The Radiant Path of Malchediael

[Wizry 1222]

 

The Radiant Path of Malchediael

Righteous Soldier, know this;

In the lone light within the darkness, it shines brighter than unnumbered suns.

No greater than what the wick of a candle may allow.

But to eyes within the dark, it is the most terrifying thing to behold.

For what reason?

It means that the fight has not yet ended.

 

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Origin:

In the fall of the Aengul of Order & Guardianship, Xan, the Templars of Malcehdiael found their very nature at odds with many that they once called comrades in Malchediael’s War. Their Numendain, Reinmarian, and Oyashi allies began to centralise their loose confederation of Templars into a stricter military discipline - much along the ideas of the broken and dead Paladin-sects. This issued a threat to the Wanderers - for their very way of life & their very nature was now seen as a novelty of the past before the Ascension of the Titan. 

 

They tarred and tarried, some of them choosing to join the stricter Orders, others ignoring them in favour of adventuring outwards into the wider world - allowing Victor’s Justice to choose if this centralisation effort would succeed. However, the Templars that followed the Daelish Templar, Cathan, chose to coalesce then - in a looser form of an organisation that would defend them from slanders when necessary. 

 

The Templar Order that the Daelish built then was an Order to allow for the glory-seekers who would embody Malchediael’s War and Dogmas. For the Order would never be sedentary and never be bound by a head, nor asked to war fully as one body - lest the whole of the world was in such dire need. Their members would wander in search of Courage in the lands of the Descendants, their members would war Ruin and the Void where they found it, and their members would be found everywhere as an inspiration to the Descendants that lost their Aengul of Guardianship. This Order was called the ‘Radiant Path’ - a trend different from the centralisations that were occurring elsewhere.

 

 

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Vision:

The Vision of the Radiant Path is a lofty vision. Unlike that of the Fallen Xannites or the Clerics of old, they do not seek an unending war against Ruin and the Void, but a finite war with a known victor. In that victory, should Malchediael be victorious, the world would be remade in His vision - one where the Strong defended the Weak, with deceit and cowardice eliminated from the World.

It is, however, in the present that the vision of the Radiant Path persists to inspire all Descendants to be capable of acts of courage to drive evil from one another and from this world, unrelying on the Aenguldaemonica to do so. Xan’s Fall had shown the Templars the follies of never honing one’s skill with a blade and trusting that their magic would easily lend to victory. 

Afterall, the Azdrazi had changed fate from their inevitable destruction at the hands of the Dragonslayer by merely using their resources to their utmost advantage. What could the followers of Malchediael do, if they did the same?

 

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Tenets:

While the Dogmas are well-understood between all of the Templars, there is a very particular strictness that is espoused. This espouse is an ideal to be achieved by the Wanderers who are unbound by nation, for they have no other bindings. Some may fail, some may succeed - but the Wanderers are only Descendants at the end of the day, and so these simply are things to aspire towards.

 

I. Maintain virtuous oaths and bonds.

To maintain virtuosity is more than keeping to your words and relations. It means that your words and bonds with others are unbreakable as they are what ties the Wandering Templar to the land and people despite their heavenly blessing. To break them, any of them, is the greatest disgrace to the Wanderer for it casts off their mortal bindings.

 

II. Accept any challenge laid before you.

To accept any challenge is more than accepting combat at its beck and call. It is the call to arms for the Wanderer to defend the Weak against cruelty from another, deceit from another, or the Dark - ever encroaching since the Fall of Xan.

 

III. Settle disputes before they fester.

To settle disputes before they fester falls hand in hand with the second Dogma. It means that the Wanderer must act, that they cannot sit still. They can never simply allow the dispute to ‘be’, for that allows Ruin to grow.

 

IV. Vanquish those who transgress upon others.

To defend the innocent is a part of the Wanderer’s sacred oaths. Women, children, and those who have done no wrong - the Wanderer must defend against those that would transgress against them.

 

V. Raise one’s weapon in the pursuit of glory - not wealth.

The Wanderers must wander at all costs to pursue the death of Ruin and the Void with no want for reward, as they must venture towards the end of both with no hope for praise.

 

 

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Traditions:

To wander is the past, present, and future of the decentralised Order. The traditions thereof are to maintain the connection of the Radiant Path’s Templars to their tenets and fellows.

 

Connection is to be done within areas of great battle with the first connected of the Radiant Path being done within the fallen Xannic Keep after the Apotheosis of Azdromoth to the Heavens. The legacy of that battle is to be recited  before the aspirant is requested if they will follow the tenets forevermore. Upon their agreement, the mentor then declares the aspirant worthy with the name of the Aengul and his Domain, igniting the soul.

 

Recognition is to be done at the wish of a Wandering Templar, anointed by candles at the area of great battle or great courage. If a specific individual is to be recognised, a small effigy in hay is to be made of them, with an oral telling spread to the nearest settlement.

 

Death is the final tradition, done by those who come after the Templar. At the site of their greatest renown, a permanent, brazen bonfire is to be lit there, and a campsite adorned around that brazen bonfire in the style of the Templar that it is dedicated to. An effigy lays near the bonfire of the Malchediaelite, forever remembered.

 

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Connection:

To be connected as a soldier of Malchediael is a grand thing, for it is the donation of the descendant’s soul to an effort that will long since exhaust the life-spans of even the longest-lived elves. As a result, there are four trials that a hopeful of the Radiant Path must succeed through.

 

1. Each hopeful must surrender something of themselves - most preferably social standing, such as Nobility - to join as a wanderer of Malchediael.
2. Each hopeful must research the Dogmas of Malchediael throughout the histories of one nation of each of the descendants. 
3. Each hopeful must record three of those who have succeeded in performing to the Dogmas’ requirements, while making a name for themselves in the nations that they are recording from. Each of those recorded must be from a different race.
4. Each hopeful must bring a trophy from one cursed from Iblees by killing them. The trophy is up to them.

 

 

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Disconnection:

To be disconnected is the recognition of a craven rat within the ranks of Malchediael’s army of Heroes - and is handled with utmost seriousness. While Victor's Justice is how a Templar disconnects another, it must be approved by the mentor of the accused. It is in only the most serious of treasons that they may be ignored, such as consorting with the demonic, aiding those of Ruin, or permitting the craven to rule unabated. Doing an unapproved disconnection in non-extreme cases results in suspicion of Ruin’s influence in the challenger - for who else would so obfuscate the honour of Malchediael in denying the validity of the Justice to be interrogated but the Archenemy himself? 

 

If the duel goes through and succeeds, the disconnected will be cast out of the Order with a brand upon their scalp.

 

Edited October 17, 2024 by Wizry