Hellriders

The Hellriders and also known as the Riders of Elturel or simply the Riders, were an elite cavalry unit who acted as the primary armed force of the city of Elturel in the surrounding Bymill Hills in the the 1st and 2nd centuries of the Third Age. The Hellriders helped Elturel establish and maintain civilization in these harsh lands. They were one of the most renowned and well-regarded military forces in the Realms. For a city guard, they outmatched the armies of whole realms. Around 29th century of the Second Age, they numbered approximately 2000 women and men. And around the year 150 of 3rd, their number dwindeled to as low as 200 mounted warriors. A typical Hellrider patrol of the mid-29th century of 2nd numbered thirty warriors, with at least one cleric of Helen - one of The Mothers - and led by a Marshal. They also had foot patrols of twenty warriors around the city. Travelers most often encountered the Hellriders via these patrols inside of Elturel as well as in its vicinity. Skilled soldiers who fought from horseback, they were typically proficient with spears or lances, composite bows or horse bows, and a long curved sabers. They could fire their bows from their backs of their horses while on the move without hindrance. Their light warhorses were mighty animals and had no fear in battle. They were strong and well-equipped.

History

Elturel's modern history is tied with that of its famous Hellriders, though there are different accounts of their founding. In all, it was said that a company of Riders had once ridden into the Hells themselves—namely Avernus, the first layer—and from this story, the Hellriders were named. The earliest known version told that it was to rescue one of their own, such was their great loyalty to each other. A later version said that they rode through a gate to hunt down and slay devils that had been harassing the good people of Elturel. A third account expanded on this. Fiends roamed the Fields north and west of Elturel, stripping fields bare, slaying livestock, burning houses, and dragging folk away to an unknown yet horrible doom. As people lived in fear, Elturel's cavalry fought the fiends, riding wherever they must and enduring great casualties, but the fiends kept appearing in greater number. The High Rider of Elturel implored the people to pray to the mothers for help. Surprisingly, help came—the rogue angel Zariel (desiring to destroy devils and demons and to have a mortal army to fight for her in the Blood War) came to Elturel the next day, declaring she'd found the portal to the hells in the Fields west of Elturel through which the devils were pouring, and that she would lead the cavalry through to defeat them where they mustered. She rallied and trained an army of thousands, among them Yael, Haruman, Olanthius, and Jander Sunstar. When she thought them ready, in the Year of 124 PrC (Pre-Calamity), Zariel, riding her golden mastodon Lulu, led them out of the city, with the cheers and good wishes of the Elturians behind them, and embarked on the Ride, a glorious mounted charge through the gate into Avernus. Only a very few returned, sealing the portal behind them. (Grief-stricken, they told that Zariel and her army had been defeated, but they were all glorified as the Hellriders.)

Membership

Enlistment and training could begin as young as twelve. People came to Elturel from other lands just to join the Hellriders. All Hellriders were required to give a tenth of their earnings to Elturel's coffers. To be a Hellrider was a job for life, no matter how short it turned out to be. Those determined to resign were given a final mission involving very difficult tasks, and even if they succeeded, and survived, they were stripped of their gear, exiled from the city, and named a heretic in the eyes of The Mothers, for abandoning their post. In the year 190 of 3rd, most of the Hellriders were dead and they became the stuff of myth and legends. By the late years around 150 of 3rd, the Hellriders followed the "Creed Resolute" borrowed from the Companion. This had them swear to serve the High Overseer of Elturel and the greater good, to uphold Elturel's law, and permit no difference in faith to come between them, nor attribute the Companion to one god or another, among other codes of behavior. If a Hellrider overstepped the limits of law or proper behavior, their comrades would admonish them to "recall the Creed". The Creed Resolute was made up of the following points: The Creed Resolute exhorted those who swore it to: • To serve the city of Elturel and the High Observer
• To defend the city of Elturel with body and soul
• To serve all good people and the greater good
• To uphold Elturel's laws and the Creed Resolute itself, and
• To permit no difference in faith to come between them, nor attribute the Companion to one god or another