The Order of the Flame (Kalron Factbook)

[Kalron]

The Order of the Flame's Symbol



The Map

The Red Ring is the Holy Lands of Serion otherwise known as Kalron

A Summary
The Order of the Flame

The Resourceful God Serion, Lord of Knowledge, created Humans and blessed them with his wisdom and intelligence. This god is why the Order was founded by ancient Grand Inquisitor Kalron, who died a hero and a martyr to the Order. In Honour of his legacy the Knights named the lands after Kalron that should forever be holy and the announced their vows to Serion. Though only Human males are accepted into the brotherhood, it is seen as one of the most intense oaths one must take. A brother of the order can not bed a woman unless he plans to retire from the brotherhood, and then all male children that brother must give to the Order. There are several temples of discipline one may go to within Kalron and they all teach the young boys the pious religion and acts of faith that Serion had gone through to build humanity and his other acts in defeating the great evils of the world.

Serion himself is said to bless the Mages that wield his holy might of fire and lightning, and none can question the knowledge of the priests that study endlessly in the catacombs and temples that heavily populate the holy lands. Kalron is located where it is told by legend that Serion descended upon Mysteria and gave birth to humanity. The city of Kalron is huge surrounding a mountain, and various hilly terrains allow the great castle that guards the inner holy ones to be easily defended. The job of the knights is to protect humanity from all evil and to make sure that the faith in Serion is kept.

Though only humans are allowed to become knights or mages do to the fact that the great god created them, other races may become soldiers in the holy army as Serion is kind. The Holy lands are not heavily populated , yet that is not where they draw their armies, lords loyal to the Knights lend their forces to the order and peasants and pilgrims stream to Kalron to look at the many artifacts of Serion and even hear a speech from the Grand Inquisitor himself.

The Grand Inquisitor currently is Tor Agin, a human born in Kalron and chosen by his light. Tor Agin is following however in the footsteps and long reign of Kalron himself and so who knows what lies ahead for the order. Th duties of the knights contain constant surveillance of the realm and making sure that humanity is safe from all evil.

OOC: All mention of the gods, the knights, and Mysteria is all thanks to

http://www.nationstates.net/nation=crystal_spires

who created the world and allowed me to form my nation around it.

[Kalron]

The Military of the Order

The first thing the Order did when they were formed was create their own group of knights similar to the knights of Serion. This was to make a point more than anything that these new knights who followed Kalron as they separated from the original order, were better than the old ones. These knights were to be trained better and outfitted with the best equipment, and enforce the will of Serion across the lands. Soon the knights found many wanting to join and since has become the central force of the Order and the most numerous.

Only Male humans may join the brotherhood of the Knights, and they can join at any age up until 20 years, and then they train for 10 years. Making the best age to join at 10 years. Trained in any weapon a knight chooses and the standard long sword, shield and lance. This is to let the Knight be comfortable in his own favourite weapon and the standard weapons of a knight. If a knight favours a long sword and shield style, they will just have more time to train with the weapon and would b better at it than others who did not favour it, same with the lance.

One of the central rituals revolving around gaining acceptance into the Order is standing within the Flames of Serion and gain a burn mark on your back right shoulder that is the sigil of Serion. All knights must do this as the sigil represents that they are clean of all evil and sin and that they have left their past lives behind. To also remind them of this they are given a journal which em-blazed on the front is their old family symbol surrounded by flames. Reminding them of who they once were. These journals are to have the knights record their adventures and store them in the library in Kalron, to add to a collective history.

The knights are well known as religious extremists and will sometimes go over the edge and enforce their religion upon others. Knights are usually deployed in squads of 10 when an actual real threat emerges, but sometimes they are sent out on quests alone to investigate less likely threats. All possible threats of darkness though are investigated. A knight only reports to a Inquisitor or the Grand Inquisitor and no one else other than Serion himself. Seen by some people (especially humans) as heros , while others see them as zealots, it is not known if they are a blight or a blessing, yet what is sure is that they do provide a need service and do perform a lot quicker and better that the knights of Serion. Which is why many Lords choose to fund The Order of the Flame instead of the other Order.

Standard equipment for a Knight is Circulated Plate armour,and a barded Black Horse.

Though Still only allowing male humans into the army and still having to go through the ritual of fire and gain Serion's sigil on their back right sigil, the soldiers take an oath and are used to guard the city of Kalron. The soldiers are also deployed in regiments that the Knights can not fulfil. Being anything from light cavalry to archers, swords men, spearmen, etc. The Guards are the common soldiers of the Order but are no less important and respected. Some say the only difference between them and the Knights is the armour.

The soldiers though are still commanded b the knights and have captains in their squads as well. Making them almost like a standard army. Their equipment can range and depend on the role they are meant to fulfill and where they are to be deployed.Their recruitment is very wide spread and more relaxed than knight recruitment, gaining a good number of men every year and able to divided them up into their different roles for proper training.

As many worshippers of Serion flocked to Kalron to join the Order, one of the many things the Order did was attempt to force the more classical styles of their culture upon the new recruits. Yet upon discovery of the samurai and their skill who wanted to serve Serion and his greatness, the Order recommended putting in a special division just for these knight like men. So was born the Samurai of the flames, and though the ritual of the flame is the same as the Knights and they are held to the same paragon, the samurai practice in different armour and with different weapons. They are said to be just as skilled and respected as the knights, and are looked upon by some as the sign of the Order accepting other cultures into its dominion.

[Kalron]

Serion the God of Humanity, Knowledge, Wisdom , and Light.

In the original religion there were many gods.

