Templar

"It has been said that none of them have died of old age in over three hundred years. A notion that one might understandably scoff at... until they meet a Templar themselves."

-Dragonborn Shaman

The title of Templar is the recognition given to those dragonborn who have undergone tremendous physical and mental training to become some of the best warriors in Renasuri. As always, few live to be older than sixty-five. They've been present in some of the most brutal regions of this wild new world, doing battle against some of the toughest and most dangerous monsters currently encountered. When a shock troop of Templars arrive, you had better pray they're enough to stop whatever is coming - it's unlikely anyone else can. The hero Alassar was also a Templar.

History

Forgotten Age

"Take in this storm. Gale force winds that will sweep you off your feet. Torrential rain that feels like a thousand needles piercing your skin. And lightning that threaten to turn your body to ash. Truly it is beautiful."

-Girolem, Templar Reformer

The Templars were originally founded as part of the old religious order of the dragonborn, the name of which has since been lost to the sands of time. The Templars were blue dragonborn priests who upheld the virtues of honor, courage, and adaptability. They were respected for their commitment to these values, but they were revered for the profound skill they possessed over lightning magic. Every member of their order held a storm within his soul that could be unleashed in a tempest of destruction, should the need ever arise.
During the Last War, the order threatened to collapse in on itself as various factions within it fought for unifying the dragonborn response to the war. Some advocated aiding the other mortal races against the dragons, while others denounced that as complete heresy and suggested the opposite course of action - siding with the great reptiles against the unified forces of the devils, harbingers, and the rest of the races. The ultimate course of action was eventually dictated by those who suggested remaining neutral and focusing on preventing as many casualties to their own people as possible. Even so, many dragonborn died in the world-spanning conflict, and the numerous deaths during the Battle of Solum marked the end of the old religious order for good.

Era of Exile

"It matters little how we die, for we do so as greater warriors than we could have hoped - and yet worse than we could have feared."

-Unnamed Templar, prior to departing Scorcher's Ridge

After the appearance of the Broken Dreams, the dragonborn race was forcibly resettled by the harbingers on the mountains of Talonar and Scorcher's Ridge. The metallics were relocated to the former while the chromatics received the latter. During this time, the few remaining Templars who had survived the war and ensuing discrimination banded together and reformed the order. With their numbers greatly diminished and facing incredibly harsh circumstances, a quality-over-quantity approach was adopted to ensure that new initiates to the order would be able to cope with the newfound stresses that life had forced upon them. Before this, Templars had been known to live until ages of ninety and older - but now they were doomed to die before their sixty-fifth year. This decision was a pivotal one, and quite possibly the reason the order still exists today.
The Templar order quickly found themselves at odds with the vast majority of the dragonborn living on Scorcher's Ridge. The atmosphere was toxic, full of bitterness, resentment, and rage. The chromatics were quickly becoming the treasonous monsters the harbingers had accused them of being. Find themselves unable to effectively counter this growing tide of rebellion, the Templars took their blue brethren - the Kodiak Clan - and made the perilous journey across the mountain chain connecting Scorcher's Ridge to Talonar. They faced exposure to the elements, attacks from spawn of the Broken Dreams, and a treacherous path, but the Templars guided the clan to the refuge of Talonar with remarkably few losses - only thirty dragonborn died all told, including four Templars who were killed protecting their fellow clan members.
Fortunately for the Kodiak Clan and their religious defenders, the moral climate of Talonar was far more in alignment with what they themselves believed, and thus the only non-metallic group of dragonborn found themselves welcomed into the Metallic Confederation. Over the next two centuries, the Templars slowly replenished their numbers - but only at the steep price of many lost lives. The rites they put the initiates through were difficult, often to the point of lethality, to discourage many starry-eyed young dragonborn from joining the order. This hazardous selection process was considered controversial at best by the rest of the metallic dragons, who were shocked and often horrified that the Kodiaks were willing to let any of their number attempt such dangerous trials when there were so few dragonborn left. However, the Clan Elders had seen what the Templars could do when they had made the deadly journey from Scorcher's Ridge to Talonar, and they knew the time would come when the raw power and sheer indomitable nature of these storm-calling warriors would be needed for the survival of those dragonborn who remained.
Thus the Templar Order lived on, though at the cost of many innocent lives. But the debt was indeed eventually repaid, when the mantel was claimed by a remarkably young dragonborn by the name of Alassar, who ultimately used his training and will to save the imprisoned Cordelia Lifesong, reviving her and bringing about an end to the Era of Exile. He also led the survivors from Talonar to their new home of Tau Norac and founded the dragonborn nation of Pyronia.

Age of Restoration

"The world is a beautiful place, full of wonders. And it wants to kill you."

-Victus, Clan Elder, speaking to his grandson Alassar

After Cordelia's Revival, the number of the Templar's were twenty-three, all told. This became problematic when the dragonborn attempted to settle Tau Norac and engaged the Kruthik Horde currently residing there. After the Smelter's Crusade, there were only four Templars left - including Alassar.

