History of the Order

TBW: About the guild's history.


The First Order

Long before the current Order, there was an ancient order founded among men during the rising of the Arathorian Empire. It is said that even during the Troll Wars, a few warriors formed around the ideals that would later spring into the Order, and that it was their descendants that later paved the way for the first derivation of the Order. How truthful this is however, is unknown. It is most likely however just a fanciful myth, and best left at that. 

The Pact of Caer Darrow

Regardless, the true establishment of the first Order came in year one-hundred-and-fifty-two after the death of King Thoradin the Great (simplified as 152 ATD or 2390 BKC by the common King's Calendar). The first rendition of the Order arose as a brotherhood of fellow warriors who banded together in the stronghold known today as Caer Darrow. In its place, they defended the keep with an attachment of elven warriors in a brief war with the remnants of the Amani troll tribes. The men who were stationed at Caer Darrow found themselves under the leadership of a brave, courageous and intelligent commander whom is known today as Sir Leonric 'the Red Lion'. Even though the concept of knights and knighthood had barely just been born, Leonric had been one of the few fortunate to find himself as such, along with a few other friends at Caer Darrow. 

The war with the trolls did not last long, in fact, as records show it, the war only had a single battle: the Siege of Caer Darrow. And although outnumbered and having sent for reinforcements, Sir Leonric managed to inspire his men to fight with courage and valour to such an extent that by the time the reinforcements had arrived, the siege had already been ended and the trolls completely routed. 

After securing victory at Caer Darrow, Leonric and his fellow knights at the castle met in secrecy and together they agreed to form a brotherhood -- a sacred order of men that would fight to uphold the virtues that had granted them victory over the trolls, in service of their great and glorious empire. The brotherhood, they decided to call: 



The First Order Expands

The initial order was small. Only Leonric and a few, select trustworthy knights, most of whom had served alongside him during the siege of Caer Darrow. But slowly, the order began to expand as men-at-arms began to hear of Leonric's feats against the trolls. Aided further by a loyal elven friend, Leonric established connections with the elves of Quel'thalas. It wasn't before long that several Arathian nobles were seeking out Leonric with the intent to pledge their support to him, many of them seeing that even with the imperial army's might, there had to be an external force to protect it from both outside threats and those...within. One of the first few nobles to reach out to Leonric was Lord Cadoc Wolfsfield, one of the mountain-lords of the Eastern Highlands Mountains. 

What exactly transpired between the lords and Leonric is uncertain with missing records of history from it. Thus only speculation can be attempted. Many scholars have attempted so ever since the discovery of the scrolls, most believing that a deal was struck that somehow sent the third-born sons of the lords into service of the Order. 

The only thing that remains certain is that the Order grew from whatever occurred, large enough to begin its own campaign against the Amani in retaliation for the attack on Caer Darrow. 


The Hinterlands Campaign

There is extremely little known about the conflict that occurred as a result of the Order's first directive to strike out against the Amani tribes within the Hinterlands province. Taking place way before the arrival of the Wildhammer dwarves, the Hinterlands was an unfriendly territory, this much is known to us. It is believed that the Order may have carved out a piece of land for itself in the harsh troll-occupied land and driven some of the tribes back during the time, but it is uncertain. 

The only thing that is truly known about the campaign is its tragic end. Likely struck by a troll, the mighty leader of the Order and its first Grand Master, Leonric the Red Lion, suffered a fatal wound only two years into the campaign. With the death of its first Grand Master, the Order gathered and a council of knights elected their new leader: Sir Reyner Mantell. 

It is also mentioned in the re-discovered scrolls that oddly enough, the body of Leonric was not buried, but rather burnt and his ashes supposedly hidden away somewhere secret. Those scholars who have studied the scrolls believe that there may be a reason for the secrecy surrounding Leonric's secret burial site...


The Imperial Inquisition 

After the death of Sir Leonric, the historical records don't seem to pick up until almost ten years later to the time of a rather uncertain year, speculated among many scholars to be either fake or entirely overblown from reality. Supposedly, if the records found are believed true, there was a brief period known as 'the Imperial Inquisition' where a formal organization was formed to examine everyone major within the empire for signs of corruption. 

It is said in one of the scrolls that Sir Reyner Mantell, the second Grand Master of the Order was accused of such a thing. The matter even went into a trial, where Reyner seemed unable to escape from its charges, and thus ended up demanding a trial by combat. Disallowed to be his own champion, Reyner elected one of the finest warriors from the Order's ranks, and bravely, Sir Aethor Wolfsfield fought as Reyner's champion. 

Sir Aethor easily managed to defeat the Inquisition's own champion, and Reyner was freed of all his charges in the eyes of the Gods. Yet one of the first things Reyner did after being freed was to seek out of the source of what had gotten him charged in the first place. A long year's search went underways, with the Order stretching itself thin over the Empire's expanse. Eventually however, he found what he was looking for. It turned out that House Redblade, another noble family had bought the loyalty of the Inquisition and directed it towards Reyner and his family, House Mantell in an attempt to usurp his family's holdings without an open conflict between nobility. The revelation sent shocks throughout the mountain lords who demanded justice done to the treacherous Redblades. The scrolls only briefly mention that the Emperor cracked swiftly down on them and they were hardly seen again after. The Inquisition itself continued to exist, even going as far as assassinating the Emperor after his actions on the Redblades. The new Emperor that quickly assumed the throne however was quick to set the imperial power on the corrupt organization, ending it entirely. 

The remnants of the Inquisition however would continue to haunt the Order for years after its downfall, and some three years after its destruction, the remnants managed to asssassinate Sir Reyner. With its second leader dead, the Order once again set about to vote for a new  leader, and swiftly, just within the matter of a few hours, Sir Aethor Wolfsfield was chosen as Reyner's successor. 

The Order under Aethor

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Fall of the First Order

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The Second Order

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Reign of Ricdak, the Sword Hand

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The New Religion of the Order

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Demise of the Second Order

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The Third Order

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From the ashes of Sons...

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The Hordebreaker War

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Evolution of the Order

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