Order of the Shining Riders
The Church of Tathallion, the god of Knighthood, and Chivalry. The Order of the Shining Riders protects Welthrone and the humans within against threats and seek to spread the chivalric code across the realms.
Culture
The Order must follow a strict code of cleanliness when not in the field; they strive to keep their clothes as clean as possible, and prefer to wear Tathallion's sacred colors, gold and white. The knights of the order wear expensive heavy armor, often inscribed with gold trim and the sigils of the church and of their noble families. Priests of the order instead wear simple white robes, inscribed with holy sigils of Tathallion. The details of these sigils signify the rank of the priest, with the more detailed being of the higher ranks.
Military
The Order keeps several large divisons of knights and warriors ready to protect Welthrone and humanity from outside forces as at all times. The most elite warriors of the church train to master Tathallion's favored weapon, the greatsword, so that they can wield them with just one hand.
Infrastructure
Temples of the Order are often massive, castle-like structures, meant to weather an invasion if necessary. They always have large open courtyards, so that they can give their mounts ample room to wander and not feel confined. Some Temples that are built on the outskirts of more rural areas can often act more as horse ranches, where young knights can learn to train and ride their horses.
Shrines are built for fallen knights, usually by placing a stack of stones atop the knights resting place (or place of an important battle) with the knights great sword thrust into the stones. These stones are usually enchanted so that they can only be removed by a member of the faith, and often a young knight who succeeds in gaining an equal title of the interred knight or in preparation for a important battle will make a pilgrimage to a shrine and remove the blade for use once more.
Divine Origins
The Order of the Shining Riders was once the personal unit under the command of Tathallion when he was still a mortal, before he ascended to the god of chivalry. After his ascent, his order was expanded from a small military division into a full church-like military order.
Tenets of Faith
Tathallionites must follow strict codes of honor and chivalry, and adhere to the following tenets:
- I will always carry myself with honor and chivalry. To fight without honor is to tarnish one's soul.
- I will always strive to be truthful, even when it might be easier to deceive.
- I will stand by my tenants, even when my enemies will use my restrictions against me.
- I will act with honor, if an enemy surrenders, I will accept it. But I will only go so far. If an enemy refuses to repent and it is in my rights to do so, I will end them.
- My steed is my soul. I will never mistreat it, nor allow it to fall to harm.
- My power is not my own. It belongs either to my church, my liege, or to those I swear to protect.
Worship
The most common forms of worship for the order is to groom and take care of a mount while reflecting the teachings of Tathallion, but other methods simply include sharping weapons, polishing armor, and doing similar upkeep of gear.
Priesthood
Priests of the Knight of Justice are much rarer than normal knights of the order, as most prefer to become crusaders fending off the orcs of the Orken Hold or become personal vassals to a particular lord or government official. The few that become priests are held in high esteem by the rest of the order. Priests are responsible for the upkeep of temples and shrines, raising of war horses, and helping maintain the mental well-being of the knights of the order. When a knight has a moral conflict, they seek a priest to consult on what the correct course of action would be. Many of the priests are trained clerics, but rangers and druids are also common. Most clerics have training in heavy armor, and even gain divine blessings to help move more swiftly in their armor.
Granted Divine Powers
Followers of the order often gain an innate sense of right and wrong, and many gain the abilities that come along with becoming a paladin; the ability to find, hunt, and destroy evil. They often gain an innate bond with animals that can be used as mounts, able to easily calm and ride them. The most devout followers of the Knight of Justice gain abilities such as the ability to cause creatures around them to feel unease and off guard when performing unchivalrous acts; the ability to create a radius around them where creatures cannot lie; the ability to summon celestial mounts or infuse their weapon with divine power; and even the ability to challenge a creature to single combat, with both of the creatures entering a ethereal-like state and unable to affect the world until their duel is over.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Due to Tathallion's history in Welthrone, the Order of the Shining Riders has immense influence over the government, with many knights serving secondary roles under government officials. The Order itself is equal to the highest ranks of the Welthrone Military.
Sects
The two main sects of the Order are the Priests and the Knights, with the priests focusing on divine power and the Knights focusing on marital might. There are several sub-sects in each, with the Knights being divided into the Crusaders, Errants, and Protectors. The Crusaders focus on protecting the south of Welthrone from the raiding orcs of the Orken hold, patrolling the border and even raiding orc strongholds when they see them gathering strength. The Protectors serve nobility and important government figures as elite bodyguards, while Errants travel the country and sometimes even the world, search for evil in hidden places and aiding the common folk.
Ride and Shine
Founding Date
3600
Type
Military, Knightly Order
Training Level
Elite
Demonym
Tathalionites
Permeated Organizations
Deities
Divines
Location
Notable Members
Comments