Knights of the Nine (Faction)

The Knights of the Nine are a religious faction located in Cyrodiil. The order plays a significant role in DLC named after the faction itself.
==History==
Pelinal Whitestrake was champion to Saint Alessia, granted by Kynareth.The Song of Pelinal, Book III He was sent to aid the Slave-Queen in her uprising against the Ayleid. It was Pelinal who struck down the sorcerer-king Umaril the Unfeathered. However, Umaril's spirit survived and was bound to Oblivion. Pelinal was killed by the remaining Ayleid kings.The Song of Pelinal, Book VII Before he died, he spoke to Morihaus the winged-bull, Alessia's lover, warning of Umaril's survival and his imminent return.The Adabal-a Afterwards, Pelinal's weapons and armor, otherwise known as the Relics of the Crusader, were lost for thousands of years.The Knights of the Nine
The Knights of the Nine was founded in 3E 111, when Sir Amiel Lannus returned from the War of the Isle, and intended to find the Crusader’s Relics in order to preserve them.Dialogue with Sir Amiel Lannus
The Knights gained fame after they slayed the Wyrm of Elynglenn to recover the Cuirass of the Crusader, and more sought to join the faction. After Berich Vlindrel, a man descended of one of the noble Colovian families, joined them, the order gained even more renown. Three more Relics were recovered around the same time. After Sir Amiel began to wear the Cuirass into battle, Sir Casimir favored the Gauntlets of the Crusader as his own, taking responsibility as the one to recover it, and so did Sir Berich with the Sword and Greaves.Sir Amiel's Journal
Ten years later, the War of the Red Diamond began. Because the Knights had come from notable families across the Empire, they left to fight on either side of the war. Sir Berich was first to leave, claiming the Sword and Greaves as his own to take into battle. Sir Amiel tried to stop him, but Berich left for the war and never returned to the order. 
After the war, Sir Berich slew Sir Caius. He would later turn to evil, causing his wraith to haunt his tomb in Underpall Cave, slaying any unwanted visitors seeking the Relics, with the same Sword that became corrupted by Lord Berich Vlindrel's curse. Sir Henrik took the Shield of the Crusader into Fort Bulwark, a massive fort made especially to protect the Shield from those who would misuse it. He died protecting it from invaders.Dialogue with Sir Henrik The Mace and Boots, however, were never recovered by the Knights. Sir Ralvas constantly tried to obtain the Mace, but he could not without being able to "walk in the faith." He tried many times, never able to cross the chasm that separated him and the Mace. He went for days, refusing all food and drink, and died soon after.Dialogue with Sir Ralvas Sir Juncan looked to recover the Boots, but died before he could reach them. Sir Casimir also fell from on high; when he slew a beggar in the Chapel of Chorrol in cold blood. The Gauntlets of the Crusader he wielded fell from his hands; heavy with the sin he had committed. Then he was blasted with a curse that affected him and all his lineage with the loss of stamina, a curse still affecting his bloodline generations later.Events of "Stendarr's Mercy" The rest of the Knights, Sir Gregory and Sir Torolf, went into war, only to die there.
The war ended in 3E 127. Four years later, the Knights of the Nine was officially disbanded by Imperial decree. Sir Berich had fought for Cephorus Septim, who had defeated Potema Septim and became Emperor. He may have been the one behind the decree, though Sir Amiel did not blame him. The knightly order had been fracturing since the beginning of the War of the Red Diamond.
Sir Amiel, in all of this, was the last one to fall. He tried to keep the Knights together. He and Sir Casimir were the ones to return the bodies to the Priory of the Nine. Then, in one last attempt to try to obtain the last Relic that they had not attempted to recover, he set off. Old and weak, he managed to get very close, but died within sight of the Helm of the Crusader. His bones still sit in the cavern, undisturbed.The Shrine of the Crusader
==Reorganization==
In 3E 433, Umaril the Unfeathered returned and began desecrating the Chapels of the Nine. The Hero of Kvatch met a Prophet outside Anvil's Chapel of Dibella. Believing them to be the next crusader, the Prophet sent the hero off to visit the wayshrines of the Nine Divines. The Hero managed to collect all eight Relics of the Crusader and lead the Knights against Umaril, defeating him in both the Ayleid Ruin of Garlas Malatar and his Oblivion plane, destroying him for good.