Disparate Factions

It was at this point in time that the Elders of the metallic clans approached their counterparts in the Kodiak Clan and made a completely unexpected request - they wished to form their own versions of the Templar order. There were two reasons for this: Firstly, with the re-discovering of Forgotten Age history occurring across all of Renasuri, the dragonborn had learned about the old religious order, and the fact that several orders besides the Templars were involved in it. Secondly, the Templars had acted as the heroic defenders of the Kodiak Clan for the last three hundred years, and the had paid for their heroism with hundreds of blue dragonborn lives. Obviously they had done this willing, but the other clans were no longer willing to let their cobalt companions shoulder the sole responsibility of sacrificing themselves for the sake of others.
There was some disagreement to this among the Kodiak Clan Elders - if the other clans wished to have their own orders, why did they need their permission? It was Victus who pointed out that the name of Templar had become something of a legendary byword in recent years, thanks to his grandson Alassar. Even before that, the title had been revered for centuries. The fact that the other Clan Elders felt the need to request permission to form their own variations of the Templar order was a testament to the tremendous respect the title held. When put this way, the Elders of the Kodiak Clan realized this moment presented an opportunity not only to create five more "shields" to protect the dragonborn from the onslaught of time and disaster, but also a means of restoring the old ways from Forgotten Age. More than that, it would be a vast improvement on the original religious order - the Templars had become far more than what they had been in the past, and if they could do it, why not the others?
With this in mind, the Kodiak Clan Elders gave their solemn consent to the other Clan Elders, allowing them to craft their own Orders as they pleased, as long as they held to the deepest and most secret oath of the Templars - the Midlaas Vow - one that is known only to those who have completed the rites to attaining the position. However, they refused to share the Rites of Thunder, most sacred to all Tempest Clerics, for they are the embodiment of the storm and a signature ability of all Templars. Even so, the secret of the Midlaas Vow allowed each clan to craft their own Order - albeit none containing the raw power of the Templars, yet still a force to be reckoned with.
Each Clan crafted their own set of rites, oaths, and objectives for their particular Order.
Gold (Gerent Order):

• Clans: Kirin
• Ideals: Temperance, Prudence, Endurance
• Favored Weapon: Warhammer

Silver (Relmark Order):

• Clans: Sleipnir
• Ideals: Honesty, Integrity, Strength
• Favored Weapon: Axe

Copper (Myastan Order):

• Clans: Ankheg
• Ideals: Creative, Assertive, Resourceful
• Favored Weapon: Sword, Dagger

Brass (Legate Order):

• Clans: Jaculi
• Ideals: Authentic, Steadfast, Friendly
• Favored Weapon: Spiked Gauntlet

Iron (Order of Steel):

• Clans: Tuatara
• Ideals: Discipline, Duty, Dignity
• Favored Weapon: Spear

The Gerent Order focused on becoming bastions of leadership. The dragonborn people are a stubborn and stoic race, and gaining their respect and trust was no easy matter. Even among their own kind, building the strength of character and moral fortitude necessary for rule was an arduous task. As it was, the wisdom and patience displayed by the Templars of the Gerent Order proved equal to the task. They are currently some of the most respected individuals within the borders of Pyronia.
The Relmark Order was the sister of the Gerent Order. Their concentration was devoted to ensuring that laws were kept and justice was served throughout Pyronia. A race that prized honor and wisdom was in no way free of evil and darkness, sad though it is to say. The truth of the world's history, brought to light by the Cardinal Heroes, did more harm than good to the dragonborn relationships with outsiders. Bitterness at the injustice of history led some dragonborn down a path of resentment and hatred, sentiments that turned them to dark deeds done in rage against the others. The Relmark Templars, however, were instrumental in curbing these unfortunate activities, if not in entirely uprooting their cause.
The Myastan was probably the most different from the Templars, with an emphasis on cleverness and guile that ran counter to the straightforward tactics of their predecessors. They were masters of reading and playing to the letter of the law, while fudging the spirit of it just enough to still be considered honorable. Their willingness to see things from different perspectives and focusing on the end rather than the means was considered reckless - possibly treacherous - by the other Orders. However, the effectiveness of their Templars could only be denied with difficulty. As a result, they acted as the eyes and ears of Pyronia within - and without - the nation's borders.
The members of the Legate Order were masters of diplomacy, fighting for their nation's survival on a different battlefield than the other Orders. They were the most likely to leave Pyronia to seek out allies from other nations. Legate Templars had taken to heart the notion of the pen being mightier than the sword, and their tongues were deft as Myastan daggers. This was not to say they weren't competent fighters in their own right - indeed, not one among the Order lacked the brutal scars and bruises of training with their signature weapon; the spiked gauntlet. As one of their own once said, "A well-placed word can shatter nations - but a well-placed blow can shatter the jaw that spoke it."
Finally, the Order of Steel was the only offshoot of the Templars to rival - possibly outperform - the raw military power of those who had inspired them. The Tuatara Clan of iron dragonborn had taken the discovery of their falsified guilt with great difficulty. The vilifying of their ancestors to shift blame away from the Harbingers was nothing short of an earthshaking betrayal. Having once been some of the greatest advocates for redemption of the past through sacrificing of the present, they now swore to ensure no such deception would ever again be allowed to transpire. To this day, the rites and deepest secrets of the Order of Steel are guarded as closely as those of the original Templar Order. Some aspect of their training has granted them abilities beyond mere marital skill and tactical prowess, or so it is believed. No Steel Templar has ever left Tau Norac, let alone Pyronia. Yet still rumors persist about their purpose and powers, causing unease wherever the conversation may arise.

Current Numbers & Location

Today there are a total of six-hundred and seventeen Templars in all of Renasuri. Twenty-nine are abroad (including Alassar) while the rest remain within Pyronia.

Founding Date

-734

Training Level

Elite

Veterancy Level

Veteran

Location

Tau Norac

Related Ethnicities

• Chromatic
• Metallic