[Tasothilos] Salabrian Orders

[Kalos Mer]

[spoiler=Note for Long-Time Readers]
When last seen on the Guild's forum, Tasothilos had broken with D&D and been spun off into it's own version of the d20 system.  I had hoped that taking this direction would give me a bit more flexibility in the way that I designed the setting, particularly where things like the class structure and the magic system were concerned.
Well, once you start down that path, it's hard to stop.  The more I designed the system, the more I felt like even some of the integral parts of the d20 system were getting me down.  Hit points were unsatisfying, and even the VP/WP substitution of Star Wars d20 did little to make me feel better.  Eventually, it even got to the point where classes and levels couldn't *quite* model the vision I had.
So, I've taken my divorce with D&D one step further, and abandoned the d20 system.  Tasothilos now uses a system of my own devising, a system whose skeleton is about 60% constructed at the moment.  It's skill-based, borrowing heavily from d20 but too fundamentally different to still be called by that name.  It borrows almost as much from Ars Magica 4th and 5th editions, with a couple of things folded in from Storyteller and a bit that is made up by me alone.

For the purpose of this thread, mechanics are not really a concern of mine - playtesting it will come later, when the game is more crystallized.  I include a bit of the mechanical details in this post simply as a taste - as has always been the case with Tasothilos, setting is vastly more important than system.
[/spoiler]

Orders, Societies, and Power Groups of Salabria

(Persons interested in more information about Tasothilos are invited to follow the link in my sig [though catch the note above for some changes].)

In this thread, I shall discuss various organizations who hold sway over the Salabrian region of Tasothilos.  These include chivalric orders, religious cults, magical societies, and some trade guilds, among other types.  In order to be included in this list, a society must:

(A) Not be a landed government (IE, though the Andozian Empire is certainly an 'Organization', it does not count as such for the purposes of this list)
(B) Have international membership and/or influence
(C) Be at least partially based in the Salabrian region

In this first post, I shall list the societies I intend to discuss.  In subsequent posts I shall highlight these societies one by one, giving a more complete sketch.

The Wanderknights (Martial, Religious): A semi-secretive brotherhood of religious knights-errant.
The College of Arcanists (Arcane, Political): A group of practicing spellcasters and other wizards based in Andozia- though once politically and magically powerful, the College is currently more of a social club than anything else.
The Ekeusian Guard (Martial, Political):  An order of nobles and men-at-arms devoted to the restoration and preservation of the ancient city of Ekeusion, recently restored to human hands after nearly a millenium of degradation in the hands of barbaric races.
The Dragon Order (Arcane): A small circle of all the former students of the famed magician Alianzo Peturri the Dragon, dedicated to preserving and expanding his teachings.
The Knights of the Cup (Martial, Political): Chivalric order devoted to the Andozian imperial family - named for the silver cup from which each applicant drinks as he is initiated into the knighthood.  Originally a 'bodyguard', this group now acts more as the Emperor's eyes and ears.
The Fated (Religious): A fanatical splinter-sect of the church of Anarina (the goddess of prophecy and fate), the Fated record, interpret, and actively attempt to fulfill the various prophecies of their goddess.

I plan to cover these roughly in the order presented, though if anybody (particularly those familiar with the setting) has any desire to read more about one than another, I'll gladly alter that order.  (This list will be updated as I comb through my notes and find more groups worth mentioning).  

Wanderknights will be coming first, as they are long overdue.  Drawn largely from the Templars, with some light flavor bits drawn from sources as divergent as Cervantes, Jordan, and Lucas.

[LordVreeg]

I have a thing for guild/factional/culturally-biased settings.
So this is near and dear.

I especially like the splinter cult, and the Knights of the Cup.

History and developement are not constant, and as things change the versimiltide of a setting is made or broken.  The way the KNights of the Cup have changed is a good example of this.

[spoiler=As to your note]And as to your note, I abandoned d20 and went skill-based back in 1983.  To me this this is merely part of the 'growing up' process of setting creation.  Players don't have this as much, but the longer one GM's, the less sense D20 is.  You (really) might enjoy my Celtricia thread, as it is from a skill-based, factioally strong setting.[/spoiler]

[Túrin]

I'm anxious to see the Wanderknights. My mind is trying to associate these with Myria Clovenar. Is it correct?

Túrin

[Kalos Mer]

I'd hoped to post the Wanderknights tonight, but I had a long-overdue chat with a friend of mine I'd lost touch with instead... damned social lives! ;)  They're about 50% done and will be up tomorrow, you can be sure of it.

A few things:

Vreeg:  My setting isn't really 'factionally-based', though factions do play a strong part: rather,  since I've had trouble producing material consistently enough in general threads in the past, I feel like some 'themed' threads about Tasothilos might do better to keep both my interest and the interest of the general readership.  I've started reading a bit of your setting, I'll post on it later but I want to finish the thread first.

Turin old friend:  Yes, they are correctly associated with Myria, though also with Emiome and Bimpnos.  They are the remnant/extension of an old mystery cult that worshiped that trinity of gods.  I hope you like them - they've evolved a long ways in my conception of them from an early 'Jedi without laser-swords' rip-off to something far more particular to the setting and (hopefully) less singularly derivative.

In general:  I've got a few ideas of my own for the various 'subsections' necessary to fully detail a society (IE: organizational structure, recruitment procedure, geographical distribution, current leader/influential members, etc).  What are your thoughts on other things I should be including in my write-ups on these organizations?

[LordVreeg]

[blockquote=Kalos Mer]Vreeg: My setting isn't really 'factionally-based', though factions do play a strong part: rather, since I've had trouble producing material consistently enough in general threads in the past, I feel like some 'themed' threads about Tasothilos might do better to keep both my interest and the interest of the general readership. I've started reading a bit of your setting, I'll post on it later but I want to finish the thread first.[/blockquote]

(good luck reading that 'Stream-of-Consiousness' mess)

I think you might be on to something, in terms of compartmentalizing the data.  it will probably help.  
i need to go read the history of the setting before I make too many comments, but I would include a section on allies and enemies for the various factions.

