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THE KNIGHTS ATLAS OF HAENSE

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Spoiler

 

 

VA LANZSK TER DLUM TEA DENN DLUM INDERE

 

Since the times of yore when the Bogatyr formed the first band of chivalric companions in ancient Ruska, to be a Knight has been to live a life for others.

 

To be a Knight is to champion the virtues of humanity, to defend the weak, and exact justice. To be a Knight is to take up arms not for gain for glory, but for righteousness and truth. To be a Knight is to sacrifice the ordinary pleasures of life, and to devote oneself to the wellbeing of others. Whether in the days of King Barbov the Black, or King Petyr the Founder, or the present-day of King Sigismund III, this salient creed has endured in myth and fable. Some have mastered this creed and embodied it as examples of what it means to lead a virtuous existence, others have given their lives in pursuit of it, while some have failed to heed its lessons and fallen to the temptations of the Archdaemon. Whether the truest Knight or most vile knave, this Knight's Atlas - continuing the archives of Ser Nikolaus the Strong and Ser Boris the Persistent - shall record the lives and legends of each man and woman who have ever taken the mantle of Knight of Haense.

 

This Atlas records the lives and deeds of Knights who have died, or been discharged from their duties. It dates back as far as the infancy of the Kongzem of Haense under King Andrik II, and thus this extensive record is divided into five periods: 

 

I. The Order of the Golden Gryphon - 137 E.S. - 197 E.S. | 1584 A.H. - 1644 A.H.

I.I: Ser Sergei 'the Defender' Kovachev @NJBB

I.II: Ser Brennus 'the Norlander' Kaedric @W3IRDO

I.III: Ser Rickard 'the Palatine' Barrow @Ark

I.IV: Ser Jon Marband @MostlyAedra

I.V: Ser Dmitry 'the Meyster' Ruthern @ruthernlad

I.VI: Ser Brynden 'the True' Vanir @Assassinofawsome

I.V: Ser Osgod 'Warchief' Colborn @Birdnerdy

I.VI: Ser Fiske 'the Bloody' Vanir @InfamousGerman

I.VII: Ser Aldrick 'the Stalwart' Baruch  @CaptainHaense

I.VIII: Dame Natalia 'the Soldier' Barbanov @frankdh

I.IX: Ser Berengar 'the White' Helvets @Abeam

I.X: Ser Petyor 'the Huntsman' Vance @Imperium

 

II. The Knights of Bihar - 234 E.S. - 289 E.S. | 1681 A.H. - 1707 A.H.

II.I. Ser Hans de Ruyter @Nectorist

II.II. Ser Dominic 'the Stalwart' Grimm @Kanadensare

II.III. Ser Varon 'the Fierce' Kovachev @Arygon

II.IV. Ser Heinrik 'Old-Crow' Ludovar @Legoboy7984

 

III. The Marian Period - 289 E.S. - 343 E.S. | 1736 A.H. - 1790 A.H.

III.I. Ser Bjolfr 'One-Leg' Nord @GhostSHTR

III.II. Ser Jan 'the Black' Baruch @Subscriptshark

III.III. Ser Roderik 'Turncloak' Kortrevich @Milenkhov

III.IV. Ser Nikolaus 'the Strong' Kortrevich @Zanthuz

III.V. Ser Gerard 'the Bear' Stafyr @dandan1350

III.VI. Ser Konrad 'Wolfsbane' Stafyr @AndrewTech

III.VII. Dame Maria 'the Voluptuous' Preussens @Disheartened

III.VIII. Ser Alaric 'Falcon-Blood' Hanethor @AmK

III.IX. Ser Olavo 'the Ginger' Castelo @ThatCanadian

III.X. Ser Khroll 'the Elf' @Lhindir_

III.XI. Ser Ulric 'the Unwavering' Vyronov @giambro

III.XII. Ser Wilheim 'the Stallion' Barclay @MadOne

III.XIII. Ser Thomas 'Sea-Devil' Raleigh @Herylion

III.XIV. Dame Primrose 'the Forbearing' Kortrevich @MikoMonster

III.XV. Ser Roderick 'the Loyal' Kortrevich II @Bisscy

III.XVI. Ser Robert 'the Unyielding' Vyronov @Legoboy7984

III.XVII. Dame Winnifried 'the Bold' Kortrevich @TheIchorDruid

III.XVIII. Ser Selrik 'the Scholar' Wick @EmbryoGod

III.XIX. Ser Jonathan 'the Tower' Frostfire @AdmiralLB

III.XX. Ser Aedan 'the Phoenix' Capulei @Aidoro

III.XXI. Ser Tiberius 'Tidebreaker' Barrow @Eddywilson2

III.XXII. Ser Markus 'the Bull' Kortrevich @CaptainZenny

III.XXIII. Ser Robin 'the Persistent' Kartyr @Coolcod77

III.XXIV. Ser Ivan 'the Protector' Ruthern @Twandhi

III.XXV. Dame Karolina 'the Giant' Barclay @MissToni

III.XXVI. Ser Bjornolf 'the Berserker' Storn @rep2k

III.XXVII. Ser Georg 'the Courageous' Bykov @Mio

III.XXVIII. Ser Marcus 'Forgemaster' Erdhart @Sarven

III.XXIX. Ser Demetrius 'the Young' Ruthern @Aidoro

III.XXX. Ser Ivan 'the Red Bull' Kortrevich @erictafoya

III.XXXI. Ser Siegmund 'the Shepherd' Wick @gavyn 

 

IV. The Reformation Period - 343 E.S. - 398 E.S. | 1790 A.H. - 1845 A.H.

IV. I. Ser Maverick 'the Keeper' Baruch @Drew2_dude

IV. II. Ser Boris 'the Persistent' Ruthern @GMRO

IV. III. Dame Anabela 'the Ember' Ruthern @Eryane

IV. IV. Ser Viktor 'the Valient' Rauen @Pureimp10

IV.V. Ser Brandt 'the Patient' Barclay @GoodGuyMatt

IV.VI. Ser Alric 'the Cavalier' Ruthern @mkLouis

IV.VII. Ser Zodd 'the Ironclad' Calliban @AdmiralLB

IV.VIII. Ser Rubern 'the Butler' Barclay @ItsMrCannibal

IV.IX. Ser Aleksandr 'the Ardent' Vyronov @Sarmadonn

IV.X. Ser Cedric 'the Kind' Barclay @Frymark

IV.XI. Ser Fiske 'the Daring' Vanir III @Sander

IV.XII. Ser Hildebrand 'the Gryphon' Mondblume @Limo_man

IV.XIII. Ser Franz 'the Oracle' Bihar @Gusano

IV.XIV. Ser Aleksandr 'the Whisper' Bihar @Xarkly

IV.XV. Ser Grigoryi 'the Burned' Vilac @pkdon

IV.XVI. Ser Antonius 'the Fervid' Vilac @Milenkhov

IV.XVII. Ser Oliver 'the Lion' Helane @Werew0lf

IV.XVIII. Dame Marie Barclay @EnderMaiashiro

IV.XIX. Ser Demetriyus 'the Preserver' Aubert @MCVDK

IV.XX. Ser Ailred 'Steelheart' Ruthern @mkLouis

IV.XXI. Ser Karl 'the Humble' Amador @giambro 

 

V. The Bogatyr Period - 398 E.S. - Present | 1845 A.H. - Present

V.I. Ser Erwin 'the Headhunter' Bishop @Lomiei

 


 

I

THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN GRYPHON

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137 E.S. - 197 E.S. | 1584 A.H. - 1644 A.H.

 

The first of the Kongzem's Knights were those of the Order of the Golden Gryphon on Axios.

 

In the early days of the Kongzem, shortly after it had celebrated the crowning of its second-ever monarch - King Andrik II - the lords of Haense convened in the capital to advise their new King on the governance of his realm, and among their first acts was the creation of the Order of the Golden Gryphon as the first knightly echelon of the Kongzem. Led by the Meyster Knight, the Order enshrined the earliest values of chivalry that have moulded the creed of the orders of today, with the Gilded Talon serving as a badge of distinction for its honourable members. The Golden Gryphon levied strict joining requirements on aspiring Knights; only those of noble standing were permitted to train as squires, with the exception of extraordinary commoners.

 

The Order also included the rank of 'Arma Patrinae' for squires who failed to meet the criteria to become a Knight. The most elite of the Golden Gryphons were also selected to serve as 'Knights of Ottosgrad', the Crown and Royal House's personal protectors, comparable to the future Marian Retinue. Owing to the early time period that was the Kongzem of Haense in Axios, there exists only minimal surviving records of the Order of the Golden Gryphon. From what scholars have determined, members of the Order seemed to be largely influential Haensemen in their own right, and thus many of the Golden Gryphons are remembered for reasons unrelated to their knighthood. 

 

The Order fell into disuse after the Kongzem fell during the Great Northern War, but it was later re-established by King Otto II with a new generation of Knights after King Stefan I reformed the Kongzem in the Royal Capital of Alban.

____________________________________________________

 

SER SERGEI KOVACHEV

THE DEFENDER

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Knight of Turov

@NJBB

84 E.S. - 142 E.S. | 1531 A.H. - 1589 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as ‘the Defender’.

 

Born on a spring morning in the Gryphon’s Nest, Ser Sergei was the premier vassal and bannerman of the early Haeseni monarchs as Count of Turov, progenitor-title of the famous Duchy of Carnatia. Together with the Marquis of Vasiland - Fiske Vanir - and the Baron of Monstadt - Ruslan Amador - he formed the backbone of the Kongzem in Axios throughout the reign of King Andrik II. Records commemorate him as a skilled marshal who developed the military strength of the Kongzem, which at the time relied on bannermen levies, through the expansion of the House Kovachev armsmen. 

 

While also serving as an instrumental advisor to King Andrik II and his successors, Ser Sergei’s most notable deed came in the form of his refusal to follow King Andrik II into rebellion against the Orenian Emperor Philip I. Because of Ser Sergei’s opposition, the rest of the Haeseni nobility followed suit, depriving King Andrik II of critical support, which consequently led to the King’s execution. Despite having betrayed his Haeseni liege, Ser Sergei’s tough action is credited as preserving the Kongzem’s place in the world at a time where it was growing and vulnerable. Had the rebellion gained support and been defeated, it is widely accepted that the entire Kongzem might have been destroyed, and thus historians have given Ser Sergei the moniker of ‘the Defender’.

 

After King Andrik II’s failed rebellion and death, Ser Sergei remained as a loyal advisor and supporter to the young King Marius I, before dying at the age of fifty-eight as one of the most influential Haensemen of his time.

 

____________________________________________________

 

 

SER BRANNUS KAEDRIC

THE NORLANDER

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Knight of Turov

@W31RDO

Unknown - Unknown | Unknown - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as ‘the Norlander’.

 

Ser Brennus was born a Norlander farmer on the Isle of Avar - in Vailor - who enlisted as a young soldier in the Nortruppen army of Sven Ruric, who had made it his mission to revive Avar from its current state of disrepair. Ser Brennus rose to the rank of Kommissar - the second in command of the army - but he later abandoned this position after Thomas Ruric rebelled against Orenia owing to Ser Brennus’ split loyalties. 

 

When the Descendant people migrated to Axios, Ser Brennus wandered for a time before he came to serve Ser Sergei Kovachev - the Count of Turov and bannerman of Haense - and was granted a fief of land, where he constructed the Norlandic settlement of Myrka, which became famous for its mead hall. After years of loyal service to Ser Sergei, the Count of Turov recommended Ser Brennus to be knighted, and so he was called before the Royal Court in Ottosgrad and dubbed a Knight by King Andrik II. However, when the Norlandic people later began to re-emerge in a bid to establish a new homeland in the city of Svenheld, Ser Brennus felt an urge to return to his origins - to the culture and identity that he had known growing up, and read about its past greatness. He thus requested to be relieved of his oath to Ser Sergei, which the Count of Turov granted with a heavy heart and a solemn farewell to his friend and loyal bannerman. And so it was that Ser Brennus gathered the people of Myrka, and travelled west to Svenheld, where they were warmly welcomed.

 

An experienced architect from the construction of Myrka, Ser Brennus aided in the development of Svenheld to the extent that most buildings in the city bore his hallmark, and so he was honoured with an entire portion of the city being named the Kaedric District. Thereafter, Ser Brennus lived out the rest of his days in comfort in a city he felt he truly belonged in, and died peacefully as an old and accomplished man of both Haense and Norland.

____________________________________________________

 

 

SER RICKARD BARROW

THE PALATINE

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Knight of Karlsburg

@Ark

Unknown - Unknown | Unknown - Unknown 

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as the Palatine.

 

Despite his birth as a bastard, Ser Rickard earned his moniker for his service as the Kongzem of Haense’s first-ever Lord Palatine under its first-ever monarch, King Petyr I, and later under King Andrik II. Though he would not be dubbed into the Order of the Golden Gryphon until the Order’s establishment later in his life under King Andrik II, Ser Rickard led a distinguished military career as a veteran of Haense’s inaugural victory in the Riga War, and as a commander in many of the skirmishes the Kongzem faced in its infant years, when bandits and marauders thought to take advantage of the newborn realm.

 

On the crest of his military success, Ser Rickard became a highly-influential statesman to the first two Haeseni monarchs, to the extent that he served as de-facto ruler in the twilight years of King Petyr I’s reign when the monarch’s health worsened. Though he continued to serve as Palatine into the reign of King Andrik II, who knighted him into the Order of the Golden Gryphon, he resigned following a period of tension between him, and the King and his brother, who sought to consolidate more direct power in the Crown. He remained as an influential courtier, and stood by Ser Sergei Kovachev in opposing King Andrik II’s ill-fated rebellion against the Orenian Empire.

 

He died in his later years as one of the most important Haensemen of the Kongzem’s infant years.

 

____________________________________________________

 

SER JON MARBRAND

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Knight of Rostig

@MostlyAedra

Unknown E.S. - Unknown E.S. | Unknown - Unknown 

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as the Palatine.

 

Little records have survived of Ser Jon Marbrand. All that is known of the Knight is that he was an avid tourney-goer who sponsored the prize of the 1st Royal Tournament of St. Karlsburg, and that he served as the Commander of the 1st Division of the Marbrand Militia, founded by Jory Marband in 101 E.S. | 1548, under House Ruthern.

____________________________________________________

 

 

SER DMITRY RUTHERN

THE MEYSTER

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I Meyster Knight

@ruthernland

114 E.S. - 149 E.S. | 1561 A.H. - 1596 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as the Meyster.

 

Serving as the second Count of Metterden, Ser Dmitry nurtured House Ruthern to stand alongside the County of Turov, the Margravate of Vasiland, and the Barony of Monstadt as the pillars of the newborn Kongzem. He was knighted into the Order of the Golden Gryphon by King Andrik II when it was established, but he later joined Ser Sergei Kovachev and the other bannermen in opposing Kin Andrik II’s ill-fated rebellion against the Orenian Emperor. He was named the Meyster Knight and leader of the Order of the Golden Gryphon, and thus was responsible for the operation and running of the Order.

 

Ser Dmitry himself was renowned as an industrious economist and investor who held estates in both Johannesburg and St. Karlsburg, and even founded the Worker’s Guild. These successes, achieved with the help of his brother Godric, led to Ser Dmitry becoming one of the wealthiest men in all of Axios. The suicide of his wife, however, weighed heavily on the Count and plagued him with depression for the remainder of his life that led to the collapse of the Worker’s Guild and a loss in the fortune of House Ruthern. So crippling did this depression become that Ser Demitry’s son - Boris Ruthern - succeeded in petitioning King Marius I to have him granted the County of Metterden so that House Ruthern itself did not collapse. Two years later, Ser Dmitry passed away. 

