Knights of the Stellar Flame
The Knights of the Stellar Flame are a monastic quasi-militaristic order focused on Pre-Silence technology. The Knight's core purpose is to preserve advanced technology and regulate its usage. This is because they believe humanity cannot be trusted with the means to destroy itself, and they acquire technology to prevent another interstellar dark age. The order was founded with the thought that they would be the catalyst that could usher humanity into a new "Age of Exploration", so they focus on collecting as much knowledge as they possibly can. Centuries of tradition have morphed the organization into a cult-like mentality. They are steeped in rituals, religious scripture, and obtuse mysticism that loosely resembles the tech-magi of the Covenant of Man.
The Knights are highly regimented and strict in their command structures. All members fall into one of two categories, the Keepers and the Seekers. The Keepers represent the support structure of the Knights, they are the scribes who document, codify, and organize the findings of the Knights. The Seekers on the other hand represent the militant wing, dedicated to forging ahead on dangerous abandoned worlds to find the lost technology and knowledge. Both answer to the High Clerics, who are a council made up of members from both the Keepers and Seekers. They are split into Wings, that are able to operate more independently, and under the command of a Paladin. Each Wing is usually assigned a sector of space, where they are tasked with hunting down precursor ruins and artifacts.
They rarely work alongside other groups or organizations. However, they maintain a mostly tepid relationship with the greater galaxy, usually trading in weapons and secrets to get what they want.
They operate from an ancient dreadnought, the Perserverance of Steel.
Structure
The organizational structure revolves around the Bond of Steel. It mandates obedience to one's superiors and forbids circumventing ranks when giving orders. Superiors may only give orders to their direct subordinates, but not their subordinate's subordinates. Although intended to ensure the cohesion of command, the doctrine has been generally interpreted as a simple mandate of obedience within the order, with the order flow requirements ignored, abandoned, or altered in practice. However, it does provide a technicality that can be invoked to relieve members of their rank, up to and including high clerics.
Joining the Knights
The Knights of the Stellar Flame rarely recruit from outside of their own order. In rare cases, the order will take in orphans from war torn regions of space, raising them as future Knights. When one joins the Knights of the Stellar Flame, they are given the title "Aspirant" and usually educated in the ways of the order. All the while, the aspirants are tested, trained, and indoctrinated into the beliefs of of the Bond of Steel. Most aspirants remain that rank for years, as they study histories of the Orion Arm, the myth of the Stellar Flame, and technical knowledge that has been perserved since the Age of Exploration. They begin shadowing the Keepers and Seekers, as they prepare themselves spirtually to join their ranks. When the Clerics deem them ready, aspirants are elevated to either a Squire or a Scribe. They are then assigned to a fully fledged knight, paladin, or cleric to serve and learn from. Scribes usually work in a technical field, research lab, or as educators. Squires are warriors, pilots, and trackers. Some never make it past being a scribe or a squire, and these rolls are the most common. If one is able to distinguish themselves, they may be promoted to an Artisan (if they were a scribe) or a Shield (if they were a squire). Artisans and shields are masters of their craft, though they still remain attached to a Knight. In rare cases some are assigned directly to a Paladin. To move higher up the ranks, one must be chosen to become a knight. Knights are a bridge of both the squire and the scribe, a warrior poet, an academic crusader. Knights can only come about through the blessing of a Paladin. Even the clerics cannot raise their own knights. Knights usually have multiple squires and scribes under them, and are the backbone of the Stellar Flame. These small teams make up the most independent apparatus of the Knights of the Stellar Flame, and rarely number more than a dozen. Knights answer directly to the clerics and paladins, and are usually asigned their own personal starship. To be a knight is to uphold the Bond of Steel. Above the Knight lies the Paladins and the clerics. Clerics outnumber paladins in the order, and server as administrative heads, managers, and as general counselors to the overall order. Paladins command their own Wings, leading expeditions to find and collect holy relics to return to the Perserverance of Steel.
Type
Religious, Monastic Order
Alternative Names
Knights of the Flame
Deities
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