The Order

**The Order**, short for **the Order of the Round Table**, is from the tale of *The Legend of Arthur*. The Order has been around since the 6th century, and since the time of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Their mission is to hunt and kill the Shadowborn and protect humans.

> “When the shadows rise, so will the light, when blood is shed, blood will Call. By the King’s Table, for the Order’s mighty, by our eternal Oaths, the Line is Law.” - The Order’s pledge
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## Description

In the sixth century, at the Round Table's peak, Arthur had over one hundred and fifty knights at his command. But over time, the Shadowborn Wars and the fight with the *Cysgodanedig*, cut that number down until only the thirteen strongest knights remained. Merlin and Arthur feared what the world would become should the Table fall, and so Merlin devised the Spell of Eternity: a powerful casting to magnify the remaining knights' abilities and bind their spirits to their bloodline so that their heirs could forever stand against the darkness and the Table would live on in a type of immortality. When a Legendborn Awakens, their spirit lives again. A completed Round Table is made up of twenty-six Legendborn members, thirteen Scion decendants who each have a bonded Squire. When the Scion of Arthur is not Awakened, the Order is ruled by the High Council of Regents. The Order and Vassal colonizers in America were a blend of Welsh, English, Scots, Scotch-Irish, and Germans. Because sixth-century Wales is Arthur's birthplace, the Order's first language is Welsh.

The Order's motto is "The Line is Law." In Welsh it is "*Y Llinach Yw’r Ddeddf*.” The Order's Pledge is “When the shadows rise, so will the light, when blood is shed, blood will Call. By the King’s Table, for the Order’s might, by our eternal Oaths, the Line is Law.” It's essentially another power-hungry, elitist, old boys club of rich White people. Greer and Whitty both describe the Order as being not far off from a cult. Nick tells Bree that the Order leads with fear and greed. The Regents keep the stories so alive so that the Legendborn don't see the reality of what the Order has become. The Order is a strict hierarchy and is all about titles and ranks. The Legendborn title is sacrosanct, and they outrank all others. The Order's had a hand in most of the stories about Arthur that spread beyond Wales. Vassal clerics, writers, and archivists worked on misinformation campaigns to keep Onceborns from the truth. The Order also strives to control and generally eliminate aether users from outside the Order. There are sixty generations of Scions, and thus managing the bloodlines is complicated. Order law forbids crossing the bloodlines, so sex is not allowed between anyone who could become a Scion or whose kids could become a Scion in the line of succession. Otherwise, there'd be kids with two, or even four, lineages and that'd be chaos trying to track who'll be Called next and how the bloodlines will be preserved.

## Roles

* Scion: The oldest heir of each knight of the Round Table. If Called they gain their knight's enhanced abilities and affinity for aether.
* Squire: Squires are Scions' chosen battle partners.
* Page: Pages are chosen by existing Scions or Squires to compete for the title of Squire.
* Vassal: Onceborn families who pledged themselves years/decades ago to one of the original thirteen Legendborn bloodlines. They know about aether and supply resources to their Line.
* Liege: Lieges are former Scions and Squires. If they're Awakened, they will suffer the Abatement.
* Viceroy: They're in charge of overseeing a specific chapter and its territories.

### Merlins:

They use their magic to defend the Order Theirs a merlins in each Chapter. Other merlins are giving missions by the Regent.

* **Kingsmage** is the most powerful Merlin child in a generation. They're selected to take the Kingsmage Oath in which they're bound in a formal ceremony before the chapter to a Scion of Arthur. For the rest of that Merlin’s life, they are the Scion's sworn protector until death.
* **Mageguard** is the elite Merlin military unit. It acts as the Order's special forces. The mageguard is made up of 24 of the strongest Merlins. They fight the deadliest Shadowborn legions and are responsible for ensuring the safety of the High Council of Regents and the Awakened King and their family.
* "Merlins are the right hand, the sword and fists of the Order."

### Mage Seneschals:

The three most powerful Merlins. Each reports to a Regent and they make up half of the High Council of Regents with the other half being made up of the Regents themselves.

* **Mage Seneschal at Arms:** Erebus Varelian
	+ General of the Mageguard and Merlin forces. Reports to the Regent of Shadows.
* **Mage Seneschal of Mesmer:** Tacitus
	+ The most powerful Merlin mesmerist. Responsible for mesmering anyone who has seen too much or has broken Oaths and needs to be excommunicated from the Order. Reports to the Regent of Light.
* **Mage Seneschal of Constructs:** Serren
	+ The most powerful aethersmith. Can change the shape of his constructs without recasting them. Reports to the Lord Regent.

### Regents:

They rule the Order when there is no Awakened Scion of Arthur. They have functional control but are Oathbound to comply to Legendborn demands. They assign cases to Merlins, they hold trials and have the capacity to disappear people.

* **Regent of Shadows**: Cestra
	+ Oversees the Order's Merlin military, intelligence networks, and security forces.
* **Regent of Light:** Gabriel
	+ Oversees the recruitment and management of thousands of Vassals across the globe and responsible for upholding the Code of Secrecy. The Merlins that report to him are mesmer specialists tasked with mesmering anyone who sees too much.
* **Lord Regent:** Aldrich
	+ Leader of the High Council of Regents and the Order of the Round Table when a King is not present. Keeper of Legendborn records.

