Malta

The Republic of Malta, Repubblika ta’Malta locally, is made up of seven Mediterranean islands with a total area of some 316 square kilometers, making it one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in the world. At less than a square kilometer, its capital, Valletta, is also the smallest in the European Union.
Malta has a long history as a valuable port for trade and naval vessels, dating back to ancient Phoenician, Greek, and Roman traders to its relatively modern role as a naval base for the United Kingdom.
Malta also has a long history as a Catholic stronghold. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, granted Malta to the Knights Hospitalier in 1530 and the order, also known as the “Knights of Malta” ruled the islands for over two hundred years, until their ouster by the forces of Napoleon Boneparte in 1798.
Following a Maltese rebellion just a few years later, Malta became a British possession, and played an important role as a naval base on British trade routes and during the Second World War. The nation achieved independence from the UK in 1964 and the modern republic was formed ten years later.
Unscrupulous treasure hunters and super-criminals are sometimes drawn to Malta by the potential for lost Hospitalier artifacts (some gathered from the Middle East and other sites across the ancient world), as well as by the mystic potential of ancient Neolithic sites on the islands.
Fortunately, Malta has its own protector. Known as “The Knight of Malta” or simply “the Knight,” the mysterious figure is clad in the ghostly, glowing armor and tabard of a Hospitalier, wielding a similarly shining shield and sword. The armor and shield are supernaturally tough and the Knight’s sword can cleave through ordinary materials. Sometimes, the Knight appears mounted on a ghostly, glowing horse able to gallop through the air.
In truth, the Knight is not any one person, but a kind of supernatural energy or presence that occupies different Maltese citizens as hosts, granting them particular powers and an innate sense of what needs to be done with them. Thus far, the Knight has always chosen well (assuming it is a choice at all): Everyone who has wielded its power has proven worthy, and it has been a life-changing experience for many of them.
Some of these “New Knights of Malta” remain quietly in touch with each other, and have sworn both to keep the true nature of the Knight a secret, and to assist whoever wields the Knight’s power in times of need.