The Order of Fenrir
Structure
The Order of Fenrir is structured rather simply, with their Knight Commander at the top of the hierarchy and the knights also known as "fangs" beneath him and below these fangs are the cubs which would more commonly be referred to as initiates. The Order instead of ranks uses titles to distinguish specialized roles below are the most common roles however, new roles can be created if the right circumstance arises.
Long Fang
Long Fangs are the veterans within the order, when a knight reaches an age where his skills have been honed to near perfection and their hair starts to grey, they are given this title as a sign of respect and of all the knights in the order are perhaps the most feared for they have survived decades of cold and abusive environments fighting off snow demons, goliaths and even most likely giants. The Long Fangs are celebrated when they receive their title with a great feast within the Lodge which records tell can last for up to 5 days of nothing but drinking and feasting and friendly duels.Lone Wùlf
This title is a temporary one, when a knight feels like his time should be spent alone with his wolf in the wilds protecting the border on his own, or they hear of a relic they must claim; any mission that is not worthy of the packs' attention they adopt the title lone wùlf. While acting as a lone wùlf the knight will do just as the name implies and set forth on their own with their wolf companion and return once their task is complete. Across a knights' lifetime they will without a doubt adopt the title of lone wùlf on several occasions.Greymane
A Greymane is a title that supersedes the Long Fang title. Greymanes are old warriors who have started to deteriorate; although do not let that fool you, these warriors are still hearty and fierce, though with their health deteriorating they often undertake dangerous missions until they fall in glorious battle thus honourably freeing their brethren from the burden they will inevitably become.Toothless
Toothless is a sober title for a knight to receive. The Toothless are knights whose wolf has fallen before them, they often wear their skins as a sign of remembrance, when a Toothless is created the whole order sings songs sending them on to the next life with honour and comforting their grieving brothers and sisters. The Toothless often act similar to Greymanes seeking a quick honourable death to escape the sorrow they feel after loosing their animal companions.Pack Leader
Pack leaders are knights who will be essentially captains within the order when out on missions, it is important to understand that while they are in command they are still peers with their brothers and sisters and their title is to be respected but their word is not war. A pack leader is not claimed but bestowed upon one fang by his peers when out on quests together, a sign of great trust and love between the knights.Culture
Recruitment & Training
The recruitment process for the order is unique amongst the many knightly orders of Stormwind, as the order only takes in initiates (usually referred to as cubs by those within the order) who are beneath the age of 10. Furthermore, these children are always orphans as the order only trains those whose villages have fallen to the threats that slip through the order's patrols. In doing this the order ensures that all recruits are fuelled by vengeance and the hatred that comes with it, and thus this anger is used as a focal point of the initiates early training. The initiates are trained brutally, left in the mountains alone expected to survive, taught to hunt with bare hands, learning how to work alone or as part of a pack, the training they receive helps shape them in to the formidable warriors they have become. As part of their training all initiates go through a ritual called "the bonding" were the descendants of Ulrich's wolf companion Fenrir are shown to the initiates. The wolves are cubs and what makes them special and distinguishable from other dire wolves is the natural patterns their fur takes, these patterns are important as they are adopted by the wolves chosen bond. When a wolf chooses his or her bond mate the wolf will bow before them even as a cub allowing them to be touched and cared for by this bond mate. The relationship between wolf and initiate is the most sacred relationship that the knights will ever form, some are so intense they are even able to form telepathic links allowing the knight to feel the complex emotions of their bond mate, and in even rarer cases even slip into their conscious form while asleep. The wolf's fur pattern is tattooed onto the initiate when they ascend to knighthood and while the knights do not get to choose their design they are given the freedom of colour choice one of the few forms of self-expression bidden unto them. The Initiates ascend to knighthood (a.k.a "Fang") when a knight within the order believes they are ready, usually around the time the initiate finishes puberty and their harsher emotional edges are sanded down. The cub is taken with his/her wolf into the highest mountain paths and left with nothing but a knife and a tunic, the wolf will leave their bound mate and hide. After 3 days of survival if the initiate is still alive they will begin to hunt their companion, and upon finding them wrestle them into submission just as Ulrich did in years past. Once the wolf has been conquered they both make their way back to the Orders lodge and are greeted with feasting, drinking and their tattoos are printed on to their bodies. Following this they may perform The Bestellen and be officially a knight of Stormwind.Naming conventions