 

The cause of his death was not recorded, and nor was his successor as Meyster Knight of the Order.

 

____________________________________________________

 

 

SER BRYNDEN VANIR

THE TRUE

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Marquis of Vasiland

@Assassinofawsome

Unknown - Unknown  | Unknown - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as the True.

 

Ser Brynden was dubbed into the Order of the Golden Gryphon while also serving as the Lord Marshal of King Andrik II’s armsmen and Marquis of Vasiland, thus making him one of the most powerful men in all of Haense. When King Andrik II entered into rebellion against the Orenian Emperor Philip I, Ser Brynden was the only Knight and bannerman who actually supported the Haeseni King, though the rebellion ultimately failed as a result of most of the other bannermen standing with Ser Sergei Kovachev’s refusal to aid the King. 

 

After the Uprising had been put down, the wrathful Philip I was convinced not to kill Ser Brynden by his Arch-Chancellor - Prince Leopold Francis - but instead took one of Ser Brynden’s hands. Thereafter, Ser Brynden was said to be bitter and distracted while serving as Lord Marshal to the young King Marius I after having witnessed the execution of his friend and liege. When Ser Brynden failed to fulfil royal reforms and was said to mismanage the war budget, he was removed.

 

The Marquis’ name faded into obscurity, and his death is vaguely recorded around the time of the Great Northern War. 

 

____________________________________________________

 

 

SER OSGOD COLBORN

WARCHIEF

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Knight of Karlsburg

@Birdnerdy

Unknown - 135 E.S.  | Unknown - 1582 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as ‘Warchief’.

 

Ser Osgod was one of the most decorated war veterans of his time, having served throughout the campaigns of the Johannian wars, and most notably in the Riga War. He was a soldier in the Gold Corps that resided in the Duchy of Carnatia who served alongside Duke Jan Kovachev and Petyr Barbanov - the man who would go on to be the first King of Haense. His moniker derived from his in-depth knowledge of warfare, born from his career as a soldier, and he was known to be particularly skilled in infantry and light-cavalry. 

 

He later served in the Krajian Rebellion, commanding forces to repel the so-called ‘Anarchy Period’ under John II of Oren. All this military expertise led to his appointment as the first ever Lord Marshal of Haense under King Petyr I, a position in which he slowly worked to reform martial levies among the Noble Houses. When King Andrik II succeeded his father as monarch, Ser Osgod was among those he dubbed into the Order of the Golden Gryphon. 

 

Sometime before King Andrik II’s Deep Cold Uprising against Philip I of Oren, the grizzled and aged Ser Osgod perished from an infected wound.

 

____________________________________________________

 

 

SER FISKE VANIR

THE BLOODY

yxuWV5Bt-9cg6_bgWuKuaLkMl3iRXBQWSwexO7T0CqnyY3V2aPBQIs968emH9kZYnrnGS4swcwbNdElURv59ZNfuQzPh52ke3FoiZLClnihXsAdbIxqoznMW4D_IA6-riMEXQFHA

Knight of Vasiland

@InfamousGerman

77 E.S. - 143 E.S.  | 1524 A.H. - 1590 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik II, and remembered as ‘the Bloody’.

 

Ser Fiske held the title of Baron of Kraken’s Watch, and later was granted the Margravate of Vasiland by John III of Oren. Despite being held in favour by the Orenian Emperor, Ser Fiske was a staunch supporter of northern unification and of King Petyr I, the Kongzem’s first monarch. He is best remembered for his role as Lord Paramount of the Carnatian League during the Riga War, which, under his leadership, successfully besieged Kraken’s Watch to regain the noble status of House Vanir. His moniker was derived from the ferocity of his command and ruthlessness during this time.

 

When King Andrik II assumed the throne, Ser Fiske was knighted into the Order of the Golden Gryphon, though, now an older man, he fell ill with a fever at the age of sixty-six, and died in his hard-won home.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER ALDRICK BARUCH

THE STALWART

A8HLdAehUCocUYzjhtqzLMKWDcqwIJthMcPZ5pmOKTAEjNv6AfAkFiTo3Pynwl3XMcX6NrSjLC7Ime7NvVSydlf91kRGev_Q9VpQmVDyP342Dp3C8V4FiVKex4eK4K2XbeyQAJov

Knight of Ayr

@CaptainHaense

158 E.S. - 226 E.S.  | 1605 A.H. - 1673 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Otto II, and remembered as ‘the Stalwart’.

 

Ser Aldrick was born in the Ayrian castle of Saint’s Rest, but the invading Courlanders in the Great Northern War resulted in him being moved to the safety of Liefgaard, high in the mountains of Carnatia, which resisted the worst of the war, though Ser Aldrick spent much of his childhood worrying the small castle would fall under attack. Once he reached manhood after the Kongzem had retaken its land from the Kingdom of Courland in the Greyspine Rebellion, Ser Aldrick set his sights on knighthood, a dream that had been nurtured in his years of cloistering at Liefgaard, where he often duelled his cousin Joren with toy swords.

 

When the Royal Court was re-established at the newly-built stockade of Alban, Ser Aldrick squired beneath the new monarch, King Stefan I, and he earned his knighthood under King Otto II when he saved his father from an attempted assassination from an unknown assailant - believed by some historians to be the estranged Lord Arik Ruthern, enraged over a broken betrothal. After being knighted into the Order of the Golden Gryphon, the passing of Ser Aldrick’s father and his inheritance of the County of Ayr demanded his attention at the Baruch estates, though his early years as Count were uneventful except for the migration to Atlas, which he used the Baruch fleet to facilitate.

 

Once the Royal Court had relocated to Markev on Atlas, Ser Aldrick was a notable opponent to the centralised Haeseni Royal Army - instead advocating for the army to be made up of vassal levies - and made a point of wearing his own colours and showing off his personal armsmen and their independent operations. Despite this opposition, he remained a close friend of the Royal House, and in particular through his niece, Queen Ingrid. When the Royal House of Barbanov left Markev under King Otto III after heavy attacks from the Kingdom of Renatus, the Kongzem of Haense floundered without leadership. Despite the empty throne - though the capital was briefly held by remaining administrators and mercenaries - Ser Aldrick continued to tend his lands as a Haense vassal north of Markev until the succession crisis was resolved by the succession of the line of Bihar, to whom Ser Aldrick pledged his fealty anew.

 

As he grew older, Ser Aldrick suffered from a sickness of the lungs, and without quick access to medics in their rural holdings, he peacefully resigned himself to death and passed surrounded by his family.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

DAME NATALIA BARBANOV

THE SOLDIER

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Knight of Alban

@frankdh

166 E.S. - Unknown | 1613 A.H. - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Otto II, and remembered as ‘the Soldier’.

 

Born a bastard to St. Henrik Otto, she was legitimised as a member of the Royal House of Barbanov shortly into her life. As a girl, she was the victim of an attempted kidnapping in the Royal Capital of Alban by two Orcs. The ensuing struggle, termed the Riot of Alban, resulted in the would-be kidnappers being beaten to death by the peasantry and their bodies paraded through the streets. 

 

She became the first Dame ever knighted in Haense, Dame Natalia was an exception to the original rule in King Andrik II’s rendition of the Order of the Golden Gryphon that only males could be honoured with knighthood. As cousin to King Otto II, Dame Natalia lived up to her moniker as an influential and dedicated presence within the Haeseni Royal Army, but was a greater aid to her cousin in the form of an administrator of the Royal Capital of Alban and the Essenstadt Palace. She was, above all else, known to be a most reliable advisor in a wide range of matters throughout King Otto II’s reign.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER BERENGAR HELVETS

THE WHITE

vE6DkG9p5LLAazGRlBiDxFelHFBxn5SakTqhZaMi40puCXqdr1l17NBYvCRGaSmxjhWKeoMwo9xQkmNKNbs25qHS081oVt_Cw6WGsT4UB3tCmUbX7D9PIhVZBryLaYZNwXZYPkue

Knight of Alban

@Abeam

126 E.S. - 192 E.S.  | 1573 A.H. - 1639 A.H.

______________

 

Knighted by King Otto II, and remembered as ‘the White’.

 

A Kaedreni knight in Westerlandic service before and following the collapse of the Fifth Orenian Empire, Ser Berengar Helvets was knighted by Imperial Grand Knight Vitallius de Capua during the reign of Emperor John III Owyn for heroism in the war against the Mordring Horde. Ser Berengar continued serving the Kingdom of the Westerlands until the collapse of the Kingdom with the fall of its capital, Bastion, to the undead legions of Dragaar Lich Mordring. He later came to reside in Haense and his knighthood reaffirmed in the Kongzem by King Otto II for his previous acts of bravery and service in the Westerlands as well as his continued martial prowess. 

 

Ser Berengar was the premier soldier of King Otto II’s reign of the Kongzem in the days of Alban following its revival by King Stefan I after the Greyspine Rebellion. He was credited for major military reforms and organisations of the time after rapidly ascending through the ranks, and eventually achieved the office of Grand Commandant. While the precise deeds of his knighthood were not recorded, he was known for his quick wits and adaptability as a battle commander. 

 

Surviving records indicate that after a long military career, he retired to the colony of Otistadt, where he served as elder and then Maer until his death.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER PETYOR VANCE

THE HUNTSMAN

-TDbzKJj3l2uHCcRVNrkDM7MDesMOh0h2FxvL8t-Zm3IupNGxepRdOubx2S_zkKgsjRoq55NzGZ2CKE1jrf6CCRiQQzLEXZa87xjDoHWB54HwHcPwJoVPpI8Gcn56nqtegSO7_SG

Knight of Alban

@Imperium

Unknown - Unknown | Unknown - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Otto II, and remembered as ‘the Huntsman’.

 

Ser Petyor was a loyal armsman in the Royal Capital of Alban, and lived up to his future moniker as a hunter of not only local game, but took upon himself the task of keeping unwelcome beasts and monsters away from the city’s borders. It was in the course of that duty that the Huntsman, alongside a band of companions, found himself hunting a Winged Screamer - a massive predatory bird - that had been abducting cattle from nearby farms and killing any farmers who got in its way.

 

After tracking the Screamer to its nest in the mountains, Ser Petyor’s party engaged it in combat, but when the Screamer began to flee, the Haensemen had no choice but to scramble atop its back to stop it from escaping. They struggled with it in mid-air, high above the Kongzem, before driving the killing blow into it. The Screamer crash-landed into the woods near Alban, while Ser Petyor and his party managed to safely drop into a snowdrift with no serious injuries. 

 

For this deed, King Otto II knighted him, and Ser Petyor remained his loyal servant throughout the rest of his reign.

 


 

II

THE KNIGHTS OF BIHAR

y3Uvx7s0pqdkhv-x-GizhphZQhsBTpBic6lhyt3eU0fGMLFnh_lMLeTGxajdTs20Bu3qR11yRWHJEwc7834DXnw0gRNVIj3xB9vPE8L9Fp0NVSvG9B4kvnZhyBRnXFrLCsD85w7L

234 E.S. - 289 E.S. | 1681 A.H. - 1707 A.H.

 

When the Order of the Golden Gryphon fell into obscurity following the end of King Marius I’s reign with the Great Northern War, the next official iteration of Haeseni Knighthood came many years later with the Knights of Bihar.

 

Notoriously the most poorly-recorded of the Knightly Orders, the Knights of Bihar encapsulates a period of knighthood throughout the reigns of King Sigmar I and King Robert I in the Royal Capital of Markev, on Atlas. While there did exist the formal position of Knight Paramount - the leader of the Knights, comparable to the Meyster Knight of the Order of the Golden Gryphon - who even on the Aulic Council as one of King Robert I’s closest advisors, the lack of accurate records of the Knights of Bihar themselves make it very difficult to identify the men and women who served in the Order, and was the primary motivation for King Marius II to reform Knighthood again in 289 E.S. | 1707. 

 

While scholars have been able to list some of the Knights below, many of the Knights of Bihar remain unknown.

 

___________________________________________________

 

SER HANS DE RUYTER

1ANC8JUiu4tDHzW1Jw_VXhGAseOTSbAzxOUw4E7Y1tRaUfRzULxGvePX9OfCrwSTxbyrPnCAd4dU2kE7Iuk_SJixRkkgtrP46IplRtmOqLr6iUUrVcZC82UiyoJ07z1VsHbaiJNS

I Knight Paramount

@Nectorist

209 E.S. - 303 E.S. | 1656 A.H. - 1750 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Robert I, and was noted to have taken no moniker.

 

A gentry-born Heartlander, Ser Hans began his knighthood in the service of the Duke of Belvitz, but he was well-connected to the Kongzem of Haense through his brothers Pierre-Laurens - who had died saving King Sigmar I from a rogue mage - and Theodric - the future High Pontiff Pontian II. Despite being relatively unremarkable in this early stage, he and his family were considered reliable, and so King Robert I invited Ser Hans to serve as Knight Paramount in his Royal Court in Markev to lead the Knights of Bihar using his experience from Belvitz.

 

While Ser Hans was successful in recruiting young noblemen to join the new Order, he was also notable for being brash and confrontational, which led to his Knights clashing frequently with the Mournstone family, Arberrang, and the Earl of Nordengrad, among other smaller vassals of Hanse and the Empire. One of these conflicts would serve as Ser Hans’ undoing -- in 242 E.S. | 1689, Pontian de Ruyter - the-then Bishop of Markev - delivered reports of the villagers of Arberrang practising witchcraft, and so Ser Hans rallied the Knights of Bihar to put down the threat. They rode out to the village, and slaughtered nearly everyone in true knightly fashion. One of the Arberrang survivors, however, escaped and sent word to Earl Torsten of Nordengrad, who mustered his army and marched on Arberrang, where the outnumbered Knights of Bihar suffered a devastating defeat. With Ser Hans captured, Earl Torsten promptly declared a rebellion against the Empire and began the Third Atlas Coalition War. Though Haense and the Empire would triumph in the war, the Knights of Bihar fell defunct after their defeat at Arberrang, and Ser Hans retired from his duties as Knight Paramount in 245 E.S. | 1692. 

 

Though he disappeared to his country estates for over twenty-five years, Ser Hans’ once again took up service again in 278 E.S. | 1725, this time outside of Haense in the retinue of Duke Adrian de Sarkozy of Adria under whom he went on to become acting captain of the reformed Nauzica Brigade, which suffered from the same successes and failures as the Knights of Bihar had under Ser Hans. Despite his advanced age, Ser Hans used his position to help the Duke of Adria in the Lorraine Revolt and later secure the Lord Protectorship of the Empire after the death of Emperor Alexander II. 

 

After this final act, Ser Hans’ injuries and age forced him into permanent retirement, and he died at the age of 94. 

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER DOMINIC GRIMM

THE STALWART (II)

nmYCO93juQQkGzBS4nJEiVTJEkj2sQuTNJWYMyGBC4S5I1Ma5ODytYFHLvvlxUa6gTESBOo-0ysiofA-1quQuCRHHPwCuy5OthqiI_NEDcnSu0Pk3xrHmp8TDmvSl4gP_ueeHCuO

V Knight Paramount | III King’s Champion

@Kanadensare

209 E.S. - 268 E.S. | 1656 A.H. - 1715 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Robert I, and remembered as ‘the Stalwart’.

 

The hardy Ser Dominic was acclaimed as one of the best swordsmen and military strategists on Atlas during his lifetime, a feat which he endeavoured to prove on the freezing Yatl battlefields against the Vaeyl Order, during the Third Atlas Coalition War, which earned him his place as one of King Robert I’s few Knights of Bihar and his trusted servant. When King Marius II later reformed Knighthood in the city of Old Reza, he served as one of his new Marian Knights against the aggressive incursions of the Kingdom of Renatus. In one of the battles against Renatus, Ser Dominic saved the life of his wounded King by dragging him away from the field.

