Humans began living and learning with the Dwarvish clans, many were taken into the knighthood. When the few remaining uncorrupted Humans came with the Sivanoshei to Imarel, there had been a handful of Human Knights amongst them and when Moonfall was founded in 3255 BF the first Human Chapter of the Sacred Order of the Flamebringer was established.

As these Orders began flourishing across Imarel and Ishaela and it became evident that these armored saints of the lawful gods meant to vanquish any and every bastion of the Dark Lords of Chaos, it was Miron, the Overlord of the Nine, that decided that he and the other Eight must also have their own unholy warriors, to advance their goals. Through visions he granted to his most loyal followers across Imarel, Unholy Orders began quietly springing up in every city that had a Holy one. Knights bearing the symbol of Miron and the other Lords of Chaos offered civility and charity to those in need, as the Crusaders did and used the influence gained to poison minds against the Crusaders of those cities.

Sometimes the tactic worked, sometimes not. Especially in cities like Tashran where there are many economically oppressed families, because of the Hazjid and with no help coming from the churches that preach in those cities, many of them turned to the dark knights for satisfaction. To many of these people, the symbol of Chaos meant freedom from repression, the ability to make one's own choices and to decide one's own destiny, instead of prostrating themselves before gods that did not seem to care for their plights. In cities like Bladefall, Tashran and Kasiq, Unholy Orders have a great deal of popularity, despite the fact that these dark saviors often exploit the very people that look to them for aid. This is done to earn favor with city officials by pointing out unlawful citizens, or those that could be unlawful. These tactics have served the Unholy Orders of Imarel well, having established a foothold in many impoverished or excessively lawless cities.

Many Holy Orders do what they can for cities infested with the secretive Orders of these dark gods, but by general tenant of philosophy, they will not impose their help onto others. Like following blindly down the path of chaos is a choice, so too must be the choice to accept the assistance of a Holy Order. Many Unholy Orders will preach the same line, only to subversively influence those in need to accept their aid, to place them in debt to the dark church or worse, force them to act in the name of their dark religion to further a particular ends. The influence religions and those who represent them on the general masses can be astounding and it is a difficult task indeed to win hearts and minds, when it is very hard to tell the difference between a Reaver and a Crusader, until the Reaver's subtle deception is revealed.