### The Order of the Rose:

* A women's auxiliary founded centuries ago when they couldn't Page, Squire, or Scion. It's mostly ceremonial now and a way for mothers or former Pages to support chapter events. For example, they always supervise catering events during the trials, and they send professional hair stylists for the Selection Gala.

## Events

### Initiation Ceremony

The annual initiation process happens at the start of every school year. Pages take the Oath of Fealty. This makes them official members of their chapter and grants them Sight. It's tradition for Scions to select a Page from the Vassals to their Line.

### Trials

The trials make up the tournament Pages compete in to be chosen as Squires. They typically take months, but with the approach of Camlann, the Regents announce that this year's tournaments at all chapters will be six weeks long. They make it even shorter after the attack on Nick. There are three trials, with each one testing a different aspect. While the aspects tested are immutable, the tests themselves change every year. The tournament trials are closed to those not participating.

### Selection Gala

The Selection Gala occurs after the completion of the tournament. It is a big formal event at one of the campus clubs. Every year, Vassal families come and schmooze with Page and Legendborn families to celebrate the end of the tournament. There's dinner, dancing, and champagne. After dinner the Scions who need Squires announce which Page they've chosen. Those who have earned the title of Squire will take the colors and sigil of their Scion and serve their Scion's Line. This is also when those who are deemed unworthy by the Order are mesmered and cast out.

### The Rite of Kings

The Rite of Kings is a ceremony in which the Crown Scion of Arthur becomes crowned king and takes control of the Order. The Scion of Arthur must formally and intentionally claim their title before the Regents to initiate the transfer of power officially. The Crown Scion pulls Excalibur and then makes and Oath to the Regents, and they make and Oath to the Scion. The Rite takes place is the Cave of the Dragon.

* "The shadows have risen. Will you swear, as king, to rise in return?" - Lord Regent "I swear that as king I will rise ready to dispel the shadows." - Crown Scion
* “Do you swear, as king, to take as your own the weight of the blood of the world?” - Regent of Shadows “I swear to take as my own the weight of the world.” - Crown Scion
* “And do you, as king, swear to serve the Order’s mission above all others, unto your death?” - Regent of Light “I swear to serve the Order’s mission above all others, unto my death.” - Crown Scion
* “By your blood, on your heart, seal your Oath with the Round Table. Unite the Table first in spirit, so that you may soon unite their Scions in flesh.” - Mage Seneschal at Arms “By my blood, on my heart, to unite the Table in spirit and in flesh.” - Crown Scion while raising Excalibur

### Camlann

When the thirteen Scions have Awakened and claimed Squires, the Scion of Arthur will lead the Round Table against the demon plague in a deadly battle. This war is called Camlann, so named because, in legend, Camlann is where many of the final knights were killed, and so did Arthur. Camlann is where the original Round Table was broken. If a fully Awakened Arthur is struck down by Shadowborn blood, the Legendborn power will be broken forever too. If the Scion of Arthur Awakens, it is the start of another Camlann, and death will follow.

## Oaths

Oaths are living bonds sealed by speech. Their words pull aether from the air so that the vow becomes a part of a person. Oaths are a foundational part of the Order's structure.

* **Oath of Fealty:** If the Oath finds you worthy, you will officially become a member of the Chapter and be granted Sight.
* **Oath of Service:** Merlins and Squires take the Oath of Service to serve the Order. Merlins take the Oath to the High Council of Regents and Squires take it to their Scion.
* **Kingsmage Oath:** Only the most powerful Merlin child in a generation is Selected to take the Kingsmage Oath. They are bound in a formal ceremony before the chapter to a child Scion of Arthur. For the rest of that Merlin’s life, they are the Scion's sworn protector until death.
* **Warrior's Oath:** When a Scion chooses a Squire, they are bonded be their battle partner and will share their bloodline's power.
* **Oath of Valor:**
	+ "I swear to never knowingly allow my Awakenend sovereign to come to injurious harm."

## Notable Locations

* **Southern Chapter:** Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at UNC. The Lodge is their Keep.
	+ Viceroy: Martin Davis
	+ Sergeant-at-Arms: Selwyn Kane

* **Northern Chapter:** Located in Georgia. The Northern Chapter's Keep is a gray-bricked castle set high on a hill.
* **Western Chapter:** Located in Virginia.
* **Merlin Academy:** Located at Asheville, North Carolina (could be more because they are Merlins located all around the world).
* Institute
* Pembray Village

## Trivia

* The university chapters of the Legendborn don't interact much. There's a healthy amount of competition between the chapters, even though they're supposed to be on the same side.

## Links

* Category: Members
* Category: Roles
* Category: Chapters
* Category: The Rose

## References

1. ↑ *Legendborn*: pg. 135
2. ↑ *Legendborn*: pgs. 114-115
3. ↑ *Bloodmarked*: pgs. 128-129
4. ↑ *Bloodmarked*: pg. 249