[Kalos Mer]

The setting's a bit old (though not nearly so old as yours - my goodness, I'm impressed).

The link below will lead to the WotC archive thread on the matter.  A lot of the information there is dated (most significantly, while the world was originally designed to be a number of islands in a great sea, it is now instead a continent with a large sea in the middle), but some of it will be of use.  (There's a summary of all the various nations that will give you a little bit of context).

http://boards1.wizards.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-329003

Some more up-to-date (but less comprehensive) stuff can also be found in the thread from my signature.

Allies and Enemies... good call.  Hadn't thought of that.  I'm at work right now, but the write-up is about 75% done, I just need to finish it and type it up when I get home.

[LordVreeg]

so the deities you have, they ahve little alignment notations...are these for worshippers or for the gods themselves, or both?

[Kalos Mer]

Those were for the gods themselves, but that is one of many things in the old archive thread that is out-of-date (Out of date by almost three years, in fact).  Check out the 'religion' post in the thread linked from my sig (it's on page one) for a much more mythologically rich and ethically complicated view of the deities.

PS: They're coming, they're coming...

[LordVreeg]

I will post this in your thread.  wrong place for my questions

[Kalos Mer]

Thanks to Vreeg and Eldo in giving me inspiration for the organization '˜format'.

The Order of Wandering Knights (Wanderknights)

[spoiler = OOC: Inspirations]
Start with an admittedly fictionalized, hyped version of the Knights Templar stirred together with good ol' Don Quixote.  Blend in two heaping tablespoons of Planescape's Society of Sensation.  Lightly season with the Jedi Knights (some shades of the Squire/Mentor relationship are like the Padawan/Master relationship), sprinkle gently with Tolkien's Dunedain Rangers and Robert Jordan's Warders, and then serve topped with Myria Clovenar as portrayed by her original player.
[/spoiler]

Arising during the final death-throes of the Ekeusian Empire from the ashes of an ancient mystery cult, the Order of Wandering Knights are a small, semi-secretive organization of warrior-priests.  Though their most famous calling is the protection of travelers and the peasantry, on occasion Knights take up roles as military leaders, explorers, teachers or guides.   They are Known by most, feared by many, but understood by only the few.

Symbology
The most essential symbol of the Wanderknights is the Wheel of Five Spokes '" each member carries a representation of this sign on a special ring that they wear at all times, and many also engrave it somewhere on their weapons or armor.   Each of the Wheel's spokes reminds the Knight of one of his five central Vows.  (See '˜Duties' under Membership, below.)
The Wheel was created by Darkles the Founder, who combined the five-pointed star, the symbol of the Ortalion, with the unbroken circle, a symbol of the Liberation Mysteries.

Organization
The Wanderknights grant to their members significant autonomy.  In most of his daily actions, a member of the Order is subject only to his vows and to his own conscience.  While seniority does give a Knight some influence among his brethren, there is little in the way of strict hierarchy.  That said, the Order does have some organizational structure.
Once a Squire (see '˜Membership' below) has completed his training under a member, taken his vows before a Lord or the Master, and participated in a secretive initation on Marotil, he is named as a Brother.  As a special sign of his fraternity, at the time of his elevation he is granted a silver ring engraved with the sign of the Wheel of Five Spokes.  Brothers are full-fledged members of the Order, with all the rights and restrictions that entails (see '˜Duties' and '˜Benefits' below under '˜Membership'.)  At any given time, the vast majority of the Wanderknights are Brothers, and this is as far as most of the Wanderknights ever advance.  Though the name for many implies something lowly, even a '˜mere' Brother is both a well-trained warrior and an ordained priest.
The Order does have a higher rank, one granted only to those who have demonstrated particular martial courage and pious wisdom.  These are the Captains of the Order.  To become a Captain, a Knight must have served at least ten years since taking his oaths, been diligent in his personal religious development and in advancing the causes of the faith, and performed great exploits in battle.  At any given time, there are but thirteen active Captains of the Order.  When one of them dies, is elevated to the rank of Master, or '˜retires' to the rank of Lord, a suitable replacement is selected by the Lords from among the Brethren.  In private ceremony, the old Captain passes his sword to the new one, who receives it while reciting again his vows.  (If the old Captain is deceased, the Master stands in for him.)  He is also granted a new ring of gold to replace the silver ring he received when first admitted to the Order.  (Unlike the swords, which pass from Captain to Captain, the gold rings are made individually, and '˜retiring' Captains are permitted to keep theirs.)
The position of Captain is largely ceremonial '" Captains are not given the authority to command '˜lesser' members of the Order.  They do have a few special privileges, however.  Firstly, they receive from the order a special sword, one of the thirteen born by the survivors of the fall of Ekeusion.  Secondly, the Order provides them with a stipend to purchase and maintain a war-horse (Brothers may own horses too, of course, but must pay for them out-of-pocket.)  Thirdly, upon their retirement from active service, they are named a Lord of the Order (see below).  Lastly, only a Captain is allowed to be elevated to Master of the Order.
The Master of the Order is the head of the Wanderknights, and the only Knight given authority to command his fellows.  While a Captain's or a Lord's words are regarded as highly influential, the Master's words are law.  The Master is selected by a vote of the Lords, and he is selected for life.  To be eligible for consideration, a candidate must be a Captain of the Order with a flawless record of service, he must have served at least 15 years, and he must have successfully trained at least one Squire.  While still young enough to be active, the Master tends to roam like the rest of his knights, using emissaries to keep informed about the doings of the organization and to send out his commands.  When he reaches the age when a normal Knight would retire, the Master will return to the Temple on Marotil (see below) to direct the Order.  (Wanderknights sometimes refer to their Master as the Hierophant, when they are emphasizing his religious rather than his martial duties.  For simplicity's sake, Master shall be used throughout the remainder of this article.)
When a Brother has served at least 35 years or when he has been maimed in battle, he is eligible to retire.  When he does so, he becomes an Elder of the Order.  Elders are sent to live on one of the Order's manorial properties, and are given the duty of overseeing production.  They live the rest of their days being comfortably supported, in thanks for their service.  (It is worth mentioning that many of the healthier Brothers choose to serve far longer than 35 years before retiring '" though Elders are much respected, they tend to see fairly little action.)
A Captain who has served at least 35 years or who has been maimed is given a different post, that of Lord of the Order.  The Lords have three main functions: firstly, they meet whenever either the position of Master or one of the Captains is vacant, and elect a replacement.  Second, they approve Squires and witness the oaths that each Knight takes as he becomes a Brother.  Lastly, they act as representatives of the Order to governments and other organizations, hearing requests for the Order's aid.  When not abroad fulfilling this latter duty, the Lords have residences on the isle of Marotil '" though having lived lives filled with wandering and adventure, few of the Lords are truly content with a settled existence, and most go back wandering.
Every change in rank that a Wanderknight undergoes is accompanied by a set of very carefully guarded secret rituals.  Those who would slander the Order tend to paint very vile pictures of these rites, and they use the fact that the Knights have never actively attempted to deny any of these charges as a kind of  proof.

