Iron Cross

The **Order of the Iron Cross**, or more commonly referred to as the *Iron Cross*, is a military organisation under the direct employ of the Church of the Omniscients. They are primarily based in the Iron Cross Citadel in Fortis Lucem, and take in able-bodied volunteers to defend the Order with religious fervor.

They act, *de jure*, as a neutral peacekeeping organisation to defend against otherworldly forces and uprisings, as consistent with their original mandate to quell a large Cabal uprising.

The Order is renowned for the training and administration of Paladins, elite warrior knights with an ancient pedigree in holy magic and armed combat. Often, the Order deploys them for high-level diplomatic missions, or as emissaries or bodyguards to heads of state and other ambassadors.

The Order is typically perceived to be an entity bringing about peace and stability in the region, often ushering in a new age of political stability. Small-scale strife within various smaller nations are typically deterred by the simple presence of Paladins as part of a nation's military force, and it is not uncommon for wealthier nations to use Paladins as an intimidation tactic to strong-arm weaker nations into acceding to political demands.

However, in doing so, the Order has also received criticism at various points in history for appearing partisan and acting as "*highly paid, highly armoured mercenaries presenting a facade of being holy protectors to the Vanir*". Most recently, in 1,192 AO, the fallen Paladin Guillaume Fontaine

## History

Founded in 339 AO by Holmstead the Bright, the Order is one of the oldest surviving organisations in Vanaheim.

Between 332 to 339 AO, scholarly records found that a large scale Cabal uprising took place among practitioners of the art, seeking to unveil void magic among the populace to gain political traction. In some instances, heads of state and feudal lords may employ the services of rogue Cabalists to intimidate or oppress the local populace of warring states. In response to this, an Archbishop's Decree of Seizure and Strike from the Church of the Omniscience was passed down in 339 AO to Holmstead the Bright, a Lollandian Knight trained in the arts of holy magic and a fervent devotee to the Church, to engage in open warfare against the Cabal. This led to the founding of the Order, which employed able-bodied men and women trained in the holy arts to battle and drive back the Cabalist forces in an event later known as the First Pallade.

In 688 AO, the acting Paladin General Thel'e'hamayr the Conqueror, a Paladin of High Elven descent, sought to utilise the Order to advance the interests of the High Elves amidst large-scale territorial strife in the Al'sabdayet Highlands and the surrounding forest regions, a disputed territory between the Elven Council and the sovereign nation of Randonia. Initially deploying Paladins to the disputed regions as peacekeepers and arbitrators of smaller disputes, unrest in the region eventually led to the Paladins being viewed as "traitors to humanity" and with Paladin General Thel'e'hamayr being viewed as a public enemy to Randonia. On 26 July 688 AO, Duke Valthus Fassi of Randonia declared war on the Order of the Iron Cross, disavowed the Church of the Omniscience as the nation's sole religion, and excommunicated all Church presence in the region. The wars to come in the coming twelve years were referred to by later historians as the Randonian-Iron Cross War.

In 700 AO, in the face of growing unpopularity of the Church in the surrounding regions, and the sentiment that the Order was a partisan mercenary organisation that betrayed humankind, the Archbishops of the Church of the Omniscience came to a unanimous decision to disband the Order following Paladin General Thel'e'hamayr's death in the war.

## Organisation

The proceedings of the Order are governed by the Paladin's Code, and the Order spans several Priories which it has full jurisdiction over: namely Fortis Lucem, the Ferrous Plains, and Fortis Ferrum.

The organisation is lead by a Paladin General, the supreme head of the Order and the individual in charge of the Order's daily management, its key allegiance to the Church of the Omniscience, and its military strategy. The Paladin General is advised by two main bodies: the Advisory Council, which oversees the various Divisions of the Order and consists of former Paladin Majors, Paladin Captains and other senior advisors of the Church Division and Citadel Division; and the Patrons of the Order, external benefactors and stakeholders, which include the Church of the Omniscience. The Paladin General also reports directly to the High Archbishop of the Church of the Omniscience on all matters.

The three separate divisions of the Order oversee different roles. The Citadel Division consists of clerics in training and other administrative staff who maintain the daily functioning of the Citadel and Fortis Lucem as its chief governing body; the Church Division, which oversees relationships with the church and community outreach, and the Military Regiment which oversees military forces, regional diplomacy and training of its forces. Regularly, Priests of the Church will take on roles in the Church Division, or oversee the Treasury of the Citadel Division.

### Military Regiment Organisation

The head of the Military Regiment is the Paladin General of the Order, who is assisted by two Paladin Majors: one to oversee the Garrison, one to oversee the remaining ground troops in the other 3 Battalions.

The Garrison are the primary defence forces in the Order's different Priories and peacekeeping territories, and serve as vigilant guards that operate at all times. In particular, the Garrison operates as the main military force in Fortis Lucem. One of the two Paladin Majors in the Order oversees the division of manpower and distribution of forces in the region from the Order's headquarters. The Garrison primarily consists of junior enlistees, led by a Paladin Captain in each of the Priories.

The Crossbow Battalion trains individuals in ranged combat, and form the backline of the Order's military force in any armed confrontation. Over the years, their role has evolved beyond actual crossbow use, and their armaments include artillery, explosive crossbow munitions and grenades.

The Heavy Infantry Battalion is both the cavalry and frontline defensive unit of the Regiment, and is rarely activated unless armed conflict of a large enough scale break out. They serve as reinforcements if the Garrisons are overrun, or if peacekeeper forces in the region are insufficient to hold off a full-scale armed attack in their territories or Priories.

