Knights Mystic

## **The Knights Mystic**

### **Devices and Uniforms**

Knights Mystic wear long tabards which must come down past the knees. These tabards incorporate the colors of Karandia (green, white and gold), though the pattern of the colors is given to the preference of the individual Knight (and usually has something to do with the Knight’s House affiliation). The symbol of the Knights Mystic is the ‘Orizon Vigilant’ (an open eye). This symbol must adorn their tabard as well as all livery, weaponry, and other significant equipment.

### **Deity**

The Knights Mystic are reminiscent of most monastic orders of knights, yet they align themselves to no god but Magik itself. They serve the pursuit of knowledge and the keeping of wisdom, which serves all beings.

### **Goal**

The primary aim of the Knights Mystic has always been and shall be the protection of the Mage Council of Karandia. However, in the centuries since their formation, the Knights Mystic have discovered that their talents give them a responsibility to safeguard Karandia and all of Xaria from the dark and twisted Magiks of daemons. They are always on the defensive in the name of Magik, Wisdom, and Order.

### **Territory**

Knights Mystic are based in Karandia. It is rare for a Knight Mystic to venture outside of Karandia's borders; those traveling outside the country are most likely protecting a high government official of that nation, or on a Quest.

### **Past**

This order of Magikally-sensitive knights came about shortly after the abduction of the Karayndus Assembly of Mages by the Guardians' Trust in 561 P.A. After their return, the Mages and their subordinate Imperial officials decreed that an honor guard of knights, specifically-trained in the Arts of Magik as well as Arms, should be formed in order to protect the Mage Council from another such incident. Lesser Mages were appointed as “Seekers,” whose responsibility to the Council was to search the Karandian countryside for those with Magikal aptitude and the physical and moral promise of potential knights.

When the Seekers were first sent, the Emperor suggested that the first nine candidates to be found should be named the leaders of the Order. The Emperor was a superstitious man with delusions of chivalry, and as such, trusted the fates and the will of the gods to choose good leaders. The Assembly humored the Emperor by decreeing that Nine would lead the order, but refused to choose them until a number sufficient to form an order had been found. Only then would they choose the nine most capable of leadership from amongst them, knowing that purely random selection could only result in the collapse of the order within a matter of time. After this refusal, the Emperor withdrew his interest and support. Because of this action, the Knights Mystic have never paid any particular allegiance or respects to the Emperor of Karayndus (or the King of Karandia after him), aside from what little acknowledgement the law demanded. Occasions have risen throughout the Knights' history when the Crown has attempted to subjugate the order under his direct control. In these situations, the Nine Illuminates have refused to comply, obeying the laws of the land but nothing more. The King has always been forced to accept the fact that disbanding or banishing the Knights Mystic would leave the Mage Council largely undefended, a move that would most certainly offend and anger the Council.

As the order slowly grew, the Seekers began to search outside of Karandia for suitable candidates to train as Knights Mystic. Within Traau, a grand hall and dormitory, one of the architectural remnants of the Second Age of the Consortium, was donated to the order to house their Knights under one roof. This building was referred to as the Sanctum of the Eyes.

The Knights Mystic were disdained by the nobility and the regular army for their refusal to become involved in the fighting surrounding the secession of Icara from the Karayndus Empire. However, they later distinguished themselves in combat during the Beast Wars, when the Great Beast Lords marked the Human race for destruction.

When the sky turned red over Xaria in 250 A.Y., the Nine Illuminates withdrew into seclusion in the chambers of the Sanctum, while the rest of the order continued about their duties. What was discussed there has never been revealed to any outside the Nine, but since that month, the philosophy of the Knights Mystic changed.

After the Blood Sky Omen, the Knights Mystic became more active outside the Mage Council chambers, both in and outside of Karandia. Their motives and missions went unexplained to all except the Griffin of Magik, the only government leader whose authority the Knights deigned answer to. The Knights undertook many Quests, and many more Knights were added to their numbers. This period of growth was halted when war broke out with Icara in 386, and the Knights were recalled to guard the Mage Council.

