Knights of the Six Moons

Moons is a chivalric order of elite soldiers that defend the Kingdom of Keb. Applicants come from all six of the Battle-Moons of Keb and the application & selection process is said to be as daunting as any Astartes initiation. Those who survive the ordeal must then spend 9 months in “The Womb”, an adamantium-clad fortress on the surface of Keb itself. This tiny outpost, which can hold no more than 50 soldiers at a time, is the only permanent Imperial bastion on the surface of Keb. While the key objective of The Knight of the Six Moons is to man the ancient bunker-fortress on Keb known as “The Womb”, they have many other roles. When not actively in service, Knights act as war leaders, generals, tacticians, and diplomats (resolving issues between the battle-moons).
==Training==
Knights of the order are extensively augmented and trained by all the forces of Keb as an exacting training regime, a symbol of solidarity between the moons, and a way to ritually understand all their allies and to understand what they are fighting for.
A knight receives assault training by a imperial duelist Maestro from the Blurder Noct collegio on behalf of Imperia Vosa, their vehicles and personal craft piloting skills are taught to them by the ace pilots of The Kingdom of Don (a course planned by a member of the Vanguard Space Marine chapter), their receive technical training and their equipment by the smiths of The Flaming Ronek, their creed and faith are bolstered by the priests of Gosalin City and they are blessed and outfitted with relics by the priests who live there, they receive their void ships and training from Ofania, and they are trained in tactics and the sciences by the scholars of Siven. Once fully trained they are the equal of any Astartes scout, even when fully equipped.
==Ranks==
===Questor===
“Only the Questor who seek death on Keb and find only life can live to be reborn.”
-Verses of the Six Moons, Chapter 6, Verse 1
Knights of the Six Moons are inducted from all walks of life but most commonly from some form of military service. Upon acceptance of their trials they are given the title of “Questor” and are addressed as nothing else until they have passed their trials. The exact nature of the quest they embark upon is unknown and varies but part of it always involves being tossed down onto the necron-infested planet Keb naked and alone and being told to seek out The Womb. They must then survive the remainder of whatever tour of duty is in progress, this way all Squires have served at least one tour of duty in The Womb.
===Squires===
“A Squire is reborn in The Womb. What emerges is no longer a man but a hero.”
-Verses of the Six Moons, Chapter 12, Verse 3
Once they have reached The Womb they are granted the title of “Squire of the Six Moons” and may then retire to seek their fortunes elsewhere if they wish after their first tour of duty. Squires are sought-after soldiers and many will take the trials merely to achieve this title. Those squires who serve a knight in battle in hopes of becoming a full Knights of the Order are informally known as “Squire-Aspirants”. Squires who do not wish to progress further are informally known as “Reserve-Squires”.
Reserve-Squires
“The duty of a Knight is honor; honor comes in many ways, not merely at the tip of a power sword.”
-Verses of the Six Moons, Chapter 32, Verse 3
Officers who have disgraced themselves or who have felt that they are stuck in the hierarchy seek to become squires to bolster their careers, though few survive the ordeal. Squires are effectively a noble class unto themselves and there is a fraternity among squires that transcends class and battle-moon. A squire is technically permanently seeking a Knight of the Order to serve but there is an informal understanding that Knights only ask for the service of those squires who actually want to progress within the Order. Squires who achieve great things are sometimes retroactively claimed by a knight (often the Knight Commander) after death and elevated to the rank of knighthood.
====Squire-Aspirants====
“The duty of a Knight is to aspire; they must be greater today than they were in the eyes of the Emperor yesterday.”
-Verses of the Six Moons, Chapter 32, Verse 4
A Squire-Aspirant is an activity duty soldier employed by the Order of Six Moons who has entered into the service of a knight. A knight may accept multiple squires and they form the basis for their squads. Squires are (supposed to be) totally loyal to their knight, their dedication to them only second to their service to The Emperor, and only when their Knight deems them ready may they be given the honor of knighthood. This is often given after a number of tours of duty in The Womb, though service elsewhere may qualify them.
===Knights===
“A Knight's duty is to die, in their own time, for a cause greater than themsevles.”
-Verses of the Six Moons, Chapter 32, Verse 5
A Knight is a full member of the order and their ascension is cause for celebration. A Knight is given a title that confers holdings upon them on their Battle-Moon. They are expected to be involved in inter-Moon politics, remaining neutral despite their place of birth, and to lead forces when appropriate. Once knighted one can never retire and
====Holdings====
The exact nature of what constitutes a “holding” on each Battle-Moon varies.