Membership:
Current Membership: 324 active members (310 Brothers, 13 captains, 1 master), 90 Retired members (71 Elders, 19 Lords),  159 squires,  66 Friends.  (639 total).

Demographics:  More than half of the Wanderknights are drawn from Andozian and Sanceline.  A significant number also come from Philstaros.  There are no Ferrundar knights at this time, but otherwise all the major human ethnicities of the Sea have some representation (there is even a single Brother drawn from the Taecs!).  As far as other races are concerned, there are no halflings among the current Wanderknights, and there are only three dwarves, none of them active (one is an Elder, two are squires.)  There are about a dozen elves who are currently members (almost all of whom are former slaves), and almost twice that many gnomes.  The Wanderknights accepted their first female members over 1000 years ago, and had their first female Master 300 years ago, but the Order remains about 80% male.

Recruitment:  Any active member of the Order is empowered to adopt an able-bodied youth as a Squire, though a Knight may only have one squire at a time.  Squires must be eventually approved for membership by at least two Lords, also.  While tradition holds that each Knight seeks out his own Squire, in the past several centuries there has been a growing trend of certain noble families '˜giving' a younger son to one of the Lords, who then passes the child on to a willing Knight to train.  Through such arrangements, nobles hope to gain the Knights as an ally, but the Order's loose structure and the vow of detachment mean that in practice they gain very little.
Though there is no '˜typical' path to becoming a Wanderknight, most other Squires tend to be drawn from the peasantry '" tales of a particularly strong or brave youth being '˜noticed' by a passing Knight are fairly common.  The average age of human Squires at the time of selection tends to be around 16.
A Knight's duty is to train a Squire in the ways of the Order.  This includes teaching him the art of swordplay, the history of the organization, and especially the religious and cult aspects of the Wanderknights.  Squires who don't know it already are also taught to speak Late Ekeusian.  After a few very formal '˜lessons' '" focusing mostly on basic swordfighting and the distinctive Darkletian Technique favored by the Knights '" most of a Squire's martial training comes in the form of a trial by fire.  While the full Knight protects his Squire as best he can from truly overpowering odds, it has long been the stance of the Order that only in genuine combat can genuine skill be gained.
Education in the history of the Order and (when necessary) in Late Ekeusian is covered in a fairly formal way, usually consisting of the Knight lecturing to the Squire as they travel.  Instruction in the cult, however, takes a superficially informal tone, usually consisting of fireside conversations after a long day of travel and battle.  The technique is not quite Socratic '" it generally consists of the mentor giving a number of increasingly complicated and secretive revelations to the Squire and discussing them for hours at a time '" but questioning and self-discovery are considered to be critical elements of the process.  The discussions serve to allow the Knight to evaluate his Squire's understanding of the mysteries, and to determine when he is ready to advance to the next part of the teaching.  While a Squire's mastery of combat is tested frequently in battle, his mastery of the mystery doctrines is gauged only by his mentor.
A Squire serves as a partner and ally as well as a student '" in fact, the relationship with his Squire is probably the closest bond a migratory Knight ever knows, as they risk their lives together on nearly a daily basis.  This is another point that those who would malign the Order focus on '" allegations that the Knights seduce young men and turn them into unnatural lovers are often encountered.  While love affairs between Knight and Squire are certainly not unheard of (and they do not strictly break the Vow of Detachment), they are frowned upon by the Order as a whole.  Knights and their Squires are almost always close friends, however, and generally remain so even after the Squire is initiated and becomes an equal to his former teacher.
It is important to note that so long as a Squire is not yet a full member, he is not yet bound by the oaths of the Order.  He is sworn to secrecy about the Order's religious teachings, but otherwise he is permitted to conduct his life as he sees fit until the time when he seeks to become a full-fledged member.
The length of a Squire's training can vary considerably.  The minimum is about two years '" even if a Squire is particularly skilled with weapons, it takes about that long for the doctrines of the Order to be revealed to him.  A more average length of apprenticeship is about four years, and sometimes as many as five or six are needed.  Apprenticeships longer than six years, though they do occasionally occur, are rare and not well looked-on.
Besides formal Squires, there is another category of '˜unofficial' member worth mentioning '" Friends of the Order.  To be named a Friend, one must be a skilled warrior and have goals and beliefs in line with those of the Knights, and they must do some service for the Order.  Only the Master himself is empowered to bestow this rank on individuals, though others may recommend persons to the Master.  The title allows those who bear it to be received hospitably and to requisition aid at properties owned by the Knights, and it enables them to participate in joint efforts with the Knights when necessary.  Friends are strongly encouraged, though never strictly required, to lend aid to a Knight in trouble whenever they can do so without overwhelming risk to themselves.  The rank does not permit Friends to learn any of the secrets of the Knights, either secular or religious, nor does it permit them to attend at the Knights' religious rituals.  The Friends of the Order are a fairly young body, but in their short existence so far the Wanderknights have found it very useful to have a group of allies not bound by their own system of vows.

