Order of the Ebon Thorn

The Order of the Ebon Thorn is an order of knights hand-chosen by the King to protect and represent him abroad. It is considered one of the highest honors to be inducted into this order of knights. It is their duty to protect and serve the King personally in all things. An Ebon Thorn knight serves unto death and is expected to obey the King without question, even if the King demands his life. Ebon Thorn Knights who are recalcitrant or even insubordinate can expect harsh punishment. Most Ebon Thorn Knights are usually awarded lands and title upon proving themselves in service to the King; even those not made noble have their needs provided for by the crown. The Order of the Ebon Thorn serve as a police force in cities where their chapter-houses are located. Within the Order itself, there is a strict hierarchy: aspirants, young boys awaiting their First Trial to enter the order; squires, servants and students of established knights; knights, who carry out the will of the King; wardens, who command the knights in the field and lead chapters of the Order; and at the top, the Knight-Commander himself, who answers only to the King and directs the order. There is a chapter of the Order in every major Grakisian city. Each chapter has facilities for testing aspirants and training squires. The chapters are led by the wardens, who serve also as de facto captains of the guard where they are stationed. The knights assigned to the chapter are responsible for keeping law and order within the city.

The Trials

Entering the Order is no easy process. Aspirants are given the most basic of combat and fitness training, rigorous though it is, for a month before being allowed to undergo the First Trial. In this First Trial, a knight (usually under the watchful eye of a presiding warden) tests the mettle and courage of a young aspirant in live combat. The aspirant is not expected to defeat the knight, nor is the knight expected to slay his young opponent - but accidents do happen, and if the boy is slain, his family is compensated by the warden presiding over the trial (or the offending knight, if no warden is watching). Aspirants who acquit themselves well, who show no fear in the face of live steel, who show ability to defend themselves under duress, are then taken in as squires, assigned to a knight who instructs them in the laws of the land, reading, writing, and combat. Aspirants who fail and live through the process are not punished, but may never again attempt to enter the Order. Such young failures usually have a social stigma placed on them, and their families often have these boys sent away, sometimes into the fens to find a Barma-speaker, other times to the workhouses that are a common feature in Grakesian cities.

After the Battle of Angrath

The Ebon Thorn is broken after the Battle of Angrath with their leader, Julius Bannam, having perished during the battle. Their forces were scattered by some devilish ruse that caused more than half the Thorns to be marching south, away from the capital, during the battle. A young knight, Ser Eagan, has discreetly sent word all over Grakis to gather what remains of the once-storied order in Middlemark, a fairly large town in Grakis.