The Whytehold Guardians

"And out they rode, all eight of them, to face the great peril. There was calm Sir Conrad, resplendent Lady Reinhilde, bullish Sir Bertram, irascible Sir Isidor, virtuous Sir Vladovid, lion-hearted Sir Lancel, and undaunted Sir Ulrich, by the king's side as always. And at their head, of course, the King himself; shining, saintly, yet solemn, Solas Sorrowsong" - excerpt from Winfried Erzähler's poem; The White King's Hunt,
The Whytehold Guardians were a traditional order of knights within the Kingdom of Whytehold. They were founded by the White King himself, and the original seven members are legendary figures within Whyteholder myths and traditions.
The Guardians took in squires, and taught them everything they knew. Only when knighted by a Guardian, and pledging themselves to this duty did a knight truly become a Whytehold Guardian.
Over many years, the number of true Guardians thinned, as many were killed, didn't take squires, or gave up their duty.
The last ever true Whytehold Guardian was General Talon Austermark, Leader of the city-state before the Two Revolutions, where he was killed by Nikovid Von Karstein.
== History ==
=== Origin ===
The Guardians were formed in 7.23 by the White King, Solas Sorrowsong. According to legend, he scoured the lands for months looking for all the greatest knights. There are individual stories for how he encountered each knight, usually after they proved themselves worthy to him.
The founding members were: Sir Ulrich Kaldermann (The King's Knight), Sir Lancel Weisenburg (Knight of Gallantry), Sir Vladovid Geltrich (Knight of Truth), Sir Isidor Reinvich (The Fire Bird), Sir Bertram Kaddenstein (The Stone Shield), Lady Reinhilde Valimarr (The Sky Spear), and Sir Conrad Eisenwulf (The Ice Wolf).
The White King revealed to these knights that he did not expect to rule Whytehold forever, and wished for the knights to rule the kingdom after he either abdicated or died. However, they did not all survive to see the White King eventually abdicate, and most fell prior to this due to foolishness, infighting, or foes who were simply too powerful.
For many years, the Guardians went on many quests and adventures, if the legends are to be believed. The most reliable source of tales are the writings of Winfried Erzähler, a bard and storyteller who lived at the time, though he had a tendency to exaggerate.
=== A Misadventure of Ice and Fire ===
The Whytehold Guardians usually traveled in pairs or threes, and only fought all together when facing the greatest threats. Erzähler's "A Misadventure of Ice and Fire" describes how an unlikely series of events lead to Sir Isidor and Sir Conrad going on a quest together, and this event marks a turning point in the lives of the Guardians.
The Misadventure occured many years after the founding of the Whytehold Guardians, though the exact year is unknown. Sir Conrad Eisenwulf, the Ice Wolf, and Sir Isidor Reinvich, the Fire Bird, set forth together in a quest to hunt down and slay a beast. However, these two knights were well known for being opposed on almost every matter. Short-tempered Sir Isidor, and cautious Sir Conrad bickered constantly on their journey, both believing their way to be the best. Along their travels, the two knights lost their horses, Sir Conrad lost his blade Winterfang, and the knights only survived thanks to a fortuitous meeting with a travelling Wayfarer healer named Tara.
Eventually the knights reached the lair of the beast, a deep cave too dark to see into. Sir Isidor caused his sword, Zündenfalke, to burst into flames, giving them light, then urged Conrad to follow him in charging into the cave. The Ice Wolf disagreed, saying they should stay and plan first, but Isidor was eager for battle. Their arguing, and the light of Zündenfalke caused the beast to stir, and while the knights were distracted, they were ambushed by the beast, a gigantic serpentine creature, twice as large as a basilisk. Conrad was immediately bitten by the creature, and a deadly poison seeped into his veins. An intense battle followed, ice and fire whipping around the serpent, as the knights finally learned how to fight together and made a deadly duo. After slaying the beast, The Fire Bird embraced his fellow knight and was glad they'd finally learned teamwork. However, Conrad revealed that the poison still seeped through his veins, and that he was going to die. Isidor was distraught, but the Ice Wolf calmed him and accepted his death. As snow began to fall around the knights, Conrad stated that he'd rather die on his own terms than by the poison of a beast. He knelt to the ground, and transformed into a statue of ice. To this day, the ice sculpture of Sir Conrad still stands in front of that cave, next to the bones of an ancient serpent.
