“Here lies a threshold on whose ash the ordeal of those chosen by the Titan are perpetuated.
His sculpted majesty watches us, renitent, from on high, but it is the relief of the ash
that dictates who is worthy of passing under its adorned arch.”
The Knights of Ash
‡ Founding ‡
"When Azdromoth returned unto his flock many centuries past, the venturing Azdrazi fell upon the ashen carcasses of ancient Horenic knights at the foot of their Farther's black ziggurat. Seals of prayers abounded the rusted armor of these pilgrim-knights, who'd found death in their relentless pursuit for the gift that was the reverence of dragons - and through it, a burning enlightenment." — The An-Gho
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The members of the Adar sin Ylir-Salar bear the dust of olden vows upon their brows. Known colloquially as the Ash-Knights, they trace their lineage back to the dragon-worshiping warriors of ancient Oren. The devout who once bent their knees and swords to the King Who Is, Azdromoth. Anointed with their sacred cremains, the ash knights’ troth is hence of a piece; to carry forward the sworn oaths and pledges made in days past – rekindled now, and born anew with the advent of the new Order as the Titan and his Prophet prescribeth.
They are comprised of those devoted to Azdromoth and his divine gift; through birth, markings, or mere faith. The foremost duty of this order is to act out deeds of valor in the Titans’s name, and to aid the realms of descendant kind. They carry the ashen remains of Nephilim and heralds alike – the charred, leaden fragments of their kith and kin who once strode the earth with purpose and fire. They are charged with protecting such hallow remnants with their very lives, for they are sacred. Ash to these mendicant knights is the culmination of all things and eventuality. It is the symbol of sacrifice, worthy of benefaction. A notion that one dusted in ash understands well, for it is the Ylir-Salar’s own hands that are burdened with the cremation of the fallen.
Whether Nephilim, heralded, or even unmarked, all knights of the order bear equal standing amongst one another, all adhering to those commandments splayed by the An-Gho, all tantamount under them. It is so long as the knight maintains his reverence of ash, no matter how bleak the world may become. It is so long as the dusted one upholds his knightly vows whilst traveling hither and yon in the spread of good deeds and the preaching of His name, no matter the cruelty they endure from lesser men. For fate, in the eyes of the Ylir-Salar, is no fixed thing; destiny, though inevitable, is also malleable. Each Ash-Knight works to produce the vision of the future that both the An-Gho and they desire, and to slow the work of the Shadow.
They are both warriors and wayfarers, and thus must learn how to live with the pangs of pain and aches of broken bones and the scars that mark their scale and flesh. For these trials and inklings are as much a part of knighthood as one’s sword and shield.
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“Ours is a devotion inscribed in scars, inked by pain. We offer the Titan
our hearts, our courage, our steel. We seek his light, his love, we take
him as King. First in thought, first in action”
Azdromoth’s Commandments
‡ Olde Precept ‡
The eclipse has blanketed the world. The sun was smothered with the blissful fires of the Titan, enveloped and enthralled by the blest ash and cinder of Azdromoth. From that baptism of flame emerged a new King – suspended and bound by a new Order. The age heralded rebirth; and the King Who Is, the Twinning Serpent, the Ouroboros, the New Wheel that encircles the eye, stood as the beacon of what was to come.
His is a new mantle, the God of Fate, the God of Conviction. His Order does not reject, does not constrain; instead, it grants freedom within Fate. With such a coming of a new age, so too must one turn upon themselves and be rekindled, forged a new in the fresh flame. Thence are these commandments given so, that the old be cleansed and the new ushered forth, guiding them into an era shaped by the will of their Father, whence the past is reborn and the future wrought in its light.
“In fire will you find the truth of all things, and seek out the movements of all souls. In ash, will you find the inevitability of all things living and dead. Thus, you shall seek out the elevation of mind and body through your journeys, and so give worship to the fire within you, and the ash you will one day be.”
“Let us grant wisdom to all living, and within
that wisdom Asioth. Grieve Dragur, the dreaming
God of knowing, who, in the pursuit and spread
of knowledge, is revered. He is the Father of all things Dragon, and his body is reflected in every book and every thought - cherish them as sacred.”
“With our black steel let us guard them from the
iniquities of this world. With our fire, let us be their
morning, and so ensure they live another day. There is
both light and dark, and in fire are they confounded. Every
case of justice set before you will never be black and white.
Through Asioth, you shall set it right.”
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These three tenets bind those of the Order. Sacred and bestowed by the An-Gho, each commandment must be heeded by all within the Adar sin Ylir-Salar, whether page, squire or Ash-Knight alike. Let the ways of those who judged the sons and daughters of the King despicable ring hollow, for the time for requital had passed. Let there be no doubt as to why they raised their swords aflame, with inclinations far more noble than those who named them vile and blasphemous — as they bestowed bounteousness untold. For no longer did they call for ruin; nigh was the time of absolution. Nigh was the time of Conviction and Fate.
Rank & Ritual
‡ Ordinance ‡
It is said that every knight of the ashen order stands on equal footing with his brethren, no matter their ilk or origin. Even those who bear not the mantle of herald may yet earn this esteemed title. Yet to achieve such a standard is no simple feat. Many a seeker may serve as pages or squires, yet only few are chosen to bear the mantle of Ylir-Salar. To be chosen for such an honor, one must be handpicked by the masters of the order, or by the An-Gho himself. By one’s scars and deeds shall they be judged. By one’s way of death shall they be known. There is purity of purpose in the cause of the just, thus fear not obliteration, for it awaits us all.
