The Royal Order of Knights
(Königlicher Ritterorden)
Commonly called the RYOK, or a “Rook”, each Duchy maintains their own Order and the jurisdiction between various Orders is almost religiously upheld. Of note, service in the Rooks does meet the requirement of governmental service of all citizens.
Composition
While many of the Eisenvolk who join the Rooks are simple fighters, it is not uncommon to see other classes and professions join the order. Despite the name, the Rooks cannot be heard clanking down the street in plate mail.
A member of the Royal Order of Knights can be identified from their heraldic design unique to each Duchy, but clearly displays a Rook chess piece embellished with the arms of Eisen and their local Duchy.
The RYOK, is organized as most ‘modern’ police forces might be, with the following rank structure, but treated as a Knightly Order:
- Grandmaster of the Royal Order of Knights, per Duchy/one for Novandria
- Grandmaster Hubard Drost - Half Orc
Marshal of the Royal Order of Knights, per Barony/per Novandrian ward
Marshal for Noble Island Novandria is Alberad Klein (elf)
Marshall Eboneld Drache- North Novandria Ward (dragonborn)
Marshal for Central Novandria is Merovide Rast (human)
Marshal for South Novandria is Elizabeth Parr (Human)
Knight Captain, per District - Novandrian Captains report to their marshal and are assigned per Bastion
Knight Captain Chester Royle (Halfling) - Noble
Knight Captain Angel Astaciano (Assimar) - North
Knight Captain Tristrun Sinclair (human)
Central-Knight Captain Elle Frisch (Human) - South
Knight Lieutenant
Sergeant at Arms or Knight Banneret
A Knight Banneret is analogous to a Detective
Knight Errant
Overall training Level
Trained
Assumed Veterancy
Trained
The room smelled of death and he hated it.
Knight Banneret Oswald Silver pulled the corner of his coat over his mouth as he looked over the room. He’d seen his fair share of death in his day, it wasn’t that; it was just that this was so… violent. A mind trained from an early life at one of Novandria’s famed magical Academies picked out the details of the crime scene in startling rapidity and accuracy.
Bits… were everywhere. It was why the Errants had called him in to take a look over the place and he frowned in understanding.
“Clear the room, please,” he said, as the various Rooks nodded, doing so. Silver slowly closed his eyes, beginning the short ritual magic which had been one of the first things he’d learned at the Academy. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes, looking over the flow of magical energies in the room.
It still stank of death and entrails, but layered under that he sensed what he had been expecting to see - despite being almost certain what was there, his blood ran cold and he let the detection spell fade as he turned back to the door, opening it again.
“Get on the Lev and call in to the Order for backup,” he said brusquely, throwing the rampaging voice of his fear into the back of his mind like he had been trained to do. The Knight Banneret reached into the specialized pocket in his overcoat for spell components and pulled out a small bit of fur from a bloodhound as he began to work the magic to locate the creature who had done this.
“Not sure if we’ve got a lycanthrope curse that popped, someone’s hidden bloodline coming to fruition at a bad time, or just a wild one in from the woods, but we’re wolf hunting tonight.”
Silver watched the color drain from their faces and he barked the order again, stirring them into motion. “Get on the Lev, and do it now. We’ll need backup. And tell them to bring the silver weapons.”
As the Errants moved, he looked back to the forming magical pattern in front of his eyes, working his will and the energy of the spell through it, hoping in the privacy of his mind that this wasn’t the last spell he would ever cast.