 

Following the betrayal of the Knight-Paramount Ser Rodrik Kortrevich when he defected to the Kingdom of Renatus, Ser Dominic was appointed as the third Knight-Paramount of the Marian Retinue just before the outbreak of the bloody and devastating War of the Two Emperors, during which King Marius II charged Ser Dominic with executing Ser Jan Baruch who had, like Ser Rodrik and Ser Varon, turned-cloak to join Renatus. Ser Dominic did not face an arduous hunt, however; during a sitting of the Royal Court, Ser Jan presented himself and challenged the King to a duel. The Stalwart, as the Knight Paramount and King’s Champion, met Ser Jan’s challenge, and killed the turncoat.

 

Two years after this fateful duel at Court, Ser Dominic was intercepted by Renatian raiders on the roads to Leuven. Despite a brave resistance, he was overwhelmed and captured. After being taken back to the city of Helena, Ser Dominic was executed by his former superior, Ser Rodrik, at the age of fifty-nine. The Stalwart’s body was sent overseas to Aeldin, to the House Grimm stronghold of Kaer Glythen, where he was buried.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER VARON KOVACHEV

THE FIERCE

LnI6pQVOa-TnqOmgZfbu6nn7FXl_Qc6oPSWAoOnMXUD-wPoOopihSweanvTGq05gutmD8R09S8MLaurDc0LYC0q_iMHKTduHixe6nkJuLb9ySWLw6ryfNZbhgzntkAFBIFjUZkus

III Knight Paramount | I King’s Champion

@Arygon

228 E.S. - Unknown | 1675 A.H. - Unknown 

_______________

 

Knighted by King Robert I, and remembered as ‘the Fierce’.

 

Ser Varon succeeded Ser Hans de Ruyter as 2nd Knight Paramount of the Knights of Bihar, and therefore sat as an Aulic Councillor to King Robert I in Markev and later Old Reza. When King Marius II succeeded as father as monarch and reformed Knighthood to create the Marian Retinue, he did so with the guidance of Ser Varon, who remained as Knight Paramount of the new and reformed order. He held this post for nearly two-decades, during which he became renowned for his skill in combat that earned him his moniker, before he abruptly went missing in 259 E.S. King Marius II declared him dead three years later in 262 E.S. 

 

Despite this declaration, years later, Ser Varon appeared in the Kongzem again. The former Knight-Paramount petitioned the King to restore his old titles and honours that had been withdrawn since his alleged death, but King Marius II, offended by Ser Varon’s unexplained and abrupt disappearance for years, refused, and told the former Knight-Paramount he would have to work to restore the King’s broken trust. Instead, Ser Varon declared support for the Kingdom of Renatus - bitter enemies of the Kongzem of Haense - before the disgraced Knight disappeared into obscurity once again.

 

Haeseni spies reported his death during Haeseni-Renatian conflict, but was never confirmed. Ser Varon was never heard of again, both within Renatus or Haense.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER HENRIK LUDOVAR

OLD-CROW

7f4m0u_PlqnJtnlEBt8mz0Z-15hXeXBOzNCoh3gAmsXrwj2PhWWKeZKJIx2mPaWK_q8Vy3rlwc3m2cMF7sZG4awYmmKu2FQQ595bV0LQe6qBzcNA0fatT0EAVhf17lI97H4mqQ7H

Knight of Bihar | Marian Knight

@Legoboy7984

215 E.S. - 283 E.S. | 1662 A.H. - 1730 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Robert I, and remembered as ‘Old-Crow’.

 

As one of the few members of the Knights of Bihar, Ser Henrik was considered a veteran upon his induction into the newly-formed Marian Retinue by King Marius II, which replaced the Knights of Bihar as a formal and organised chivalric order. As befits a grizzled warrior who lived to be an old man, Ser Henrik saw no shortage of war in his lifetime. The Old Crow served in the Third Atlas Coalition War, and then the bitter and bloody War of the Two Emperors. He participated in nearly every battle of the latter campaign, from the initial Siege of Nordengrad to the conclusive Battle of Leuven. Despite his long and decorated career as a soldier and a Knight, the Old Crow also held the Ducal title of the House of Ludovar, for twenty-three years until his death as an elder befitting his moniker.

 


 

III

THE MARIAN PERIOD

N1gOIx6Dv79rLEttJcBvC5FV0cnEwsPYN2Z6BhHHdcZuilvgSguJ4aA7v5rRc2wIIMdLGTf8tsBy8ePAgCoXkRCfDV12SzTx24j6cWa10PshvyqI1X9pJcOMCuYFRmDdxnL9XMHm
260 E.S - 343 E.S. | 1707 A.H. - 1790 A.H.

 

The Knights of Bihar had, by the time of King Marius II’s coronation in Old Reza, suffered from a lack of centralisation and structure. 

 

Therefore, one of the King’s earliest acts was to reform the scattered Knights into the Marian Retinue, which formed a structured hierarchy of chivalric warriors under the Knight Paramount with the Marian Retinue Edict. This Edict and the Retinue marked the beginning of the Marian Period, which began the practice of documenting Knights and their achievements in great detail.

 

The Knights dubbed in this Period served under King Marius II and his successors at a time where the Kongzem of Haense faced constant tension and threats from international conflict, the most notable of which was the War of the Two Emperors against the Kingdom of Renatus. Decades of fighting and bloodshed forged the Marian Retinue and the future of Haeseni Knighthood in fire, and in the bloody battles of the Period, many Knights achieved great fame, and even great infamy for some. 

 

The Marian Period lasted from King Marius II’s Edict in 260 E.S. | 1707 A.H., until King Josef I's Court reformed knigthood with the Edict of Knightly Orders in 343 E.S. | 1790 A.H. 

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER BJOLFR NORD

ONE-LEGGED

lZ3J6-MnSPmvsrn21yb6u_b89O_s16rVvRmxXXEA-nuM9xr0jDyrusk8LgGJUfusTCWBhC5889t6AjkLu2sZbMpjEXKwf6uPEYX_E7O1NwsRtwFO3IAiQiCHzLH-wSuugvPZcYC2

Marian Knight

@GhostSHTR

211 E.S. - 281 E.S. | 1658 A.H. - 1728 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Robert I, and remembered as ‘One-Leg’.

 

Ser Bjolfr began his career as a warrior from the mere age of ten when he enlisted in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl as apprentice to the Lord Marshal Rhys var Ruthern, and grew up to hold command in the myriad of conflicts that plagued Atlas in his lifetime, such as his command of Haeseni forces against the Vaeyl Order and against the rebels of Arberrang throughout Atlas’ Third Coalition War. At the behest of King Robert I, he was assigned as personal protector to the future King Marius II throughout his childhood.

 

Despite his militant lifestyle from a very young age, Ser Bjolfr also served two terms as the Grand Maer of Markev (249 E.S. - 254 E.S. | 1696 - 1704), during which he played a pivotal role in the Haeseni migration from Atlas to Arcas through the Straits of Serrimor. Prior to the migration, Ser Bjolfr served as artillery commander alongside the Imperial General Tiberius who orchestrated the bombardment of Lasthope - stronghold of the Red Vaeyl faction - that allowed the infantry to breach the enormous keep. 

 

Following his lengthy military career, in which he sustained many injuries both mental and physical - such as the loss of his leg that led to his moniker - Ser Bjolfr One-Leg was honourably discharged by King Marius II following recent bouts of paranoia. The aged Knight, having recovered some of his mental faculties after years of rest, served as advisor to King Andrik III in his later years before passing away peacefully at the age of seventy. 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER JAN BARUCH

THE BLACK

89d-PlsFpIVQC-WQgGg9sJBIsA3GWZJwBWbYWWHW86UkuIh6yI2a76ZkOpoBxGROdW28jaV03FVPQSG2kioBnY_bRPurKx47RECJb-1laNbDU-CPcDW-6nj3u56-SUkg-ptvsUgh

Marian Knight

@Subscriptshark

233 E.S. - 267 E.S. | 1680 A.H. - 1714 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Black’.

 

Ser Jan was the sixth warrior granted the honour of serving in the recently-formed Marian Retinue, in which he was regarded as a quiet, introverted warrior. Despite his social meekness, Ser Jan’s prowess shone in battle, where he was often the first to charge into danger. For this unyielding bravery, he became known as the ‘the Bold’ throughout his early years as a Knight, but his future deeds would overshadow this accolade.

 

At the outbreak of the War of the Two Emperors, Ser Jan broke his oath and became the third Marian Knight to abandon King Marius II and instead swear to the Kingdom of Renatus, though scholars have failed to define what prompted the Baruch Knight’s betrayal. Ser Jan then fought fervently against the Kongzem of Haense and his former brothers-in-arms, which naturally earned him widespread scorn and hatred that led to his disownment from the House of Baruch and prompted King Marius II to task Ser Dominic Grimm with killing the traitorous knight.

 

Later in the War, Ser Jan abruptly rode to New Reza and presented himself at a sitting of the Royal Court, where he demanded a duel of honour with King Marius II. The King named Ser Dominic Grimm to serve as his champion, and Ser Jan died in the ensuing duel.  In proclaiming his death, Ser Dominic rechristened Ser Jan as ‘the Black’ for his crimes.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER RODRIK KORTREVICH

TURNCLOAK

U40OppHxNtDWmhHB6E8kA1oHsO8dKHl4T_PrJMgjwMQXg9WwC3Ib4Ito6iQQSXFAib7rYAHP2GXdUDFd9G6mOM6YabtKF8yj7rc41AiwyUZgYSAh9stbL9pBKlbI75ZBHl-IyFuo

IV Knight Paramount | II King’s Champion

@Milenkhov

238 E.S. - 303 E.S. | 1685 A.H. - 1750 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Turncloak’. Paired with his brother, Ser Rodrik is one of the most storied figures in Haeseni Knighthood.

 

Upon the disappearance and legal death of Ser Varon Kovachev, Ser Rodrik was named to the prestigious post as the second Knight Paramount of the Marian Retinue under its namesake liege, King Marius II. Even throughout his early years of service, Ser Rodrik’s skill in arms earned him recognition as one of the greatest Haeseni swordsmen to ever live -- an accolade which holds true nearly two-hundred years later. His consequent appointment as King’s Champion was uncontested.

 

Among Ser Rodrik’s many feats included his defeat of ‘the False Crow’ in an honour duel in the name of his King, and, paired with his sword skills, his devout loyalty earned him the moniker of ‘the Loyal’ in his early years. However, like Ser Jan, Ser Rodrik would ultimately be remembered by a different title; for when the War of the Two Emperors began, Ser Rodrik forsook his oaths to the Kongzem after a bitter disagreement with the King, and turned to the Kingdom of Renatus. Unlike the betrayals of Ser Varon and Ser Jan, Ser Rodrik’s treachery deeply shook the Kongzem, for he was known by all to be a swordsman and commander of unrivalled calibre. 

 

These Haeseni fears came to fruition throughout the War, where Ser Rodrik served as an instrumental commander to the Renatian efforts. Among his accomplishments as a Renatian warrior included the capture and execution of his former compatriot, Ser Dominic Grimm, and his appointment as Grand Knight of the ‘Imperium Renatum, in which he led the Renatian Knights to considerable renown. Much like King Marius II has tasked Ser Dominic Grimm with bringing the treacherous Ser Jan Baruch to justice, the King knew he needed to do the same for Ser Rodrik. Yet Ser Rodrik was all but unkillable on the battlefield, and so the King gave this task to the one Knight who might stand a chance - Ser Rodrik’s brother, Ser Nikolaus Kortrevich.

 

Despite this assignment, Ser Rodrik remained a Renatian commander of great prestige after the War of the Two Emperors had ended. When the Pertinxaxi forces of Renatus left to return to their homeland of Aeldin, Ser Rodrik chose to accompany them, but not before making the curious decision to leave his children - Alessandra and Aleksandr - in the legal care of his hunter and brother, Ser Nikolaus. When Ser Rodrik settled on Aeldin, he was soon followed by that same brother, and they duelled.

 

Both of the Kortrevich Knights died in their confrontation.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER NIKOLAUS KORTREVICH

THE STRONG

i1h-TPSclD90CkWYABTUG9Dl5Q2wPzSpKqMFonykEtkVBM2vfp1l0rO-F22C2hyc--ArIFcparjbSs9C3uIIq2bo1-asxV6VO8Hm2tdyywdpDjm6oZ79ujfiEEybftJrt0rrZ0Kh

VI Knight Paramount | IV King’s Champion

@Zanthuz

233 E.S. - 303 E.S. | 1680 A.H. - 1750 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Strong’. Paired with his brother, Ser Nikolaus is one of the most storied figures in Haeseni Knighthood.

 

After traditional training, Ser Nikolaus was admitted to the Marian Retinue as a model soldier and commander, whose early career featured leading Haeseni forces against the many brigands who attacked the capital of Old Reza during this tumultuous period. He was widely recognised by his peers as an elite swordsman, but always seemed shy of the skill exhibited by his younger brother, Ser Rodrik Kortrevich. However, when the War of the Two Emperors broke out, Ser Nikolaus remained staunchly loyal to the Kongzem of Haense while Ser Rodrik turned-cloak to the Kingdom of Renatus after a prolonged disagreement with King Marius II. 

 

After Ser Dominic Grimm was executed by Ser Rodrik in the Renatian capital, Ser Nikolaus was named the fourth Knight Paramount of the Marian Retinue. King Marius II also bestowed upon him the title of King’s Champion, and tasked him with bringing justice to his younger brother for his betrayal. Though Ser Nikolaus was committed to seeing this task through, little opportunity to do so arose in the bloody war that followed. He fought bravely on the Haeseni frontlines, to the point where he instilled fear in his foes as one of the premier Haeseni warriors. Not only did he fight head-on, but he also served as one of King Marius’ foremost commanders, with his most notable battle being the Siege of Helena. 

 

When the War finally concluded, Ser Nikolaus chose to focus on his duties as Knight Paramount while his brother remained alive in Renatus, and so the elder Kortrevich Knight nurtured the Marian Retinue into a much more centralised and fearsome military force with the additions of many skilled warriors, such as Ser Wilheim Barclay and Ser Thomas Raleigh to fill the seats of Ser Ulric Vyronov and Ser Gerard Stafyr. After the passing of King Marius II, he aided King Andrik III in the formation of the Order of the Crow as an expansion of Knighthood within the Kongzem.

 

Ser Nikolaus served as one of the longest-leading Knight Paramounts to date, with his tenure amounting to thirty-five years. Though he devoted much of his later life to the development of Knighthood, he never forgot the quest given to him by the late King Marius II - to exact revenge against Ser Rodrik for his betrayal. And so, when Ser Rodrik accompanied the Pertinaxi forces to Aeldin after the War of the Two Emperors, Ser Nikolaus followed him across the sea for a final confrontation. 

 

The two brothers - the two Knights - duelled, and Ser Nikolaus dealt a mortal blow that killed Rodrik, before he himself succumbed to his wounds.

 

___________________________________________________

 

SER GERARD STAFYR

THE BEAR

AH9WFriTr937XURr9c9jxk8vPOXYRJYHPQZNRqi9xxPsuy3vPpA_uDZmoGtguW80ycJWwb2DvEdwqxJefjqtzuGV25kyVtZa3eKXmsyGnP3uMxC59hkk1gUuFftTV_P4cHs2GugE

Marian Knight

@dandan1350

242 E.S. - 300 E.S. | 1689 A.H. - 1747 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Bear’.

 

Following exemplary military service during the War of the Two Emperors, Ser Gerard was admitted into the Marian Retinue as a Knight. He wished to marry the King’s sister, and, to prove himself worthy, was tasked with hunting a bear. It was only when he presented the bloodied pelt to the Princess did the King grant his blessing for the union, and he sealed his moniker as a Knight.

