The Third Order

Introduction

The Hadarotian Third Order of Knighthood is a society of religious warriors who dedicate their lives to the protection of the Hadarotian church. Its presence exerts a powerful influence on both politics and religion among the Alasthian people for a millennium or more, but its actual role as an institution varies throughout that time. It usually is safe to consider the Third Order equivalent to ‘the church’ in Hadarotia.

At best, the knights of the Third Order represent Hadarotian values honorably on the world stage for the advancement and protection of the Alasthians. At worst, they act as weapons for kings and clerics looking to seize power, using religion only to mask selfish fears or greed. As you may well know, these extremes often appear confusingly similar at face. For my purposes, I will withhold judgement here.

With such a long and complicated history, my research has yielded a practically endless supply of material on the Third Order, and providing a comprehensive explanation as to the nature of Hadarotian knighthood would be daunting. My description here will focus on the Order as it would have appeared during the Oberfaylt and Leiltar periods, as this is the time when the Order’s various components actually recognize their common interests and begin cooperating.

There never was a Second Order or even a First Order; these terms were coined in coincidence with the Third Order and represent the Alasthians’ rather biased understanding of their own history. The Second Order, according to them, was an ancient, exclusively Alasthian society of knights who established traditions of chivalry and education. However, my research indicates that, while these concepts do indeed owe themselves to ancient Itarin war-craft, there was no such group of warriors. There does seem to have existed a society of warrior-elites who operated throughout the Descial-Alasthian community to protect the seas, but the references to this group are thin and old.

The First Order refers to the angelic warriors of the gods, who appear in myths and legends fighting evil spirits on the Itarins’ behalf. But they wouldn’t have referred to themselves as ‘The First Order,’ obviously.

There is nothing unitary about the Third Order, except that it is strictly Alasthian. Nobody stands at the Order’s head. The highest ranking members are called Grandmasters, and each leads a chapter of the Order. The grandmasters may or may not collaborate with one another, and the structure and behavior of their chapters is unregulated and only sometimes coordinated. Nevertheless, the chapters do observe comparable ranking systems for their members. Before we examine those ranks, however, here are the factions which gained (or at least claimed) chapter status at some point in the Order’s history.

The Chapters of Knighthood

Canterinthia – Traditionally speaking, Canterinthia was the original chapter of the Third Order, even though it certainly wasn’t regarded that way at the time. The ancient lord Telostra Leros, who briefly unified the Alasthians, kept a faithful guard of warriors with him on his campaigns, and he later committed these men to protecting his daughter, Vesina. Their captain’s name was Canterinth. After Telostra’s death, Vesina was anointed the ruler of Alasthia, but her brothers drove her out of the country and divided her domain for themselves. She and the Canterinthians fled to Des, where an ex-monk named Pelitre swayed her to a new religion. Though ‘Pelitrianism’ was, at the time, only slightly deviant from her own father’s theological teachings, Vesina offered the Canterinthians a choice to either convert with her or go home honorably. Canterinth and half the warriors chose not to convert, so Vesina called them dragivast – loyal – to her father and let them go. By their legacy, Canterinthia later would defend the ‘true faith’ of Telostrianism by supporting the kings of the religious state of Dragivastia. The Canterinthians decorate their banners with stripes of red and gold and images of Telostra’s branch-like crown. Their battle-dress always features elaborate, heraldic shirts worn over armor. Membership is exclusively male (and, until the Oberfaylt, exclusively noble). Members often distinguish themselves by growing their hair to their shoulders.

The Legion of Cordon – The other half of Vesina’s warriors converted to Pelitrianism, and Vesina called them andon – faithful – to her. Vesina’s only loyal brother, Cordon, became their captain. Later on, Pelitrianism spread to Alasthia and converted some of the Telostrian lords. These lords gradually banded together to form the loosely-governed kingdom of Andonia, which protected them from Dragivastia. The Legion of Cordon naturally represented Andonia’s interests, and it would be centuries before the knights of Cordon and Canterinth interacted nonviolently. The Cordonian colors are green and gold, and the Legion’s symbol is a heart pierced by an arrow – the symbolism behind this is a story for another time. In battle, knights of Cordon wear capes or even full cloaks over their armor and are known for their elaborate headgear. Unlike with Canterinthia, males and females both are eligible for Cordonian knighthood, and membership has never been exclusively noble.