 Beliefs:  While most outsiders think of the Wanderknights as primarily a military organization, to the Knights themselves their religion is by far their more defining characteristic.  The particular religious beliefs of the Wanderknights are descended directly from the old Liberation Mysteries.  It is widely supposed that the beliefs and practices of the Mysteries were altered by Darkles as he founded the Order, but the Knights insist that while some things may have been *added* to the old Cult's practice, nothing has ever been removed or changed.
The religious doctrines of the Order consist of a number of secretive revelations about the nature of the Gods and the relationship between the divine and the material.  Because this article is designed to reveal only what a well-educated outsider might be able to learn about the Knights, the secretive parts will not be discussed here (I have some notes on them that I may post later.)  
It is known that the Knights, like the Mysteries of old, seek three different forms of personal Liberation.  What exactly these forms of Liberation might be is unknown, though a number of different conjectures are ventured.  It is the pursuit of these three Liberations that the Knights travel so widely and do good deeds.  The Knights seem to have a belief that a very wide range of experiences is necessary to achieve Liberation '" they take their journeys very seriously, and have a literally religious devotion to their nomadic lifestyle.  They want to see as much of this world as they possibly can before dying or retiring.
They also believe in the fundamental worth of all men.  They are not truly modern in their views '" they respect the authority of nobles and kings, and acknowledge that they have a right to rule over lesser people.  However, they also believe strongly in noblesse oblige, and take a dim view towards aristocrats who shirk their duties towards their lessers.  They take an even dimmer view towards nobles who use their positions to abuse those beneath them.
Lastly, the Wanderknights seem to have a great reverence for bodies of water.  They still honor the old practice, long abandoned by most other peoples, of offering prayers to the gods every time they cross a body of water, whether it be an ocean, a lake, a river, or even a simple stream.

Duties:  The formal duties of a Wanderknight are encapsulated in the five vows they take when they become a full member:
Vow of Obedience: A Wanderknight's most central vow, he is sworn to obey the dictates of his religion above all else, the dictates of his Master before the dictates of his own conscience, and the dictates of his conscience before any baser motives.  Included within this vow is the charge (religious in nature) to protect travellers from danger and protect the weak against the strong.  It also binds the Knight to attend certain regular religious rites at Marotil whenever it is physically possible.
Vow of Secrecy: The Wanderknight swears never to reveal any of the secrets of the Order, secular or religious, to anyone who has not taken the vows.
Vow of Vagrancy:  The Wanderknight vows always to be on the move.   Unless he is injured and recovering, pursuing some particularly important goal in the Order's interests, or participating in a religious rite, a Knight does not tend to remain in one place for more than two or three days.  Included in this Vow Vagrancy is a prohibition on a Knight owning more property at any given time than he can carry with him '" excess should be donated to the Order's reserves or given to the needy, at the Knight's discretion.  
Vow of Detachment: A Knight is forbidden to enter into contracts, agreements, or formal partnerships  with persons outside of the Order, or to take any oaths before any secular body.  This includes business agreements and companies, more formal adventuring parties, and even marriages or love relationships.  This is the most difficult of the Order's mandates for many members (especially the younger ones), but the elder members believe it very important that active Knights serve only one master and have only one interest be supreme in their hearts.
Vow of Accountability: A Knight is under an oath to return to the Order's Temple on the isle of Marotil no less than once every three years and to give at that time full account of all his recent actions in the advancement of the Order's goals.  

When a member '˜retires' to the rank of either Elder or Lord, he is formally released from the bonds of the Vow of Accountability, the Vow of Detachment, and the Vow of Vagrancy.  The restrictions of the Vow of Obedience and the Vow of Secrecy are never lifted from a member, however.

Benefits:  Though encouraged to be self-sufficient when possible, Knights are able to requisition supplies (in the form of money, weapons, or gear) from the Temple in times of great need.  In addition, they can find safe houses in most major cities in Salabria, as well as the Order's feudal properties.  These places may be used to rest, and they can also furnish provisions, though not to the same extent that the Temple can.  Though they generally prefer to travel in semi-secrecy, being known as a Wanderknight also affords one the status of folk hero among many peasant populations.
As mentioned previously, the path to Knighthood also gives one rigorous training in swordsmanship and access to the famous Darkletian Technique, an ancient style of swordfighting that is exceptionally good at disarming opponents.   (More info on the Darkletian Technique will be available in a thread entitled Tasothilos Techniques, coming soon).

Role
Activities:  The original and primary duty of the Order of Wandering Knights was to protect travellers.  From their founding times, they have patrolled dangerous routes across Salabria, doing their best to keep bandits and less human threats at bay.  Of course, the Order is small, and they cannot completely overcome the threat.  However, their impact in this sphere has been appreciable over the centuries.
In more recent eras, however, as central governments have gained greater authority and developed the ability to patrol their own roads, the Knights have been freed to engage in other pursuits.  While about a quarter of the Knights at any given time are probably still involved in patrols (primarily in more '˜backwater' parts of Salabria) most have expanded the directive to '˜protect travelers against the dangers of their journeys, and the innocent weak against the wicked strong' in new ways.  As in most things, the activities of the Knights tend to be left to the decision of the individual, though occasionally efforts are coordinated among small groups of Wanderknights.
Most Wanderknights today travel from place to place in an endless journey, using their travel as a way to focus their religious development.  Along the way, the Knights uphold the secular causes of the Order '" they protect the innocent from evil, do good deeds at random, and strive to right wrongs wherever they can.  It is against the policy of the Knights to ask for any kind of payment for any good deed '" instead, they are supposed to undertake them freely.  (They can however accept an unrequested, freely-given reward.) Because the current Master is young, there are not very many coordinated expeditions of groups of Knights these days '" for the most part, they work independently.