 

Despite this, the Bear achieved greater distinction as a member of King Marius’ Aulic Council as Lord Justiciar. When he was appointed to the judicial office, he was honourably discharged to focus on his civil duties as Justiciar and advisor to the Crown. Following leal service as Knight and Councillor to King Marius II and later King Andrik III - his personal friend - Ser Gerard passed away in Nenzing, the seat of House Stafyr, at the age of fifty-eight.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER KONRAD STAFYR

WOLFSBANE

-3zPZbT27scf-xhZigIJsfest-qQERD_Zcm-nd9JanH40xY9-Kt1nCBZovyNf6InKnUrF-Im0OXaLXrbyXE92oHFFrZO5tx0bFr-IbhZ7yx6Ezu74qdySPzc3Xv7Av-jCRKWHPnx

Crow Knight

@AndrewTech

254 E.S. - 333 E.S. | 1701 A.H. - 1780 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘Wolfsbane’.

 

Much like the Bear, Ser Konrad’s career as a Knight was eclipsed by his tremendous fame as a Haeseni statesman. Before he distinguished himself as a politician in the Royal Duma, Imperial Senate, and the Imperial House of Commons, Ser Konrad trained in traditional Haeseni knighthood as befit his station. His trial as a squire pit him against a dire wolf, which he slew to earn both his knighthood and his moniker. With this prestigious chivalric title, Ser Konrad became a pioneering member in the establishment and development of the Royal Duma as the Haeseni legislature, which was but one of his many political acts that shaped Haeseni politics for over half a century. Ser Konrad went on to serve as both Lord Speaker of the Duma and Lord Palatine to King Andrik III, and later represented the Haeseni people in the Orenian Empire as Majority Leader and President of the Imperial House of Commons.

 

In a poetic turn of fate, Ser Konrad succumbed to old age while presiding over a session of the Royal Duma.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

DAME MARIA PREUSSENS

THE VOLUPTOUS

hG8RXubDXjD4KV7Lc44hyc3WU4D6tqpduxoQnIIrwpeLrhVqZZoovPtEu23lB9DcTPNVIqqLu2Pc9tgnE6yMX5cOeYB9TeXCousudDrnpUMDKKfKgNpV0KPE1KmjS2sIVC21ENxP

Marian Knight

@Disheartened

239 E.S. - Unknown | 1686 A.H. - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Voluptuous’.

 

As the first Dame to serve Haense, Dame Maria completed the traditional training trials as a noble-born maiden before she was knighted by her liege into the Marian Retinue. After the disappearance of the first Knight Paramount and her cousin - Ser Varon Kovachev - she wed Charles Preussens, who was landed outside of the Kongzem and in turn placed strain on her responsibilities as a Dame. Consequently, her service lasted only a few short years into King Andrik III’s reign before she was honourably discharged. 

 

She left the Kongzem thereafter, presumably to live with her husband. Archivists were unable to determine her fate. 

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER ALARIC HANETHOR

FALCON-BLOOD

1heID3K9g8mwU2KkStBUJDQ8ztSwoUX4A6_HSK-eQ4SnB7FM3rd2Xfk5EwJlEW9ICBprMmzMtWb-FARLhnPCqh-pOb7i1UQJpVxmPyoiDLgVOKhqc9-iRjXTYu0KeTtZgjsm4Xzm

Crow Knight

@AmK

255 E.S. - Unknown | 1702 A.H. - Unknown

_______________

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘Falcon-Blood’.

 

Renowned for his archery skills, Ser Alaric was said to be capable of striking down a soaring falcon from a great distance, and he was knighted or his role in foiling the assassination attempt of a Haeseni lord at a festival in Old Reza. His most notable deed during his tenure was his role in the rescue of the future King Andrik IV and his mother Queen Milena when they were kidnapped by September Prince Cultists; Ser Alaric accompanied Ser Konrad Stafyr in tracking the cultists and saving the kidnapped royals in a surprise attack.

 

Years later, the archer-Knight vanished mysteriously like Ser Varon Kovachev once had. Unlike Ser Varon, Ser Alaric never reappeared.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER OLAVO CASTELO

THE GINGER

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Crow Knight

@ThatCanadian

256 E.S. - Unknown | 1703 A.H. - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Ginger’.

 

The foreign-born Knight was dubbed for his red hair, which served as a constant source of amusement for his liege, King Marius II. He attained knighthood for his brave intervention with a robbery of peasants in Old Reza, after which he served a short tenure as a Crow Knight before he cemented the mystery of Haeseni Knights disappearing without a trace by doing just that.

 

He was never heard nor seen again.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER KHROLL

THE ELF

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Marian Knight

@Lhindir_

66 A.E.S. - Present | 1381 A.H. - Present 

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Elf’.

 

Ser Khroll was the first Elf to ever receive Haeseni Knighthood after being admitted to the Marian Retinue following his pledge of fealty to the Kongzem after the Burning of Ves, the city in which Ser Khroll had served as leader of the Adrian guard until he joined the Haeseni Royal Army under Lord Marshal Otto Kortrevich. He assisted the Marshal in the reformation of the Army’s recruitment efforts and military prowess. 

 

Owing to his long life as an Elf, Ser Khroll lived to experience many major human wars throughout history since the Dukes’ War, including the Eighteen Year War, the Great Northern War, and the Third Atlas Coalition. Legend claims that Ser Khroll was even present for the unification of Hanseti and Ruska to create the Kingdom of Haense, and thus he was seen as something of a symbol of Kongzem’s origins. Much like many other Knights of the Retinue, Ser Khroll eventually disappeared from the Kongzem, but as an Elf who would live for centuries more, his face was often seen in the cities of Haense decades, and even centuries, after he had been knighted.

 

He is presumably alive to this day.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER ULRIC VYRONOV

THE UNWAVERING

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Marian Knight

@giambro

255 E.S. - 277 E.S.  | 1702 A.H. - 1724 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Unwavering’.

 

Ser Ulric was one of the youngest men to ever be Knighted at the mere age of fourteen. This was the product of a childhood of military training during which he served as an Imperial Squire to Emperor Joseph Marna at age eleven before becoming a ward of King Marius II, who soon knighted him. By the age of sixteen, Ser Ulric had established himself as a capable Knight of the Marian Retinue despite his youth, which he had proven through daring feats such as the slaying of the fearsome Arcadius, a monstrous grizzly bear on Mount Ayr. Before war with Renatus broke out, Ser Ulric married Dame Primrose Kortrevich. 

 

Bears, however, was not the only thing Ser Ulric slew. He fought alongside his brothers and sisters-in-arms in the bloody clashes of the War of the Two Emperors, and in one skirmish he was even captured by Ser Rodrik the Turncloak. Ser Ulric was able to escape the fate of other Knights who had been captured by Ser Rodrik - namely Ser Dominic Grimm - by swearing a fake oath of fealty to the Renatian Emperor and escaping to Haense, but he returned to the Kongzem as a wounded and paranoid-ridden man. So desperate was Ser Ulric’s mental condition after his return that he attacked his brother, Count Lerald Vyronov, and had to be tied down by his friends. In his frenzy, Ser Ulric continued to resist until Erik Kortrevich elbowed him to the head, and Ser Ulric fell down a flight of stairs. 

 

Ser Ulric died of head wounds sustained in this fall.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER WILHEIM BARCLAY

THE STALLION

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Marian Knight

@MadOne

247 E.S. - 329 E.S.  | 1694 A.H. - 1724 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Marius II, and remembered as ‘the Stallion’.

 

The Stallion earned his knighthood for distinguished service in the War of the Two Emperors, during which he fought as a squire under Prince Otto Sigmar and participated in every battle of the war - he even commanded in some skirmishes. Upon his knighthood, Ser Wilheim was dubbed ‘the Stallion’ for his heist of sixteen thoroughbred Renatian warhorses from the Helenan stables, which formed the foundation for a famed career as a skilled Knight. Though originally named to the Order of the Crow, his diligence and devotion to the Kongzem was recognised by King Andrik III when promoting him to the Marian Retinue. After the War of the Two Emperors, Ser Wilheim continued to build his renown as a Knight by fighting in the ensuing conflict between the Dwarves of the Grand Kingdom of Urguan and the newly-reformed Holy Orenian Empire, in which Ser Wilheim and his Haeseni unit was the only army from the Orenian side to achieve a victory over the Dwarves during the short three-month war.

 

For his service on the battlefield - and his work domestically - King Andrik III enfeoffed Ser Wilheim and his family with the Barony of Freising. Despite his new title, Ser Wilheim continued his military career as a commandant in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl responsible for the Chapter of the Destrier. Consequently, he was later appointed as the twenty-ninth Lord Marshal of Haense. Ser Wilheim, who was by now a military veteran of great renown, reformed the Army by consolidating its crippled militias into a central and organised force. Under his steady command, the Brotherhood flourished and prospered, which allowed it to endure the Troubles later in King Andrik III’s reign.

Throughout the rest of his life, Ser Wilheim continued to fight fervently by leading Haeseni forces against the Lorraine Rebellion, the Ruberni War, and against Norlandic incursions. When political circumstances pressed Ser Wilheim into what many termed an unjust and forced retirement, the first Barclay Lord and Knight did not lay down his weapon, and continued to fight when the Scyfling War broke out. 

 

He died at the age of eighty-seven, having established a militant legacy that would be followed by his descendants for three generations.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER THOMAS RALEIGH

THE SEA-DEVIL

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Marian Knight

@Herylion

242 E.S. - Unknown  | 1689 A.H. - Unknown 

_______________

 

All records of Ser Thomas Raleigh were damaged beyond repair for reasons modern archivists cannot determine.

 

___________________________________________________

 

DAME PRIMROSE KORTREVICH

THE FORBEARING

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Marian Knight

@MikoMonster

256 E.S. - 311 E.S.  | 1703 A.H. - 1758 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik III, and remembered as ‘the Forbearing’.

 

Since childhood, Dame Primrose had dreamed of knighthood, yet she struggled to earn a place as a squire, despite her father’s reputable position, before she eventually trained under Ser Henrik Ludovar and her own famous father, Ser Nikolaus the Strong, which culminated in her dubbing as the second recorded Dame of Haense by King Andrik III. Later, she was appointed to the Marian Retinue as reward for her service to the Kongzem during the Troubles. 

 

Throughout her years of loyal fealty, she mentored Princess Arianne of Kaedrin, and her climatic feat came when she formed part of the Haeseni crew on the Athera Expedition in 309 E.S. | 1756, with the boy-king Sigismund II. Shortly after the Haeseni expedition began making their way to Siegrad - ancient birthplace of Haense - they found themselves locked in combat with Scyfling skirmishers led by Bralt the Boar who sought to kill the young Haeseni King. While the Haeseni evaded the initial ambush through the help of the Volik Clan, Bralt the Boar continued to hunt them across northern Athera.

 

When the expedition ventured into the ruins of Siegrad, and into the lair of a sleeping Wyrm to retrieve relics of Saint Karl, Bralt once again ambushed the party from above by throwing down pots and pans to make noise to wake the Wyrm, which proceeded to wreak devastation upon the Haeseni party. In order to distract the Wyrm to afford the King and the others a window to escape, Dame Primrose sacrificed herself, and was crushed.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER RODERICK KORTREVICH II

THE LOYAL

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Marian Knight

@Bisscy

256 E.S. - Unknown  | 1703 A.H. - Unknown 

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik III, and remembered as ‘the Loyal’. Not to be confused with the earlier Ser Rodrik Kortrevich, brother to Ser Nikolaus.

 

Ser Roderick was dubbed by his liege after he aided in the extermination of a spider infestation and a Cave Troll in the demesne of New Reza, yet before these deeds, he had fought in the War of the Two Emperors as an armsman of House Alimar, which led to him suffering a serious wound inflicted by a Pertinaxi soldier. In recognition of his service throughout the war, he was given the moniker ‘the Loyal’ -- the same moniker the previous Ser Rodrik Kortrevich had once used before he joined Renatus. The younger Ser Roderick, upon his dubbing, swore to ‘cleanse the taint’ of his moniker. 

 

After the War of the Two Emperors, Ser Roderick was promoted from Crow Knight to the Marian Retinue. With the War concluded, Ser Roderick primarily served as an architect of New Reza’s defences thereafter. Years later, after prolonged absences, the Loyal Knight was honourably discharged from his knightly duties and instead returned to his origins as an armsman to the Princes and Princesses of House Alimar, namely Grand Prince Kazimar and Grand Prince Otto Alimar. 

 

Ser Roderik’s loyalty fell under question when he let the former Prince of Rubern - and enemy of the Kongzem - Vladrick Alimar inside New Reza, and claimed he did so to allow Prince Vladrick to see his estranged daughter. Owing to these allegations, Ser Roderick fled the Kongzem, and disappeared. It was not until many years later that Ser Roderick’s son - Ser Ivan - travelled to the Druid’s Grove to have his arm healed. It was there, of all places, that he found his father sheltering in the Grove.

 

The two had a heartfelt reunion in which they made their peace, and Ser Roderick was never heard of again.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER ROBERT VYRONOV

THE UNYIELDING

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Crow Knight

@Legoboy7984

270 E.S. - 320 E.S.  | 1717 A.H. - 1747 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik III, and remembered as ‘the Unyielding’. 

 

After a hard-won dubbing from arduous squire trials, Ser Robert earned his moniker for his endurance, which he further proved in the border skirmishes of the Rubern War. Apart from his military service, Ser Robert became the ninth patriarch of House Vyronov for five years after his abrupt and controversial death, which came about when his brother Karl Vyronov was murdered, and Ser Robert was accused of the crime. After being tried under Haeseni and Imperial law, he was found guilty and died in custody before his execution. 

 

Consequently, he was posthumously dishonourably discharged.

___________________________________________________

 

 

DAME WINNIFRED KORTREVICH

THE BOLD

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Crow Knight

@TheIchorDruid

270 E.S. - 329 E.S.  | 1717 A.H. - 1759 A.H.

_______________

Knighted by King Andrik III, and remembered as ‘the Bold’. 

 

Dame Winnified earned her moniker for her sharp and silver tongue that often wore down opposition to her opinions. Despite her Alimar origins, during the Rubern War she proved her loyalties to the Kongzem by standing against Prince Vladrick Alimar’s rebellion. Although a respected warrior, she was better known for her domestic services on the Queen’s Council as Lady Chamberlain from 298 E.S. | 1745 until 306 E.S. | 1753, where she organised many balls, masquerades, and hunts. 

 

She resigned from her position when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and when her condition worsened, she chose to die with a sword in hand then succumb to her illness. She challenged her uncle, Prince Otto Sigmar, to a duel, in which he granted her the mercy of a death of her choosing.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER SELRIK WICK

THE SCHOLAR

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Crow Knight

@EmbryoGod

Unknown - 324 E.S.  | Unknown - 1771 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik IV, and remembered as ‘the Scholar’.

 

A mysterious and enigmatic man - befitting a man of the Wick family - had a great affinity of magic and Haeseni history, which he was well-versed in as far back as when Haense was a mere Duchy. During his long tenure as a Crow Knight, Ser Selrik’s knowledge of the arcane allowed him to also serve as Arch Mage of the Royal Academy. He claimed to have once served the Kongzem as far back as King Otto III, under whom he led the Baranyan Company in the Czena War, but scholars have long since pointed out no human could be so long-lived. 

 

After he was laid to rest in the Wickwald in 324 E.S. | 1771, historians unearthed records from the pre-Bihar period that detailed a man of the name ‘Selrik Wick’ had been awarded the rank of Baron in Markev after he defeated a necromancer. Thus, much mystery surrounds the Scholar, and his true origins and nature.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER JONATHAN FROSTFIRE

THE TOWER

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IX Knight Paramount

@AdmiralLB

258 E.S. - 315 E.S.  | 1705 A.H. - 1762 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik IV, and remembered as ‘the Tower’. 