The White Arm – In Hadarotian, Tespacetin. The Oberfaylt’s conclusion saw the formation of a third major Alasthian state, Harotia, and, while I could discuss at length the religious differences and national divides which spurred Harotia’s formation of the White Arm, it should suffice to say that the Harotian lordship felt the need for a third grandmaster to enter the fold on their behalf. Historically, the White Arm is most significant for its statist induction system; whereas a knight traditionally begins his career as a young adult in squireship to a master-knight, a knight of the White Arm begins as a child in an academy. Knights of the White Arm ride under blue and silver banners decorated with the Hadarotian symbol of faith, and they distinguish themselves from the other chapters by wearing sleeves and scarves over their armor rather than shirts or capes. Membership is co-ed and non-noble, but, since the academy imposes lofty educational demands both for entry and graduation, most knights are of noble descent.

The Kribbon Brotherhood – In Hadarotian, Dofedo Kribbonen. While this group, later called the Meresian Brotherhood, never was recognized by the Third Order as a legitimate chapter, it was structured by knighthood and actually converted knights – mostly Harotians – to its cause. It operated on the behalf of the Kribbons, a minority group of religious traditionalists who fled Dragivastia in the turbulent period leading to the Oberfaylt. The group originally was composed of ex-squires who refused knighthood from Canterinth.

The Lake-Riders – Late in the Third Order’s history, the Sketjok formed a nationalist chapter which eventually achieved legitimacy. The name refers to a group of Sketjok warriors who, according to legend, reached the city of Palodon in time to save it from an invading army by riding horses atop flowing waters.

Knightly Ranks

Here are the ranks of knighthood (using English equivalents, obviously), starting with the lowest:

Page – A page is not yet affiliated with the Order but training to be, at his own expense. He first declares his intentions to a chapter and then seeks tutelage from a willing master, whose qualifications traditionally are not regulated by the chapter. To become a squire, a page must receive approval from his chapter and approval from the knight asked to become his master. While each chapter observes its own requirements for squireship (the White Arm’s are particularly tough), they always include basic literacy, riding abilities, and fighting experience. As the chapters grow, they do begin to offer direct education to pages at a price, for which parents prove willing to pay even for children not likely to become squires (meaning this is the official beginning of public schools in Alasthia). In the White Arm, the pagery is strictly institutionalized from the beginning, and entrance even into that can require years of schooling.

Squire – When a page satisfies the requirements of his chapter, he becomes a squire, a member of the Third Order pursuing knighthood through the tutelage of a master-knight. A squire faces a fresh set of requirements to become eligible for his knighting, again determined by his chapter. These requirements are more subjective than those for squireship and usually boil down to accruing some measure of notoriety. Meanwhile, a squire already enjoys some basic legal rights as a member of the Order, notably amnesty throughout the Alasthian realms. In return, however, a squire could be called to fight for his chapter, even independently of his master-knight, and he is not allowed to marry.

Honorary Member – When non-member scholars, monarchs, warriors and such make significant contributions to the Order’s cause, they often are offered honorary member status by a chapter. It’s a comfy offer, in my opinion – it comes with all the social benefits of knighthood with none of the obligations. Of course, you are presumably expected to continue in your chapter-pleasing ways thereafter.