Perception
The Wanderknights evoke a very diverse, complicated set of reactions from different people, depending on their social station, the extent and character of the interactions they have had with the Order, and a number of other factors.
Peasants tend to romanticize them, and in the mouths of some peasantry (particularly in Andozia and other parts of south Salabria) the deeds of great Wanderknights of the past have taken on a semi-mythical quality. Names such as Myphoklas the Old, Tarentillo t'Amarice, and Golden Ivenna conjure up images of larger-than-life figures, clad in mail, swinging swords and laughing with bravado while facing off against hundreds of the foe.  {While a few Wanderknights over the past fifteen hundred years have achieved truly legendary combat abilities, in fact most are '˜merely' well-trained, battle-hardened swordsmen).
Most governments are wary of the Knights.  Their inability to enter into contracts and their unwillingness to give oaths of loyalty to secular rulers has led to a general opinion (not unjustified) that Knights will lie, cheat, steal, and turn against the legitimate authorities if they believe it serves their higher purpose. Only in Nidiata and Plaspont (see below) has this turned into open hostility towards the Knights, but all governments hesitate at least a little before asking for the intervention of the Order in some matter.  The Wanderknight's tendency to focus on his own personal development
The strongest negative reaction to the Order actually comes from the circles of the religious conservatives.  The peculiar beliefs and rituals of the Wanderknights, and the fact that they do not tend to subject themselves to mainstream religions (they do not tithe, for instance), causes them to be much maligned by clergymen.  The Knights have maintained a decent relationship with the three parent faiths of their religion (Myria, Bimpnos and Emiome'" though they have at times strained their friendship with the last of these), but many of the Eldonians, Alians, Onalevians and others consider the Knights heretical.  (Throughout the article I have pointed out a few examples of particular rumors spread by the clergy concerning the Order.)

Resources
Properties:  The '˜headquarters' of the Order is the Wandering Temple on the small and rocky isle of Marotil, located southwest of Ekeusion by two days' journey.  The Temple is a massive structure:  over the years, around the original marble shrine built by Darkles in 21 AP, an entire fortress complex has built up.  Here the Lords and the Master of the Order have their homes, and it is here that the treasuries and records of the Order are maintained.  It is also a holy site '" though the particular method in which Wanderknights dispose of their own dead is secret, there is a '˜graveyard' filled with monuments to each Master of the Order, and a great marble pillar inscribed with the name of every Knight who has ever fallen in battle.
The Temple complex also contains a substantial armory for the equipping of members and a small fleet of eight warships
The Order also owns a number of small feudal holdings and urban safehouses  scattered here and there across the Sea.  Operated by Elders, they use these properties to generate income to support their membership, and also to afford their active members with safe spots to rest, recover, and get in contact with the leadership.

Allies:  The most concrete allies of the Wanderknights are the Friends of the Order who, as mentioned above, are a group of over five dozen skilled warriors who agree with the stances of the Order and afford them assistance when they can.  Because two members of the Dragon Order (a small society of wizards to be discussed later) are numbered among the Friends, that Order can also be fairly called allies of the Wanderknights.
Historically the Andozian government has been ambivalent, at times even hostile, to the Order, but because of the heroic work of a group of Knights during the recent Goblin War, sympathy and appreciation for the Wanderknights is at an all-time high in the Empire.

Enemies: The Fated have been butting heads with the Wanderknights with increasing frequency over the past fifteen years.  Many on both sides feel that formal conflict between the two organizations is not only inevitable, but imminent.
Though the Andozian government is on good terms with the Knights, both the College of Arcanists and the Knights of the Cup have their reservations about the '˜maverick' Order.  The Arcanists have taken their criticisms publicly before the Emperor to a certain extent (so far with minimal results), while the Knights of the Cup are rumored to be trying to covertly investigate the Wanderknights.
Finally, while many governments tend to distrust the completely independent Order, in the recent past the governments of both Plaspont and Nidiata have taken an official stance against the Knights.  While Nidiata has yet to really act on their position, Plaspont has been executing discovered Wanderknights in the same manner they do '˜witches' '" this of course has only heightened Wanderknight activity in that country as the Order wishes to avenge its own and break the iron-fisted rule of the Plaspont government.

History
Background:  The Mysteries of Threefold Liberation were an ancient mystery cult, one of the earliest.  Some have claimed to see evidence of their existence in the poems of Othos and Simos ca. 800 MP, and even if this is mere wishful thinking, there are records of the Temple of Ali in Ekeusion trying to surpress a fairly active group by that name in 443, suggesting that the latest possible date for the group's formation is around 500 MP.  Dedicated to the trinity of deities Myria, Emiome and Bimpnos, the cult taught its members that to achieve spiritual immortality they had to progress through three separate phases of liberation, accomplished under the auspices of each of the patron deities in turn.  (The particulars of these teachings are lost to the murky depths of time.)
During the tyranny of the Churches and chaos of the temple wars, the ranks of the Liberation Mysteries, as with all such cults, swelled with those disatisfied with the politics of organized religion.  As with several of the more successful mystery cults, membership continued to swell right down to the early Imperial period.  In 106 YP, however, the emperor Pithos issued a declaration branding the Mysteries as heretical and demanding death to all those who were discovered to be participants.  Under such pressure from the orthodoxy, many cults withered and died.  But there were a few who survived, either by moving beyond the boundaries of the empire or by cloaking themselves in even deeper secrecy.  The Liberation Mysteries were of the latter sort '" indeed, from 106 down to the fall of the Empire it is impossible to concretely name even one member of the cult, though guessing which prominent Ekeusians might have been initiates is a popular past-time by university scholars.  Occasional references to small groups of adherents being discovered and executed prove that the organization was still in existence throughout these secretive years.