 

A common-born man, Ser Jonathan earned his station through military service in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl from a young age, which culminated in his promotion to the rank of Sergeant at twenty-seven. In recognition of his service, and in pursuit of giving greater opportunities to the common class, King Andrik IV allowed him to train as a squire. Thus, Ser Jonathan endured through his training trials, which included several odd feats such as creating a prosthetic tongue for a fellow Haeseni soldier. After his training, he became a Marian Knight and personal protector of King Andrik IV, who called him ‘the Tower’ for his great height.

 

After Ser Markus was removed as Knight Paramount, King Andrik IV honoured Ser Jonathan with the title, who was now many decades into his service of the Kongzem. During his tenure, he also assumed the role of Royal Executioner. He met a bizarre and mysterious end when, at the coronation of King Sigismund II, his body was found with a longsword ran through him while still standing upright. 

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER AEDAN CAPULEI

THE PHOENIX

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Marian Knight

@Aidoro

279 E.S. - 307 E.S.  | 1726 A.H. - 1754 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik III, and remembered as ‘the Phoenix’. 

 

As the last Knight dubbed by King Andrik III, Ser Aedan earned his moniker from heroism shown in the Fire of Old Reza, in which he rescued many trapped civilians. Like most Knights, he also served in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl, in which he was renowned for his mastery of the warhammer, which he put to use in the skirmishes of the Rubern War. Most notably, Ser Aedan was the wielder of the polehammer of Voron Rovin himself, the first King of Aesterwald who was said to wield the strength of a giant, which many took as testament of Ser Aedan’s own physical prowess. 

 

Ser Aedan died in a fire that he was said to have started himself, though no one understood why. Even years after his burnt body was laid to rest, many wondered if his moniker ought to be taken literally, and that he somehow still lived.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER TIBERIUS BARROW

TIDEBREAKER

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VII Knight Paramount

@Eddywilson2

Unknown -  307 E.S.  | Unknown - 1754 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik III, and remembered as ‘Tide-Breaker’. 

 

The bastard-born Ser Tiberius earned his fame in the Rubern War as one of the most prominent Haeseni commanders and leader of the Barayan Company. After the untimely death of King Andrik IV left the Haeseni throne to the five-year-old King Sigismund II, Ser Tiberius, riding off the respect he had amassed in the Rubern War, was chosen to serve as Lord Regent of the Kongzem until King Sigismund II came of age. However, when a raid of the Kongzem’s Haelunorian enemies went poorly, Ser Tiberius was captured and tortured. Though he did manage to escape and return to his place as Regent, his administration became increasingly distracted by stalemate international conflict. 

 

Before the Regency had ended, Ser Tiberius was captured once again -- this time by Ruberni rebels who formed part of the Alliance of Independent Nations that, at the time, waged war against Haense and the Orenian Empire. This time, Ser Tiberius was not so lucky: despite an attempt to rescue him by his soldiers, he was hanged.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER MARKUS KORTREVICH

THE BULL

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VIII Knight Paramount

@CaptainZenny

272 E.S. -  347 E.S.  | 1719 A.H. - 1794 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Andrik IV, and remembered as ‘the Bull’. 

 

Similar to Ser Konrad Stafyr, Ser Markus - the second patriarch of House Kortrevich - is more widely remembered for his controversial tenure as Lord Palatine of the Kongzem. It was his administration that presided over the Rubern War, consequent to which Ser Markus became the only Lord Palatine to date to have a motion-of-no-confidence passed against him by the Royal Duma, though the King ignored this plea to have Ser Markus removed. Owing both to this stubbornness to remain as Palatine and his House sigil, Ser Markus became known as ‘the Bull’. When he did eventually - and willingly - resigned as Lord Palatine, he then served as Knight Paramount for just two brief years before the young King Sigismund II had him replaced with Ser Jonathan Frostfire. Not long after, he was declared legally deceased by the King following prolonged absence from the Kongzem.

 

After his death, it was discovered from the diary of Queen Maya of Muldav that Ser Markus had dishonoured his marriage vows to Dame Winnifred by committing adultery with the Orenian Lady Mary Philippa of Sunholdt, and had even made advances on Queen Maya as King Andrik IV lay on his deathbed. Therefore, a great deal of respect was lost for the Bull following his death.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER ROBIN KARTYR

THE PERSISTENT

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X Knight Paramount

@Coolcod77

276 E.S. -  323 E.S.  | 1723 A.H. - 1770 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Persistent’. 

 

Ser Robin was born a commoner on the outskirts of the Graiswald, and enlisted to serve in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl from the age of sixteen. After enlisting, his level-head and surety of arms saw him climb to the rank of Lieutenant under the Lord Marshal - Erwin Barclay. Despite his common birth, Ser Robin had always aspired to become a Knight, and after proving himself in his military service, he was given the honour of squiring beneath Ser Khroll the Elf. He succeeded in his training, and because of his commitment and endurance to seeing his dream realised, he was Knighted and became known as the Persistent. 

 

Ser Robin was a raid commander through the Rubern War, and he led the Haeseni forces to victory on several occasions, including the capture of the enemy Duchess of Lorraine. His other feats included the recovery of the Iron Bulava - the badge of office of the Lord Marshal - when it was stolen by a villainous mage, and he fought in the frontlines of the Scyfling Invasion. During the Raid of New Reza, when Scyfling warriors infiltrated and took over part of the Ekaterinburg Palace in New Reza, Ser Robin was killed fighting in the cramped, smoke-filled corridors of the Palace dungeons.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER IVAN RUTHERN

THE PROTECTOR

9YqE1Pv3QjShzRYLFknhFUsoBo2BukJcEEQMYvr1sepgzc2mT6giPvJMpittBlw98QLsh6bwc7kXOwnjw5U0RasHC6d0DbtJMwV_UDSD2eV6pBzSwGr_R9mGcQc6HMER0EEuWaTU

Crow Knight

@Twandhi

277 E.S. -  328 E.S.  | 1724 A.H. - 1775 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Protector’.

 

A legitimised bastard who was trained and knighted in the traditional chivalric process, Ser Ivan was known for his reckless dedication to protecting those around him with his life. During his knighthood, he achieved two great feats: the first was when he drove out the bandit-heretics from the city of Brunswick, which was then reformed into the Viscounty of Batavia; the second came during the hottest period of the Scyfling War, when during the First Battle of Metterden, Ser Ivan lived up to his moniker by protecting his cousin - Queen Viktoriya - at the cost of his own life.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

DAME KAROLINA BARCLAY

THE GIANT

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Crow Knight

@MissToni

305 E.S. -  321 E.S.  | 1752 A.H. - 1768 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted posthumously by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Giant’. 

 

Dame Karolina, remarkable for her massive height of 6’2 and strength - which she often proved in wrestles with her cousin Manfred Barclay - had long since aspired to become a Knight of the Kongzem, yet just as she was coming of age to begin her training and squire properly, the Scyfling War broke out. When Dame Karolina found herself rushed to the defence during the First Siege of Vasiland after the Battle of the Northern Sea, she became trapped in the keep when the Vile Tooter set fire to it. The floorboards collapsed beneath her, and the splinters gored the Dame.

 

As the first major casualty of the War, King Sigismund II knighted her posthumously for her sacrifice.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER BJORNOLF STORN

THE BERSERKER

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Crow Knight

@rep2k

280 E.S. -  322 E.S.  | 1727 A.H. - 1769 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Berserker’. 

 

A common-born soldier with fearsome skill with a greataxe, Ser Bjornolf served in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl for twenty-two long years before the King opted to reward his loyal service with the honours of a Crow Knight, accompanied by the moniker of the Berserker, coined by the Knight Paramount Ser Jonathan for his axemanship. He was, naturally, a veteran of many battles such as that of Boomhill, where he was honoured for saving the life of Prince Nikolas -- the King’s brother. 

 

He also fought in the Ruern War and, of course, the Scyfling War. In the latter, Ser Bjornolf was part of an elite Haeseni force tasked with infiltrating the Scyfling-occupied Fort Buck to rescue hostages. After a cache of gunpowder was detonated beneath the Fort prematurely, filling the place with smoke and fire, the Haeseni party were confronted by the Scyfling warlord Bralt the Boar in the chaos. While the rest of the party fled with the rescued hostages, Ser Bjornolf was among those who stayed to hold off Bralt’s advance.

 

In the smouldering ruins of Fort Buck, they duelled. Both of Ser Bjornolf’s arms were cleaved off by Bralt’s axes, before he was finished off with a blow to the stomach while his countrymen escaped with their objective.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER GEORG BYKOV

THE COURAGEOUS

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Crow Knight

@Mio

280 E.S. -  322 E.S.  | 1727 A.H. - 1769 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted posthumously by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Courageous’. 

 

Ser Georg was one of the first Haeseni nobles to train as a squire during the Reformation Period, yet it was no secret that he had been pressured into the role by his father - Ser Ivan the Red Bull - which served to deter the young Bykov from committing to his training. When the Inferi Invasion united the nations of Arcas across multiple fronts, Ser Georg accompanied his father and the other Haeseni warriors to the Siege of Aegrothond, where they mounted a naval defence. When Ser Georg attempted to board an enemy ship, he was skewered by an enemy ballista, and died in his father’s arms.

 

He was knighted posthumously by King Josef I, having gone from a reluctant boy to a soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice to save his own father.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER MARCUS ERDHART

FORGEMASTER

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Marian Knight

@Sarven

264 E.S. -  345 E.S.  | 1711 A.H. - 1792 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘Forgemaster’. 

 

As durable as his famed metalwork, Ser Marcus was one of the longest serving Haeseni Knights. He began his exploits as the Royal Blacksmith of the Court, from whom no shortage of aspirational smiths sought to train under, before he came to use his own steel as a Knight himself. Throughout this career, he saved the life of King Sigismund II during an assassnation attempt at a medal ceremony for the Rubern War, and during the climatic Great Battle of the North of the Scyfling War, he fought with the cavalry in the western plains of Metterden where he and Amelot the Brave held the left flank by felling trees to slow the Scyfling advance. Later in the Battle, when it reached its pinnacle at Valles, he covered the retreat of Haense’s Volik allies back to New Reza.

 

Once the end of the Scyfling War brought about a period of relative peace, Ser Marcus remained a passive and devout servant as Haeseni Knighthood entered the Reformation Period. After over five decades of service, he eventually retired, and shortly after passed away of old age.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER DEMETRIUS RUTHERN

THE YOUNG

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Crow Knight

@Aidoro

300 E.S. -  349 E.S.  | 1747 A.H. - 1796 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Young’. 

 

Ser Demetrius rivalled Ser Ulric Vyronov as one of the youngest Haeseni ever knighted at fourteen years of age, an honour that came about as a result of Ser Demetrius’ prodigal swordsmanship. Ser Demetrius primarily served as a guard and advisor to the Royal House of Bihar - in particular Princess Nataliya Reza, to whom he was a father figure. He did, of course, also see his fair share of combat, at first in the fires of the Scyfling War, and later as a commander in the Sutican War where tensions flared between the Begrudged Alliance of nations and the Orenian Empire, under whom the Kongzem of Haense was a vassal at the time. 

 

After his military career, he was killed during the migration from Arcas to Almaris while guiding Princess Nataliya to safety.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER IVAN KORTREVICH

THE RED BULL

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Crow Knight

@erictafoya

291 E.S. -  351 E.S.  | 1738 A.H. - 1798 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Red Bull’.

 

Like many before him, Ser Ivan long dreamed of knighthood -- a dream that was heavily reinforced by the many other Knights that had hailed from House Kortrevich, which inspired his moniker after Ser Marus the Bull, and he earned his honour after his service in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl afforded him a squireship under Ser Aedan Capulei and Ser Khroll. Despite the inspiration he took from his House’s knightly history, he was disowned for wedding the disowned Angelika Bykov, together with whom he sired Ser Georg Bykov. 

 

While he was also a scholar and writer, his time as a Knight saw him fight in five major conflicts: the Rubern War; the Battle of Boomhill, in which he assisted in saving the life of the King’s brother Prince Nikolas; the Scyfling War; the Sutican War; and finally the Inferi Invasion, in which his son - Ser Georg - died protecting him. Not long after the construction of Karosgrad and the migration to Almaris, he and his cousin Lord Viktor Kortrevich encountered marauders while hunting. The Kortrevich Knight refused to lay down his arms, and died, buying Lord Viktor time to flee.

 

After his death, his disownment from House Kortrevich was reversed.

 

___________________________________________________

 

 

SER SIEGMUND WICK

THE SHEPHERD

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Crow Knight

@gavyn

276 E.S. -  323 E.S.  | 1723 A.H. - 1770 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund II, and remembered as ‘the Shepherd’.

 

Originally a Captain of the Golden Hussar company, his liege dubbed him a Knight of the Crow following the dissolution of the Hussars. He also served as patriarch of House Wick during their ennoblement under King Sigismund II, but after prolonged disagreement between the King and the Orenian Emperor resulted in the creation of a singular peerage, several Haeseni Houses lost their nobility -- House Wick included - and did not get it back, depriving Ser Siegmund of his noble title but not of his hard-earned Knighthood. During his career, he fought in the dominating conflicts of the time - namely the Rubern War and the Scyfling War. He perished in the latter, giving his life defending King Sigismund II during the darkest hour of the Great Battle of the North. 

 

 


 

IV

THE REFORMATION PERIOD

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 343 E.S. - 398 E.S. | 1790 - 1845

 

After many decades and across countless conflicts, the Marian Period waned as Haeseni Knighthood entered a slow decline after the death of Ser Nikolaus the Strong.

 

By the end of King Sigismund II’s reign and the death of the-then Knight Paramount - Ser Robin Kartyr - Knighthood had all but fallen by the wayside. It was given as an honorific to Haensemen of particular merit, but even this purpose became redundant when King Sigismund II created the meritorious and civilian Order of Queen Maya and the Lily. By the time of the King’s death, there were only three Knights remaining.

 

After King Sigismund II’s suicide left his young son King Josef I under the regency of Konstantin Wick, one of the things the new Lord Regent aspired to do was revive the prestige of Haeseni Knighthood following its long decline in the second half of the Marian Period. In order to do so, the Lord Regent published the Edict of Knightly Orders in 343 E.S. | 1790 that created the Knight’s Table as the governing body of all Knights, led by the Knight Paramount, alongside several other major changes: the Marian Retinue became the exclusive kingsguard of the Crown, while the Crow Knights were repurposed as questors and knight-errants who served the wider Kongzem; squirehood was reformed to only allow commoners for acts of heroism, akin to the requirements of the Order of the Golden Gryphon; and training was restructured to have squires undertake the Trials of Strength, Chivalry, and Wisdom. 

 

The formation of the Knight’s Table marked a period of rebuilding and growth, as new generations of Knights underwent arduous training to revive Haeseni Knighthood to the glory of old, and laid the foundations for the strength Knighthood would once again exert later in the Bogatyr Period.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER MAVERICK BARUCH

THE KEEPER

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Marian Knight

@Drew2_dude

318 E.S. -  359 E.S.  | 1765 A.H. - 1806 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Keeper’.

 

Following the Edict of Knightly Orders that began the Reformation Period, Ser Maverik was raised as the first Marian Knight to the young King Josef I. The Ayrian, known to be a close personal friend of the young King, was immediately raised to the Retinue without any formal training as the King sought to rebuild the smaller Marian Retinue with entirely trustworthy men, a role which Ser Maverik fulfilled dutifully, earning him the moniker as the King’s Keeper. While Ser Maverik achieved no great feats of glory, he fulfilled the expectations of a silent protector absolutely, and kept the King safe throughout his long reign.

