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| Aelrrigan Order | |
|---|---|
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| Order | |
| Pronunciation | Ail-ree-gan |
| Origins | Kintyr |
| Grandmaster | Mage-Primarch Caan |
| Colors | White, Dark Gray, Sky Blue |
The Aelrrigan Order is a Knightly Order primarily occupied with fighting the negative effects of Magic on the world, though by harnessing and teaching as opposed to repressing and peaceful cleansing instead of eradicating. Among the Aelrrigan Knights, Magic usage is very common, and they even provide safe ways to teach responsible Magic usage to others. Inversely however, the Aelrrigan Order has some of the most ruthless Mage-Hunters who track down what they call Renegade Mages (sometimes also called “Goz” for the Breizh word for mole, or just Renegade). Beyond their enforcement of responsible and moral usage of Magic, the Aelrrigan also hunt down Artifacts of Magic in order to keep them out of the hands of the common people, and lock them up into a fortification called an Enemohér, which those who speak Common often refer to as a Magi-Vault or Mohér. The Aelrrigan ply their craft somewhere between the laws of the land and their own moral codes, never quite being fully recognized and legalized in the same way the other Knight Orders had been, but still finding ways to fulfill their divine mission. The Aelrrigan follow the Dydd y Farn, which is loosely translated to the Doomsday Prophecy in Common, an extremely rare instance of three religions all convening for a common goal and concept, to warn the world about dangers and instructing their followers on what to do about it. The repository of all played Knights can be found here. When you make a new Knight character, please file a ticket in the Discord Ticket Bot to have them recorded. You only need to provide their name and Order.
Design
Aelrrigan Knights sit somewhere between the typical fantasy medieval feudal Knight, and the spell-blade warrior. Their Knight Order still predominantly appeals to the Knighthood aesthetic of the heavy plate armor, capes, swords and shields, but many of their members also use Magic or combine their normal fighting style with enchantments and Magic. Aelrrigan Knights are more personable than most other Knight Orders, but are capable of the same stiffness and sticking to rules when it comes to Renegade Mages. The following design limitations are enforced on the Aelrrigans:
- Aelrrigans can be of any people or culture, but they must be loyal to the Regalian Empire.
- Aelrrigans should gravitate towards melee weapons and plate armor aesthetic, but can incorporate a lot of Magic.
- Aelrrigans can also be exclusively Magic users, or have zero Magic at all, but should always be heavily armored.
- Aelrrigans can never be criminals, Afflicted, Marken, Evolism worshipers, Mystech, or hold Spirits (unless Suvial).
Chapters
All Aelrrigan Knights are members of one single Chapter, which grants them a free non-Combat related Mechanic. Changing Chapters is permitted but only infrequently and only through a Staff Ticket where the request is reviewed. More background lore can be found about the Aelrrigan Mage Knights related to the Chapter Houses.
Penn Archwilio
Penn Archwilio is the Chapter of the so-called wayfarers seated in Canolbarth, Kintyr, in the Regalian Archipelago. While the other Chapters primarily deal with the known and the established, and finding better ways to deal with known threats, the Penn Archwilio Chapter focuses on exploration and the pushing of magical boundaries to discover threats before they make contact the other way around. This is both done through a combination of physical exploration and sea faring to distant lands, and the more metaphysical exploration of the boundaries of Magic and keeping an ear to the ground for new discoveries in distant lands that the Aelrrigans may once need an answer for. Penn Archwilio Chapter members tend to be more prone to risky behavior and lone-wolf behavior, as many of them get sent on missions to far away lands where they get used to being self sufficient. Penn Archwilio holds a large fleet, the only Knight Chapter to do so.
- Penn Archwilio Mechanic: Penn Archwilio Knights can have Wings (feathered only), allowing (Elytra) flight (+use of Rockets). Combat or Ability usage immediately disables flight.