The Vanguard Battalion is the division entrusted to frontline assault, and is commonly used for small incursions into hostile territory to preemptively neutralise a threat to the order or its surrounding region. It holds the strongest military might in the Order. In certain instances, such as the Seventh Pallade in 1,190 AO, the Vanguard Battalion may be used to aggressively expand the Order's influence in the region, or serve the diplomatic interests of its Patrons, as with the Imperial Hathaway Military.

More often than not, this duty is entrusted to the Special Forces Team, which specialises in tactical incursions, allowing the Order to make military offensives outside of their jurisdiction.

#### Enlistees

Enlistees to the Order typically train as low ranking Initiates for approximately a year in martial arts, holy magic, and basic military strategies. They are then filtered into their Battalions to complete specialised training for an additional year, before serving as squires for Paladins in the service.

With the exception of the Garrison, Enlistees that are not Paladins do not typically see active service, but play backline or support roles for their superiors.

#### Paladins

Longer-serving or otherwise physically superior Enlistees may be nominated by their superiors, typically a Paladin Captain, for the Order's initiation. Following a period of intense physical and military training, the Enlistees undergo the initiation process, involving various tests of combat ability, and culminating in a brutal free-for-all armed duel. While the Order does have safeguards to prevent unnecessary deaths in the initiation process such as standby Clerics for medical support, the estimated death toll in the initiation process alone is about 1 in 24 candidates.

A successful initiation allows the Enlistee to carry the title and privileges of a fully-fledged Paladin, a loyal servant of the Order. Paladins may carry and own their own armaments within the Order and its Priories, and may carry out diplomatic duties on behalf of the Order.

#### Paladin Captains

Exemplary candidates during the Initiation will be closely observed by superior officers (mostly other Paladin Captains) or the Order's own Advisory Council for leadership traits, superior mastery of combat strategies, or other noteworthy traits that make them deserving of a promotion. As a Paladin Captain's role is highly influential in the order, the entire Advisory Council votes on the viability of a candidate, and the Patrons of the Order possess a reserve veto power over specific candidates. Should the candidate pass a supermajority vote among the Advisory Council without any objection from the Patrons of the Order, the candidate is sworn in a commissioned officer - a Paladin Captain.

Paladin Captains typically operate with more autonomy than a typical Paladin, and may appoint two fellow Paladins as his Lieutenants - while commissioned, they are not formally recognised as "officers" for the Order's ceremonial or military functions, and merely serve as the Captain's platoon leaders or administrative assistants.

#### Paladin Majors

Senior Paladin Captains may be recommended by the Paladin General himself to a special committee comprising the Advisory Council, the Patrons of the Order, and leaders of the Church to be nominated for the position of Paladin Major. Unlike the positions of Paladin Captain and Paladin General, which is held for life or until the retirement of the officer in question, Paladin Majors hold a fixed-term tenure of 20 years unless otherwise replaced. At any one point in time, the Order does not have more than two Paladin Majors in active service.

When a Paladin Major retires, he/she is typically inducted into the Advisory Council.

### Discharge

When a Paladin retires / is honourably discharged from active service, he/she is typically given a small stipend proportionate to the duration of time the Paladin remained in active service, as well as a Signed Paladin-General's Decree granting effective diplomatic immunity for five years. This diplomatic immunity allows the retired Paladin to travel to most recognised sovereign states (at least, those under the jurisdictiomn of humans and elves, and the eleven Ancient Fortresses) and to be granted immunity from criminal prosecution under these states. However, if serious criminal offences are committed within the respective states in such a manner as to tarnish the reputation of the Church and the Order, both the Church and the Order have the authority to revoke such diplomatic immunity without notice, as well as to excommunicate the retired Paladin entirely.

If the Paladin is killed in action and receives an honourable discharge as a result, their spouse and two eldest immediate descendants receive the Signed Paladin-General's Decree for two years.

When a commissioned officer (i.e. Paladin Captain, Paladin Major or Paladin General) retires / is honourably discharged from active service, they receive a larger stipend than their non-commissioned brethren, and are also awarded the following:

1. a Signed Paladin-General's Decree granting effective diplomatic immunity for the remainder of their natural life;
2. a portion of land within any of the Priories that are not Fortis Lucem, to be held for the remaining duration of their natural life, or housing within Fortis Lucem; and
3. a formal commendation by the Church of the Omniscience for their services.

If a Paladin is dishonourably discharged, however, he/she is stripped of their title, rank and any diplomatic benefits that the position confers, excommunicated from the Order entirely, and forbidden from entering Fortis Lucem under threat of criminal prosecution for contempt of Order. Dishonoured Paladins are, however, allowed to enter the other Priories by submitting the necessary approvals to the Order, and are allowed to stay within the Priories for a maximum period of one month. However, while they remain within the jurisdiction of the Priories, they are forbidden from entering any facilities in connection with the Order (e.g. guardtowers), except for the Headquarters, and must submit a weekly report of their activities to the Headquarters.

Dishonourable discharges are, in practice, rarely given out, and are usually conferred only upon the commission of the most heinous of offences. Typically, this means that the Paladin General will often confer with his Advisors and/or the Patrons of the Order before handing down a dishonourable discharge. The Paladin General retains the sole discretion to dishonourably discharge any Paladin in the Order, and senior officials within the Church retain the power to dishonourably discharge an acting Paladin General. In 1,190 AO, Paladin General Giacomo Isumbras refused to exercise his power to dishonourably discharge Paladin Guillaume Fontaine, even though the latter had captured a live Cabalist in the middle of an incursion into the J'thaani Forests, when his standing orders were to terminate hostiles on sight. However, this was because the Cabalist provided crucial information on the presence of the Eldritch within the Forests, and ultimately cooperated with the Order despite being imprisoned in Fortis Lucem.