*Imperia Vosa: A grant of land.
*The Kingdom of Don: A grant of land.
*The Flaming Ronek: A grant of land.
*Gosalin City: An estate within the city center. There are technically a limited number of these villas within the city’s center but there have never been enough Knights from Gosalin to warrant concern. When a knight dies their estate is ritually sold to the Order so the knight’s family may receive a windfall. The Order then ritually sells it to the next Knight of Gosalin.
*Ofania: A large farming facility and manor house. They are expected to subcontract to locals who work it and provide a tithe to their Knight. Sometimes, in lieu of this (as such land is not often available) their are given a void ship of their own.
*Siven: Strangest of all a Knight from Siven is given an estate on Neo-Jericho. Some see this as lending credence to the theory that the Sivenites are a lost group of Jerionites, though the story is far stranger. A Knight of the Order from Siven named Sir Ira Mond took pity on a traveling band of Jerionites and offered to shelter him on his estate while they passed through the Keb System. His kindness was never forgotten so now they offer Knight of Siven a place on Neo-Jericho in exchange for the time he sheltered them.
====Knight-Bachelors====
A newly promoted knight has no squires in their service and thus are known in the Order as “Knight-Bachelors” as they do not represent a significant force without squires. While most Knight-Bachelors are newly promoted, some choose to not take on squires for various reasons. These are sometimes known as “Knight-Errants”.
===Knight-Captains===
Distinguished knights are sometimes promoted to the rank of “Knight-Captain”. There are only ever a half dozen or less Knight-Captains in service at any given point and they oversee the forces located in The Womb. They are senior knights with a dozen tours of duty under their belt who understand the surface of Keb and the Necrons who live there almost as well as they know their holy canticles and wargear. Knight-Captains selected another senior knight, often one who aspires to be a Knight-Captain or a trusted friend, serves as their Lieutenant while in The Womb in case they should be killed in action.
===Knight-Commander===
The supreme leader of The Order of Six Moons holds the rank of Knight-Commander. They marshal all forces available to the Order. A Knight-Commander does not actually serve in The Womb anymore and instead recites in The Heart of Keb, a sanctum within Gosalin City, where they regularly advise the Imperial Governor-General on matters of warfare.
==Seconding==
The training conferred upon a Knight is supremely valuable to many organizations in the Imperium. Because of this Knights are often snapped up by other organizations. However, due to oaths taken by Knights they must always serve Keb and this creates a conflict of loyalties within the individual. To allow Knights to serve elsewhere, all Knights of Six Moons who leave the Keb System are technically “seconded” to another force and must return every decade or two (it varies and is a contract made between the Order and the organization they second them to) to do a tour of service in The Womb.
*Adeptus Astartes: Knights who are young enough are regularly seconded to a Space Marine chapter. Such applicants are rare (as they need to be between 16-18) but Keb is blessed with an abundance of heroes. Young knights are famously snapped up by chapters like the Dark Angels, the Royal Marines, the Vanguards (particularly if they originate from The Kingdom of Don) and the Star Marshals.
*Imperial Duelists: Knights who hail from the Blurder Noct Imperial Duelist collegio are more common than one would expect: the harsh training regime of an Imperial Duelist combined with the brutal discipline of the Blurder Noct collegio gives a Questor a good chance to succeed in reaching The Womb. Many Blurder Noct Dons and Donnas are also Reserve-Squires; they undertake the trial to earn enough respect to become a Maestro. Few actually become Knights and those that do must navigate their duty both as a Maestro running a training facility and as a Knight. Blurder Noct Maestros who achieve knighthood are called “Schwarze Klingen” (Black Blades) and are among the most feared martial fighters in the Imperium, not even excluding Space Marines. In fact during the Indominus Crusade Maestro Zara Strecker is said to have slain a captain of the Blades Eternal in a duel and her Armigner squad was noted as being more than a match for one of their tactical squads.
*Imperial Guard: Knights exist outside the Imperial Guard but all military forces are subject to the edicts of Terra. Warmasters have seconded knights and their retinues of squires many times and Keb is happy to oblige when called upon to support the Imperium at large.
Category:Imperium of Man
Category:Keb
Category:Koronus Expanse