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May Your Sword Never Be Cleaned -
The knights of ash uphold a sacred notion; to never cleanse their swords of ichor, thus concealing nothing. As one washes away the blood from stained hands to forget a murder, so too would they attempt to wash away the guilt from their blade. It is not so with a Ylir-Salar. They allow for their swords to remain as they are; rusted red, bespeaking necessary acts of brutality. In such a manner, needless killing is discouraged as each stain is a reminder of the weight of life taken and the holiness in such violent deeds. Though weapons and armor may be repaired, it must be done with reverence, ensuring that the sacredness of ichor is preserved.
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May You Revere The Ash At Your Feet -
Ash. What was, what is, and what shall be; the destiny of all things, the endless dust of the universe. To become an Ash Knight is to grasp this truth and grasp it well - to know that ash is the culmination of all that exists and the finality of all. It is the symbol of sacrifice, one worth no less of reverence. A Ylir-Salar must not shy away from such a notion, nor must it ever become a thing he comes to fear. In lieu, it must be a constant companion as members of the order dust themselves, their armaments, and their garbs in memory of all that has come afore. It must become a cause worthy of sacrificing oneself for, and so it is that the ash knight's hands are made worthy to burn away the remains of his kith and kin as they pray unto them.
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May You Know Fire -
Fire is both creation and destruction; it casts both light and shadow, a force that forges as it consumes. To wield flame as a knight of ash is to grasp its contradiction - how it may give birth to life even as it reduces all to cinder. It must serve as a font of solace and relief to those in need, akin to the comforting warmth of a campfire or the guiding luminescence of a torch that leads those lost back onto the path. Unto the degenerate, the accursed darkspawn, it is a scalding flame, righteous in its consumption and wrath, razing in a fury that mirrors the malice that flows within their own tainted hearts. Hate flows easily in their presence, and so do the ash knight's fires.
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May You Uphold Vows of Honor -
Honor is a word as slippery as sin, elusive and difficult to grasp. For the Ash knight, honor embodies one's alignment with their own Asioth, a reflection of their existence in harmony with Creation, not against it - a singular entity amidst multitude. None suffer unrighteously, and hesitation finds no place in the drawing of a sword or its swing. Faithfulness and loyalty to the order of Ash-Knights and the ideals of Alemdrom, alongside the Nephilim people, their kith, and their kin, are upheld without fail. Their Asioth is carried wherever the tread, and homage is paid to Azdromoth, Dragur, and the solitary being that is God, in whom all things are found. In their hearts, charity, ambition, forgiveness, and valiance burn brightly, like the sun that guides their way.
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There are no prescribed trials upon the path to becoming Ylir-Salar. A man must first join the order of Tor'Praeth, to serve as page and squire, laboring beneath the watchful eyes of his betters. It is by his deeds alone that he may rise—if rise he ever does, for the ascent is a perilous one, deemed nigh impossible by some. An honorable death may be met before ever attaining such a title. Yet for those who do ascend, they are anointed. Their hearts now filled with Asioth, emboldened by the ash of those long fallen. They stand as living embers, their flame burning all the brighter for the world to bear witness, singing songs of fire to light the path for those yet to come.
Codicil
‡ Beyond Aspersion ‡
Within the realm of man, corruption takes many forms. While melodramatic plays delight the nobles of luxurious cities with tales of hideous mutants and mustache twirling villains, the truth is far more insidious and far more terrible. The followers of the darkness can cloak their evil behind smiling faces and noble deeds, preaching in soothing tones the values of brotherhood and peace. And they can just as easily assume forms that defy comprehension, festering malignant power within the darkest depths of descendant civilization.
The dark promises redemption, freedom, power, and the fulfillment of every desire. It crosses all social barriers, penetrates into the hearts and minds of the most devout, and devours all it touches. So abhorrent is darkness to the soul of the descendants that even when presented with incontrovertible evidence that this insidious force exists, a man will strive to deny it. Clinging to the hope of some other explanation, some other justification. It is this wanton disbelief that allows the greatest cults to form and thrive.
To fight such baleful forces, one must embrace the power of certainty. Of conviction, as did the Father who art in heaven — to know without a shred of doubt that whatever actions they take, no matter how vile and outwardly evil they might appear, are done in the service of a higher good.
There are few men and women who can bring themselves to put kith and kin, corrupted by darkness, to the mercy of the sword. Fewer still can ignore the false cries of burning men and women, twisted by the same corruption. But those who do have earned a great esteem. The most triumphant among them, though they may pale in comparison to their fallen forebears, still rise to meet that legacy — to revere the ash. Those who have supped from the dust of the past and survived are noble in spirit, honorable in manner, fierce in battle, and worthy of the title: Knight of Ash.
The peoples of this world may never truly grasp this reality, may shrink from their horns, and still harbor hatred for forgotten transgressions. Yet it is certain: they stand cleansed. The bonds that once gripped their souls, darkened their forms, and twisted their deeds into evil have been cast aside, the burden of those chains no longer theirs to bear.
In the greatest cities and deepest forests of the realm, every aspect of the ruinous powers work in the shadows to destroy the power of mankind. Yet the shadows are not the dominion of evil alone. From darkness can spring light. This is a fact that even those most wholly consumed by the chaos of evil must remember, no matter how secluded their gatherings or how hidden their plots. All those who have betrayed descendant-kind in the service of the dark forces are not above the fear that one day, a stranger will emerge from the darkness, bringing with them faith, steel, and fire.
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Credits:
Jentos - Writing, Consultation
Meow - Writing
Satinkira - Consultation
Karim - Writing, Formatting