A sombre Isidor made his slow way back to Whytehold, weeping at the death of a friend, and certain that it was his own fault. He encountered Tara the healer again, and found comfort in her arms. Isidor brought Tara back to Whytehold and married her. Their child would come to be named Conrad.
=== Squires and Families of the Guardians ===
After the death of Sir Conrad, the guardians began to realise their own mortality. They began taking squires, to teach them the ways of the Whytehold Guardian. Sir Ulrich was the first to take a squire, young Matthias Austermark.
Additionally, following Sir Isidor's example, many of the knights found wives and had children, to make sure their legacy and names were carried on through the generations. Sir Ulrich Kaldermann was the only knight who never married, as he was too devoted to his king.
=== The Stone Shield's Last Stand ===
In legends from this time period, there existed a town in the Sunrise mountains called Stelenburg. Stelenburg held a powerful outpost of the Abbey of Metallurgy, with a large town surrounding it. The Metallurgists had uncovered a powerful ore, which they referred to as "White Iron", and used it to create many incredible weapons and armour. They gifted weapons and trinkets crafted from this metal to the people of Stelenburg prolifically, and all prospered. However, this metal had belonged to creatures within the mountains, elementals. Particularly, an elemental lord known as Mydaros.
When the foundry went silent, the people of Stelenburg called for aid, and Sir Bertram Kaddenstein answered the call. Arriving in Stelenburg, he heard from the citizens that there had been terrible screams coming from the metallurgist's foundry one night, and absolute silence since then. The door was barred shut, but Bertram was able to knock it down with his immense strength. Upon entering the foundry, he discovered many dead metallurgists, and several creatures lurking in the shadows, stone elementals, partially constructed from the armour and weapons made from White Iron, as they reclaimed their property. Standing at the centre was a huge creature, seemingly entirely constructed from ornate armour, glimmering jewels, gold, silver, and master-crafted weaponry. This creature, Mydaros, was a greedy, territorial and vain creature. When it saw Sir Bertram's legendary shield, the Bulwark, it immediately desired the artifact.
Mydaros and Sir Betram fought, the huge might of the elemental versus the Stone Shield's legendary bravery and hardiness. They eventually moved to the large archway of the foundry, where they fought in front of the town of Stelenburg, who had gathered to watch this mighty duel. However, the duel came to an early end when Mydaros spotted a sword one of the townsmen was wearing. Gazing around the crowd, he noticed many citizens wearing weapons or pendants made from White Iron. With a furious roar, Mydaros charged into the crowd, and his elemental army followed. But Sir Bertram was not one to stand by and let innocents die, and so bravely stood in front of the elementals, his shield held up before him. He decided at that time that even he and the town of Stelenburg could not fight against this mighty foe alone. In a tactical decision, he told the people to flee and come back with all the Whytehold Knights to retake the town. Sir Bertram, and five Stelenburg knights, stood alone against the tide of elementals while the town was evacuated. As the last citizen fled, they witnessed the knights falling one by one, and Sir Bertram holding back Mydaros, who desperately wanted to slay all those who had stolen his ore.
The people of Stelenburg slowly walked down the mountains back to Whytehold. On their journey, they discarded their cursed trinkets and weapons, which had brought nothing but misfortune. They returned to Whytehold and told the White King of the events at Stelenburg, But the knights never gathered up to re-take the town, as other things interrupted this endeavour.