 

When King Josef I fell ill and passed away, Ser Maverik ran himself through with his own sword. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER BORIS RUTHERN

THE PERSISTENT (II)

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XI Knight Paramount

@GMRO

308 E.S. -  361 E.S.  | 1755 A.H. - 1808 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Persistent’, in honour of Ser Robin Kartyr.

 

Ser Boris was the first man dubbed a Crow Knight in the Reformation Period after he earned the respect and intrigue of Lord Regent Konstantin Wick with his ideas for rebuilding and reforming Knighthood. After his participation in the Scyfling War - in which he covered the Volik retreat in the Great Battle of the North, resulting in the loss of his arm - the Sutican War, and the Inferi Invasion, he became a squire and underwent the new training regime. As his Final Quest to become a Knight, Ser Boris was tasked with slaying a Fleugl - a carrion, tentacled sea monster - that had made its next in shipwrecks left over from the Scyfling War. With careful planning and meticulous strategy, Ser Boris weakened the Fleugl with poison bait before he engaged it atop the treacherous footing of shipwrecks on the water’s surface. While he slew the beast, he suffered a wound from its venomous tentacles, and required immediate surgery after the battle to survive. 

 

Not long after becoming a Knight, he was given the role as Knight Paramount to realise his vision for Haeseni Knighthood. Ser Boris thereafter began the long process of rebuilding the Order with squires fully trained through the Trials of Strength, Chivalry, Wisdom, and their Final Quest, which slowly nurtured a generation of skilled and dedicated warriors loyal to the King. 

 

When the Rimetroll War broke out, Ser Boris was one of the commanders at the Great Raid of Karosgrad. As the main gate fell under threat from being breached by Rimetrolls - and therefore endangering the entire populace - Ser Boris fought the massive foes in close combat to ward off their assault, which resulted in his death when he was smashed by a Rimetroll. 

 

Trollslayer’s Ballad was written in his memory.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

DAME ANABELA RUTHERN

THE EMBER

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Crow Knight

@Eryane

334 E.S. -  362 E.S.  | 1781 A.H. - 1809 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Ember’. Sometimes known as ‘the Alcoholic’.

 

As one of the last members of the House Vilac and survivor of three major fires that inspired her moniker, Dame Anabela came under the care of House Ruthern and began her training for knighthood at the tender age of eight, when she served as a page to the Knight Paramount, Ser Boris Ruthern, and the Count of Metterden, Aleksandr Ruthern. Once she came of age, she became an official squire and underwent her Trials with proficiency and remarkable speed - by her second month as a squire, she had already completed one, and the other two followed before long. For her Final Quest, Dame Anabela faced a Yeti in the Rimeveld wastes north of Karosgrad, and saved three Haeseni that had been taken prisoner by the ice-monster for consumption. After slaying the beast, and later mounting an expedition to the inhospitable region to learn more of the beasts that lived there, she earned the admiration of her first page and squire - Mariya Amador - who would later marry King Heinrik II. 

 

After her knighting, Dame Anabela’s efforts focused on the training of her two squires - Mariya Amador and the commoner Hildebrand Mondblume. After eight years, she was honourably discharged from service, and died just a year later. It later became known that the Ember suffered heavily from alcoholism, so much so that it was rumoured she beat King Josef I himself in drinking contests. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER VIKTOR RAUEN

THE VALIANT

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Marian Knight

@Pureimp10

321 E.S. -  365 E.S.  | 1768 A.H. - 1811 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Valiant’.

 

Inspired by tales of his Haeseni ancestor - Geralt Rauen, Lord Marshal to King Otto III - the Aeldin-born Ser Viktor, bored of his homeland and in search of glory, travelled to Karosgrad. He began by enlisting in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl, but made no secret of his fascination with the reformed Knights of the Kongzem. When his ancestral name earned him a meeting with King Josef I, the King spontaneously decided to take on Ser Viktor as one of his Marian Knights in recognition of his sword skills and his ancestral name. Following that fateful meeting, Ser Viktor served his new King devoutly, forming the silent but sure duo of protectors alongside Ser Maverick that constantly served as the King’s unflinching shadow throughout the tail-end of the Scyfling War, the Sutican War, the Inferi Invasion, and the Rimetroll War.

 

In the latter conflict, Ser Viktor met his end when he leapt into a crowd of Rimetrolls during the Great Raid of Karosgrad, piloting one of the beasts to kill three of the attackers before he himself perished.

 

Trollslayer’s Ballad was composed in his memory.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER BRANDT BARCLAY

THE PATIENT

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Crow Knight

@GoodGuyMatt

328 E.S. -  369 E.S.  | 1775 A.H. - 1815 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Patient’.

 

Before Ser Brandt aspired to join the Knight’s Table, he followed in the Barclay tradition of enlisting in the Haeseni Royal Army and reached the rank of Sergeant that saw him lose an eye fighting in the Scyfling War, while also training as an apprentice of Ser Marcus Forgemaster to become the next Royal Smith, which sparked a tradition of artisan smithing in the Reinmaren nobles. Not only this, but he served the Kongzem politically as Alderman and economist in the Office of the Treasurer. 

 

At the ripened age of forty-four, Ser Brandt elected to resume training to become a Knight - a venture he had begun in his teenage years, but had to stop due to illness. It was owing to this earlier training and his service to the Kongzem politically and economically that he was allowed to resume despite his age, and thus he became fittingly known as ‘the Patient’ when he was knighted in 354 E.S. | 1801 after he slew a Cave Troll skulking under a bridge for his Final QuestSer Brandt, like his brothers and sisters on the Knight’s Table, served as a defender in the Rimetroll War, where he saved the future Knight Paramount Ser Alric Ruthern at the Great Raid of Karosgrad by pulling him out of the line of fire of a cannon. During this time, Ser Brandt also joined King Heinrik II’s Aulic Council as Lord Treasurer, but his time as Aulic Councillor was cut short when he was called to the defence at the Raid of Reinmar.

 

There, while fighting Rimetrolls on his family’s land, he was grabbed by one of the massive beasts, and thrown high into the sky. The fall killed him. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER ALRIC RUTHERN

THE CAVALIER

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XII Knight Paramount

@mkLouis

328 E.S. -  Unknown  | 1775 A.H. - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Cavalier’.

 

A famed Ruthern swordsmen, Ser Alric underwent traditional training as a noble squire, and easily conquered his Trials of Strength, Chivalry, and Wisdom, before he slew the Crowdrake of Vidaus - a ferocious, man-eating bird that had been terrorising the shepherds near the Cavalier’s homeland - to earn his dubbing. Though initially inducted into the Marian Retinue for his skill as a warrior, the likes of which were said to rival even Ser Rodrik Kortrevich, he was soon appointed as Knight Paramount after the death of his predecessor and cousin, Ser Boris the Persistent, whose death drove him to upholding the legacy of Ruthern Knights.

 

Ser Alric was kept as King Heinrik II’s right-hand man - and enforcer - in the turbulent years that followed. When the King ordered the execution of his aunt in a fit of madness, Ser Alric complied without question; when the King sent the Knight’s Table to locate his runaway sister, the Cavalier was the first to take up the search. Despite the controversy that surrounded many of King Heinrik II’s decisions, Ser Alric’s sheer loyalty was beyond question. None could doubt his competency as Knight Paramount, either; not only did he earn the title of Grand Champion of Karosgrad through tournament victories, but he also carried on his cousin’s work in nurturing the new Knight’s Table and raising a new generation of fearsome Knights, such as Ser Grigoryi and Ser Antonius, while also developing new knightly cultures and traditions, such as building the first proper headquarters for the Knight’s Table in the Nikirala Palace.

 

For all his success, the Cavalier was followed by scandal for most of his tenure. He was well-known as a womaniser - especially in his youth, and, outside of the actions he committed at the command of his King, Ser Alric was accused of assaulting Lord Stefan Vyronov and found guilty of the crime in court. He was known to be a hard teacher, one who tolerated little disrespect from his squires, some of whom he removed from the Knight’s Table for breaches of etiquette and protocol. Other rumours shrouded the Cavalier, with some claiming he was responsible for the murder of his first wife, and others claiming he sired many bastards outside of his marriages. One thing that both admirers and foes of Ser Alric agreed was that he was prone to shifts of mood, from violent and ominous, to charming and charismatic. Despite all this, he remained a loyal soldier to King Heinrik II throughout, and played a pivotal role in defeating the Rimetroll War alongside Lord Marshal Friedrich Barclay.

 

After the second wedding of King Heinrik II, he abruptly vanished alongside the two Knights of the Vilac family. He was never seen nor heard of within the Kongzem again, and his House never found a body to confirm his death.

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER ZODD CALLIBAN

THE IRONCLAD

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Crow Knight

@AdmiralLB

 141 E.S. -  Present  | 1588 A.H. - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Ironclad’.

 

Years before becoming a soldier or Knight, Ser Zodd earned his keep as a monster-hunter that travelled across the Descendant realms before eventually arriving in Haense and enlisting in the Haeseni Royal Army. He served many years of his long Elven life under several Lord Marshals, from Ser Wilheim Barclay, all the way to Lord Johann Barclay, many decades later, and assisted the Brotherhood as both a soldier and esteemed blacksmith. Ser Zodd’s skill in the forge, much like Ser Marcus Erdhart, inspired a new generation of Haeseni blacksmiths, chief among them being Ser Brandt Barclay. 

 

On the battlefield, Ser Zodd slew one of the leaders of the Inferi Invasion during the Siege of Aergrothond, for which he was invited to serve as a squire with the support of Ser Ruben Barclay. His long life of hunting and martial service allowed him to excel in his squire trials, and for his final Knight’s Quest he hunted and slew a pack of Boggens who had used their illusory powers to lure and slaughter unwary travellers near Karosgrad to earn his knighthood in 354 E.S. | 1801. After knighthood, Ser Zodd, continued to serve loyally as a soldier and smith, perfecting his work in the forge to produce the best works in the Kongzem after a time while taking Jackson Porter, a commoner who saved Queen Isabel from a suicide attacker, as his squire. Despite not being an official member of the Marian Retinue, Ser Zodd was well known to be the protective shadow of King Sigismund III both before and after he assumed the Crown, and gave the King many of the swords he uses today.

 

After long years of service under several kings, Ser Zodd’s Elven lifespan had condemned him to watch many of his friends and loved ones perish over the decades, whether to old age, illness, or in battle, and this string of losses eventually ate away at the distinguished Ironclad Knight. Jackson Porter’s death in the Rimetroll War served as the nail-in-the-coffin for Ser Zodd, who felt his own worth as a Knight had diminished from being unable to protect Jackson and his other loved ones. He petitioned King Sigismund III to be released from his oath, and the Ironclad was honourably discharged. 

 

He became a hermit living in reclusivity in northern Almaris, though he occasionally visited Karosgrad.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER RUBEN BARCLAY

THE BUTLER

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Marian Knight

@ItsMrCannibal

304 E.S. -  Present  |  1751 A.H. - Present

_______________

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Butler’.

 

Born as Ruben Ruthern, the Butler began his working life as a manservant to the Royal House of Barbanov-Bihar in the Ekaterinburg Palace of New Reza under King Sigismund II and later King Josef I as a young boy. After participating in a joust at the mere age of eleven, Ser Ivan Kortrevich offered to train the young Ruthern as a squire, which proved to be a hard and arduous affair. As a squire, he participated in the traumatic Battle of Boomhill and later the Scyfling War, after which he was dubbed as a Knight, with his moniker inspired by his continued service as head servant - Grand Lord - to the Royal House, though later in life he retired from servitude to focus wholly on his duties as Knight.

 

Ser Ruben went on to fight in the Sutican War and the Inferi Invasion, and accompanied King Josef I to Oren when the Kongzem of Haense achieved independence from the Empire. Controversially, he married matrilineally into House Barclay against the wishes of his family, which led to him being disowned from House Ruthern, and tutored Georg Bykov, whose death in the Inferi Invasion’s Siege of Aegrothond left the Butler mentally scarred.

 

He carried on his duties throughout the reign of King Josef I, during which he was best remembered for his friendship and dedication to the Royal House, before he was honourably discharged as he grew older.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER ALEKSANDR VYRONOV

THE ARDENT

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Marian Knight

@Sarmadonn

324 E.S. -  407 E.S.  |  1771 A.H. - 1854 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Josef I, and remembered as ‘the Ardent’.

 

Ser Aleksandr began his soldiering at the age of fifteen in the Haeseni Royal Army at a time in which the Descendant realms were locked in combat with the Inferi Invasion. After displaying no small amount of courage in battle and with aid from his noble blood, he was admitted to the Knight’s Table as a squire under Ser Ivan the Red Bull. After a lengthy time serving as one of the first squires since the migration to Almaris, Ser Aleksandr went out to face his final Quest in the very port of Karosgrad itself, where a giant crab had been attacking ships. When his plan went wrong, the Ardent was almost killed when the crab chased him towards the city, and he was grievously wounded before successfully dropping the portcullis on the crab to kill it. He was left bedridden with his injuries for weeks before he was finally Knighted.

 

A distinguished warrior, Ser Aleksandr was later appointed to the Marian Retinue, and notably served as a close protector and friend to Queen Isabel. So close did they appear that the Hearsay of Haense - the Kongzem’s infamous gossip newspaper - reported that the two had an affair. After years of quiet service, Ser Aleksandr’s age - and an accumulation of injuries from his long military career as both Knight and soldier - retired from the Knight’s Table. Long after his discharge and with the ascension of King Sigismund III, Ser Aleksandr revealed to the monarch he had had a bastard who he wished to revive House Vyronov, a feat which the King gave his blessing to.

 

Not long after this confession, Ser Aleksandr passed peacefully from old age.

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER CEDRIC BARCLAY

THE KIND

7yQ54Wiov6a_vRx1ygwOH17L3YBQCJL_S-lxbIdz4gljxWsZ-T8L3jTZOCArqaHEfTgTcN-Q0ZE8DtSPZh8Gl0Etr0dJ4pzIPWmpqwc5ogwfQ8GE7QjuF8m6e-QZc6zbFck4krWG

XIV Knight Paramount | III Meyster Knight

@Frymark

329 E.S. -  384 E.S.  | 1776 A.H. - 1831 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Kind’.

 

Ser Cedric, son to Ser Brandt Barclay, had grown up with his noble kin in the Duchy of Reinmar as the oldest of four siblings before he enlisted in the Haeseni Royal Army in accordance with the martial tradition of his House, where he proved himself a capable soldier and officer that rose to the rank of Sergeant. He joined the Knight’s Table as a squire under Ser Fiske Vanir, and after completing his Trials, succeeded in his Quest to hunt down a pack of carnivorous reptilian creatures that had thawed from the ice of the Rimeveld.

 

His competence as a soldier and commander saw him excel above many other skilled Knights at the time to become the Meyster Knight, second-in-command of the Knight’s Table. After the Knight Paramount, Ser Alric Ruthern, was deployed to assist with the Attenlund Expedition in the east, it fell upon Ser Cedric to succeed him, and thus King Heinrik II appointed him as the new Knight Paramount. In his ten-year tenure that followed, Ser Cedric led the Knight’s Table through the Rimetroll War, and the Nachezer War, which cost the Kind both his legs, which he had to acquire prosthetic replacements for, and his left eye. Despite being charged with a harsh command of the Siege of Vidaus and the Siege of Valwyck during the Nachezer War, his moniker was born from a striking display of compassion despite this trying time. 