Penn Carchar
The Penn Carchar Chapter specializes in the taking, storing, and Artifactspark manipulation of Artifacts. Their Chapterhouse in Tirddwr, Kintyr, in the Regalian Archipelago, has the largest known library with information on all the known Artifacts around the world, along with the largest magical repository of locked up artifacts belonging to the Aelrrigan Order. Penn Carchar Chapter members tend to be disciplinary and rule-bound, believing more strongly in the Aelrrigan mission than the other Chapters due to their proximity with the extreme danger of Artifacts. There are infrequent Artifact breaches in Penn Carchar's Chapterhouse, resulting in casualties and chaos, and as such, they are always more on edge and alert than the other Aelrrigans because they know what calamity looks like. Penn Carchar members are exclusively Mages, as even without any Magic and coming in mundane, the very Chapterhouse itself instills Magic in those who enter.
- Penn Carchar Mechanic: These Knights can Persuasion /Dice without Charisma Proficiency but only on Foreign NPCs or Royalty and gain a +1 final result Bonus. This Bonus does not stack with other Bonuses.
Stor Vardrhaug
The Stor Vardrhaug Chapter is controversially placed in country of Middeskag in a town called Blindheim. The Stor Vardrhaug Chapter specializes in the counteraction of Arken plots across the world, but more specifically is aimed at the pacification and reduction of collateral harm inflicted by Arkenborn across the world. Arkenborn are historically liable to dangerous and chaotic Magic used to harm the mundane population, and so Stor Vardrhaug teaches its members the means to fight the Demonspawn most efficiently, while also recognizing the plots and designs of the Arken themselves. The Chapter in fact frequently recruits Arkenborn themselves, to teach them to stay in line and use them to show other Arkenborn that they need not be a waste and unwanted pariah of society. Stor Vardrhaug is not well liked by the locals of Blindheim, because they even hunt down what the Fornoss believers locally think are demigods, the Prideborn and Furyborn.
- Stor Vardrhaug Mechanic: Stor Vardrhaug Knights are immune to Prideborn Mindcontrol, Bodyborn forced Mutations, and general Arkenborn mind/emotion/memory alterations.
Hechiceros
The Hechiceros Chapter in Girobalda in the south of the Archipelago, is a newer Chapter, created to act both as teachers to those who want to safely learn Magic, but also to keep a close eye on the proliferation (and repression) of Magic through Religion. They specifically know a lot about Religions to tackle the moral quandries created by the people claiming religious right to Magic, or claiming religious right to kill Mages. The Hechiceros Chapter is usually also called in to handle Limit-Breaking Mages so long as they haven't become possessed by a Spirit yet, able to bring a halt to their Limit-Break remotely, and guiding them through the process of shutting off their Magic so that they can calm down. Hechiceros Knights are often sagely and mentorlike, taking a more guiding approach rather than fighting, always attempting to convince any Renegade Mage to turn themselves in and allow themselves to be helped instead of death.
- Hechiceros Mechanic: Hechiceros Knights can, once per day, make use of the Magical Variant of the Sealing Pack from Adapt Point Buy. Point-Buying the Pack, or gaining it for free, disables this. They can also prevent Limit-Breaking.
Llynburh
The Llynburh Chapter is situated in Ashaven at the foot of a set of volcanoes that the Mages in the chapter keep docile enough not to erupt, but active enough to help the soil with its nutrients. The Llynburh Chapter is primarily focused on the cleansing and healing properties of both Magic and Alchemy, particularly the latter being popular as the Chapterhouse has a massive Alchemical repository and herb and ingredient garden. The Chapterhouse also acts as a convalescing home for wounded Knights and locals, as Llynburh is known as the hospital Chapter. Llynburh members are taught healing Magic if they are Mages, and Alchemical and surgical practices if they are Mundane. Many of the Aelrrigan Mage-Knights operate from this Chapterhouse, meaning it is a popular Chapterhouse to go for lessons and training with the best. The Llynburh Chapter is also known for having many Warden Archon joining up, and even has a decently sized Draconism Temple nearby.
- Llynburh Mechanic: Llynburh Knights because of their proximity to Draconism and Archon among them, gain access to to the "Long Living" [Archon] Mechanic.
