Mage-Knights are immensely powerful Mages who also double as Knights for the Aelrrigan Order. There are always only a dozen or so Mage-Knights in the world because they exist on a level of power far exceeding what even the most skilled Elf might achieve in hundreds of years of magical learning. Mage-Knights often approach but never quite approximate the Arch-Mages of the Old Allorn Empire, and some of the strongest Mage-Knights can go toe-to-toe with the weakest of Arken and Gods. The Mage-Knights are ranked based on their power index, and as there are currently 12, that ranking goes from First Mage-Knight to Twelfth Mage-Knight. Each Mage-Knight has a sigil commonly used to identify them, while plenty of lower-ranking Knights try to imitate their skills and uphold them as idols. Within the Aelrrigan Order, however, it is well-known that many of the Mage-Knights are haughty, arrogant, introverted, and sometimes even sociopathic individuals who are obedient to the code and loyal to the mission statement of the Order, but should not be expected to have a casual drink with the lower ranks. At most, they are whispered or spoken about when they are not around.
Mage Knight Rankings
First-Mage Knight Mercy is an enigma even within the ranks of the Aelrrigan Order itself, with the only known fact about her being that she is an Eighth Tier God-Mage capable of True Resurrections. Given she has a rare form of Magic, the Aelrrigan Order keeps her identity strictly known only to the other Mage-Knights and the Elders. Mercy--not being her real name either--is renowned for her great power of resurrection. First-Mage Knight Mercy is called upon by the other Mage-Knights to undo "great evil caused by apostasy," which usually means deaths in the thousands for Mercy to undo, however, nobody has any evidence of this ever occurring. This has been speculated to be caused by Mage-Knight Bella who wields her considerable power over the minds of others and erases any memories of witnessing Mercy.
Second-Mage Knight Caan is a well-known Ailor Mage-Knight who also doubles as a Unionism God, though his statements to support that latter notion are rather vague and sparse. Second-Mage Knight Caan is a "Matter-Mage," capable of easily creating anything from thought and will, except things of organic origin. Simply put, he can create mountains and raise whole cities out of the ground, but he can never populate it with wildlife, flora, or people. Second-Mage Knight Caan is an unnaturally strong battle mage because of his skills and is frequently called into the most dangerous of situations. Caan's power is so immense that it is said he could wipe out the Council and establish dictatorial rule over the Aelrrigans but does not out of virtue.
Third-Mage Knight Bella is, much like Mercy, quite an enigma because pains are made to hide her identity from the wider world. Bella is vaguely understood to have been a Cantaluna by birth, frequently nicknamed Belladonna within the Aelrrigan Order because she is a woman with a great apatite for men but forces them to forget all about her after even years of matrimony while leaving behind the poisonous feeling of abandonment and loss. Bella has extreme mastery over the minds of those around her, capable of changing facts and reality perceptions at will, implanting new memories, and subjecting the unwitting to her control. There is an ongoing conspiracy theory among the lower-ranking Aelrrigans that she is puppeteering the Council by enamoring them all with her magic.
Fourth-Mage Knight Siliaan is a fairly well-known Solvaan Mage-Knight who acts as a reliable liaison between Solleria and the Aelrrigan Order as one of Sinnavei's chosen. Siliaan was born a powerful Mage, and while retaining his skill for the Sollerian military for most of his life, he has recently been granted special dispensation to join the Aelrrigan Order for a more Empire-wide impact. Siliaan frequently assists Caan on the most dangerous missions, where Caan alone cannot beat the most insidious of dark Magical forces. Siliaan's magic is well recorded, as he uses a form of material shatter, breaking physical objects down into shards or parts and propelling them through the air at great speed. He is also nicknamed the Knight of the Thousand Flying Daggers given the form his magic takes.
Fifth-Mage Knight Inna is a widely-known Fin'ullen Mage-Knight who is the only foreign-born Aelrrigan Mage-Knight, with all others having been born inside the borders of the Regalian Empire. Inna is a bit of a cultural rebel in that she strongly rejected Vyrë worship in her native Ilha Faiaal, and refused to see water as a home, but rather as a weapon. Inna has extreme control over water, able to part whole oceans to wander the surface, or to give life to rivers in combat. Her signature magic is turning rivers into galloping herds of horses that crush whole armies under their feet, however, she has always refused to use her skills in war. This is not a particularly unique stance of hers, but she takes it a step further by promising to kill any Aelrrigan who wields their trained Magic for the sake of winning wars.
Sixth-Mage Knight Rina was an Asha captive saved from Methenwyäal magic-breeding program facilities by Caan several decades ago, and has proved to be an immensely powerful Mage since. Rina uses her command over the weather, specifically over storms and lightning to achieve great feats of power. Rina is, however, the youngest of the Mage-Knights, meaning that despite her power in combat she is rarely deployed and still considered in a state of learning, with Caan and Silaan acting as mentors because even the Elders have little to teach her. Rina is the most accessible and naively sociable of the Mage-Knights but Caan has made efforts to separate her from the other Knight students over the past 20 years to prevent her from getting too comfortable around the rank and file of the Order.