=== The Dark Mistress ===
Sir Vladovid Geltrich, the Knight of Truth, was renowned as the most diplomatic of the guardians, and the most fervent follower of the Light. He often settled disputes in Whytehold, and even disputes between other knights. He was reasonable, just, and confident. That was, until he encountered the Dark Lady Megara. She was supposedly a diplomat from Vylatea, that dark city in the north, and she was undeniably beautiful. As the diplomat of the guardians, Vladovid was sent to speak with her. Despite her dark reputation, Vladovid found her affable, and even charming. Megara was invited to spend time in Whytehold, as an ambassador, and Vladovid often spoke with her, sometimes late into the night.
Vladovid's wife Heidi became concerned, and spoke these concerns to the White King. The King called Vladovid to his throne, and confronted him, demanding to know the truth of the matter. Vladovid, always honest, revealed that he was indeed having an affair with Megara, but also that she had told him the truth of the Darkness and the Light. He now knew that the Tome of Truths, the Holy Book of the Light, was filled with lies. As such, Vladovid renounced the light entirely. Infuriated, the King had Vladovid locked away in a dungeon, while he ruminated what to do about this errant follower.
Another guardian, Sir Lancel, was certain that Megara was using Dark Magic to control Vladovid's mind, and so hunted her down. She had fled Whytehold after Vladovid's arrest, but Sir Lancel managed to track her, and kill her. He returned to Whytehold and let out Vladovid, convinced that with Megara's death his fellow guardian would be freed from her control. But when he told Vladovid what he had done, the knight flew into a rage and killed Lancel. Distraught, and grief-stricken, Vladovid knew he could no longer stay in Whytehold once the King discovered what he'd done to Lancel. So he fled to his lover's homeland, Vylatea.
=== Crusade on the Violet City ===
To the north, the dark city of Vylatea had festered for long, and the Whytehold Guardians were too busy to properly deal with it. Even after the dark tyrant Azjol became a Demonlord and took control of the city, there were too many issues in Whytehold itself distracting the White King. However, after word reached Whytehold that the Kingdom of Tyrraness had been destroyed by Azjol's demonic armies, the White King was spurred into action. Tyrraness had been his original homeland, and he was distraught to hear of its fall. But by this point there were only three Whytehold Guardians left; Sir Ulrich Kaldermann, Sir Isidor Reinvich, and Lady Reinhilde Valimarr. This also came at a time when the White King was having a crisis of faith after Sir Vladovid's betrayal of the Light. Nevertheless, he mustered up an army, gathered the remaining knights, and began his crusade to Vylatea.
When the army reached Vylatea, they found a horde of undead surrounding the city, which the dark necromancers within the city had conjured up. The undead were the resurrected corpses of the former citizens of Tyrraness, a fact which was evident from the armour they wore. Upon seeing this, the White King only became more enraged. After cutting down the undead horde, the Whyteholders began to siege the city. However, after the first day of sieging, the undead corpses strewn around the city walls began to rise again, and had to be slain again. It was clear that a prolonged siege was only be worse for the Whyteholders. So they had to break their way in. The combined efforts of Isidor's fire and Reinhilde's lightning managed to break down the front gates of the city, allowing the army to surge inside.
Within the city was even worse. Crazed dark cultists and feral demons ambushed the army as it moved down the streets, traps lain in advance were triggered. Barely past the walls, the Whyteholders suffered heavy casualties. The White King continued forwards relentlessly into the city, warding away darkness with his aura of light.
The defenders of Vylatea were savage and ruthless, but not particularly well trained. They relied more on ambushes and dark magic, and suffered in a prolonged fight. There was one notable exception however, a champion in black armour. He strode at the head of the defending army, and cut down many whyteholder soldiers. Sir Isidor Reinvich took it upon himself to face this foe, and charged the champion. But the champion was powerful, and fought with deadly precision. His black armour rebuffed Isidor's magic flames, and so the knight had to rely on his sword. The White King arrived at the duel just in time to see the black champion thrust his sword through Isidor's heart, killing him instantly. Furiously, the king, charged into the fray. Upon seeing the king coming towards him, the champion dropped his sword, and stood perfectly still and calm, accepting his fate. With a single strike, the White King decapitated the champion. As the champion's head rolled out of its helmet, the King saw that it was in fact Sir Vladovid.
