Crestlyn Isle Organizations And Knightly Orders

The guilds, organizations and knightly orders of Crestlyn Isle

Knightly Orders

Grey Knights

The grey knights are an order of noble men and women who vow to protect the people of Crestlyn wherever they may be and from whatever threatens them. They do not get involved in political issue nor do they join a side in wars. They are varied, each of the original four races can be found as knights in the order. Taking up work from cities and towns alike, they travel in groups of 3 - 5 and eliminate any threat. The Grey Knights love adventure, they actively seek it. As long as there is evil, they will never rest from duty.

History

The Grey Knights were established as a simple group of trained men who were brought together by a common cause; to protect the people of Crestlyn. They were simply 4 adventurers who by chance meet in the Frozen North when hunting for a young dragon said to be causing much trouble in the cities around. After fighting and killing the dragon, they decided it would be best if they traveled together as they worked well as a cohesive unit. After adventuring as a party for nearly 2 years the 4 warriors: Dourne, Vorlen, Wesden, and Katherine, thought to begin a guild of strong willed adventurers, dedicated to protecting the people of Crestlyn no matter who they be. With the money earned, and looted, from their adventures, they created a guild house in an isolated section of the Frozen North. With permission of the nobles who rule over the country, they were knighted and had the authority to rule of a small section of land. With 5 more members recruited, they established their guild. Year 3180 was the year their guild was fully established and were recognized as a knightly order. Today their numbers reach 56, with two other guild houses on Crestlyn; one in Keeper's coast, and another on the northernmost area of the Center Plains. Since their formation in 3180, the Grey Knights have gone through many battles and events. The original four that formed the guild are long gone, their equipment passed down to their respective children and family. In the back of the original guild house, the graves of the first twenty can be found.

Notable Members

'Note:' The time-line of the heroes below are not birth and death, but their service in the grey knights.

• Dourne the Giant (3180 - 3240)
  • A giant of man, that stands at a towering 7 feet tall. Dourne is a human, born in a small town in the Frozen North. He grew up on a farm expecting to become a farmer like his father, though that changed when his town was attacked by a goblin horde.

• Wesden the Lion (3180 - 3200)
  • An average looking man with great skill with a greatsword. He began as part of his town militia and was dubbed the Lion for his ferocity in battle and his booming battle cry.

• Katherine the Wind (3180 - 3240)
  • A northern elf from the Abudar forest. She has won great renown for her hunting skills. After joining the Grey Knights, she became a figure of awe as none could match her speed.

• Vorlen the Void Walker (3180 - 3280)
  • A Siddh that took up arms with three other adventurers to stop a dragon menace. He is extremely adept at magic, especially so with the void as he could easily travel great distances in a blink of an eye by travelling through the void itself.

Notable Things Done

• Killed an evil dragon in the Frozen North
• Helped build a few small towns in the Frozen North
• Assisted the Dwarves of Steinhelm in clearing out creatures in their tunnel systems
• Overthrew a lord that was working for Baela.
• Killed the silver manticore that preyed on travellers and destroyed a town in the Abudar Forest

Oasis Knights

The Oasis Knights are an order of knights that operate in the Kahlri Desert. They are mostly recognized for wearing heavy cloth wrapping that is dyed both light blue and sandy yellow. The oasis knights are few, members reaching but 20, though they do their job effectively. The Oasis Knights are dedicated to the progression of human civilization in the Kahlri Desert and they protect all peoples that live in the Desert from the night creatures that seem to plague the Desert. They ride exotic creatures through the desert. Their leader, Alazar, rides a giant black scorpion.

History

They began as simple humans with experience in the 20 Day War. Since inhabited, the Kahlri Desert has had an issue with night creatures. Most are no problem for even new guards, though their abundance makes travelling for more than a day dangerous. Eight men who were born in the country of Wihym decided to work together in order to keep the roads safer. In year 3202, they began their mission to make the roads free of the beasts. They requested funding from several cities in the desert after proving themselves so they could continue to hunt down the night creatures. After another two years they recruited four members and Lerdouex recognized them as official knights, giving them funding to build a guild house. To this day they continue to keep the roads safe, and some are assigned jobs in escorting important caravans to and from the capital. Due to their relations with the capital, they are politically inclined towards Lerdouex and as such, side with the country of Wihym in it's decisions.

Notable Members

• Alazar
  • The current leader of the Oasis Knights. He wields a scimitar and though he fights without a shield, he has yet to suffer more than a few scratches.