Fourth-Tier Knight – When a squire achieves a recommendation from his chapter, he makes a lifelong vow of loyalty and becomes a knight. All knights of the Third Order adhere to a code of honor, at least in official chapters: they may never marry, they must abstain from drinking and intercourse, and they must observe fairness to all Hadarotians and faithfulness to the chapter that ordained them. Finally, it is never, never, ever acceptable for a knight to threaten the life of a fellow member of the Order; disputes between knights must be resolved through non-lethal contest. Knights of the Third Order usually receive rights and privileges from their chapter in return for faithful service, which grow with higher tiers. While the commitment technically is binding for life, most chapters would accept an honorable resignation, and knights who reach old age can effectively retire by becoming exempt from calls to fight without forfeiting their rights. Some even earn a salary, if they lead a solid knightly career. Knights technically can work in any profession they want as long as they satisfy their obligations to their chapter, but most end up studying as clerics, overseeing estates, or, most commonly of all, hiring themselves to landed nobility. In times of war, Order members come of high demand, and kings always desire them in their huscarlries. Obviously, knights of higher tiers can ask for more when performing knightly services outside the Order.

Third-Tier Knight – Each chapter of the Order is divided into halls, which drive the chapter’s administration. These halls provide knights with a connection to the chapter’s administration, and advancement through the knightly ranks usually requires membership and loyalty to a hall. Hall-membership requirements vary widely, and some are more prestigious than others, but joining a hall automatically earns a knight third-tier status. Every knight-hall dedicates itself to some particular component of whatever the chapter represents – some might help to represent a jurisdiction within a kingdom, while others might seek to protect or elevate a person or group. A chapter’s array of halls tends to be highly volatile, with only the most prestigious lasting many generations.

Second-Tier Knight – A knight earns second-tier status at the discretion of his hall, and the benefits and obligations which accompany the honor similarly are determined by his hall-master. It is normally awarded to hall-members for years – decades, even – of loyal service.

First-Tier Knight – A grandmaster selects first-tier knights personally for his own purposes. They are considered the most elite warriors in Alasthia, trusted with the most dangerous and secretive of duties. Depending on the times, survival rates among first-tiers can be rather grim, but those who survive are practically guaranteed high station among the halls. Plus, a grandmaster usually will pick a first-tier to succeed him. In addition to prowess, grandmasters expect their first-tiers to possess a powerful command over philosophy and theology, since they – as are all knights for that matter – ranking religious authorities.

Hall-Master – A hall-master is, as could be expected, the master of a hall of knights. He oversees its administration and finances, and he aids the grandmaster in leading the entire chapter. The grandmaster appoints the hall-masters himself, but he usually chooses based on recommendations from chapter members. In fact, it’s typical of a hall-master to appoint a successor, even if the grandmaster isn’t guaranteed to honor his choice.

Bishop – Also appointed by the grandmaster, bishops are asked to maintain a connection with the non-Order component of the church. In theocratic Dragivastia, this simply implies ambassadorship to the king. In more religiously privatized Andonia, this involves educating and overseeing clerics.

Grandmaster – The leader of a chapter, as appointed by the grandmaster who came before him. The fate of an entire religious movement rests in his hands. By the weight of prestige, he very well could be considered greater in station than a king – a lesson many Alasthian kings learn the hard way.

High-Bishop – Overseers of the Third Order, the highest possible rank. I previously said grandmaster is the highest, and that’s technically true – the high-bishophric is composed entirely of grandmasters, and the distinction is only figurative. Every grandmaster considers himself a high-bishop of the Third Order, but he doesn’t consider all of his fellow grandmasters the same way – only those of chapters he considers legitimate. In theory, the high-bishops are supposed to collaborate every century to compose an updated history of Hadarotia, but they never actually do this. They do try, sometimes, but can never cooperate long enough to finish, so each ends up writing his own version instead.

In addition to these ranks, you might at times hear reference to plain-knights. This sort of knight is not a member of the Order but a nobleman appointed by a king or regnant lord either to lead a portion of an army or to participate in a heavy-combat unit. They are sometimes preferred over Order members, as secular rulers have no real authority over the Third Order and have reserves to letting its members command regular soldiers. Plus, a lord could face inquiry if an Order member dies under his command.

I’ll close by emphasizing that membership in the Third Order is extremely exclusive; in the Leiltar period, its members number a few thousand, including the squires (whereas the total population of Alasthia approaches 100 million at this time). One chapter contains only a few hundred knights, five or six halls, and ten to twenty first-tiers. All the same, the Third Order drives Alasthian history for centuries, often more so than the secular lords.