 

In following the industrious tenure of Ser Alric as Knight Paramount, Ser Cedric introduced several changes to Knighthood, such as the introduction of the short-lived rank of Hussar Knight, reforms to the Trial of Wisdom and the Trial of Strength, the introduction of the Trial of Piety, and the creation of the Knight’s Tribunal to rule on matters of knightly conduct. Not long after his fifty-third birthday, he led a party of Knights to investigate a disturbance in the hills east of Krusev, where they encountered a party of enigmatic black-clad warriors known only as the ‘Jigsaw Knights’, who claimed to be on Almaris for some holy mission. When the Jigsaw Knights refused to comply with the Knight Paramount’s questions, a massive battle broke out. 

 

Though the Jigsaw Knights were forced to retreat with heavy losses, Ser Cedric suffered a mortal wound, and died on the battlefield.

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER FISKE VANIR III

THE DARING

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Crow Knight

@Sander

322 E.S. -  370 E.S.  | 1769 A.H. - 1817 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Daring’.

 

After succeeding his father as Margrave of Vasiland at the tender age of six, Ser Fiske was left with his House in utter ruins after many of his kin had fallen in the Scyfling War, with Vasiland being the site of three sieges and several years of Scyfling occupation. Despite the enormous task he faced of rebuilding his House, Ser Fiske exhibited both enthusiasm and diligence, and began leaving his mark on the Kongzem through the hosting of popular events such as the Highland Games. 

 

Seeking to restore prestige to the Vanir name, he squired under Ser Ruben the Butler as he began courting Princess Juliya Bihar, secondborn daughter of the late King Sigismund II. He progressed steadily through his Trials as one of the first squires of the Reformation Period, and eventually undertook his Quest to slay a Cockatrice that had made its nest in the burnt corpse of the Wickwald, a task that also required him to deal with leftover Scyfling settlers in the area. After his subsequent knighting, he embarked on a pilgrimage to Aeldin, before returning to the Kongzem in time for the migration to Almaris and his wedding with Princess Juliya.

 

Though he sired six children with the Princess, his second child was a miscarriage that caused endless distress for the Knight and his marriage. He continued trying to rebuild House Vanir on Almaris following the construction of their new keep - Castle Hallaberg - and became increasingly religious in the years after his miscarriage and memories of his slaughtered family from childhood. The result of this saw Ser Fiske become a recluse within his lands, and the goal of continuing to restore House Vanir began to slowly slip away as the Knight spent most of his days praying, to the neglect of his duties as Margrave and Knight. Despite occasional questing and training squires, Ser Fiske largely faded into obscurity, and before long was honourably discharged.

 

Ser Fiske, having disappeared from public life, later went on a pilgrimage again across the seas. Word returned to Almaris that his ship had been sunk by pirates.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER HILDEBRAND MONDBLUME

THE GRYPHON

f8F68doghVUT6ns01E4aGItJvcu3fuRsTY3EYaRQ7FmVWjAAwUciDKXnIHS3bgJ9Cu_6kaoZPletGdD6-JUKQ691sBzGy1e_UojR7r3SUWDvDXglm3dWljcelAxe3_MI76zbQK5-

Crow Knight

@Limo_man

326 E.S. -  386 E.S.  |  1773 A.H. - 1833 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Gryphon’.

 

As one of the well-known Mondblume commoners, Ser Hildebrand restored his family name to notoriety within the Kongzem through his enlistment in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl and later as a squire upon the Knight’s Table, admitted in recognition of he and his family’s contribution to the Kongzem. During his Trial of Chivalry, he climbed to the top of the mountains surrounding the vales of the Grand Kingdom of Urguan and plucked a feather from a young Gryphon. In doing so, he angered the Gryphon’s mother, and narrowly escaped with his life, after which Ser Hildebrand became fascinated with Gryphons. When the time came to embark on his final Quest, he was charged with slaying the mother Gryphon, which had begun attacking travellers on the Dwarven roads since Ser Hildebrand enraged it. In a vicious battle atop the mountain's windswept slopes, Ser Hildebrand slew the Gryphon after taking cover in the mountain’s narrow crags. Left grievously wounded, he collapsed after descending the mountains before he was found by a Dwarf.

 

After he recovered from his injuries in Urguan and returned to the Kongzem, he was dubbed a warrior of the Knight’s Table alongside Ser Aleksandr the Whisper and Ser Franz the Oracle, and took his moniker in memory of the graceful beast he had slain. After being dubbed, Ser Hildebrand continued his steadfast duties as soldier, Knight, and later a member of the Royal Duma. He, very unusually, earned the favour of King Heinrik II, who realised the long-standing dream of the Mondblume family by enfeoffing Ser Hildebrand as a noble, and granted him the Barony of Richtenburg.

 

With his life-long dream achieved, Ser Hildebrand passed away at the age of sixty.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER FRANZ BIHAR

THE ORACLE

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Crow Knight

@Gusano

330 E.S. -  Present  |  1777 A.H. - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Oracle’.

 

The Oracle was the last-born of King Sigismund II’s children, who were rumoured to be cursed by a Scyfling prophecy. Franz had not yet been born when his father committed suicide, and so it was widely said that he was doubly cursed as a result. Thus, it came as no surprise - but a great deal of concern - to some when the young Ser Franz was often seen speaking to people who did not seem to be there, and claimed he could see the spirits of the dead. With his father’s suicide leaving the throne to his older brother King Josef I in a time of political turmoil, Ser Franz achieved only minimal attention and tutelage growing up, but had a close bond with his siblings. 

 

Even as he grew into a man, he adamantly maintained that he could see and speak to ghosts, who supposedly counselled and advised him. Ser Franz might have been dismissed for a madman, had he not achieved great success in the Royal Court and eclipsing all his siblings but for King Josef I. He followed his brother Ser Aleksandr into knighthood, after slaying a pack of Cave Leeches near Vidaus for his final Quest, he was dubbed alongside his brother and given the Oracle moniker for his alleged supernatural powers. Among his many successes included forming part of the first expedition to Almaris prior to migration, a staggering five consecutive terms as Grand Maer of Karosgrad in which he was a pioneering member of the Royal Duma that passed many Maer Edicts and legislative bills, and service in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl. Ser Franz was well known for his romantic ventures - after his marriage to Lorena Barrow, he would later openly admit he had an affair with Wilhelmina Beatrix, the divorced wife of Orenian Emperor John Charles, and a subsequent affair and marriage to Nataliya Kovachev. Despite several children out of wedlock, his lawfully-born children from his first marriage assisted him in being granted the new title of the Barony of Ghaestenwald from his nephew King Heinrik II in 377 E.S. | 1824 A.H.

 

Ser Franz’s seminal feats came when he accompanied Prince Andrik Nikolas on the Menagerie Expedition to southern Almaris to study the exotic region. In a strange turn of events, Ser Franz was captured by monkeys, and held at ransom until Prince Andrik’s party slew an alpha gorilla who ruled the jungle with an iron fist. As the Oracle grew older, many theorised that his encounter with the monkeys led to him losing his wits, though others blamed his age or prophetic abilities. After going missing several times, he abdicated his title of Baron of Ghaestenwald to his son and was honourably discharged from the Knight’s Table alongside his brother. Though he remained a frequent sight in the Kongzem, his powers of prophecy and speaking to the dead seemed to grow stronger, until he proclaimed that he was no longer Ser Franz, but simply the Oracle.

 

King Sigismund III gave him the title of Oracle of Maenvestiyaeo, and the old man took up residence in the ruins of Krusev, where, to this day, he reads the fortunes of those who make the pilgrimage to see him. Squires who have completed their training seek him out to be assigned their final Quest.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER ALEKSANDR BIHAR

THE WHISPER

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Crow Knight

@Xarkly

326 E.S. -  Present  | 1773 A.H.  - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Whisper’.

 

Born as one of the allegedly cursed children of King Sigismund II, Ser Aleksandr grew up with an intrusive stutter that left him unable to speak full sentences without several attempts at pronunciation, which led to the future Knight becoming anti-social, and came to view himself as a profound disappointment to his royal lineage, though he was forever grateful for a close bond with most of his siblings. Unable to perform any courtly duties owing to his speech, Ser Aleksandr decided to devote himself to becoming a Knight despite lacking any particular gifts in arms, and came to believe that he would be able to live up to the expectations of a son of a King through knightly service. 

 

Through rigorous training and commitment, Ser Aleksandr squired beneath Ser Fiske Vanir and endured through his Trials of Strength, Chivalry, and Wisdom. As part of his Trial of Chivalry, Ser Aleksandr took a vow of silence in the Basilica of Karosgrad as a way to hide his stutter and completely dedicate himself to his ambitions. Prior to being knighted, he was part of the team of Knights led by Ser Alric the Cavalier that attempted to drive out bandits from the ruins of Vaelya, and was mentally shook when he witnessed three squires getting obliterated by cannon-fire. After his Trials, he killed a massive Dulk in the Astfield as his final Quest and was knighted by his nephew, King Heinrik II, alongside his younger brother Ser Franz. He took his moniker in respect to his vow of silence.

 

He was seen to have kept his vow throughout his service as a Crow Knight, and despite this, he was known to hold a deep hatred for King Heinrik II for his conduct towards others in the Royal House, particularly Queen Mariya Amador, whom squired under Ser Aleksandr before the King ordered her to cease training as a Knight. In addition to the future Queen, Ser Aleksandr also trained Dame Marie Barclay and, to a lesser extent, Ser Karl Amador. The King’s sister - Princess Katerina - called upon Ser Aleksandr’s aid to flee the Kongzem following beatings from her brother, for which Ser Aleksandr was arrested briefly but shortly released. His hatred for the King intensified when he ordered the execution of his elder sister, the disowned princess Nataliya Reza, though he remained on the Knight’s Table during this period nonetheless.

 

When King Heinrik II’s second wife - Queen Annika - was stabbed during a masquerade ball, Ser Aleksandr was considered one of the primary suspects, though the investigation was abandoned when no proof could be obtained. As he grew older, the Whisper was honourably discharged and took to a reclusive retirement.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER GRIGORYI VILAC

THE BURNED

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Crow Knight

@pkdon

326 E.S. -  Present  |  1773 A.H. - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Burned’.

 

Born August Vilac, the Burned took the Raev name Grigoryi when he arrived in the Kongzem of Haense with his cousin, Ser Oliver Helane, and would go on to form the undefeatable unit of warriors under Ser Alric. When he first settled in Karosgrad, he enlisted in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl and rose through the ranks with haste due to his immense skill with a sword, which rivalled that of the greatest Knights, such as Ser Ailred Steelheart and Ser Rodrik Turncloak. The Knight Paramount, Ser Alric, was known to favour the skilled Ser Grigoryi, and allowed him to squire under Ser Franz the Oracle. After persevering through his trials, he earned his dubbing after his final Quest pitted him against a rabid bear, whom he fashioned his greathelm after. 

 

As a Knight, Ser Grigoryi was best known for his tournament victories, of which there were many. He triumphed over many of his comrades in Karosgrad, and boldly represented King Heinrik II in jousts and duels abroad. He even became Grand Champion of Karosgrad in the first Grand Tourney, in which he defeated reputable warriors who had travelled from all across the continent to compete. His tenure as Knight was cut short when he received a summons from his father, calling upon his aid for familial matters. Ser Grigoryi was thus honourably discharged by Ser Cedric, and left the Kongzem. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER ANTONIUS VILAC

THE FERVID

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Crow Knight

@Milenkhov

354 E.S. -  Unknown  |  1801 A.H. - Unknown

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Fervid’.

 

A swordsman of great renown, the Fervid travelled to the Kongzem in the company of Ser Oliver and Ser Grigoryi, forming a band of skilled yet enigmatic companions around Knight Paramount Ser Alric. Admitted to the Knight’s Table both in recognition of his skill and his heritage as Prince of Vilachia, Ser Antonius rose swiftly through the ranks and successfully completed his Trials before he went on to hunt a Rimeveld Greatwolf in his final Quest.

 

As a Knight, Ser Antonius served in Ser Alric’s small band that acted as King Heinrik II’s most trusted and confidential liegemen, who carried out tasks such as hunting down the runway Princess Katerina on the King’s behalf. He also distinguished himself in the blizzards of the Rimetroll War, where he and the other Knights played instrumental roles in some of the major battles, in particular the Great Raid of Karosgrad. Alongside Ser Alric, Ser Antonius was hailed as one of the only soldiers who was not afraid to charge headfirst into the freezing-breath of the Rimetrolls, though many wondered how he survived such endeavours. During the Siege of Krusev, Ser Antonius led the final push up to the castle, where a Rock Troll guarded the food supplies. Ser Antonius bid his companions stay back as he engaged the Troll alone; his soldiers watched increduously as the castle suddenly caught fire, with many claiming that Ser Antonius had exhaled the fire from his own mouth. When the blaze settled, the Fervid was nowhere to be found, and thus presumed dead.

 

Many years later, however, a letter of nobility indicated that Ser Antonius had been granted lands far to the south in the newly-reformed Principality of Savoy. His fate and deeds since are unknown.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER OLIVER HELANE

THE LION

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Crow Knight

@Werew0lf

343 E.S. -  388 E.S.  |  1790 A.H. - 1835 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Lion’.

 

Ser Oliver, as the nephew of Emperor Peter III of Oren, was of Imperial blood, yet he fell afoul of his kin when an attempted rebellion to seize the throne failed. He sought refuge in the Kongzem, where instead of settling in the court as other high-borns might, the Lion instead launched himself into the military service. His distinct bloodline and natural skill with a blade earned him the favour of the Knight Paramount - Ser Alric - whom he came to squire under directly. After he succeeded in his Trials, he took his moniker from his final Quest, where he travelled to southern Almaris and single-handedly put down a pack of lions. 

 

After his dubbing, he formed part of Ser Alric’s elite retinue and most trusted armsmen of King Heinrik II. Adding to his renown, he slew a feral Wyvern in the Haeseni wilderness on his own, which, while celebrated, led many to speculate his strength was superhuman. This rumour - legend to some, conspiracy to others - was fuelled by observations that Ser Oliver did not seem touched by age over his time as a Knight. After the Rimetroll War, however, Ser Oliver disappeared from the Kongzem in the same period as the other Knights of Ser Alric’s retinue.

 

He was presumed dead after a time, which records from abroad later confirmed. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

DAME MARIE BARCLAY

Yl5rj8XT5HUhikzsmWjT75iFBu1ZjfC3OK-bdutqpFwr5p4HUaBXak7RObvqLmJv68vDP6Kh7Oi4mztDaSWCZvViSQTgEwhf06BOCF0_x2x-Fit1pPqD66Eyk8qBijcIpSJrEgko

Crow Knight

@EnderMaiashiro

345 E.S - 380 E.S.  |  1792 A.H. - 1827 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II.

 

As a girl, Dame Marie was well-known for forming part of a close trio of friends with Lord Stefan Vyronov - the future Baron of Astfield - and Lady Mariya Amador - the future wife of King Heinrik II. When Stefan fell afoul of Knight Paramount Ser Alric and was both desquired and beat, Marie stood as his supporter, earning her the disfavour of both the Knight Paramount and the King, though she did not suffer any direct consequences. The Barclay-born girl was admitted to the Knight's Table as a squire and trained under Ser Aleksandr Bihar alongside Queen Mariya, both of whom were said to have a near-parental relationship with the silent Knight. 


After completing her Trials, Dame Marie was tasked with the challenge of slaying an Owlbear in the Rimeveld Wastes, a feat which cost her her right ear and damaged her scalp, and would have killed her were it not for the convenient proximity to the Barony of Astfield. After becoming a Dame, she went on to marry Lord Stefan and became the Baroness of Astfield to aid him in running House Vyronov. As a Knight, she was noted to serve King Heinrik II warily after his treatment of Queen Mariya, and her subsequent faked death. Despite this, Dame Marie was a loyal servant of the Kongzem -- during the Nachezer War, she paid the ultimate price for that loyalty when she was cut down when her patrol was ambushed by the Nachezer parasites.

