Knight of Cria

The title of Knight of Cria was considered the most prestigious title in the world during its existence. The knights were the best Cria had to offer and it was extremely hard to become one.

Qualifications

The candidate had to already have gotten the Cria's medal of honour, meaning that the person has to have made an important scientific discovery or a military accomplishment. Most candidates chose to try to become one in years (game years, they translated to a few weeks in real time at most, as the time varied because of sleep and active server time) when there were little candidates, as it was decided that a maximum of one could become a Knight each year. If there were more than one approved candidates, they would fight for the title until all surrendered and there was only one left to claim it. None of the others died, their wounds were then cured and it was considered honorable to be able to go to that stage, even if they didn't got it.

Requirements

The candidate had to have Crian citizenship.  Besides that, a person had to have got an approval from at least 80% of the council plus the approval from the Emperor and the First Councillor to be able to even become a candidate, if the first or third, but not both approval requirement weren't met, the person could become a candidate if a Knight presented his/her approval, which each Knight could do only once.

Appointment

The title would be given on the temple on top of the tallest mountain of Cria. There, the Emperor would ask: "Do you swear to contribute, help and protect all land that you can see from here, all land belonging to Cria and it's citizens?" The person would then say "yes". After this response the now knight would receive an accolade and a Medal of the Empire, the highest military award of Cria (which could also be obtained another way).

Duties

The Knights of Cria have the duty to help Cria and it's citizens. The ones that are qualified by military accomplishments also have the duty to protect and often lead Crian defenses when the Empire was attacked. To make sure that glory doesn't climb to the knight's head, they have to swear to, when commanding them, not abandon Cria's soldiers even in defeat, suffering from the same fate as them. If they espace the battlefield, they lose the title and are permanently banned from Cria. Retreat isn't considered escaping, escaping is considered if the Knight, when seeing his forces being defeated abadons command to run away.

Benefits

A Knight has acess to the Council of Cria, and his/her opinion is always considered by the council or other institutions when given. The Knights are often given command of bigger armies than normal commanders.

Grounds for Removal/Dismissal

The  only tree ways of a Knight to be dismissed are to be guilt of betrayal to the Empire, to espace / abandon a battlefield (The swear to suffer the same fate that their troops suffer upon entering a battle), and to commit  a crime. The knight is also banned permanently from Cria if found guilty and all his/her belongings are taken by the state.

History

From 120 "candidate" characters, only five real people actually got to become a Knight as most weren't approved by the council. This translated into eight knight characters. The first two led Cria's armies in the Cria-Firewar war. After the war, it was decided that a person could have multiple knight characters, which three people managed to get. All knight's commanded a Crian army at some point in history.

Type

Nobility, Non-hereditary

Status

The title was abandoned when Cria was reformed to become a District.

Creation

The title is defined on the constitution of Cria.

Form of Address

The great Knight

Source of Authority

The council of Cria

Length of Term

Lifetime

Reports directly to

Emperor of Cria

Related Organizations

• Empire of Cria