Seventh-Mage Knight Kjellebjørg is a fairly well-known Velheim Mage-Knight who is reaching extremely advanced age now and is expected to be the first Mage-Knight to expire of old age within the next decade. Kjellebjørg (pronounced Tjellebjurg) was once the dutiful wife of a Skagger lord in Drixagh, who repressed her Magic for long, until one fateful afternoon when she was assaulted, and killed nearly everyone in her castle by accident. The Aelrrigan Order took her in after this event and she was later taught how to control her pressure and gravity magic. Since then, she has been valuable when approaching the peripheral regions of the Regalian Archipelago, especially the Velheim lands, where the Aelrrigans find it hard to work due to old animosity towards the Breizh.
Eight-Mage Knight Arad is a somewhat secretive Dwarf Mage who likes being unseen, but very much heard. Of all the Mage-Knights, Arad is the most keen on fame and glory without actually standing in the spotlight himself. His exploits of breaking into places unseen and stealing things he ought not are often told by the Aelrrigans, with one of his most notable exploits stealing the Imperial Crown from Emperor Justinian II, wearing it for a drinking night, before returning it before the Palace even noticed it was missing. Arad's Magic has absolutely no combat uses, rather he is known as the Key-Mage meaning that no lock, chain, or obstacle can stand in his way and that this even extends itself to the unwillingness of others to say things. This makes him an excellent interrogator for the order, too.
Ninth-Mage Knight Mientje is a well-known Mage-Knight that doubles as an Anglian Witch and a teacher Knight. Mientje was born many years ago and maybe the oldest of the Mage-Knight, being over 600 years old, well beyond what an Ailor could ever achieve. Her magical powers lie in the control of time and healing, using time to heal. Mientje is very commonly accessible -she refuses to fight and observes her faith in the Dragons. She is typically housed in the convalescing Llynburh Chapter, where Aelrrigans travel if they are brought close to death, or dismembered. Mientje can undo most bodily harm to the Aelrrigans but also provides more general alchemy teaching and battlefield-medical training to the Knights so they can care for each other.
Tenth-Mage Knight Silit Silit is a rather unknown Maquixtl Sintli Mage-Knight who really does not like people. She is often described as one of the most foul-tempered of the Mage-Knights, becoming threatening with even so much as a stare or eye contact with her. Silit spends most of her time tending to the inner gardens of Llynburn where Mage-Knight Mientje tends to her alchemy classes. Silit's Magic centralizes around nature, with her extreme command over the schools of Evergrowth, so-called schools of Magic focused on interacting and blossoming with Nature. Silit is often compared to the Dragon Aurora (though they are not the same) in that both she and Aurora produce entirely new plant species never before seen, but Silit always has to avail herself to breeding existing plants, unlike the Dragons.
Eleventh-Mage Knight Ramman Ramman is an infamous Skyborn Mage-Knight that, nowadays, is mostly known by his nickname the Heartstopper. Ramman's great magical ability is to end the life of anyone he looks at by making their heart stop. Ramman was for many an efficient killer for the Aelrrigan Order, until an instance where he was tasked with the saving of Skyborn refugees caught by Songaskian Death Mages. His magic was ineffective against the animated corpses, and the Death Mages had resolved their protection by becoming Undead, forcing Ramman to use his heart-stopping magic to prevent the Skyborn refugees from falling into the clutches of the Death Mages. Since then, Ramman has refused to kill anyone and wanders the halls of Penn Carchar with melancholy and a disheveled appearance, though he is still formally a Mage-Knight.
Twelfth-Mage Knight Philip Philip is a well known Ithanian Mage-Knight born in Ithania who voluntarily signed up to the Aelrrigan Order. Even though he is the weakest of the Mage-Knights by power index comparison, his magic is quite curious in that can control aspects of a person's soul, including his own. He does not control a person in the way that Bella does or have the capacity to undo death like Mercy, but he can manifest an inner power in others that they might have never thought themselves capable of. Notable examples are weaving upon the bravery and will to protect others in other Knights, transforming them into great prideful beasts like lions with wings and feathered dragons with flight. Philip never works alone, and always has a group of 10 or so Knights personally selected accompanying him.
Trivia
Coming up with stories (where possible) of your character seeing these Mage-Knights from a distance is recommended, as many of them provide instances where they might have met player characters, however, we ask that Players keep things reasonable and do not project importance on their own character by inserting them into important roles for these Mage-Knights.
There is no hard number on how many Mage-Knights there can be, nor is there a way to become "promoted" to be one. Mage-Knights of this power caliber are always born with their ability and far exceed the capacity of any Magic that could be learned, even when granted by Gods and Pacts.
There have been attempts in the past to induce Arken (who are born as infants due to the Denial of Immortality) into the Order as Mage-Knights. This has been met with varying levels of success, though often leaning more in the direction of disaster. The last attempt involved an Arken turning on the Order and wiping out several Elders and Knights sent to convince them to stay.