Laoch Lasrach
The Laoch Lasrach Chapter is the Chapter that specializes in the tactical, strategic, and mechanical combination of Magic with Melee fighting styles, thus championing the creation of the Spellblade Aelrrigan Knight. The Chapter however has had some calamity to weather, with the most recent being the utter destruction of their Chapterhouse in Èriu-Innis, at the hands of the Asha Corsair fleets that destroyed the land with their massive digging machines, causing earthquakes and landslides that collapsed the Chapterhouse. Laoch Lasrach Knights have a particular disdain for the Asha for this reason, even if they have temporarily established a new Chapterhouse in a horse-barn in Pach Lallach, Gallovia. Laoch Lasrach members tend to be the most unpredictable and emotionally passionate of the Aelrrigan Knights, first in a fight, and also first to argue against an order to retreat. In this sense, Carchar Knights usually act as their life-line in trouble.
- Laoch Lasrach Mechanic: Laoch Lasrach Knights can choose one Mechanic from the Evolism Religious Mechanics, and take it for their own. This may not alter their morality!
Burning Choir
The Burning Choir Chapter has no formal Chapterhouse, nor does it have a formal hierarchy or structure. It is purely the administrative division in which the Aelrrigans confine the Relicsworn Undead, so that they always know how many there are, where they are, and what they are doing. The Aelrrigan Order ensures that the Magic holding the Relicsworn Undead together remains functional and well maintained, and ensure that they follow their purpose, which is to act as guardians of holy sites, pious individuals, and divine objects. Burning Choir members are not ever taught combat, because there is an assumption that they already know how to fight from a previous life. That being said, the Order does also maintain their armor in case of damage, and provides them a safe place and home-base from which to operate during times when they aren't working, or have to regroup to work with other Aelrrigans on major obstacles or missions for the Order.
- Burning Choir Mechanic: Burning Choir Knights do not gain a Mechanic, as Relicsworn Undead already have a series of Mechanics for free.
Brezelourien Santel
The Brezelourien Santel Chapter is found in the north of Ithania, in the lands inhabited by the Perrion Ithanians and Marvoudou Breizh sub-culture. The Brezelourien Santel Chapter specializes in the safeguarding, retrieval, and sanctification of holy artifacts. They do so with a strong focus on Unionist artifacts which habitually are more common than other Religions due to the sheer amount of Gods that Unionism has, and how many things they interacted with during their mortal life which ended up becoming holy Relics. The Brezelourien Santel Chapter was once formed from Eirlys's holiest warriors, and when she was incorporated into Unionism, they followed her and became the Santel Knights in the Aelrrigan Order. The Brezelourien Santel Chapter members are considered the most pious and religious fanatical of the Aelrrigans, frequently on some kind of personal obsessive holy quest to retrieve a long lost piece of armor from one of the God Emperors.
- Brezelourien Mechanic: Brezelourien Knights may take one Mechanic from any Religious Mechanic of other Religions (even Evolism) which does not involve Combat Stats.
Internal Aelrrigan Code
The Internal Aelrrigan Code contains additional Honor and Behavior Codes for Aelrrigan Knights that are supplemental to the Common Code described on the Knights Page.
- Aelrrigan Knights must ensure no dangerous Magic teaching material exists by burning forbidden Dark Magic tomes, and teaching proper usage to those who want to learn.
- Aelrrigan Knights must protect the (legal) repressed occult from hate-crimes and bigotry, both with verbal defense or with arms if they suffer unlawful attacks.
- Aelrrigan Knights must declare mages who use Magic for evil as Renegade Mages, and hunt them down to bring them to justice, or in last resort cleanse their Magic.
- Aelrrigan Knights must ensure that Grim Artifacts remain out of the hands of those who would ruin and destroy the world or the Regalian Empire.
- Aelrrigan Knights must search and banish hostile Spirits and Demons or Corrupted Souls by sending them back to the realm from which they came, and prevent their return.
