Templar Order
The Templar Order operates in the shadows, to protect humanity from that which lurks in the dark and prey upon men, and also from itself.
The Knights of the Temple
The Templar Order can trace its origins to the original Monastic Military Order from the crusades. Most of what's commonly known about the original incarnation of the Templar Order is close enough to the truth. A group of religious men dedicated to the protection of pilgrims in their way to the holy land, militant zealots seeking to carve a path for their Faith with steel and shed heathen blood in the sands where their Christ once stood. The early days of the order are vastly documented, at least its public life, from its inception to their downfall.Crusades
The Templars took custody of the former temple of Solomon in the holy lands, and proceed to excavate the ruins. Originally the knights intended to turn the temple into their fortress and locate and block or fortify any underground passage. Their excavations revealed a larger ruined complex under the surface, dating to the early days of the Roman conquest of the region, and within the deep vaults of the temple, they found something. Originally believed to be the Ark of Covenant, an artifact of unrivaled importance in Abrahamic religions, the Artifact was zealously guarded as a relic of such importance should be, and at some later date, secretly moved to an undisclosed location.The Change
Sometime between their foundation and the nomination of Robert de Sablé as Grandmaster in 1191, the Order had been exposed to some dark revelation. The exact nature of it is not revealed, but it's commonly believed that a group of templars knights might have encountered some antediluvian terror in the depths of a cavern in modern-day Syria. The encounter would have shown them that there were other threats to Christendom besides the Islamic Kingdoms and Caliphates, the Order's traditional enemies. Their resolve to fight in the holy lands was not diminished by this revelation, however, but redoubled. As time went by, The Order would gradually ostracize itself from those that surrounded it, paying less and less importance to diplomacy and politics, and focusing on the threats of supernatural origin. In their effort to fight it, the Templars began studying the supernatural and soon found that the Christian perspective was too narrow of a lens to allow them to fully understand their enemies' weaknesses and strengths, and they gradually abandon the dogmatic Christian approach to seek the wisdom of other cultures and faiths on the matter. The Order tried, in a series of meetings, to convince Rome of the importance of diverting resources to face the hidden dangers that they were now aware, but their diversion from Church dogma had strained the relationship between the Templars and the church, and it became increasingly difficult to convince the Pope to heed their warnings and pleas.The Fall
The Templar's power and reputation grew to the point where they were perceived as a threat by European monarchs and even the Pope, and their wealth was so vast they often loaned money to great kings of Europe. Their reach was vast, with agents and ambassadors in many parts of Christendom and their military might was a force to be reckoned with. The Order had been fighting a secret war against supernatural threats for centuries then, while still openly participating besides the order Christian armies in the crusades. By the start of the 14th century, however, Christian footholds in the holy lands were lost, and the templars armies remained standing. Philip IV of France, deeply in debt with the Order's banking branch, took advantage of a disagreement between the pope and the Templar Grandmaster Jacques de Molay, and pushed for the persecution of the Order. With papal support, he had many templars arrested. The Order studies of the supernatural made it easy to obtain proof of their 'unchristian' practices, and where that wasn't enough, false confessions under torture and misinformation did the rest. Eventually, the Pope outlawed the Order and all across Europe, Templar's Holdings were seized, the order members arrested and its armies disbanded. Officially, the Knights Templar were no more.Going Under
The Templars weren't without friends, though, or without cunning. While they couldn't fight the influence of the pope, nor could they expect the Kings of Europe to risk excommunication by disobeying the head authority of the Holy Church, in many places, the nobles of Europe allowed some of the Order's members to 'escape', and while the Templars were officially disbanded, their mission wasn't over. Many of the survivors gathered in Toledo in 1312, as part of a contingency plan, where they reformulated the Order as a shadow organization, abandoning for good any religious inclination still lingering from the time of their creation. For the next twenty years, all across Europe, the organization mostly focused on planting spies, eyes, and ears, into many European courts, and stealing back of many artifacts lost during the fall. Secret chapter houses were established, as well as safe-houses. The word 'templar' was rarely used, and most members began to refer to the organization simply as 'The Order'. Many of those who were recruited to work for the Order in those times, weren't initially even aware of its extension or intention, as secrecy was of paramount importance. Those who served the order faithfully were gradually introduced to the truth, an approach that was standardized and codified in the Codex Ordo, in 1367.Deep Roots
In the centuries that followed, the new structure was adapted and improved, and the Order prospered again under it. The templars agents were present in every larger European city and the most important courts. The information network gave their business an edge and the profits from said business ventures funded the order's growth further. They again formed banks and trading ventures, and funded explorers and scientists. By the early 17th century, the order was more powerful than it had ever been, as well as more organized and influent than ever. On top of that, its influence was unseen and unknown by almost everyone, which allowed them to follow their agenda with almost impunity. The Templars had, by then, a hand in most European affairs, and those happening without their influence were still closely watched.The Schism
In the mid of the 18th, tensions started to grow within the order. While many of the Templar leadership agreed that their role should continue to be what it was, a hidden dagger ready to strike at supernatural threats against mankind and hunt down creatures that would prey on men and women, there was a growing group of frustrated intellectuals within the order who saw their presence and influence in Europe being wasted by all the order hesitation to take more overt control over countries and governments. Some even thought it was high time for the Order to exact revenge for the persecution under the Catholic church and reemerge, denouncing the machinations of the Church. This group sought to drive forward the Enlightenment of mankind by sharing the Templars technological and scientifical advances with all. However, conservative elements within the Templars though that the gain of political power could lead the order astray from its mission. The critics eventually seceded from the order to form the Illuminati, in an event that would be known as the Schism. The Illuminati maintained their existence secret but as they were only a small part of the Order members, with a fraction of their contacts and reachState of Affairs
Old World Templars
New World Templars
Do No Evil, Seek No Glory
Founding Date
1119 a.d.
Type
Secret, Occult
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