Founding:  In the political and military upheavals which accompanied the final decline and death of the empire, the Mysteries were finally extinguished.  A final, concerted persecution against them in 489 YP lead to the rounding up of the whole membership, at that time a mere sixteen persons.  Charged falsely with conspiracy against the Emperor, they were found guilty and executed '" save for one, Darkles, who in addition to being an initiate of the Liberation Mysteries was also a mid-ranking member of the Ortalion, the Emperor's personal, 100-man body-guard.  Darkles was pitied by his friends in the guard, and was given the punishment of permanent exile instead of facing death.  Fleeing Ekeusion, he hid on the deserted island of Marotil for the next ten years.  
By the time he broke his exile in 8 AP, he was not only the last surviving member of the Liberation Mysteries, but the last member of the Ortalion, as well '" all ninety-nine of his fellows had been slain in battle or by subterfuge.  Returning to the mainland he dwelt for a time in Zyle, before deciding in 10 AP to return to Ekeusion to lend his experience to the task of restoring order, and to secretly re-establish the Mysteries.  On the journey, however, he discovered that, in the absence of a strong Imperial army, the roads of his homeland had been overrun by bandits, beasts, and even monsters.  On arriving at the city, he decided that the best way that he could help re-establish order was to combine his two paths '" the Ortalion guardsman and the Liberation mystic '" into a single one, and to lead others to join it.  Going throughout the city, he found hardened soldiers and dissatisfied clergymen to rally to his cause.  He departed from Ekeusion, leading twenty fellows, and returned with them to the Isle of Marotil.  There, for two years, he taught to them the Liberation Mysteries, and trained them also in the military techniques of the Ortalion.  When their training was complete, he took from them the Five Vows, which have not changed since the Founding.  Then, in 12 AP, led by a dream to a particular tree in the forest of Molon which covers Marotil, he found the resting place of the formidable sword Gahvera, which it is said Myria herself wielded.   Taking this sword as a sign of the goddess's favor, Darkles led his fellows back to the mainland as the Order of Wandering Knights.

Early Years:  The first generation of Wanderknights were mostly older men, siphoned from the great mercenary armies which dominated the battlefields of those days.  Fighting men of a more spiritual bent, guilty over the carnage that they had wrought in their youth, joined the Order in an attempt to '˜make things right' and also to acquire some measure of spiritual peace.  Within 9 years, the Order's numbers had swollen from 21 to over 80.  In 21, Darkles recalled the entire Order to Marotil, and ordered them there to work together and build a shrine which would be the Order's permanent place of worship.  Though now covered over by a massive temple complex, this original shrine still stands, hidden behind multiple locked doors and great gates, at the center of the Order compound.
The Knights were instrumental, over the course of the 1st century AP, in restoring some measure of order to the chaotic Ekeusian region.  Working individually or in small groups, they tracked down and destroyed most of the bandit groups which had overrun the region.  Once their membership and grown sufficiently, they began to expand their area of operation, taking gradually greater and greater responsibilities for the protection of travellers throughout what had once been the Empire.
The second and third centuries saw a rise in the scale of Knight activity.  In 192, the Knight Martex lead a band of twelve Brothers to the isle of Katerion (which would become modern Miloa) and overthrew the dark cult which had taken hold there.  (In that same year, Martex was tragically slain and the sword Gahvera, which had been in his possession, was lost to the Knights).  In 251, a group of knights joined the Philstarians in routing a massive Orcish invasion fleet from the south.  The Order had clearly grown beyond it's initial calling of protecting travelers and patrolling roads '" they were now contributing greatly to the political and military climte of post-Imperial Salabria.
The Order (and outside historians) recall the two centuries from 300-493 AP as the Golden Age of the Order, characterized by increasing legendary acts of heroism performed by the greatest names the Knights have ever known.  The tales of Myphoklas the Old (312-416 AP), who became a Knight at age 14, Master at age 29, and served in that position 75 years until he perished at the age of 104, are well known, as are the stories of Golden Ivenna (441-513 AP), the Order's first and most famous female member.  In this era, emperors and monarchs courted the favor of the Master of the Order, and the mere presence of a handful of Knights in the ranks of an army would send it's enemies routing in terror.  Sadly, it was all about to end'¦

Death and Rebirth:  In winter of 493, word reached Salabria of a massive army of orcs sailing from the southlands.  Their target was the Jewel of Man, the city of Ekeusion itself.  After several attempts to obstruct the fleet en route failed, the Master of that time, Olphir, sent out heralds calling on every member of the Order to make a stand at the City's gates and fight off the army.  At that time, the ranks of the Brothers numbered nearly 1000, with nearly as many Squires.  The Mayor of Ekeusion was happy to turn over command of the city's defenses to the Knights, and for a month they prepared the city for war.
At the start of Emona, 493, the orcish army lay siege to the city.   For five days, the Knights kept order in the city and made occasional (unsuccessful) attempts to sally.  At dawn on the sixth day, the Orcs breached the walls.  Sensing imminent defeat, the Mayor selected thirteen Knights, thirteen Squires and the Master himself to convey as many civilians as possible to safety, while the remainder of Knights and their Squires made their last stand at the breach. Those who made the stand were wiped out to the last man, but they managed to stall the orcs from dawn until nightfall, allowing most of the citizens of the city to be evacuated safely.
The fourteen surviving knights and their squires, after the fall of the city, retreated to Marotil to regroup.  Sitting together at the shrine (by now a well-guarded structure, though not yet the Temple it is today), they decided that they had let a love of military honor and glorious death distract them from the Order's true, spiritual purpose.  It was agreed that never again should the whole Order join in a single battle together until the Last Days.  It was also decided that the Order needed to be restructured '" the simple hierarchy of Brethren and Master had worked in Darkles' day, but did not function well in an Order of hundreds, let alone thousands.  It was in this discussion that the current structure of Brethren, Elders, Captains and Lords was created, and the thirteen survivors were proclaimed the first Captains of the Order.
For ten years, paralleling the long solitude of Darkles the Founder, the survivors held themselves in exile on Marotil, finishing the training of their Squires and focusing on their spiritual growth.  Then, in 503 AP, they set forth once again to restore their Order and resume their duties.

