Hellknights, The
The Hellknights are a collection of knightly orders with a unique focus on the promulgation of law. They are interested less in the social goodness and charity typical of paladins, but rather in the foundation and stringent maintenance of order at all costs. In their iron-handed exaction of law—specifically, the laws of their various orders and their home country of Cheliax—Hellknights emulate the organized and effective armies of Hell. They are not concerned with morality or methods, only results. If people cannot be trusted to obey the law out of their own senses of civility and social righteousness, Hellknights provide the need to obey out of fear of a master's stern hand.
Training
They train with summoned devils, the signifers of their orders coaxing the ingenuity of diabolical tactics from infernal tongues, while the rank and file members spar against the very denizens of Hell—making nearly any future conflict a far less daunting prospect. They learn that sacrifices must often be made for the greater good, obey draconian regimens of military conduct, commit to encyclopaedic memorization of the laws of their orders and local governing bodies, and undergo constant drills to train their bodies and minds.Appearance
Every order of Hellknights has a distinctive, intimidating style of full plate armor that distinguishes them from the others that is only allowed to be worn after the individual Hellknight has defeated a devil in combat. All Hellknights wear the armor of their order as a matter of pride and are rarely seen without it. The Order of the Nail's armor, for example, features a horned helm and demon-faced breastplate.The Measure and The Chain
The law and order the Hellknights live by and seek to impose are not the laws of any one nation. Rather, they are a set of strict philosophies known as the Measure and the Chain.The Measure
A massive codex of duties, laws, and crimes, the Measure serves as a guide to a strict, ordered society. Based upon centuries of Chelish and Taldan legal codes, as well as passages from the strictures of Hell itself, this body of laws extols justness rather than justice.The Chain
This philosophy encourages discipline through trial, whether such tests involve memorizing and meditating upon the Measure or exposing oneself to stress and pain that threaten to break the weak. At its more philosophical level, the Chain concerns itself with three virtues: order, discipline, and mercilessness. Each of these virtues is embodied by dual maxims. Order teaches that Hellknights should strive to create a world that has no need for them and that every soul should punish those who hold back progress. It is embodied by the maxims “embrace obsolescence” and “every soul a tyrant.” The former encourages Hellknights to build a world of perfect, self-sustaining order, while the latter encourages every mortal—Hellknight or otherwise—to be a force for order. Discipline teaches that no achievement occurs without loss and that emotions are a distraction and a vulnerability—this includes fear, which the Hellknights turn into a weapon against the weak. The maxim “emotion is weakness” encourages Hellknights to purge their minds of all tempestuous feelings and desires, be they fear and sorrow or love and pride. “Execution by flame” teaches that Hellknights must be ready to destroy all to accomplish their aims, and that only by casting off something may one become greater. Mercilessness claims that all are guilty of something and that compassion is damaging to civilization. The lesson that “society cannot survive mercy” is one of the oldest philosophical tenets of the Hellknights, teaching that exceptions pave the path to anarchy and that a bleeding heart sickens all society. Tied in with this idea, the maxim “none are innocent” reminds Hellknights that everyone has transgressed and harbors unjust thoughts, and so none are truly deserving of mercy or exceptional treatment under the law. Together, these three virtues and the six lessons they encompass are symbolized in the Hellknights’ symbol, the Ennead Star.Structure
Organization and orders
Following Ruel's disappearance in 4589 AR, his successor Aligois Thels reorganized the Hellknights' structures to align with the ranks of the ancient legions of the Jistka Imperium.Organization
The leader of a Hellknight order is known as the lictor, while a leader whose training is more scholarly and less martial is known as a vicarius. Beneath him are an order's master or mistress of blades (field commanders) and paravicar (leader of the order's arcane/religious forces). Beneath them, paralictors (Hellknight officers), signifers (Hellknight spellcasters), rank and file Hellknights, and armigers (Hellknights in training) flesh out the ranks.Culture
Regardless of their severity, Hellknights are not an inherently evil group; they are wholly unconcerned with morality. Although there are numerous evil members—particularly among their upper echelons—the majority of the orders are impartial arbiters and enforcers of order and justice. They see the study of Hell's tenets and even the summoning of devils as tools meant to intimidate and strengthen the individual resolve of the orders' members. Hellknights are taught to replace emotion with steely discipline, and are not interested in methods: only the end results matter.
While Hellknights are widely feared and respected, the common Hellknight joins out of a sense of duty and a wish to be a part of something greater, seeing a world ruled by laws and free of rampaging beasts and cheating thieves as a future well-worth striving toward, even at the sacrifice of freedom. Countries and rulers sometimes invite Hellknights into their lands, leaving the dirty business of harsh law enforcement to an already loathed third party, although convincing Hellknights to leave once they have been welcomed sometimes proves problematic for more freedom-loving societies.
Assets
Major orders
- Maidrayne Vox, Mistress of Blades for the Order of the Nail, wears her order's distinctive armor.
- There are numerous orders of Hellknights. Most have holdings in Cheliax, but a few have expanded or moved to operate outside the country, most typically in regions formerly held by the empire. Below are the seven major orders and their headquarters in alphabetical order:
- Order of the Chain at Citadel Gheradesca near Corentyn (Cheliax)
- Order of the Gate at Citadel Enferac near Pezzack (Cheliax)
- Order of the Godclaw at Citadel Dinyar in the Aspodell Mountains (Isger)
- Order of the Nail at Citadel Vraid near Korvosa (Varisia)
- Order of the Pyre at Citadel Krane near Ostenso (Cheliax)
- Order of the Rack at Citadel Rivad near Westcrown (Cheliax)
- Order of the Scourge at Citadel Demain near Egorian (Cheliax)
Lesser orders
Numerous lesser orders of Hellknights exist, although few are known outside the borders of Cheliax. Although less pervasive, these smaller orders are only slightly less feared than their better-known brethren.- The Order of the Coil was formed in the former colony of Sargava (now known as Vidrian), and sought to prevent the "pollution" of the colonists by native cultures
- It's current status since the reforming of the government under strictly local control is unknown.
- Little is known about the secret Order of the Glyph.
- The Whisperwood's Order of the Pike hunts down monsters
- Egorian's Order of the Scar stalks assassins
- The Order of the Torrent rescues victims of kidnapping, but have been in severe decline for the past several decades. It exists almost entirely in Kintargo.
Extinct orders
- The Order of the Crux was hunted into extinction by the Order of the Scourge, although three graveknight members remain.
- The Order of the Thorn was destroyed by the Order of the Pyre during the Chelish Civil War,
- with the decisive battle being the two-week Siege of Demain in Arodus of 4635 AR.
- The Order of the Vice exclusively battled threats from the Great Beyond.
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