Order of Cydonia

We stand alert where the planes overlap, so that others might rest.

— Sir Edmund Holven

The Order of Cydonia was founded in 1018 AS by Sir Edmund Holven, a questing Umbrean knight known for his unwavering faith and his ability to perceive supernatural disturbances. His mission was simple and absolute: seek, contain, and eliminate incursions from beyond the material plane.

Origins and Purpose

The order began as a small brotherhood of warriors, scholars and mystics sworn to defend Valoria and its allies from extraplanar threats, such as fiends, aberrations and manifestations of ancient cosmic forces.

Sir Holven believed that the planes overlapped more frequently in Northern Valoria than in much of the rest of the world, and that its growing divine activity acted as a beacon to dangers unseen by the general populace. Convinced that such forces would one day breach the nation's borders, he established his order within the strong, defensible walls of Holven Castle, becoming the Order's first Grand Master.

Rise to Prominence

Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Order gained renown for its victories against fiendish cults, corrupted mages and horrors slipping through planar tears. They wielded many now-sacred relics during their campaigns, crafted in co-operation between the Priesthood of Pelor, artificers from Khaz Varrak and the druids of Miritar Forest.

The Order of Cydonia travelled widely across the realms, battling threats the general populace could not comprehend. Under the guidance of Wilgotha, a tiefling who was conferred the title of Grand Master in 1214 AS, their knights became legends in their own time for their bravery, instilled by rigorous training which blurred the line between devotion and martyrdom.

The Demiurge

In 1196 AS, a coalition of deranged Ankharan prophets summoned the malignant elder god known as the Demiurge into the body of his most devoted acolyte. The emboldened cult constructed a mighty ziggurat, Mudahib, deep in the desert as a place to consolidate their power in secret. Their ultimate goal was to aid their god in consuming all life on Aelor, viewing their sacrifice as a form of divine ascension.

The Demiurge’s cult summoned aberrant armies and twisted reality everywhere its influence grew. Once they deemed the populace adequately corrupted, the cult launched a guerilla campaign in 1202 AS against several Ankharan townships, signaling the beginning of the Ankharan Planar War.

For decades, the bloodshed escalated and swept over the land, very nearly bringing the sultanate to its knees. However, by 1238 AS, a joint Ankharan-Valorian-Umbrean force had turned the tide and descended upon the ziggurat in the Battle of Mudahib. As the only knights qualified to understand such a threat, the Order of Cydonia became the tip of the allied force's spear.

As battle raged around them, the Order’s knights bought time for a small force lead by Grand Master Wilgotha, and her champion, Iliathor, to infiltrate the ziggurat. Although Wilgotha sadly perished, her sacrifice played a decisive role in the severing of the veil, which banished the Demiurge and his ziggurat from the material plane.

Forsaken by their god, the Demiurge’s remaining faithful committed mass ritual suicide, rather than carry on without hope of “salvation”. In the following years, all known artefacts and splinter cults were destroyed and the tale passed into legend.

The victory literally saved the world—yet the loss of their Grand Master left the Order gravely wounded. Its surviving champion, Iliathor, refused the title in favour of being crowned king of Valoria and none could agree upon who would lead them into the future. And so, the Order of Cydonia limped on, slowly bleeding out from a lack of direction.

Decline and Dissolution

By 1322 AS, the Order’s numbers had thinned to a fraction. Years of secrecy had eroded political trust, with some nobles fearing that the Order’s knowledge of "the planar arts" imperiled the realm. The Priesthood of Pelor, increasingly aligned with the recently created Council of Seven, declared the remaining knights “honoured veterans” but withdrew official support.

That same year, the Order was formally dissolved and Holven Castle's halls fell silent. After housing a noble family for a few generations, ownership of the castle was transferred to the Orthay City Watch, who stripped much of the Order’s heraldry but preserved its architectural foundations and inner sanctums.

Legacy Today

Though no longer active, the Order of Cydonia casts a long shadow:

• Their vaults beneath Holven Castle are rumoured to conceal hidden chambers, filled with forbidden artefacts and planar anomalies.
• Their rites and writings were believed to have been destroyed in a fire, although it is thought a handful of texts may survive.
• Their relics occasionally resurface, often the focus of cultists or antiquarians who do not fully understand their significance.
• Their name survives in reverence among some historians and certain Pelorian priests, who believe the Order’s return may one day be necessary.

Most compelling are whispered rumors that not all members of the Order died—or aged. There are records of knights who pursued enemies into other planes, who may yet return to this one.