- Aelrrigan Knights must aid and cover for Doomed Fates, making sure they are not captured by those who ensnare Spirits, and that they can work towards their purpose.
Aelrrigan Jobs
The Aelrrigan Order, just like other Knight Orders, has so called "Jobs" which are cornerstone occupations of the Knights. Any Knight can engage in these, but they are largely optional.
- Magic Investigations: When Aelrrigans run into unusual Magical phenomena, objects, or people, they should investigate, interrogate, and experiment as much as safely possible to learn as much as possible about it before compiling a threat level report. Ranking from F (low threat) to S (extreme threat), Aelrrigans should assess the danger to the world, stability, or the Aelrrigan Order (and indirectly, the good standing of Mage-rights in the Empire), before agreeing on a plan on how to deal with the entity. This should also be done for more routine threats, like Greater Vampires, Arken, Magical Events and so forth.
- Artifact Agents: The Aelrrigan Order polices the existence and use of Grim Artifacts. Grim Artifacts are those magical tools touched by the Death Gods, the Void Gods, or hostile Arken, and are generally considered tools of evil. While Grim Artifacts are not necessarily evil, in the wrong hands, they can do a lot of damage to the world or the Regalian Empire. The Knights are meant to meet in conclave to determine if any owner of a Grim Artifact is considered a threat to the Empire, and if deemed so, hunt them down to either disable their Artifactspark, or confiscate the Artifact altogether. Aelrrigan Knights are not allowed to own Artifactsparked Grim Artifacts.
- Doomed Fates: Doomed Fates are Primal Revenants who died before they could complete their mission (religious, or for the Regalian Empire), so not cleansed Spirits or Spirits who socially hang out without explicit purpose. Doomed Fates are considered "Good Spirits" in the eyes of Aelrrigans, and while they shouldn't outright and transparently help them by fighting with them, they should indirectly aid them by keeping those who would ensnare or banish them off their backs, and making their work easier to complete, for when they do, Doomed Fates can be at peace and pass on into the afterlife that is reserved for them, which is the fastest way to be rid of them.
- Magic Progress: Aelrrigan Knights are exceptionally politically active. Whether attempting to do so themselves, or urging and championing the cause of others outside of the Order, Aelrrigan Orders must ensure there is always some kind of pro-Magic legislation political party that aligns with their "freedom, but under order and control" policy towards Magic. This can be led by the Aelrrigans themselves, or by Noble allies in the peerage who look fondly on the Aelrrigans. The Aelrrigans should seek to reinforce such a political unity, and expand it by adding additional members or allies.
History
Aelrrigan Order history is closely linked with Breizh cultural history, as its founding location was the Kintyr lands in the Regalian Archipelago. Its foundation is linked to the Dydd y Farn, a term that is loosely translated to Doomsday Prophecy, but rather than a set of tenets and beliefs, it actually refers to a highly unusual meeting and the events that came as a consequence of that meeting. To understand the event however, it is important to understand the context in which it took place. Kintyr at the time was one of the most divided but also populous regions in the Regalian Archipelago, which was nonetheless troubled by the Elven raids in the surrounding lands. Kintyr was unable to properly unite a common force against the foreign invaders because their land was so bitterly divided over religion. In almost equal numbers, the Breizh people were Draconists of Regulus, Fornoss followers of both pantheons, and held a unique religion called the Weards of Eirlys, with all three religions making up roughly a third of the total population and splitting it three ways. An often unspoken about topic that also bothered them, were the Void Conduits. A Conduit happens when a large amount of Void Magic or Exist Magic converges in an area to saturate it to such a degree that it becomes cancerous to anything living in the area, and rots anything that comes in contact with it. Void Conduits happened more and more as the world came closer to the Void Invasion, though obviously the denizens of the world did not yet know it was coming. These Void Conduits manifested all over the Regalian Archipelago but also in Kintyr, because of the rampant Magic usage halfway across the world in the Allorn Empire.