Rebuilding:  Unlike the early days of the Order, the new Knights grew slowly, as far greater care was exercised in the selecting of Squires and in teaching them the Mysteries.  The restored Order did not reach 100 active members until 765 AP, and did not reach 200 Brethren until 900.  In the early generations after the fall of Ekeusion, the Knights returned to their original calling of patrolling dangerous routes through the wilderness, protecting travelers.  While in the Golden Age Knights had gone about openly, the new Order conducted themselves primarily in secrecy.  The entire organization kept a fairly low profile for nearly five hundred years.
Another major development of this era was the acquisition of Order estates.  Typically the gifts of grateful, wealthy nobles who had been saved by a Knight when beset by brigands, these estates were given to the Order and managed by Elders no longer under the prohibitions of the Vow of Vagrancy.  This gave the Order as the whole a great deal more economic stability.  Most of the estates the Order now possesses were acquired by 1000 AP, though a handful more have been contributed more recently.  (A fair number have also been lost, both in legitimate deals and by hostile invasion.)
By the year 1000, the Knights were confident enough in themselves that they began to take up more political missions, as they had in the Golden Age.  The political scene had changed since then, however, and the new, highly-centralized governments, like those of Andozia and Sanceline, were not particularly fond of the idea of completely independent Knights meddling in their business.  Though the Order probably had the best of intentions in these matters, by 1200 they had managed to alienate or at least arouse the suspicion of most governments.  The more recent era also saw the beginning of backlash against the Order from religious conservatives '" it began with a few isolated allegations in the 12th century and early 13th century, but from around 1280 on the Order has been at odds with most of the organized churches.

Recent History   The Knights suffered another great loss, though not nearly so catastrophic as the loss of 493, in the year 1320 '" the year of the great elvish rebellion in Angusalak/Ostarok.   Seeing a worthy cause and a chance to strike against the Orcs, nearly 250 Brothers and six Captains (over 2/3 of the organization) took part in that rebellion, and like the martyrs of 493 they were slain to a man.  Over the course of the next twenty years, six separate expeditions to Angusalak were made to recover the six Swords of the Captains lost in the crushed revolt '" Golden Ivenna's was the last retrieved, in 1343.  The Wanderknights' involvement in the rebellion, and the subsequent sword-raids, have given the Knights a very poor reputation among the Orcs.
(It was in the aftermath of the Rebellion that the Masters of the Wanderknights first started creating Friends of the Order, in an effort to gain a few more strong supporters during their moment of numerical weakness.)
One of the most recent '˜great' Wanderknights was doubtless Tarentillo t'Amarice (1349-1400),  the Andozian Brother.  Though he fell in battle before he could be promoted to the rank of Captain, his exploits are famous among the peasantry: he was a sort of '˜Robin Hood' figure, who stole into the treasuries of corrupt nobles, helped himself to a cut of their fortunes, and then redistributed the wealth among the poor and downtrodden.
In the very recent past, the Knights also did good service in both of the Goblin Wars, earning the goodwill (for the first time in centuries) of the Andozian government.  One particularly famous story, which is no doubt somewhat exagerrated, says that during the Second Goblin War, the Sancelinian Captain Malienne Vourdant and her Squire held a bridge for three days before reinforcements from Andozia arrived '" two women against a raiding party of hundreds, if not thousands, of goblins.

[Kalos Mer]

It's UP!  It's not quite completely revised - so let me know if you spot any errors - but I wanted to get it up so that faithful Tasothilos readers (and others like you, LordVreeg, who just enjoy organizations/factions/orders) could have a stab at it.

The Wanderknights have evolved a great deal over the course of the past three years.  Hell, they've evolved a great deal over the course of the past two weeks as I've put together the 'authoritative' version from my various, often contradictory, notes.  Please tell me what you think, and ask questions as they come to you.

[Túrin]

Wow. It's been a while, but I see you haven't lost your appetite for writing huge articles about Tasothilos' subjects. Another great read this one was, and I hope to see more of the like in the near future. The Dragon Order, the Fated and the Ekeusian Guard would each be of great interest to me, and I can't wait to read them. In the meantime, perhaps you could answer a couple of questions that occurred to me while I read this:

- Do Wanderknights travel outside the Salabrian area (I got this impression when I read about the existence of a Taec Knight)? In earlier drafts, I was always under the impression travelling far off (say, outside the ring of countries you have extensively described) was almost unheard of. If this is correct, are the Wanderknights an exception to this rule? What does this mean for them, and for how they are perceived?

- Could you clarify how the Vow of Secrecy works with regard to Squires? Your description of the Vow states that no Wanderknight secrets are to be revealed to those who haven't taken the Vows, and it is stated that the vows are taken only once one becomes a full member. However, when you describe the process Squires go through, it seems as though the secrets are actually revealed to them before they become full members. This would seem contradictory.