The Wonderous Goddess Enwe, Lady of Transcendence, created the Elves and blessed them with her beauty and magic.

The Resourceful God Serion, Lord of Knowledge, created Humans and blessed them with his wisdom and intelligence.

The Unyielding God Voldok, Lord of Courage , created the Dwarves and blessed them with his bravery and tenacity.

The Warm Goddess Nenya, Lady of loving-kindness, created the Changelings and blessed them with warmth and altruism.

The Strong God Fornt, Lord of Justice, created the Beastlings and blessed them with fair-mindedness and balance.

The Humble Goddess Lirea, Lady of Temperance, created the Woodfolk blessed them with self-discipline and mercy.

With this creation of life the world was split into 6 pieces these 6 territories were deemed as the ancestral homelands of the Bidden, and all things were harmonious and free from death, harm, and suffering for many years.

It was then that Zaiden, Lord of Illusion, looked upon his brothers and sisters with shame for he had nothing he could contribute himself, and so it was then that he created the Unbidden, horrible twisted and imperfect creatures of terror.

Yet Kalron the founder of the Order and Brotherhood, was Human, and seeing the other gods as uncaring and un-kind. Serion was seen as the only god that cared about humanity and sometimes, even only cared about any life at all. Especially the dark one Zaiden who was seen by Serion as a monster. Kalron recieved a vision from Serion commanding him to form the order, and help Serion force back all evil and darkness in the world. Serion said in the vision that only he was the true caring god, and that the other gods were old and thoughtless.

Serion said that even though humans were superior in their creation they had to be humble and help those threatened by darkness, as the other gods would not. Kalron took this vision to heart forming the Knights and from then on, the order has always been there in times of peril and has since become a shining beacon of hope to humans and other species. It is only the Order that keeps the darkness at bay now and only Serion's powers that are non-jugdemental and forgiving.

Kalron however thought that the Knights of Serion were weak and that only a new more willing order could be founded. In this idea was born the Order of the Flame, a more radical group of humans who saw the weakness of the Knights and thought that possibly the Order could help humanity where the Knights failed. There is some tension between the two groups and neither are a big fan of the other.

The Reason it was called The Order of the Flame, was that when Kalron stumbled upon the holy lands he found the eternal flame, entering it Serion spoke to him, and so Kelron determined that this undying flame was Serion's connection to this world and so the Order was built to revolve around the one true god's flame. It still sits there and is the holiest artifact the Order protects. It is the main attraction to pilgrims and is considered very holy and magical. If it ever died the Order would surely fall apart.

[Kalron]

The mages of the flame were formed as soon as the knights were formed. A popular sect within the Order the mages quickly became overrun with recruits. They soon took the role of forming a basis of already skilled mages and began teaching inductees in the arts of magic using. Such magic revolved mostly at first fire, due to the worship of the flame, yet soon expanded into all the other categories of magic. Such as defensive spells, etc. The mages soon became a hierarchy with the top mages grading the lower mages and testing them constantly to see them too become a top mage.

The ranks soon became Apprentice, Journeyman, Experts and Master, with the Master wearing white robes, the experts wearing red and white robes, the journeymen wearing red robes with gold trim, and the apprentices wearing red robes with silver trim. The sect of the Order is one of the largest collection of magic users in all of Mystreia and is one of the advantages the Order has in battle over the others. With mages forced to constantly practice and study on new ways to use spell.

The Mages are the only sect that allows females to join and rise through the ranks, with a regular history of some becoming the Master of the sect itself. Seeing as many females wish to serve Serion like their male counterparts this also allows a whole section of recruits for the Mages to consider allowing more mages to be deployed and an easy time getting money and support.

Kalron boasts some of the finest mages ever seen, all dedicated to Serion. Unlike the knights the mages do recruit females into their sect and are the only sect that does so within Kalron. They are a common sight on the battlefield,sometims wielding totems or weapons they believe will enhance their magic, when really they are just placebos (staffs,glass blass, etc.).All mages must go through the trial of fire before becoming recognized by the Order. They are also the sect that houses the artefacts in Kalron and tends to studying the Holy Flame. If anyone would have a magic item it would be the Mages of the flame.

The Priests practice in the arts of healing and preaching to the masses of the Order of the Flame. They are focussed and determined and exist everywhere throughout the realm. Every priest that is loyal to the Order must be proficient in healing magics and be able to teach and know the scriptures, this makes every priest loyl to the Order a viable resource for where they are stationed, and stand out from normal priests, attracting new members and more funding.

Priests of the Embers in Kalron teach men seeking to become members of the Order in many different fields and are in charge of making sure every member of the Order is well taught before they can go through the trial of fire. As all priests also go through the trial before becoming they are able to be truly trusted by any human. The Priests uphold a code of morals and ethics and constantly wright scripture for the Order to preach in their churches and on the battlefield, no one ever questions their judgement and all are caring and kind to their partitioners and bold,brave, and harsh in battle when facing the enemy.

The Priests do not however teach certain areas of the Ecclesiarchy and the Mages, as they run their own schools to teach their students in a more advanced and specialized ways. The Priests have no standard clothing except for the required red and white, which are to symbolize they are of the Order, yet other than a colour restriction, they can wear what they want.

The Priests are treated by the Order as a true sect and valued on the battlefield as healers and moral supporters. The sect is also heavily requested to appear in the ranks of other armies as they are seen as trust worthy human healers in the area, as opposed to changelings which many a lord hating the idea of trusting one not in a consistent form. The Order knows this and takes advantage of these views instilling words like pure and cleansed when talking about their priests and refer to the changelings rarely if at all.

[Kalron]

The Inquistion