Gem Knights

The Gem Knights are essentially a group of resistance fighters who formed in Torlund after the supposed death of King Johnathan of Lancove and his wife and daughter in 6727SU, followed by the coronation of King Kal of Hercalos. This choice of successor seemed odd as Lord Rodger of Lancove should have been next in line.

The Gem Knights got their name from The World Gem which is meant to improve the quality of a nation when it is in the hands of a good ruler but has a detrimental effect on the land if the ruler is a bad leader. Thus, the Knights are following the World Gem and its assessment of the ruler. When Johnathan ruled, the land prospered and peace was (mostly) known across the land. Now that Kal is King, there has been a drop in the production of natural resources, from fish and harvest to minerals mined and tree growth, as well as an increase in Magical beast and bandit activity, followed by a new war with Scandar which seems to be going poorly.

### History

It started with doubts about the odd and coincidental circumstances surrounding the Royal Family's sudden deaths, followed by groups gathering together at taverns or community places, complaining and sharing conspiracy theories. As people began to rile each other up, they became more and more outspoken, with people calling for an investigation and claiming that there must have been something mystical about it. In mid 6728, a team from the City of The gods were sent to investigate and it was openly and loudly announced far and wide that this was no conspiracy. Rather, those responsible for spreading the malicious, deceitful rumours were a group of people shamelessly pretending to be the Lancoves, dishonouring their good name. This seemed sufficient to convince most people, but the interesting thing was that some of those people who were most outspoken or still advocating that it was a coup began just disappearing or having fatal accidents.

In early 6729, the group now calling itself the Gem Knights began to realise this and went into hiding. At first, the group was pretty disorganised and communication between fellow members was difficult, but as they continued to spread the word of their worries that there was something more to the deaths of the Lancoves, they found more loyal believers. There were a few different factions within the group and many different theories of how the deaths had happened, what had happened to the Lancoves if they weren't dead, and who could have been behind it. Some of the Gem Knights were less interested in the how or why and simply wanted to see the new ruler, King Kal of Hercalos, pay. They began to disrupt the activity of the crown and tried to build a force that could take the castle by force, but that was a total failure and in 6731 their force was wiped out by the royal guards. The survivors were interrogated to root out any other Gem Knight members left in Corlas. Luckily, they operated a clandestine cell system, meaning that many of the Gem Knights were spared. The remaining members continued their attempts to find evidence of wrongdoing or conspiracy in the supposed death of the Lancoves, while others searched, trying to find the former Royal Family alive.

### Activity

The Gem Knights are not the most uniform in their desires and there are many differing views amongst the different members. However, after the failed attack on the Royal Palace, the survivors began to realize the dangers they faced as a part of this fight, which helped to unify them. A leader known only as General Gem emerged and began to help coordinate the organisation.

	* Gaining resources and manpower to cause an uprising,
	* Assassination of the Hercalos family,
	* Finding out how they convinced Lord Rodger of Lancove to renounce his throne and support King Kal's ascension.
2. Investigate what really happened, that night:
	* Looking for signs of magic or spells that could target the family so precisely
	* Investigate the rumours that there were an increased number of guards on duty that night and see if they had anything to do with the deaths.
3. Find out what happened to the Lancoves:
	* There have been a number of confirmed and backed up rumours which speak of an escape from the Palace made by the Lancoves, but where they are now is a total mystery.
4. Find out who was behind it all, if anyone:
	* The main suspects are;
	* Kal of Hercalos
	* Lord Captain Lamack of Fordike
	* Orm Vidrig
	* Rodger of Lancove
5. Helping those suffering under the new ruler in any way and convincing them to join.

. After a few years of false leads and bad hunches, the group changed into a bit more of a resistance cell looking to over throw King Kal and sow dissent amongst the people.