The Fall of the Templars

Political event

Mammon returns to corrupt the nobles of Taldor, turning them against the Templars.

Though his bid to place an Emperor loyal to him on the Taldor throne had been foiled and his armies defeated, Mammon did not consider either a total loss. The Templars had shown themselves willing to interfere in the political and clerical life of Taldor and it gave him a wonderful position from which to enact his vengeance. Sending a servant in the form of a foreign vizier, calling himself Verum Vocalis, Mammon infiltrated the court and started whispering words in the ears of emperor Klaus II.
Over the years, the Templars had tracked and killed many who worshipped Mammon and, with him being a devil of greed, the Templars had acquired vast wealth from the raided estates. This wealth, Verum Vocalis intoned, had no right to be with the Templar Order.
“What are they doing with it? Why are they always recruiting? What are the Templars hiding in their archives? Why do they not include the Emperor, the rightful ruler, in their discussions? “ - Question by question, Verum poisoned the Emperor’s mind. Paranoia grew and resentment festered.
It all came to a head when it was discovered that Temple Master Philippe of Justa had been having an affair with the Emperor’s daughter, Evangeline. Flying into a rage, seeing enemies everywhere, Emperor Klaus ordered his soldiers to kill every Templar in the city.
Over the next five years, the Templars fought a bitter war for their survival, but it was a hopeless one: The enemy outnumbered them fifty to one and the church had never forgiven the imprisonment of their leaders and riled the people up against them. Soon, the temples’ gates were broken down and the Templars dragged to the street and burned on the stake.
As the last of the Temples were being torn down, Temple Master Philippe was dragged onto the pyre in front of the Cathedral. As the fires started burning, Evangeline jumped into the flames and clasped her arms around him. Even as they burned, they kissed.
And then the city burned as they did.