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER DEMETRIYUS AUBERT

THE PRESERVER

hFoMCQMiZpFe8HvoQkiy7GaicPy3xcIHoWHpMjLCWTLptYM4X_R9pSTh6mbGxrUuhTY6BeoxICa16E02Y2ex-K-QpYK2Mq1uTin78QzX9wqzqLG7IwIeccf0QUNbczKXDBwjaxeb

III Meyster Knight

@MCVDK

358 E.S. -  Present  | 1805 A.H.  - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Preserver’.

 

Born a Heartlander, Ser Demitriyus was born in Old Providence to the wealthy Aubert family, but he was left an orphan at the age of nine when both his parents perished. Following this tragedy, Ser Demitriyus migrated to the Kongzem of Haense with his half-sister Gwyn - who would act as a new mother figure to the future Knight - and he was brought under the care and tutelage of Lord Palatine Adrian Colborn. With the patronage of the Lord Palatine, Demitriyus became a squire on the Knight’s Table just days before he was deployed to assist the Brotherhood of Saint Karl with the Attenlund Expedition, and so he served in the frontier from the age of fourteen to eighteen. For his service in the Attenlund, he was awarded the Vydrian Banner and Stalwart Sword honours upon his return.

 

As a Knight, Ser Demitriyus’ main conflicts came from the aftermath of the Expedition, the Nachezer threat, and the end of the Rimetroll War. For his level-head and sharp mind, he was named as Meyster Knight to Knight Paramount Cedric Barclay, with whom he drafted many reforms for the Knight’s Table, and served as patron Knight to Princess Petra Bihar. After the death of Ser Cedric and the appointment of Ser Karl Amador to the seat of Knight Paramount, he was honourably discharged from the Table and took to wandering.

 

The Preserver took to roaming the continent while mastering the art of Alchemy, and occasionally visited Karosgrad.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER AILRED RUTHERN

STEELHEART

RxZzTjLvUrdaVtvjZ7DHfr3FBwDZtTiiQFqUyXOmHvbJbG8ZgYImkYBQhRgNj5v2K5rj34ug9RYTuCl1g-iKyLz3t5MXYrZLa0l6i-B5ctyuN4Ae3N9rH6viYdMJY4_AOQZ16AS9

Marian Knight

@mkLouis

354 E.S. -  407 E.S.  |  1801 A.H. - 1854 A.H.

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘Steelheart’.

 

Born first-in-line to inherit the Duchy of Vidaus, Ser Ailred faced trials from a young age that began with the death of his alcoholic mother, Dame Anabela the Ember, which led to the future Knight swearing to abstain from alcohol himself. He was known for strange notions in his youth, such as claiming that he could heal the mortally wounded, but his peculiar ideas were entirely overshadowed by the Ruthern’s prodigal and unrivalled skill with a blade under the tutelage of Duke Ruslan Baruch in his formative years. 

 

He enlisted in the Haeseni Royal Army alongside his future wife Princess Fenika, and thereafter remained a dedicated military man for the rest of his life, though in his earlier years he took an interest in penmanship under the Queen’s Council, and was a capable pianist as one of the first men in the Kongzem to own a piano. To the surprise of none, Ser Ailred excelled within the Army, and reached the rank of Sergeant before long, though he truly proved himself when he served as the security force on the treacherous Attenlund Expedition. When Lord Marshal Friedrich Barclay retired, King Heinrik II, impressed by Ser Ailred’s merit in the Attenlund and his skill in combat, promoted him as the next Lord Marshal, which soon coincided with his accession as Duke of Vidaus. Throughout his tenure, Ser Ailred distinguished himself as an influential figure, not only within the Haeseni Royal Army - which he reformed into the 3rd Brotherhood of Saint Karl - but also in the Kongzem’s politics. He was a founding member of the Ducal Union, alongside Duke Ruslan Baruch, Count Jan Kortrevich, Viscount Isaak Amador, and Baron Hildebrand Mondblume, which aimed to be a powerful political lobby that led reforms to the Royal Duma and, controversially, butted heads with the Lord Palatine Adrian Colborn over the matter of House Barclay’s ducal status, who King Heinrik II would consequently demote to a County, before the Union fell into disuse. 

 

Before too long into his tenure, the death of his wife in childbirth notoriously afflicted him with violent moodswings and periods of grief. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, he dedicated himself to his military work in leading the defence of the Kongzem during the Nachezer War - which saw his own home of Vidaus besieged during a ball - and later led Brotherhood troops south to assist the Sutican Loyalists in the Sutican Civil War, which was settled in a single, decisive battle for Haense and her alies. The Haelunorian War then occupied Steelheart’s attention after, following a string of slights, King Heinrik II issued an unanswered ultimatum to the Silver State before sending Ser Ailred to raid and harry them. Though the isle of Karinah’siol proved highly difficult to breach, Ser Ailred led several successful attacks that later forced the High Elves and their Savoyard protectors to sign the Silver Peace under King Sigismund III with highly favourable terms. 

 

Having achieved a great deal, Ser Ailred retired from his post in 398 E.S. | 1845 to instead serve as a Marian Knight, but when the War of the Wigs began after Emperor Philip II was overthrown in the south, Ser Ailred accepted the role as Field Marshal, using his unmatched skill and experience in military command to lead the Kongzem and her allies to victory in the Battle of Eastfleet and the Siege of Southbridge. 

 

After destroying the Orenians at Southbridge, a fleeing Orenian soldier fired an arrow into the Haeseni victors, killing Ser Ailred in a stroke of tragic misfortune. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER KARL AMADOR

THE HUMBLE

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XVI Knight Paramount

@giambro

369 E.S. -  Present  | 1816 A.H.  - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Heinrik II, and remembered as ‘the Humble’.

 

Born the second child of Lord Ramdir Amador, Ser Karl grew up as a close friend to the future King Sigismund III, forming part of a trio of friends with Lord Kaustantin Baruch, who would later become Lord Palatine. Though slightly older than the other boys, Karl played with and cared for them like an older brother. He first took up work as an assistant investigator in the Office of the Jusiticar under Lady Tatiana Kortrevich, with his first case being the attempted murder of Queen Annika Vyronov. Though Ser Karl suspected Ser Aleksandr Bihar was responsible, the investigation was dropped due to lack of proof, though Ser Karl came to know and learn a little from the Whisper Knight at the time.

 

As a young man, he was elected Grand Maer of Karosgrad, but he was best known for his appointment as the sixteenth Knight Paramount by King Heinrik II in the final years of the monarch’s reign. Ser Karl took a romantic interest in a Farfolk girl from Yong Ping, but later learned she was connected to a cult of Dark Mages and Undead. When he learned that the girl had died in a pirate raid and come back to life, he was targeted by the cult, who raided Karosgrad in an attempt to kill Ser Karl, but were instead cut down by the city’s garrison. 

 

Thereafter, he served as King Sigismund III’s Knight Paramount until he became disinterested in the Royal Court. He was honourably discharged by his dear friend, and took to tending his children and grandchildren in peace in the Amador lands.

 


 

V

THE BOGATYR PERIOD

bVWmtE73fhkzDRQpg1dUZlLB0HvrxgqNTThINDIGujSPgSa8eEfgxy-kWnglHw2t1JjA1tMJT4IAkMIma5gIxtW6kd3_wjYhxQN4HhocwSurdfKnmSPlH3yLwjF8OTK7gLddBDro

398 E.S. - PRESENT | 1845 A.H. - PRESENT

 

After years of careful nurturing since Ser Boris’ leadership, the Knight’s Table achieved strength and numbers.

 

When King Heinrik II abdicated to his son King Sigismund III, the new young monarch - who was famously known for his fascination with romanticised fables of Knights - sought to further build upon what the Knight Paramounts Ser Boris, Ser Alric, Ser Cedric, and Ser Karl had built by, in particular, borrowing from Raev mythos to shape the modern culture and creed of the Knight’s Table. After holding the role of Knight Paramount himself for a time following Ser Karl’s retirement, King Sigismund III issued the Kossar i Haenz reforms in 398 E.S. | 1845, which was dominantly influenced by Raev folklore, namely the Bogatyr of King Barbov the Black of ancient Ruska. 

 

During this Period, the Knight’s Table composed a group of trusted companions and advisors for King Sigismund III, and saw several cultural ceremonies being developed, such as the Drowning of the Blades ritual to appoint the Knight Paramount and the Steel Pledge election. Further into the Bogatyr Period, the King fully separated the Marian Retinue from the Knight’s Table so that they became devoted fully the duties of protecting the Crown rather than questing and taking squires, and instead officially replaced the Order of the Crow with the Knight’s Table itself, giving each of its Knights a numbered rank.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

SER ERWIN BISHOP

THE HEADHUNTER

Vn4AuN68S3S8Yvp9McoHkZjaX3PzsxKR2L7umxuBgyVG7yeUXTfYXrSqMBrvfWyMDirkMAq5gHufMab1y4Yjfvt-QNblN48f6Nb5wVrM-N5FFiDesqXzYH3geaTUuYZlPL77yArv

7th Knight of the Table

@Lomiei

371 E.S. -  Present  |  1818 A.H. - Present

_______________

 

Knighted by King Sigismund III, and remembered as ‘the Headhunter’.

 

Ser Erwin was born in Karosgrad to the Bishop family following their flight from the Orenian Empire after the Sedan Rebellion was defeated. Ser Erwin enlisted in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl, as did many other of the Sedan refugees, while his family settled as tenants to House Barclay in the Duchy of Reinmar before, following the death of his father, he became the head of his large family and began to aim at achieving nobility within the Kongzem. 

 

After Ser Erwin answered a letter of distress from Ser Reinhardt Barclay, who was left grievously wounded in the Staalmarsh swamp after slaying a Thorqal, he was permitted to join the Knight’s Table as a squire with the blessing of the Knight Paramount, Ser Karl Amador for his role in warding off another Thorqal from the wounded Ser Reinhardt as he was carried away in a boat. Thereafter, Ser Erwin completed his training under the tutelage of Ser Abraham Othan, and was knighted after his Quest to slay a beast that terrorised shepherds and farmers near the Orenian border. Ser Erwin is also remembered for his domestic work during this time, particularly as a legal advisor and ambassador to the Grand Kingdom of Urguan.

 

When the War of the Wigs broke out, Ser Erwin served in the campaign in Lower Petra that achieved resounding victories at the Battle of Eastfleet and the Siege of Southbridge against the Orenians. Shortly before the Siege of Haverlock, Ser Erwin travelled to the newly-established seat of Sedan with his friend - Lord Sigmar Mondblume - sell a grain shipment when a traitor in the city guard allowed an Orenian force to enter and arrest both Sigmar and Ser Erwin, who were then hanged without last rites. This cold-blooded execution prompted an extensive campaign of Haeseni revenge raiding on the Oren by Lord Marshal Johann Barclay and Ser Viktor Baruch. 

 


 

__________________________________________________

 

Edited by The Knights Table
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Ser August 'the Merciful' Barclay grinned as he'd skim through the atlas and over his deceased kin, Ser Brandt and Ser Wilheim.

"Eventually, Ich will be in this atlas; this ist ein work of art."

He'd state proudly to himself.

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Ser Abraham looks through this atlas of knights, humming in accordance.
 

"Mhm,  yep.. when I die, I will be the first Southeron to be in a knight of Haense. To say First Farfolk, seems unfair."

24 minutes ago, The Knights Table said:

Ser Karl took a romantic interest in a Farfolk girl from Yong Ping, but later learned she was connected to a cult of Dark Mages and Undead

 

    "What? No, no, this is false! Ser Karl slandered that girl and had her killed, probably because she loved him. What he did to her.. it drove her mad." Ser Abraham promptly shuts the knight's atlas, frowning. "To have such a falsehood in this Atlas, is a disgrace."

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1 hour ago, The Knights Table said:

rumoured she beat King Josef I himself in drinking contests. 

 

“This is no damn rumor!” a dame shouted from the seven skies, waving her Carrion Black around in anger.

 

 

Spoiler

great post 10/10 would read again

 

Edited by Eryane
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2 hours ago, The Knights Table said:

Ser Karl took a romantic interest in a Farfolk girl from Yong Ping, but later learned she was connected to a cult of Dark Mages and Undead. When he learned that the girl had died in a pirate raid and come back to life, he was targeted by the cult, who raided Karosgrad in an attempt to kill Ser Karl, but were instead cut down by the city’s garrison. 

A elves eye's grew wide as he read this "She did die...but not in the way one would think." he shivered re-calling her screams "They are dead now, so it's not like it matters..." he then moved to go lay down after dealing with a few issues that day

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2 hours ago, The Knights Table said:

After the second wedding of King Heinrik II, he abruptly vanished alongside the two Knights of the Vilac family.

 

"Oh dear Atlas, now why don't vy tell mea something Ea already didn't know. . ?" Snarked Dame Tavisha, sneering whilst reading that among other passages transcribed into the historical tome. A shame such peculiar bundle of informations had its advantages victimized by time; now though, there were direr cases to unravel, and clues this Knight did assemble.

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Ser Brandt Barclay smiles in the Seven Skies as he reads through the updated Atlas. As he goes through the list, the man bursts into chuckles. He had once again encountered the Moniker of Dame Maria, laughing like he had the first time he read it during his studies.

 

2 hours ago, The Knights Table said:

DAME MARIA PREUSSENS

THE VOLUPTOUS

 

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Ser Felipe “the Hyspian” grumbles in hell, having been left off the list of the original Knights of Bihar.

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7 hours ago, The Knights Table said:

The King’s sister - Princess Katerina - called upon Ser Aleksandr’s aid to flee the Kongzem following beatings from her brother, for which Ser Aleksandr was arrested briefly but shortly released. His hatred for the King intensified when he ordered the execution of his elder sister, the disowned princess Nataliya Reza, though he remained on the Knight’s Table during this period nonetheless.

 

When King Heinrik II’s second wife - Queen Annika - was stabbed during a masquerade ball, Ser Aleksandr was considered one of the primary suspects, though the investigation was abandoned when no proof could be obtained. As he grew older, the Whisper was honourably discharged and took to a reclusive retirement.

 

 

Father Katerina would be reading the pamphlet while enjoying a nice cup of hot tea. Her eyes tracing along the paper as she gave many nods to the different knights until she stumbled upon her uncle's mentions of his knighthood. The sip she had just taken proved badly as she spat it out when she read the paper mentioning what her brother Heinrik had done to her and her aunt.

 

"Well... I did niet expect that to be mentioned. I suppose they now do have the courage to write about my brother's madness and his cruelty so openly these days"

A small smirk however creeped on her lips upon the last bit mentioning him having been suspected of stabbing Annika.

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7 hours ago, GoodGuyMatt said:

Ser Brandt Barclay smiles in the Seven Skies as he reads through the updated Atlas. As he goes through the list, the man bursts into chuckles. He had once again encountered the Moniker of Dame Maria, laughing like he had the first time he read it during his studies.

 

 

Ser Wilheim, the aged progenitor of Brandt's line looks upon one of his grandsons as he shook his head at the moniker. "You know, son, she wasn't actually called that! She was called 'The Thick' back when I served with her...this is a revisionism!"

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Dame Primrose Kortrevich shared a drink that night in the Seven Skies with her fallen brothers and sisters in arms as they passed around a mysteriously acquired print of the Almanac.

"It is good to see they haven't yet forgotten us." The deceased knightess uttered as she read over the descriptions of those she used to fight beside before passing the parchment to her beloved father, Ser Nikolaus. "And that our blessed kingdom remains unwavering."

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Zodd casually reads through the Knight's Atlas, his gaze stopping at his own entry "A hermit, i see. Seems i'll need to have a word with my dear grandson."

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