The Order of Viridios

The Order of Viridios is an ancient Order of Paladins that hails from the ancient kingdom of Hynadeyr. The order was founded by the mystical Hynadeyrian Paladin Bertilak of Gràdhbeathamar.
Very little is known about Bertilak and the founding of the Order of Viridios. Viridios is a different name for the deity Tuma. Viridios/Tuma was commonly worshipped by the ancient Fachfordians, though her worship has declined much over time with the fall of Hynadeyr.
The Order of Viridios are sworn protectors of the Psildés forest and its inhabitants, people, animals, and plants. Outside of that, they pledge to protect all nature from the corrupting influence of industry and war.
The current members of the Order believe that their founder, Bertilak, a great knight and lord of Hynadeyr, who had forgotten his respect for Nature and was making the city Gràdhbeathamar grow large at the cost of nature, encountered a great Ent in the Psildés Forest.
The Ent spoke to Bertilak, and said that he had come to set Bertilak's path right. Bertilak, taking this as a threat, and struck by a sudden fear, readied to fell the Ent with his legendary great axe. The Ent warned Bertilak that if he struck the Ent, he would suffer the same fate in return. Bertilak, in his fear and hubris, struck the Ent nonetheless. However, as his axe struck at the heart of the Ent, the handle of the axe buckled, and splintered, leaving the axe-head embedded in the heart of the Ent. Unarmed, but believing he had slain his foe, Bertilak realised what he had done. In a moment of hubris, he had slain a creature that was holy to the Fachfordian civilization.
Bertilak, too ashamed to return home, wandered the woods aimlessly. Suddenly he stumbled upon a serene spring of water. In the pool, he gazed at his reflection, and saw how the days spent wandering had taken its toll on him; His clothes were tattered, his face was covered in green and brown hues, and his hair and beard were matted with dirt. He looked the part of an Ent himself. Struck by this picture, he begged the gods for forgiveness, at which point he heard the voice of the Ent behind him. The Ent bid him to be calm, and told him that he would be forgiven, after he accepted the payment for his deeds. At the end of his rope, and truly remorseful, Bertilak bared his chest, as the Ent struck him with his own axe head.
What happened in between this moment, and Bertilak returning home is never said in the books of the Order. But, after his return to civilization, Bertilak rapidly set about changing his ways. He founded the Order of Viridios, and became a fervent and loyal protector of nature. Indeed, with the axe head still lodged in his heart, steering him down the right path.
The current Paladins of the order care little for the laws of mortal empires. They merely wish to protect life and beauty. Though many Dytí civilians fear the 'weird' looking knights, some looking like they could be ents themselves, some dressed in shining armour with golden antlers on their helmets. Few people truly know the Paladins, as they now rarely show themselves in civilization. But those that do, speak of forces of nature, that will protect all those who are innocent, and all that is good and green and gold.

Type

Military, Knightly Order