Knights/Knights of the Thorn

The Knights of the Thorn are a chivalrous order dedicated to the protection of Cheydinhal, in Cyrodiil. They own a lodge just outside the city gates. The order's crest is a sword enveloped in thorns; thorns are also symbolically related to the Indarys family. Every member of the order wears a special medallion, and are typically outfitted with steel shields emblazoned with their coat-of-arms.
== History[edit] ==
The Knights were founded as an amateur order in 3E 431 by Farwil Indarys, the son of Count Andel Indarys. The group were considered by the town guard to be nothing more than a glorified club, and by many of the town's citizens to be only Farwil's drinking buddies, as they were arrogant and rarely performed any noteworthy deeds.
In 3E 433, a Redguard knight named Pyke learned of a strange portal which had appeared in Niben Bay. Perceiving it as a threat, he departed to investigate. The portal was a door to the Shivering Isles, which had been opened by Sheogorath in search of a mortal champion. Pyke passed into the Isles and began wandering the realm. Having apparently not succumbed to madness, he eventually settled in the village of Hale, where he fell in love and decided to never return to Cyrodiil. He contracted the Champion of Cyrodiil with retrieving his lost Knights of the Thorn medallion, and in return he gave the Champion the Thorn Shield, an enchanted steel shield.
During the Oblivion Crisis, an Oblivion gate was opened right beside the Knights of the Thorn Headquarters outside Cheydinhal. Count Andel Indarys tasked the Champion of Cyrodiil with entering the gate to rescue Farwil and six other knights who had foolheartedly stormed the portal. The Champion led Farwil and a knight named Bremman Senyan into the Citadel to remove the Sigil Stone and close the Gate. Consequently, Farwil made the Champion an honorary Knight of the Thorn, and the story was published in a special edition of the Black Horse Courier. By the end of the Third Era, only four Knights remained: Farwil, Bremman, the Champion, and a knight named Jhared Strongblade who had stayed behind.
In 4E 48, the Knights of the Thorn, led by Ilver Indarys, aided the city guard and the Imperial Legion in evacuating citizens when the floating city of Umbriel passed over Cheydinhal and the city itself was besieged by wormies, Umbriel's undead minions. Riding barded horses, the twenty knights escorted the citizens along the Blue Road towards the Imperial City. They saved two legionnaires, Mazgar gra-Yagash and Brennus, from the wormies when the two were driven away from the road.