Silver Order

The Knights of the Silver Order are a regiment of paladins and righteous knights oath-bound to combat supernatural evil, dark magic, and otherworldly incursions. Founded in the nation of Elyria, the order adheres to the traditional religion of the Sacred Flame, but operates throughout the world in small bands of questing knights dispatched on holy missions. However, the order has recently assembled en-masse, deploying an entire company of warriors to the ruins of Drakkenheim. They are tasked with destroying the unholy magic that has taken root there.

The Silver Order is an elite church-sanctioned regiment of paladins and ordained knights oath-sworn to combat supernatural evils, otherworldly incursions, and dark magic, founded several centuries ago as a militant arm of the Faith of the Sacred Flame. These knights and paladins act by the decree of the Divine Matriarch to defend the faithful from demons and monsters, and are called up as witch-hunters when wayward mages dabble in forbidden arcana. Their holy missions transcend sovereign borders, but the order is headquartered in Michael’s Gate. The chronicle of the Silver Order records countless heroic missions which have prevented a dire threat from growing into a far greater crisis.

Though they usually operate as individual questing knights or in small warrior-companies, occasionally they are deployed as a regiment. Members of the Silver Order have been traditionally drawn from all peoples and all levels of society. Nobles and commoners alike are found within the order, and one’s station in life does not reflect one’s position in the Silver Order.

Elyrians laud the esteemed members of the order as heroes. However, in their role as witch-hunters and mage-slayers, the Silver Order was complicit in the persecution and oppression of arcane spellcasters. To this day, the issue remains a deep stain on the order’s honor, as many observed that the injustices and persecution visited upon spellcasters stand in stark contrast against the tenets of the faith of the Sacred Flame, a faith which calls out for justice for the oppressed. Nevertheless, nobles and common folk in Elyria are staunch supporters of the Silver Order, and many argue that the knights’ deeds were indeed justified. After all, decisive action is necessary to defend the innocent and the faithful from wicked sorcerers who sought to dominate others with magical might, or cut down foul warlocks who spread wickedness through demonology and necromancy.

However, as Elyria slides deeper into theocratic rule, these knights are increasingly entangled in state affairs. Paladins of the Silver Order have been deployed on inquisitional crusades against heretics, heathens, and other political enemies of the Sacred Flame. Unfortunately, the distinction between an enemy of the Sacred Flame and an enemy of the state is not entirely clear anymore.

These concerns have been thrown into sharp focus ever since the Divine Matriarch dispatched a regiment of Silver Order knights and their retainers to the ruins of Drakkenheim to root out and destroy delerium at its source. Though led by the righteous paladin Knight-Captain Theodore Marshal, the nobles of Westemär and Caspia alike worry the Order’s presence in Drakkenheim is an invasive ploy by Elyria to wrest control of Westemär, rather than a valiant expedition to purify the city of eldritch contamination

Knightly Ranks

The Silver Order has several ranks:

• High Paladin. The commander-in-chief of the entire Silver Order is always a paladin.
• Knight-Captain. These paladins of the Sacred Flame are amongst the greatest heroes in the world today. There are ten in the order, but each commands a company between thirty and one hundred Silver Order Knights and the retainers serving under them.
• Silver Order Knight. Not every warrior in the Silver Order is a paladin, but each strives to emulate Saint Tarna’s valiant example. Nevertheless, many knights of the Silver Order take up a sacred oath. Paladins are revered figures in the Faith of the Sacred Flame, as the founder of the faith was herself a paladin.
• Soldier-at-Arms. Each Silver Order Knight leads a small squad of ten rank-and-file warriors. This forms the basic unit of the Silver Order, and typically these groups travel the world on righteous quests and holy missions. Assisting them are a large collection of squires, grooms, and retainers.