Rite of Honor

“Ours is an unpayable debt. We failed to reach Osterath; our blades never drank faithless blood, and our gods were lost to us in the very heart of our empire. We failed them, but in infinite mercy, they offered us a path to redemption. May the priests offer solace; our trade is in blood and steel. Some say that those who have lost it all are the most dangerous. We are much worse, for we have something to protect.”

— Everist Falkenmarsch, Arch-Marshal of the Rite of Honor

After the Fall, when the Lucidi and the rest of the survivors arrived in the northern province of Dynas, seeking shelter in its ancient fortresses, they found the Knights of Charn, a great host of warriors who had been waylaid by enemy forces. The knights had been blessed by the Triumvirate to wield Relics and Legacies with ease. While others may have strained under such power, even been consumed by it, the knights would thrive.

Had the Knights not been prevented from joining the Battle of Osterath,  perhaps they could have broken the siege, and this failure was their greatest shame, an unforgivable sin in the eyes of some. The Lucidi offered the knights a path to redemption. Meeting with the Lord-Marshal of Charn, they proposed the creation of a new world order, which would restore the continent to the glory of the past and take it to even greater heights. The Knights would become the backbone of these efforts, and the blood shed by their descendants would wash away the sin of their forebears.

The Lord-Marshal of the Knights saw the wisdom in their words and accepted, on the condition that he himself could be elevated to the role of Lucidi. He would forever watch over his people, ensuring this blood oath was never forgotten or cast aside. The three Lucidi: Justice, Faith, and Redemption, agreed. One of the few precious Shards of the Throne the Lucidi were entrusted with was given to the Lord-Marshal, for they knew that an unworthy man would not survive the bond with the Vestige. So it was that the Lord-Marshal became Valor, and the Order of the Shattered Throne was born.

As the Order built a new kingdom for the faithful, the remnants of the armies of the Triumvirate were largely absorbed by the Rite of Honor, and its members became ever more influential. During the Age of Strife, and more rarely during the Age of Legacy, some sects of knights rebelled against the rule of the Rites. Each time they were put down by the combined might of loyalist forces, their Relics and Legacies confiscated, their names were stricken from the historical records. However, the lineages of these traitors still survive, their greater affinity for the tools of the Everlasting too valuable an asset to eradicate. At the end of the Age of Strife, the Lucidi decided to impose limits on the power of the knightly lineages. All Relics and Legacies were declared the property of the Order as a whole, with family lineages possessing one of these artifacts simply serving as its stewards. Those not in “good standing” with the Rites could have their right to a Legacy, as well as to their titles and lands, revoked. Conversely, those lowborn faithful who proved themselves to the Order and gained possession of a Legacy could be elevated to the status of princept, a noble in their own right.

The Rite of Honor is the main military arm of the Order. All Rites contribute forces and resources to their military efforts, but only members of the Rite of Honor have war as their profession. Their duties are to protect the homeland and to advance beyond Dynas to reconquer what was lost with the Fall. They are led by princepts, members of families in good standing, recognized as potential Legacy bearers. Each of these families possesses at least one ancestral Legacy passed down through the generations. The patriarchs and matriarchs who lead these families automatically gain the title of Lord or Lady-Marshal. 

The bulk of their forces, however, is composed of the lowborn, or paribus. Any member of the Order who is not of the clergy, or otherwise in direct service to one of the Rites, is considered a paribus. Even those who work the fields must spend some of their time training under the tutelage of the knights, so they are ready to answer the call for war. Some of these paribus hail from families that fell from grace with the Rites, and dare venture into the Malediction in the hopes of both proving themselves worthy and recovering a Relic or Legacy of their own, which would mean their ascension to the rank of princepts.

As the Lucidi remain ever in council in the Holy City of Tempras, the day-to-day operations of the Rite of Honor are handled by Arch-Marshal Evarist Falkenmarch, from the ancient fortress-city of Charn. His title is equivalent to that of Septas for the other Rites. The current Arch-Marshal is a more cautious, even-tempered man than his recent predecessors, who led massive war efforts against the Order’s perceived enemies. He has served for nearly fifty years now, focusing on training and bolstering the military and rooting out homegrown rebellions. Everist refuses to retire, but all know that the nearly one hundred-year-old man is not long for this world. The continent waits with bated breath to discover who his replacement will be, for the next Arch-Marshal could very well call for a new crusade.