• Husam
  • One of the order's best knights. He wears studded leather armor beneath his cloth wrapping. Husam wields a great-sword and rides atop a dire wolf.

Notable Things Done

• Kept trading routes open
• Saved the city of Gazar from being destroyed by night creatures
• Killed a bronze wyvrn that plagued the Kahlri Desert

Light Bringers

The Light Bringers are a newer order of paladins that bring justice to the land. They began in the Central Plains of Forlorn and now their members are spread throughout the continent. They are acknowledged by most civilizations as a knightly order and as law bringers. The Light Bringers follow the law when necessary though they are known for taking the law into their own hands and disregarding personal safety. For this, some people feel uneasy when a member of the Light Bringers are in the area and are sometimes watched by guards to stop the paladin from doing something brash. Regardless of the paladins' nature, they are indisputably good and so are at times exempt from the law of multiple countries, though it isn't uncommon for a member of the order to be imprisoned as punishment for breaking the law. The Light Bringers are dedicated to bringing the light of justice to the dark corners of the continent. Any can join, even those that have committed crimes, though the training to become a paladin naturally weeds out the men and women who cannot fight purely for justice. The order worships Helen, the Goddess of Light, even having their banners and armor emblazoned with a glorious sun. The paladins of the order always bring with them some indication that blatantly shows they are a Light Bringer.

History

They began in year 3800, started by a band of holy men that believed Crestlyn was falling to darkness. The men knew that tension between races was causing evil to spread. They gathered money and with permission from the country of Forlorn, they built a temple in order to train the newer generations to become holy knights. Ten years after construction began the recruiting. They accepted youths from poor families in exchange for a sum of gold. They recruited from nobles' sons and daughters as having a paladin in one's family brought great honor. They recruited from the middle class, children who did not want or had no talent to continue their father's trade. They recruited from criminals, giving them a chance to redeem themselves and be something greater. Twenty years more and the temple had dozens of grown men and women, ready to bring justice to the world. With their training complete, the paladins were sent out across the continent to help those who needed it. After sent out out, they had no obligation to return to the temple, they could live their lives where they wanted, but were told to always answer the call for help and as such they would be called upon by cities to assist in dire situations. Now they still serve justice, though the founders dead, they were replaced by old paladins and those will continue to be replaced by paladins of their order when they die.

Notable Members

• Ronny Fallcrest, Junna Fallcrest, Leo Hawkner, Sargino Thorn, Werlen Thorn, Helma Kirk
  • Founding members

• Argos, Ælia, Benignus, Cassiel, Clarus, Iovis
  • Current leaders and paladins of the order

Notable Things Done

• Help the people of Crestlyn
• Currently bringing justice to the world

Supranational Governments

Continental Dwarven Confederacy

Various dwarven mountainhomes across the Isle answer to the Continental Dwarven Confederacy. Each city is ruled by a different dwarven clan and there are few clans that are not a part of the confederacy. Steinhelm is the capital city and and it is ruled by the Ironbeards.

Ironbeards

While for as long as there has been a Steinhelm it has been ruled by the Ironbeards, they only gained control of it during the final stages of the old city's construction. The deepest halls that are now the Ironbeards' mountainhome and Steinhelm's inner sanctum were actually dug by the now-lesser clan known as the Goldbloods. In fact, the mysterious steel smelting technologies known only to the Ironbeard smiths of Steinhelm are said to have been stolen from the Goldbloods. The original purpose of Steinhelm was for it to be an outpost for the Goldbloods, that would use its rich veins of magnetite to produce a huge arsenal of steel weapons and armor. This would be used by them to gain supremacy over all the young dwarven realms, propelling the small empire of dwarves from its small hold of just three mountains to governing all of Crestlyn's subterranean kingdoms. Unfortunately for the Goldbloods, the Ironbeards, who were at the time a simplistic clan of nomadic hill dwarves, discovered Steinhelm before a single weapon was produced by it. The Ironbeards easily overthrew the Goldblood soldiers, using guerrilla tactics and barbaric rage to their advantage. The Goldblood smiths were enslaved and forced to use their secret techniques to forge steel goods of unmatched quality for the Ironbeards, who settled in Steinhelm permanently. Eventually, the Goldblood smiths all died out, and their methods were adopted by Ironbeard smiths, who are the sole workers of steel in Steinhelm today. The Ironbeards did not share the Goldbloods' dream of supremacy through war, but instead the Ironbeard clan leader Urist Trollflayer II established Steinhelm as the dominant dwarven trade city in all of Crestlyn (and some say the world). His complete control over the flow of steel across the Isle earned the Ironbeards their position as the most powerful and respected dwarven clan, which they maintain to this day. It also made Trollflayer II, as the leader of the leading clan, the first unofficial king of all dwarves, with Steinhelm as his capital.