The Dydd y Farn refers to a meeting of the three Religions in the valley called Meysydd Siarad in Kintyr. First came the Dragon Regulus assuming Ailor form with long black hair, silken robes and purple eyes. Second came Eirlys, white feathered wings with songs of the fae from the clouds, and third came a pairing of Fornoss gods, riding a long thunderous strike. Which pairing of gods this was is probably the only unclear part of this legendary meeting, but guesses range from Bard and Svol to it instead being two Arken acting on behalf of the Fornoss pantheons as representatives. The meeting is well recorded, because the faithful took effort to announce this coming meeting ahead of time, meaning hundreds if not thousands of people were present to witness it from all faiths. During the Dydd y Farn each divine representative of their Religion made a verbal agreement and demand of the Kintyr people to set aside their religious differences, and unite against the threat of the Void Conduits, which were causing a plague on the land called the Black Mold, a high contagious disease that was caused by inhaling Void corrupted spores, with guaranteed fatality. The divine entities made it abundantly clear that this unification was necessary, to prevent utter calamity. This event is exceptional for each Religion even, as Dragons were not known to interact this much with their own worship which they often disregarded, and it is also the only recorded time in history when gods of different religions were present in the same area, let alone preaching a common goal.
Each of the divine beings demanded a unified effort on the part of the Breizh people, to form the Aelrrigan Dathonair, the forerunner of the modern Aelrrigan Order. Each of the royal houses (which would later become the Ducal houses as petty Breizh royalty wasn't the same as Imperial royalty) swore fealty to the Dathonair, giving their second born sons up to the Order to be guided by the Gods. In return, the Gods taught the Dathonair the complex and dangerous rituals involved in cleansing the Void Conduits, calling upon a mixture of Dragon, Fornoss, and Wearden powers to bring a halt to the Black Mould plague that was sweeping the region. It is mostly this event and subsequent formation of the Dathonair that modern scholars credit as the reason why nobody really remembers just how awful the Void Conduits were, as they were so successful, that after 200 years, there were no Void Conduits left. Some even dare speculate that because the Dathonair cleansed the lands, by the time Cataclysm happened (which in itself was a very destructive magic-caused event) there wasn't enough magical energy on the Archipelago for the Cataclysm to erupt like a catalyst, thus preventing any major natural disasters in the area and setting up the Regalian Empire with an easy start five years later.
The Dathonair continued their work even into the founding of the Regalian Empire. The Wearden of Eirlys as a standalone Religion would soon cease to exist, as the Concilly Council incorporated the Wearden into Dogmatic Unionism during the first schism, after which the second Emperor of Regalia re-confirmed the commitment of the Everwatcher to uphold the pact made by Eirlys during the Dydd y Farn. In essence, Unionism took over the responsibility of the Wearden of Eirlys, as Unionism replaced said Religion, while Draconism and Fornoss worship remained in place, with various priests of both Religions also ratifying the succession of Unionism which holds more or less to this day. With the Empire's somewhat loose attitude to Magic early on, the Dathonair were able to continue doing their work, but also found because of their efficiency, that little work had to be done. This in turn invited complacency among Regalian officials about the need of the Dathonair. This came to a head roughly 70 years after the first Unionism Schism, when anti Evintarian sentiment and the concept of magical mutations and evolutions gave rise to strong purist sentiments.
The dark times for the Dathonair truly set in when anti-Magic Regalian sentiment peaked in 100 AC with the creation of the Azure Order, allowing Grand Vigil Nicholas to implement his anti-Magic reforms. A true purge followed where many non-Magi signed up to the Azure Order and spread out across the Empire to hunt down Magic users, including Dathonair Mage-Knights. Many of the Dathonair Sanctuaries and Chapter houses were burned, with the Knights slain or imprisoned in the Azure Spire in the City of Regalia. Few of the Order survived without being captured, and most of the Bayor tapestries recording the history of the order were lost, or hidden away and soon forgotten as their protectors were slain elsewhere and taking their location with them to the grave. In 140 AC, the Azure Order declared the Dathonair destroyed, with the burning of Grandmaster Robwyn of Coltyr, being the last captured Dathonair who hid away in the mountains of Alstyr in Kintyr.