- I was wondering about the extent of the Vow of Detachment. For example, is a Wanderknight forbidden to enter into a contract/agreement when it lays no demands whatsoever on him, i.e. when a beaten enemy wants to swear a vow of loyalty to him, or when someone wants to give him something in a formal manner? It also seems that '˜mere' sexual contact (i.e. in the absence of a love relationship or marriage) with a woman is not forbidden.

-Is there any enforcement of the vows, such as penalties in case of transgression or, even better, some sort of (magical) compulsion to follow them?

- Suppose that I am the '˜well-educated outsider' you speak of and have figured out most or everything you've written above. I wager I'd start guessing about the (spiritual) secrets held by the Knights. Assuming others have done the same, I wonder what guesses have been made. (Actually, reading again I notice you've already stated that '˜a number of different conjectures are ventured' so I guess I'm just asking what they are.) I've personally come to think that (one of) the Wanderknights' Liberations might have something to do with dying in battle. Perhaps they believe this is the best way to go?

I think I had more questions but my notes are quite illegible and I need to get to bed. One more thing: some extra applause for the history bit. Another detailed and dynamic piece of the big puzzle that is Tasothilos' history. I don't think I could ever get enough of reading that kind of stuff.

See you around!
Túrin

[Kalos Mer]

- Do Wanderknights travel outside the Salabrian area (I got this impression when I read about the existence of a Taec Knight)? In earlier drafts, I was always under the impression travelling far off (say, outside the ring of countries you have extensively described) was almost unheard of. If this is correct, are the Wanderknights an exception to this rule? What does this mean for them, and for how they are perceived?

- Could you clarify how the Vow of Secrecy works with regard to Squires? Your description of the Vow states that no Wanderknight secrets are to be revealed to those who haven't taken the Vows, and it is stated that the vows are taken only once one becomes a full member. However, when you describe the process Squires go through, it seems as though the secrets are actually revealed to them before they become full members. This would seem contradictory.[/quote]I was wondering about the extent of the Vow of Detachment. For example, is a Wanderknight forbidden to enter into a contract/agreement when it lays no demands whatsoever on him, i.e. when a beaten enemy wants to swear a vow of loyalty to him, or when someone wants to give him something in a formal manner? It also seems that '˜mere' sexual contact (i.e. in the absence of a love relationship or marriage) with a woman is not forbidden.[/quote]-Is there any enforcement of the vows, such as penalties in case of transgression or, even better, some sort of (magical) compulsion to follow them?[/quote]- Suppose that I am the '˜well-educated outsider' you speak of and have figured out most or everything you've written above. I wager I'd start guessing about the (spiritual) secrets held by the Knights. Assuming others have done the same, I wonder what guesses have been made. (Actually, reading again I notice you've already stated that '˜a number of different conjectures are ventured' so I guess I'm just asking what they are.) I've personally come to think that (one of) the Wanderknights' Liberations might have something to do with dying in battle. Perhaps they believe this is the best way to go?[/quote]
I'd prefer to hold off on this until my notes on the matter are a little more collected - if this is of particular interest to you, I will definitely put the teachings of the Wanderknights (and the rumors about them) on my list of 'things to do soon'.

Thanks as always for your questions and comments, Turin!

[Túrin]

Taking all of your comments with regards to the vows together, I'm surprised the Wanderknights have been able to keep their secrets so... secret. I'm sure a Squire that hadn't quite made it would have something of interest to say, moreso for a disappointed Knight who decides to betray the Order.

As for them being too "good" (as you mentioned in your PM) I don't think that will be a problem. After all:
- It's a small organization (only a couple hundred members spread out over a huge, even *vast* area);
- Their goals are questionable (a commoner might think: "If they want to do good so bad, why can't they tell us why?");
-They have a moderately bad reputation (as another poster (LordVreeg I think?) pointed out, you could easily have had them being perceived much worse, given that they are a notoriously independent semi-secret organization operating in (semi-)feudal nation-states; it seems that they are effectively (albeit indirectly) challenging many claims made by major religious and secular institutions).

I'd prefer to hold off on this until my notes on the matter are a little more collected - if this is of particular interest to you, I will definitely put the teachings of the Wanderknights (and the rumors about them) on my list of 'things to do soon'.

Is this an invitation to make a wish list? In that case, I vouch for more information about other organizations. While the teachings of the Wanderknights would be very interesting to read about, right now I'd love to see some of the others you've got in store. Now that you've mentioned them in the Wanderknights post, the Fated have my explicit interest.

Túrin

[sparkletwist]

Oh, I like this. I'll admit to being something of a fan of organizations/factions/etc. myself, especially when there are clear divisions and "places in the world" for them. So I like how you detailed the ranks within the organization and the responsibilities at the different levels, too.

I like your source of inspirations, and the way you give them a symbol and then explain what it actually means-- too often, it seems, you see an organization/faction with a pretty symbol and you're left to ponder what it means to them (all the little shields on the cover of the Greyhawk book being a fine egregious example)

The Wanderknights accepted their first female members over 1000 years ago, and had their first female Master 300 years ago, but the Order remains about 80% male.

While the full Knight protects his Squire as best he can from truly overpowering odds, it has long been the stance of the Order that only in genuine combat can genuine skill be gained.[/quote]The '˜headquarters' of the Order is the Wandering Temple on the small and rocky isle of Marotil[/quote]I will definitely put the teachings of the Wanderknights (and the rumors about them) on my list of 'things to do soon'.[/quote]
For what it's worth, this is of interest to me, too, especially the contrast between what they really teach and what people believe about them. I'm sure the states that are in open opposition would use whatever means at their disposal to spread nasty rumors too.

I've found that in fantasy type games (as we look at our world's own rich mythology) not everything has to be "true" for it to be a compelling part of the game world-- if the people believe in it, it's true enough. So I find it quite interesting that you're integrating this aspect as well.