Order of the Chalice

The Order of Brothers of the Black Chalice of Halengard, commonly the Order of the Chalice, was an Eastern military order founded in 1394 B.E at Moldauthein, in the Kingdom of Halengard.
The order was formed to aid villages on the southern border against Orcish raids, and to aid caravans and pilgrims through Halengard. Secondary to that aim, it was also founded to protect the Black Chalice, the artifact capable of binding souls to Esria. It was used in this way by the order to retain the greatest members of the Order even after the death of their mortal bodies. As such, many of the brothers and sisters who served in the ranks of the Order as Humans continued to do so by housing their souls inside titanic, hollow black-steel suits of armour.
The Order was based out of the massive Fortress Heldenbrecht. Its titanic walls were reinforced into the craggy rocks and lined with killing holes, towers, parapets. Later in the years preceding the Imperial Era, it housed armoured casemates from which cannons protruded.
== The Steelbound ==
Known as the Steelbound, brothers and sisters bound to armour in this way did not lose any of the qualities of their past life, save the physical limitations of the Human form. The benefits were that they felt no pain, hunger, or fatigue, thus enabling them to perform immense physical feats on and off the battlefield.
They were capable of speaking and remembering their past life, and did not face limitations in any way save for their inability to sleep, and the fact that their lives were dependent on the thin layers of meteorite sigils that lined the inside of their armour. If the meteorite sigils were cut, the soul would have nowhere to be housed and the brother would finally ascend to Heaven. Such a revelation often drove the Steel-bound to line the inside of their armour with meteorite sigils, wherever they could fit, so that a single, opportune stroke could not fell them.
== The binding of the soul ==
The process of becoming Steel-bound was not complicated. The aspirant would send word to the Order, or in times of dire need (such as the aspirant having sustained a mortal wound) the order would visit them. If accepted into the Order, the aspirant would be carried to and restrained to an altar, to which the Black Chalice was affixed. A suit of armour would already be prepared and taken to the room, and placed by the altar.
The ritual often contained recitals of the Book of Aden, the patron saint of the Order, and details of the exact wording were kept in the Book of Brothers. Once the correct phrases were said and the aspirant confirmed his willingness to continue, mana would be channeled into the Chalice and a blade would be thrust through the aspirant's chest, killing their mortal body and instantly severing the soul's connection to it. The soul would then enter the armour.
The leader of the ritual would bow to the Steel-bound and recite the royal phrase: "Blood and Iron." The responses were often varied, and often became something of an identifier, but were meant to demonstrate the willingness of the knight to the protection of Halengard.Category:Browse