Order of the Gilded Dragon

Knights of the Shadow

The Order of the Gilded Dragon is a religious knightly order of fetchlings that venerates the Shadow, which the fetchlings know as the Gilded Dragon.

Table of Contents

A fetchling knight in their iconic black and gold armor.

Purpose

The Order of the Gilded Dragon is a powerful knightly order that is based out of the home plane of the fetchlings and the Shadow, known as the Holy City of Amumbra. Their purpose is a simple one, which is to realize the wishes and whims of their god, the Gilded Dragon. Powerful and malicious, they commit no end of terror and destruction in their wake. They look down upon any non Shadow-worshiper as a heretic to be destroyed. It is fair to call these dreaded knights the military arm of the fetchlings.

History

As an organization and tradition created by the extraplanar fetchlings, it is unclear how long the Order has existed for. Before their extraplanar exile, the Shadow-worshipers entrenched in Harad had similar militant arms of their faith which had similarly sowed terror and bloodshed, perhaps based on their own twisted views of the Romanoran kataphractos. While it may be fair to say that the current Order had likely evolved from these proto-knights, extraplanar scholars argue at what point these groups differed from their modern counterparts, or if they ever truly did.
While their direct origins are unknown, it is known that the fetchlings reemerged as organized military units about 400 years ago, including these characteristic "knights". They have been a major fixture in nearly every overt attempt of fetchling invasion on Arda, and several have been seen guarding their more covert attempted as well. In this regard, the Torches consider seeing these knights as a bad sign, meaning that they consider their attempt serious enough to send powerful and seasoned soldiers.

Members

The direct organization or ranking of the Order of the Gilded Dragon is unknown, but all members of the Order are believed to be fetchlings. As the Shadow has numerous known eldritch ancestries at it's command, it is unclear why the Order's knights are only fetchlings. It may likely that either the fetchlings or the Shadow dictated that their Order only train fetchling knights, or perhaps another reason entirely.
What is more clear is that many of these knights are also blessed with the Shadow's immense power and aura, having powers not unlike the paladins of Arda. They are known to heal each other and their allies, smite the foes of their faith, and possess abilities that enhance the strength of each other into a formidable unit. They are well-versed in the black iron and gold armor of their people, and many are proficient with numerous kinds of weapons.
The Order also seems to possess a number of divisions in terms to roles. Most notably, there are those often seen accompanying them, believed to be chaplains or sorcerers. Some can control the essence of their corrupted Black Blood. Others seem to be tremendous size or power, perhaps displaying a different degree of training, corruption, or magical enhancement. One of the most striking of these are the near giants, referred to as the Order of the Chain. Immense and powerful, they are known to accompany fetchlings of importance, namely the Tyrant or one of the Apostles of the Tyrant. It is unclear if these members are indeed a different order, or simply another subgroup of their Order.

A fetchling knight who serves the Apostles of the Tyrant.

Scope

Being an extraplanar organization, it is not directly clear how large or how many the Order numbers. From accounts of escaped slaves from the Theopolis of Leng, it is known that knights of the Order are seen there, but what role they play there is unclear. Similar accounts exist as well from the Forge of Haddoth and even the Blood Fortress of Thuban. As earlier stated, they have mounted a number of small-scale invasions of Arda, though few have had a lasting impact thanks to the efforts of the Torches and their allies.

See Also

• Holy City of Amumbra
• Dragon's Domain
• Shadow Worship