• Magical Artifacts of Steinhelm

Over their millennia of economic dominance, the Ironbeards have built up, through greedy mining and copious exports of masterwork goods, an uncountable number of vaults, each filled with to the brim with precious metals, magical items, and expensive art. Each vault is defended by its own squad of guards, clad in masterwork Steinhelm steel. These guards are rarely Ironbeards, who are of too high status to grime their beards in combat, but instead are usually mercenaries from other clans (most often from the Gearhearts) hired by the Ironbeards to protect their treasure. The guards aren't given access to the vaults they protect, and rarely even know what they're guarding. Among these vaults, there is said to be one in particular that holds Steinhelms greatest treasures, that only the reigning Ironbeard clan leader has access to: the diamond strongbox. Although most of what is known about the vault is speculation and legend, it is said to be a one hundred cubic meter hollow cube made entirely of diamond, carved from one solid diamond. How it is entered or where it is entered from baffle even the most imaginative bards and gossipers. Inside are said to be five priceless and superpowerful magic items

Law Making Coalitions

Order of Liches

The Order of Liches is a small group of powerful undead that once lived on Crestlyn Isle. Most people see necromancy as taboo or a dangerous form of magic and some see necromancy as evil to the point of banning it cities. Every member of the order was a necromancer that achieved lichdom in some way. None were evil and hated the fact that people saw undead evil because they are animated by negative energy. Now they live in their own crafted city, hidden from society, dealing with any issues involving undead. Any person attempting to reach lichdom is monitored by the council when possible to ensure evil rites are not performed. When an issue arrives with undead, such as the sudden appearance of wraiths or other undead, a member of the order is assigned to investigate. Today people no longer view necromancy as evil thanks to the Order of Liches, though people are still wary and the art is still seen as dangerous and is not allowed in most civilizations. Even though the transformation of a lich is overseen by the order, that doesn't stop some necromancers that have malicious intent from becoming a lich in secret.

History

The Order started in year 3,200, which is 20 years after a group of outcast necromancers decided to work together. There were originally 3 members, two human and a siddh that were cast out from a human settlement after their work was discovered. They worked at a way to achieve lichdom without all the traditional dark rites that involve murder or demonic rituals. With three working together it only took them 20 years to discover a way to immortality without evil rites. Soon after, they created a group dedicated to prove that necromancy isn't evil. With two other necromancers recruited they began assisting willing towns and then cities with cleaning up disease and neutralizing any undead threats. People began trusting the liches and they revealed that they hold the ritual to achieving lichdom without evil acts, though they would never share the ritual with any city, stating that anyone wanting to become immortal must come to them. Today there are twelve members in the order, all being strictly neutral, only immortal to continue their research or assist civilization. Each race is represented in the order, 3 liches from each of the four original races are part of the order. The order is recognized as a group with authority and as such create laws relating to necromancy.

Members

• Twelve members, none of their names known.

Supernatural and Unknown Groups

Colossi of Crestlyn

Ever since arrival in Crestlyn, there have been reports of strange noises coming from secluded areas of the continent. For years investigation has shown nothing, until year 2200. Deep in the forests, high in the mountains, below the oceans and around strange sites there are colossal figures that roam about. All are made from material found naturally in the area and vary in size and shape. Some are humanoid and the size of a watchtower. Some are spider-like and are moving mountains. Regardless of their size, they were on Crestlyn before any other race arrived, which puzzles wizards even today. No one knows if they were made by the Gods, made by a powerful wizard before arrival, or if they are natural powers as the Gods are. They are filled with energy that cannot be identified as arcane nor divine, causing them to be a popular topic between wizards. In addition to their unknown arrival, their purpose is also unknown. Some speculate that they are guardians of ancient secrets, protecting an entrance to said secrets. Others say they are forces of nature implemented to insure that nature isn't destroyed. And few claim they keep balance in the world and can be found anywhere on the planet. The colossi are various, though seeing one is impossibly rare, as one needs extensive research and tracking to find one. Superstitions claim that a man who sees a colossus is extremely lucky and those who come in contact with them are destined for something great. Those who have come in contact with the colossi have reported feeling increasingly calm around them. The colossi are known to be intelligent, more so than the siddh and some report that they can speak. Though rare to find, the colossi are always within view, watching, waiting; though for what, only time will tell.