### **Present**

First, the Pax Hagar, and then the recent treaty freed the Knights Mystic to once again roam the land and pursue their cryptic goals. Their quests were halted only briefly in the last months of 499, when those who were not asleep or taking sustenance stood assembled in the Mage Council chambers twenty-four hours a day.

### **Alliances**

Knights Mystic consider those who would use Magik for the betterment of all living beings their most important allies. They have sought alliances from various obscure orders, fraternities, and guilds, and seem to be working toward larger groups such as the Order of Veldron. The Knights Mystic consider themselves above petty rivalries with other knightly orders, and neither do they respect or persecute any one religion.

As the sworn protectors of the Griffin of Magik and the Mage Council of Karandia, these men and women could be considered allies, though the Knights are subordinate to them and their wishes.

### **Enemies**

Daemon-worshippers and those who would misuse Magik for their own purposes are the foes of the Knights Mystic. They consider those who would use Magik at the cost of others’ freedom and well being to be dangerous, and will do all they can to either persuade them to change their ways, or else destroy them. They call themselves “The Judges of Daemons,” and will oppose any infernal plot they uncover.

While many might suppose that they should consider the Icaran Acolytes of Vorak to be their rivals, this is not the case. Quite to the contrary, the Knights Mystic admire the zeal, valor and dedication of the Acolytes of Vorak, if not necessarily their political connection to the Icaran government.

Undead do not unduly concern the Knights Mystic, as long as they are controlled by a Mage who does not consort with Daemons. Though highly controversial and criticized by detractors as contradictory, the Knights Mystic disagree, and view some forms of “Death Magik” as benign. The importance to the Knights is what the source of the Mage's power is.

They took great umbrage at the inclusion of emmisarries from  the nation of Urth, which was undead which were demonic in origin; as laters discovered by House Geoffrey.

### **Leadership**

The Knights Mystic are ruled by the Karandian Griffin of Magik. After this, they obey the edicts and requests of the Mage Council, who are their primary charges.

The Knights are led by the Illuminates, of which there are nine. The Illuminates make decisions for the entirety of the order by majority vote. Before a decision is made, they most often shut themselves behind closed doors to meditate and seek mystic wisdom on the matter before them. Next in the chain of command are the Adepts (singular: Adeptus), always numbered at 81. These make up the main body of the Order. The Adepts train and instruct the newer members of the order, and perform the duties assigned to them by the Illuminates.

Finally, the last rung of the ladder is the Insinuat. These are roughly equivalent to squires and apprentices, learning the ways of the order from the Adepts and tending to their mundane needs, such as grooming horses, fetching needed laboratory supplies, purchasing weaponry, and janitorial work.

Unquestioning obedience to one's superiors is considered the highest virtue of a Knight Mystic. Because a captured Knight may be forced to reveal all she knows under Magikal interrogation, coercion, or even seduction, Knights charged with missions and quests are rarely given reasons for their orders; they are only expected to fulfill them without question.

### **Divisions**

The only significant division of the Knights Mystic are the Seekers. These individuals are Mages who have been appointed by the Mage Council and approved by the Nine Illuminates to go forth into the land and find those who might prove worthy of membership in the Order. The Seekers answer to the Griffin of Magik and the Mage Council first, and then the Illuminates.

### The Oath of the Knights Mystic is as follows:

*“I shall obey the harmony of the spheres, the laws of Nature, the will of the Nine [the orders of the Four Score and One], and the lieges of the land, in that order. This is the nature of our existence, and as such is not to be questioned, only accepted.* (The above portion in brackets is only recited by the Insinuat.)