These Knights have a uniqueness about them even amongst the multitude of knightly orders within Stormwind. The Wùlfen do not hail their naming tradition from the Harvestlands from which they hail for instance, instead when they are adopted as cubs they shed their original name and done their Wùlfen name or true name; these are all hailed in the giants language and the language of the people of Suitenhiem to the north. As well as their naming convention the Wùlfen place a near sacred importance on hunting; cubs are often thrown into the wild with nothing but a knife and are expected to not only survive but also to bring back food for their lodge, many cubs die in this process but it is considered necessary to ensure that the pack does not allow weak blood in to their ranks.History
The Order of Fenrir traces its origins back to its founding Knight; Ulrich the Wulfblood. Ulrich's tale began as a small boy who lived in a long forgotten village in Stormwinds Northern most province, when he wandered off into the mountains and was caught in a terrible blizzard. Starving and on the brink of death Ulrich tracked a great white dire wolf known to many villages in the region as Fenrir the great white wolf. Ulrich cold hungry and alone caught the beast and wrestled her to the ground, but he would not slay her for she was too noble to pure of heart. Bowing to her new-found friend the great wolf lead Ulrich to a cave and sought shelter. Ulrich would return to his village a celebrity but during his adolescence his heart yearned for adventure to find Fenrir again, roam the wilds, and on his 16th birthday he did just that. Heading back to the mountains he found her, and for years he roamed the mountain passes battling goliath herds and hunting great beasts. On one of these hunts the two friends came across a wounded storm giant, whose battle scarred form showed signs of a tremendous battle, Ulrich did not wish to slay a helpless opponent not even a deadly giant whom if left unchecked would surely harm the villages below. Instead, he took pity and healed the giant, scavenging a local rare herb known as Eyiars Grace which he made into a salve and placed upon the dying giants deadly wounds. As thanks for this the giant led Ulrich to his cave in the mountains a very familiar cave.
Here the giant told Ulrich his story, how he Prince Calenhad had been usurped by the giants of his clan in the far frozen north, and how he had fled south but was ambushed by assassins in these mountains. Ulrich listened and his impulse too strong to overcome swore he would avenge the giant and slay the usurpers, for no rightful ruler should be disposed by treachery and dishonour. Calenhad shook his head "what’s past is past I must look to the future and new friendships".
Years went by with Ulrich learning from Calenhad the ancient magics of the giants how they used their connection with the primordial forces to imbue objects with power, Ulrich learnt the powers of frost fire and stone. With these powers Ulrich's notoriety became equal with that of,the first knights of Stormwind a lone wolf who protected the Harvestlands from the goliath herds and Suitenhiem raiders, wielding ancient magics growing taller than a house to slay Stormwinds enemies alongside the great wolf Fenrir. The cave Calenhad showed Ulrich quickly became Ulrich's home, and the two lived as all great friends do; drinking, feasting and hunting.
Ulrich's fame would not go unnoticed and in the year 331 p.d. the first king of the Wrynn dynasty King Llayne sort out Ulrich in the mountains and offered him a post as one of the Sons of Darnath, and to this day Ulrich is the only person to be offered a seat within the knights and refuse it. Ulrich couldn't let go of his mountain home, nor could he abandon Calenhad to live in the mountains in solitude, but Ulrich still wished to honour his king and instead bid that he be allowed to train his own knights, knights who would protect his kingdom from the threats of the mountain boarder and beyond. With Llaynes blessing Ulrich swore his Bestellen on the spot and formed the Organization known as The Order of Fenrir; named after his beloved lifelong companion.
Ulrich trained his knights at a young age taking in orphans from the many raids that slipped through his grasp. Taking these young ones Ulrich would deem them cubs and train them to hunt, fight and use the magics taught to him by Calenhad. And in his final days on this earth Ulrich received a vision from a great chained wolf, and its anger rose something in the dying man and uttered into his mind a prophecy. Upon hearing this prophecy Calenhad left heading north and has not returned since.
"When the greatest threat to our kingdom has been defeated and the skies lie scarred the rightful king shall return and the Wulfblood will lead his pack to for fill his final oath, and this shall herald the true wulfs coming. The Dragon of War shall fall and wulf shall take his place; Fenrir the unchained."This prophecy is not held in high regard by the church today but to the knights of Fenrir it is considered a sacred prophecy that their founder shall return and lead them to glory alongside Calenhad, completing the promise Ulrich made upon their first meeting.
We are the Dreaded Wolves, Sons of Ulrich and Fathers of the Hunt
Founding Date
04/06/331
Type
Military, Knightly Order
Alternative Names
Wulfen, Good Bois
Training Level
Professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Parent Organization
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