Weathered by the torrent of challenges, both physical and emotional, the White King continued to the marble palace at the centre of the city, where King Azjol resided. Upon entering the palace, followed by his loyal guardians, he saw a man in dark robes sitting calmly on the throne, with a silver crown on his head. Without thinking, the White King charged and killed the man. After this, he realised that perhaps this had been too easy, but this realisation came too late. From behind, he head a shriek, and saw Lady Reinhilde eviscerated on the bladed appendage of a gigantic horrifying arachnid, which had emerged from the shadows of the throne room. The White King realised that this was the real Azjol, mutated by his transformation into a Demonlord. The majority of the soldiers who had followed were driven to a state of absolute terror by the terrifying appearance of the dark king, the only Whyteholders to stay resolute were Sir Ulrich and the White King himself, and as more creatures appeared from the shadows, it became apparent that they were vastly outnumbered.
Sir Ulrich fought the demons, while the White King faced Azjol. The battle was a true test of skill, confidence, and wit. Azjol was not only a powerful demonlord, but also incredibly deceptive. As they fought, he constantly whispered into the White King's mind, reminding him of his many failures. He spoke of the deaths of his knights. Poor sir Conrad, who would have lived if the guardians were more united. Brave Sir Betram, who died unsupported in a strange land, and whose mission was never completed. Misguided Sir Lancel, who was only doing what he thought was best. Sir Vladovid, who had seen a new truth and been rejected, and who had been killed while surrendering. And of course, Sir Isidor and Lady Reinhilde, loyal to the end, to a King who didn't even bother to protect them. A King who promised to keep everyone safe, but couldn't even protect his homeland. A King who stood idly by while a dark tyrant took control.
Meanwhile, sir Ulrich was fighting courageously against Azjol's demons, and managed to overpower them. Upon seeing this, Azjol retreated further into the palace, and the Whyteholders followed. Azjol lead them into the catacombs beneath the city, which were filled with more of Vylatea's citizens. Blinded by fury, the White King slaughtered them in his pursuit of Azjol. Ulrich followed, begging his king to let it go, for Ulrich could see that these citizens were no soldiers, merely the innocent people of Vylatea who were hiding where they thought it was safe. Just before The White King could catch Azjol, a demon suddenly emerged from the shadows and attacked Sir Ulrich. It sliced off Ulrich's hand, and pounced on him, ready to kill. The White King had to decide whether to catch Azjol, or save his last knight. Unwilling to let yet another loyal follower die, the King turned and killed the demon. Azjol had escaped, and Ulrich was too injured to go on. The White King carried his last guardian out of the palace, and on the way passed the corpses of the innocent citizens he had killed. When they reached the entrance to the catacombs, the White King summoned his priests and performed a ritual of the light, sealing it from dark creatures, to prevent Azjol's return to the city. With this done, his depleted, dejected army returned home to Whytehold. They no longer had the forces to occupy the city, so instead had to leave it in a state of anarchy and chaos.
=== Abdication ===
In the aftermath of the ill-fated crusade, it became clear that even a godly being could become depressed. The White King was weighed down by his failures. The events in Vylatea haunted him, and he realised how close he had come to succumbing to darkness, when he sought revenge so recklessly. Although he had driven Azjol away, he couldn't help but feel as if the Spider King had won anyway. The White King no longer felt as connected to the light as he once had, and was beginning to have his doubts. He could now see why Vladovid had rejected the light, and felt immense grief for what had happened to the knight. He decided he was no longer suited to be a leader of humans. When Ulrich recovered from his injuries, he had a private discussion with his knight, in which he revealed how he felt. The King decided to abdicate, and pass on the crown to Sir Ulrich, who he saw as a far greater ruler. Ulrich protested at first, but eventually understood the reasoning, and accepted.
And so it was that King Ulrich became the first human king of Whytehold. The White King exiled himself, and left for destination unknown. Ulrich continued to train new Whytehold Guardians, and though they would never be as legendary as the original seven, there were far fewer internal troubles.