*“The heart is deceitful; I shall heed wisdom. The humors are passionate; I shall embrace reason. The desire for revenge is wicked; the desire for justice is pure.*

*“The path may twist and turn, but it is a path because it is meant to be trod. I shall not doubt; only follow the signs.*

*“Magik is the soul of all beings, never to be manipulated for personal gain, or at the cost of others. When judgment is to be executed, I will use Magik as the headsman uses his axe: swiftly, and with merciful finality.*

*“I will obey the laws of the land whenever it does not conflict with my quest; if the pursuit of my appointed goal is at odds with my liege, I must choose the greater cause. My means will be justified by my ends.*

*“There are some secrets not meant to be told; there are some subjects not meant to be understood.”*

### **Recruitment**

Candidates for the Knights Mystic are chosen by the Seekers, Mages who subtly use their Magikal abilities to find those who are Magikally-sensitive (and may be able to learn and shape Magik), possess the strength and physical build to wear armour and fight with a sword, and show promise in moral outlook and philosophy. It is considered best that the Seekers do not reveal themselves for what they truly are until they are satisfied that a subject shows promise. This way, a Seeker can observe the potential candidate as he is in everyday life as well as under pressure. In order to achieve this satisfaction, Seekers must often insert themselves into military companies, mercenary groups, and guilds in order to remain close to a subject and witness how they react under various circumstances. Some Seekers have gone as far as to arrange confrontations and scenarios for the subject of their observations to stumble into, so they can see how they negotiate their way through.

When these potential candidates are found, the Seekers reveal themselves and explain the philosophy and aims of the Knights Mystic. If the candidate agrees to join, the Seeker accompanies them back to the Sanctum of the Eyes in Traau, where the candidate is put through Initiation.

Initiation is a series of tests that should determine the worthiness of a candidate to become a Knight. If they pass these secret rites, the candidate is officially dubbed Insinuat, and begins her ascent into Adept-hood.

There is one other way to become a Knight Mystic; it is a rather more suspicious method employed by Seekers that gives the order a feared reputation amongst the people of Karandia. Many cases have been noted in which Seekers have approached the parents of Magikally-sensitive children and offered to raise them as Knights Mystic, often in exchange for sums of money. Street urchins who show Magikal promise (which, in some cases, may merely be exhibiting a sharp mind) have been snatched up from the cities to join the fold of the Knights. There are many Adepts and Insinuat who have spent their entire lives training to become Knights Mystic, knowing no other life.

This practice, while having existed to some degree in the past, has only begun in earnest since the Blood Sky Omen. The Knights seem desperate to add to their ranks at this time, but the exact reasons are not publicly known.

When one becomes a Knight Mystic, it is for life. In its entire history, no one has ever left the Order.

### **Typical Member**

Knights Mystic must be Fighter-Mages, students of True Magik. As Insinuat, they perfect their martial skills as well as arduously studying the arts of Magik. When they are deemed suitably proficient in both (and possessing the spells DETECT MAGIK and DECIPHER MAGIK), they are named Adepts.

Seekers are True Mages. They adhere to the same virtues of harmony and justice that the Knights do. All that is required of them is knowledge of DETECT MAGIK, DECIPHER MAGIK and DETECT EVIL AURA.

Knights Mystic are of the deepest devotion to their order. Part of this seems to be integrity and honor, but in truth, it is knowledge of things beyond the physical realm that cements their loyalty.

### **Generally Known**

Little is known about the Knights Mystic except for their symbol and tabards, the fact that they serve as bodyguards to the Mage Council of Karandia, and that they are driven by mysterious motives. Karandians often view them as baby-stealers, and whisper that they worship forgotten gods in blasphemous secret rituals. The common folk treat them with some degree of fear and distrust, though they recognize that they are an extension of the Mage Council and are not to be trifled with.

Stories have circulated about their belief that the ends justifies the means, and while their individual quests usually appear benevolent in nature, no one can guess as to what their ultimate goals are. These paranoid attitudes are further aggravated by the fact that the Knights take many vows of secrecy throughout their lifetime, and do not often care to explain their motives while performing their duties. More disconcerting to witnesses are when they cannot explain, because they do not know - they are simply obeying orders.

### **Quote**

*“They are not only the unswerving protectors of the Griffin and the Council, but servants to the greater power of magik itself.”*
-Kurtis Falkner, Mage Council, Library of the Mountains