The spirit of the Dathonair was kept alive by those proud Ducal families who had once been the first to pledge their allegiance nearly 1200 years prior, hiding their bayor tapestries that recorded the codes and conduct of the Dathonair. They even kept alive knowledge of the rituals and artifacts used to cleanse Conduits, even though none of them were actually trained how to use them. It is during this time that some Fornoss and Draconists blame Unionism for radicalizing and breaking the Dydd y Farn, but reality is far more complicated. By this time, Draconists had also soured on Mages, with the notable Gray Witches in Anglia becoming extremely xenophobic towards Magic users and infected, refusing to even cure simple magical ailments. Similarly, the Fornoss worshipers in the region had been dealt a heavy blow by Magic-using Solvaan who supported the Regalian Empire in the Skagger Wars, thus increasing anti-magical sentiment (also because Elves were very popular among the Dathonair, and commonly lived in Kintyr also). With the death of all Dathonair and the loss of know-how to destroy Conduits, the Azure Order that once hunted the Dathonair now turned their destructive means on the Conduits, causing a lot of collateral damage in the process as they started appearing more and more as time passed further since the death of the last Dathonair.
It was however Unionism that also breathed life back into the compact, during the reign of Emperor Justinian II. Emperor Justinian along with the succeeding Kade dynasty, would later be known as the People Realists, or ruling entities that were more aligned with the needs of the people, than the needs of the Nobility. In doing so, Emperor Justinian II became acutely aware of the effect of Azure cleansing on the people. Far from the Dathonair cleansing rituals of old and the healing of the local population, the Azure Order would call down an extermination order on areas which housed Void Conduits, using cannons and explosive barrels to turn the area into a massive crater, thus denying the Void any matter to hold onto, while also hunting down any person who would have come close to the Conduit and putting them to death as a precaution for Void Demon infestation. This had a huge toll on the local population, and turned sentiment against the Azure Order at large.
Despite severe protests from the Azure Order, the ban on the Dathonair was rescinded by Justinian II in 270 AC, which immediately resulted in the Conclave of Coltyr, where all the major Ducal families brought the remnants of what they had hidden of the Dathonair together, and re-founded the order. This time, to distinguish it from the past, it was referred to as the Aelrrigan Order, leaving the history of the Dathonair in the past. The struggle over influence between the Azure Order and the Aelrrigan would continue until the former's destruction at the hands of the Deathling Occupation. Emperor Alexander I simply never renewed the charter for the Azure Order, and as such, the Aelrrigans had essentially outlived their foe, and were free to formally exist as a Knightly Order without organizational enemies, who would nonetheless later re-appear as Lothar Knights.
The Coup of 312
In July 312, Second Mage-Knight Caan overthrew the Aelrrigan Elders and Grandmaster and established a unitarian rule under his sole authority, backed by the other Mage-Knights. While regarded with discomfort from a purely legal standpoint, the Imperial Court has seemingly ratified the change in leadership and committed to preserving the chapter under Mage-Knight Caan's leadership, because he is also recognized as a still-living Unionist God. As a result of the Coup of 312, Caan instituted a new Code and new directive for the Aelrrigan Order, dismissing the Doomsday Prophecy as false anti-Magic propaganda, and installing a more pragmatic and magic-favoring attitude in the order. Caan's hostile takeover of the Order resulted in the exiling of a sizeable portion of the Aelrrigan High Command, as well as many knights who held onto the Doomsday Prophecy or just objected to the concept of a hostile takeover within the Order. These Knights all split into various smaller factions, some turning their backs on knighthood, some joining the Bloodcast Order, and others yet might even turn to the Argentum Order. Under the direct control of now Mage-Primarch Caan, the Order has taken a more tolerant view of Magic as a whole, Artifacts, as well as even Spirits, picking and choosing where to fight instead of provoking collateral damage from ostensibly harmless entities and situations.
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