==Priory of the Nine==
The Priory of the Nine in southern West Weald is the base of operations for the Knights. The Priory has a main building, a stable, and a chapel. There is also a small garden, a horse stable with three horses, and an archery area on the grounds. Once the Crusader's relics are obtained, they do not need to be repaired by hand. Simply place the relics on the armor rack in the basement and they will be restored to full strength. However, if heavy armor, armorer, and endurance are at 100, all further repairs to the Relics of the Crusader will be set back from 125 to 100 when placing them back on the armor rack.
==Quests==
The Knights of the Nine quest line involves several quests. The quest line generally follows this order. However, in order to complete "The Path of the Righteous," the quest "Nature's Fury" must first be completed to obtain the Boots of the Crusader.
*Pilgrimage
*The Shrine of the Crusader
*Priory of the Nine
**Nature's Fury
**The Path of the Righteous
**Stendarr's Mercy
**Wisdom of the Ages
*The Faithful Squire
*The Sword of the Crusader
*The Blessing of Talos
*Umaril the Unfeathered
==Members==
===New members===
These people must be accepted into the Knights of the Nine before they become members.
*Areldur – from the Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol
*Avita Vesnia – from the Shrine of Kynareth in the Great Forest
*Brellin – joins the Knights' cause near the finale of the quest
*Carodus – from The Great Chapel of Zenithar in Leyawiin
*Geimund – from Skyrim and brother of Gukimir
*Gukimir – from Skyrim and brother of Geimund
*Lathon – Squire of Sir Roderic; returns the Greaves and the location of the Sword.
*Sir Thedret – prisoner of Conjurers in Fort Bulwark
*Sergius Turranius – a smith who repairs weapons and armor in the basement of the Priory of the Nine.
*Knight of the Nine – generic unit that replaces any of the knights that die.
===Preexisting members===
After they have been defeated, their graves can be prayed at for a blessing from each of the Nine Divines.
*Sir Amiel Lannus
*Sir Berich – Does not have a grave. He must be defeated in the quest "The Sword of the Crusader."
*Sir Caius
*Sir Casimir
*Sir Gregory
*Sir Henrik
*Sir Juncan
*Sir Ralvas
*Sir Torolf
==Ranks==
Pilgrim	Knight Errant	Knight Commander	Divine Crusader
==Expulsion==
There is no expulsion from the Knights of the Nine but if infamy increases to a value of two the Relics of the Crusader can no longer be used. This message will display:
:You are unable to equip the holy armor. Walk the Pilgrim's Way to repent of your sins and once again seek the favor of the gods.
To regain the privilege to wear the armor, one must walk the Pilgrim's Way again. When the Way has been completed, the infamy is reduced to 0 and the Crusader's relics can be wielded again.
*On the PC version, it is possible to open the console and type "setpcinfamy 0" to instantly zero out the infamy level and wear the armor of the crusader.
*If the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal is equipped while wearing Relics of the Crusader, the infamy will instantly raise to 100, plus any other infamy added while wearing the mask, and all holy armor pieces will be instantly unequipped. However, unequipping the Gray Cowl will remedy the problem because the player character and the Gray Fox are separate identities.
==Trivia==
*It is possible that the Knights of the Eight were the "original" Knights of the Nine, prior to Talos becoming a Divine.
*It is unknown what happened to the Knights of the Nine after the Great War and the ban on Talos worship.
==References==
de:Ritter der Neun
es:Caballeros de los Nueve (facción)
fr:Chevaliers des Neuf (Faction)
pl:Rycerze Dziewiątki
ru:Орден Рыцарей Девяти
Category:Knights of the Nine: Knights of the Nine
Category:Knightly Orders
Category:Knights of the Nine: Factions
Category:Oblivion: Factions
Category:Articles Needing Citation
Category:Lore: Factions