The Raven Knights

"Magic is a gift, it must not be misused"

— Warden Lucio of the Raven Knights

The Vigilant Order of the Raven, also called 'raven knights', 'crows' or 'mage-hunters' are a secretive order of Knights within Gallica who specialize in combating magic users and monsters that use magic-like abilities.

History

The raven knights were founded after the Necromancer Crisis in the age of grace. They were founded by a group or battle-mages to hunt down the disciples of the vile necromancer Fulgur and burn his teachings wherever discovered.
The founders of the order saw magic as a gift, but after the crisis came to the conclusion that the gift must be jealously guarded lest it be used against humanity. They chose the raven as their symbol for it is animal commonly associated with both magic and dark omens.

In the time since old sun the raven knights have been supported by the gallican crown and become the part of the government dedicated to suppressing dark magic. Ever since, the raven knights have been the terror of all practitioners of unsanctioned magic.

Goals & Methods

Goals: The Knights Of The Raven are mostly an organization of professional mage-hunters. The number of raven knights is confidential, but it is safe to say there is not too many of them in the country; they are definitively an elite order.
The mage-hunters do not move out for every case of magical fraud or accidental arson. Only if a magic user is able to evade 'mundane' authorities, cause great damage to the country or has created enough political turmoil, the raven knights are called upon to deal with the situation swiftly and decisively.

The raven knights fight Witches, Demons, Outsiders, rogue sorcerers and other enemies of humanity as needed.

They are also tasked with taking care of subversive cults and dangerous forms of knowledge. They control books about magic and their sale, they restrict magical research and oversee the gallican mage's college, the largest institution for magical learning in the country.
They even keep a close eye on the religions of the greater deities, so as to stop any excesses of their 'faith'.
Due to their habit of destroying dangerous knowledge, the raven knights are despised by the clergy of Xaaris.

Methods: If a rogue sorcerer or warlock cannot be apprehended by the local garrison, the city watch or the ruling offocial will send word to the raven knights who will then dispatch one or more knights as warranted by the situation, to lead the local guard in order to to take care of the problem.

The Raven Knights also have a wide-reaching network of spies and informants in order to sniff out hidden cults and secret unsanctioned research. There is agents in various local governments as well as organisations like the Platinum Constables. These informants send messages to the raven knights about anything unusual they encounter, as well as unreported magical criminals.

The raven knights maintain detailed information on their enemies, to better recorgnize them if they try to hide and to better oppose them. They keep stashes of knowledge that they themselves would deem heretical and burn, all for their mission. They also occasionallly work together with organizations like the Servants of the Great Plan out of necessity.

The individual combat methods of the Knights are highly varied; from Sword-fighters over magic practitioners all the way into archers and crossbowmen. They are all without exception capable in combat, as that is a requirement for recruitment, but what form that capability takes varies.
What is universal however is that the Knights have extraordinary loyalty and mental fortitude, to do what is necessary for the country no matter the cost. Every Knight also carries the two items a knight is gifted upon their acceptance into the order: Their distinctive black cloak and their enchanted silver swords.

Recruitment:

The Raven knights are inducted into their members from a variety of sources. Most prominently are sorcerers from the Gallican Mage's College, various military organizations all over the country and of course their own squires.
New members undergo rigorous testing to make sure that their loyalty to the country is guaranteed and they can not be swayed from their duty by bribes, threats or mental suggestions. As an elite formation, the raven knights have high standards to meet, being inadequate is quite lethal in their profession.
A New Member is elevated to knighthood and swears an oath to the country and the king to hunt down enemies of the crown wherever they may hide. The raven knights call themselves a knightly order, but they are no group of chivalrous warriors. They are protectors of humanity and hunters of abominations.

Judicial Power:

The raven knight' mandate is, among other things, stopping dark magic users. to that end they are granted with a noble title, so as to be able to persecute magic practitioners even among the nobility. The badge of their office also allows them to make use of the local garrison and to commandeer Gallica's military, if necessary.
The mage-knights can imprison people on suspicion alone, burn their books and silence witnesses at will in the pursuit of their duties. They need to justify all their decisions to the local nobility, the crown and their captain though, so for them minimal necessary force is always advisable.
Still, among magic users the raven knights have a reputation of simply showing up one day to take their collegues into custody without a trial or explanation, never to be seen again.

Internal organization:

The Knights of the order are mostly left to their own devices when not called upon to do their duty. If called upon, one or two knights are deployed at a time. Entire squads are only sent by the Knight Captain under special circumstances.

Apart from their leader, the 'Knight's Captain', all members are equal in rank, though they usually honor seniority. The knights usually spend their times in major cities spread across the country for quicker response times. The Main location for the raven knights is in the Capital of Gallica.

Leader: Captain Cadriel Du Mourne (Baron)

The Raven Knights are estimated to have around 200 Knights, most roaming the country putting out fires.
Raven Knights are identifiable by their black cloak with a raven emblazoned on it, as well as their silver swords.

Type

Military, Inquisitorial