Spring Knights

They are the riders of the Springtime, knights of highest honor, and defenders of goodness and holiness. They serve the King of Hain, but their highest loyalty is to Ustav, God of Protection and Renewal. A Spring Knight is a nigh-divine figure, a paragon of power and justice that are elevated above all other mortals. They are not bound to the Kingdom of Hain like other knights - in fact, they have a responsibility to constantly wander and train abroad. The title of Spring Knight must be maintained through constant effort, and the blade of the Knight must be sharpened on the bones of the wicked whenever possible. They wander the lands of Stildane, slaying monsters and other threats to the commonfolk of the irradiated land to perfect their skills and grow their glory. 
In times of crisis and impending doom, the Spring Knights can be summoned to fight in a great regiment of renown. When the Bones of Ustav are empowered, a mystical signal is sent to all fully initiated members of the Order. They are called to either the Castle of Arvarad in Hain, or the Holy City of Trostev in The Kingdom of Gennorholn, where they assemble with their auxiliaries to ride for the glory of the faith. A charge by the full host of the Spring Knights has never failed.
Spring Knights are not restricted to only one kind of combat, but the majority of them train from a young age to achieve this station and follow the same set path: using the Divine Contact to call upon a member of the Lunar Pantheon, and then pledging an oath to represent them in the Spring Knights in exchange for power. A handful of Lunar Gods tend to be amenable to this: Wimbo the Hero-Maker, Jade, Goddess of Order, Emesh the Honest, and Haru the Traveler. Orchid of Blue, Ishkibal, and Lily of Red are all possible, but less common choices. Hiku the Muse, Theia the Liberator, and Agamine the Lost very rarely are represented among these knights. Once this oath is made, the paladin then must prove themselves, often working as a squire or acolyte of the order in some capacity. In exchange for their service, the young knight may then learn the Art of the Green Knight: a mixture between holy druidism and knightly magic. 
A rare few do not follow this path, but wander into the Spring Knights by virtue of skill and good fortune. If an Uvaran knight achieves a level of great fame for their skill in battle and commitment to the faith, they may be offered a position as a Friend of the Order. Friends of the Order can then be brought into the full order over time, if the knights agree they are worthy. 
The commonfolk of Uvara generally support the Spring Knights whenever possible. It is said that some Spring Knights are able to bless the land as only a powerful druid or bard can - enriching it with life and making the crops healthy and abundant.

Composition

Manpower

No mortal knows how many Spring Knights there are, but the highest estimate is 1,000 full knights and the lowest is 100. The latter seems closer to the truth, but the former is not impossible. That leaves a lot of ambiguity, which the knights actively play up to be simultaneously rare and miraculous, and a great host able to slay armies.

Weaponry

The Order arms all full knights with fitted green-enameled fullplate armor, a longsword, a shield, a lance, and barding for their mount. Knights may fight with whatever weapons they wish when on their own.
All Spring Knights carry a finely crafted amulet marking their station. Supposedly, it is what allows them to be summoned together by the bones of Ustav, but that has never been confirmed.

Vehicles

The vast majority of Spring Knights can summon their own mount in the form of a celestial warhorse. These holy steeds are magical and can take the form of a camel, an elk, or a mastiff depending on the need - but warhorses are standard when working as cavalry. More powerful Spring Knights can summon greater flying mounts instead.
When they need to move quickly, the Order provides Knights with flying Ederstone-touched mounts known as  Griffons of the Green. These are not summonable and therefore are treated with much greater care. Guardians of the Holy Cities use specially-bred Wardrakes instead. These specialized mounts are sometimes used for cavalry charges during dire moments, but that is only during the most desperate of hours.

Structure

There are two Grandmasters of the Spring Knights: one who manages the South, based in the city of Ozaren (in Hain ), and the other who manages the North, out of the city of Trostev (in Gennorholn ). The Southern Grandmaster is the de-facto leader, as the South tends to have far more knights on active duty.
The Grandmasters are elected by the officers. The current Grandmaster of the South is Lelistra the Patient, a kindly Hainish Half-Dryad with many legends to her name.
The officers, or Knights of the Upper Order, are nominated by their fellow knights and chosen by the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster is expected to listen to popular demand from within the order and to choose from among the most popular candidates. Officer positions range from guarding sacred artifacts, to representing the order to the Kingdom of Hain, to managing recruitment, to managing the funds.

Tactics

When wandering, a Spring Knight must balance their bravery and their humility. A knight must be honorable enough to attempt to slay any foe, but must be humble enough to know that any foe can be a legendary monster in disguise. Spring Knights typically conscript and lead local militias and warriors, but they must lead any charge themselves to remain honorable. 
When in formation, the Spring Knights do not typically charge the front. Rather, they flank when possible, to ride like the hammer of god into the unsuspecting enemy from the side. Ideally, any enemy that sees that there are Spring Knights charging at them from behind is going to surrender before the charge even hits. An effective flanking charge can hopefully lead to a wave of panic that can cause entire wings of the enemy army to flee or surrender with minimal fighting. Sometimes, a direct frontal charge is needed, of course. But one should use one's force, and one's initial impact, wisely.

Logistics

Logistical Support

The Spring Knights are supported by a large support network of squires, stewards, and support staff. Knights who want to advance are expected to keep 1 to 5 apprentices when wandering, and may have 2 to 10 support staff depending on how they like to travel. Typically, more apprentices means more support staff, since the Knights themselves are often magically self-reliant and can get food and lodging from communities as they go. 
Most of the support staff operate out of the fortresses - especially the two main headquarters. Mounts must be kept and trained, weapons procured, funds processed, rents collected.

History

The first Green Knights were the companions of the legendary warrior, Arvarad the Magnificent. Arvarad was a Hainish warrior known for keeping company with monster hunters, mercenaries, and adventurers willing to join together to fight the worst of the wasteland's monstrosities. In 560 ME, Arvarad called together the best of the best from across Southern Stildane to ride together against the Kivishta. The Kivish hit back hard, but the companions rode together despite it all. They charged through the hordes to the occupied realm of Gennorholn in 563, where they retrieved the knucklebones of Ustav. Arvarad himself died on the journey, but the companions agreed to stay together to guard the bones under the leadership of his daughter, Minessa. 
The Green Knights were known as the Brethren of Arvarad, and acted as a kind of religiously-charged adventurer's guild from 563 through the 800s, but had begun to form a more disciplined and professional corp of holy warriors in the 900s. When Hain transitioned to an elected monarchy in the early 1000s, they reorganized as a knightly order with the new government. The 1000s through 1200s, saw knighthood and chivalry defined and regulated, and the Spring Knights led the way. It seemed towards the end that they might even be fully absorbed into the Hainish state. But when the Kivish returned in the 1300s and began conquering in the North, the Knight Commander of the Spring Knights refused to stand by and watch. He led those knights who would follow him North, to oppose the Kivish actively rather than wait for them to come - and while he failed to defeat them, he was ultimately correct that they were coming for Hain. The shock of the Third Kivish Invasion shook the Spring Knights from knightly politics and inspired them to become something more. 
It was the wars of the Children of Verkon from 1680 to 1750 that made the Green Knights into continent-wide legends. When the Kivish attempted to wage an apocalyptic kind of total war, the Spring Knights met them with cold fury. The Kivish royal line twice had heirs to the throne run down by the Knights; it was the Knights who secured the Holy City of Trostev and rode into the Cursed City of Rumakel. And when Hain retreated into its proper borders, the Spring Knights remained a continent-wide force.

Type

Cavalry

Founding

563 ME

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Decorated/Honored

Used by

• The Kingdom of Hain