Tag: knightober

Knightober 2022: The Order Of … pt. 03

Happy Halloween!

And we’ve reached the end of October and the last table of knightly orders! 😀

d10The Order Of …details
01.The Hidden Blue“At times it is simply more prudent to appear other than what one truly is.”
Not all knights parade around in shining steel finery, not all orders gather in bands and battalions; and not all cross their swords on a battlefield. The Hidden Blue are such knights, serving as companions and clandestine minders for their charges in both high society and low.
– azure and cobalt; the outline of a sword (when colour and/or blazon is shown)
– no armour, or quilted silk or other fabric, or reinforced coat; dagger or knuckleguards and shortsword or smallsabre, or as requested
– packet of ciphered letters, healer’s kit, metal mirror and grooming kit, hidden thumb-knife, blue-enameled ring
02.The Hard Road“Let others choose to bury mistakes. We shall not be so foolish.”
Losing — a battle, a manor, honour, glory, reputation — is a terrible thing, and many attempt to move on from a loss as swiftly as possible. That rejection is to this order’s gain; these knights maintain records of their own failings and those of others, knightly and otherwise, both to learn from those mistakes and to prevent them from being forgotten by rewriting history.
– copper and grey; spiral of stones (ovals)
– chainmail mantle or hauberk; mace, hammer or halberd
– scribe’s kit, several scrollcases or rag-paper girdle-books, maintenance kit, hidden cache-spot, copy of tournament or battle record
03.Steel Stars“Be as flawless as the heavens above until you return to them.”
By bird-wing and seeing-glass, by day or by night, in battle and in the court, the knights of the Steel Stars seek to embody what they see as the eternal, and eternally adaptable, purity of the skies. No matter what befalls the earth, after all, the heavens endure.
– steel and silver; five stars in a cross-pattern
– plate mail and round shield; longsword and warhammer
– star charts, astrolabe, falconet or corvid, personal star- and weather-log, oath-ribbons
04.Night Unending“There is nothing to fear in the darkness save our wrath.”
A weapon is meant to kill. The Night Unending internalize this to their very souls, bringing death and ruin to their adversaries without remorse or regret — and those adversaries are many, from knaves to kings, honourless curs to virtuous paragons. Though they destroy, they harbour no malice against those who do not or cannot.
– black and dark blue; descending blade
– chain hauberk, plate mail or plate; bastard sword, lance, morningstar
– maintenance kit, signal horn, wardog, several whetstones, cold iron or silver armlet
05.The Garden Repentant“We cannot erase what we have done; raise a memorial of beauty to the fallen.”
The creed of this order is, at its core, a simple one. Behave with grace, strike only when required by lord and honour — and nurture a hedge-rose or peony for every life taken. Senior knights often tend extensive gardens indeed.
– emerald and burgundy; flower in full bloom
– chain or plate mail and kite shield; longsword or mace, glaive
– cuttings or rootstock, pouch of seeds, personal notes of lives and associated plantings, gardening kit, maintenance kit, knight’s token
06.The Windswift“What is a cavalier without the courage of their beloved steed? Nothing of consequence.”
Dedicated riders all, these knights — to the point of fighting on foot only in cases of the most dire necessity. More, the order takes great pains in maintaining specific lines of mounts, and not all are mundane beasts.
– rust and gold; two opposed horses rearing (or a horse and their chosen mount)
– chain mail or platemail; lance, javelin, shortbow
– harness repair kit, spare horseshoes or equivalent, extra feed for mount, traveler’s satchel, personal travel map
07.The Indomitable“I will not fall.”
For some, it’s not about swift swords and flashing lances. It’s about being the rock against which swords and lances shatter and assailants dash themselves to pieces before winning past the knight and that which they stand for.
– grey and crimson; stylized battlement
– platemail or plate and kite or tower shield; mace or warhammer or halberd
– armour repair kit, extra rations, reinforced pack or side-bag, meditation stone, oathring
08.The Thorn And Bough“Honour and chivalry has its roots beyond those walls of stone.”
Hedge knights in the truest sense of the word, members of this order are found patrolling forest trails, accompanying local woodcrafters and forage-witches, vanquishing twisted beasts and challenging the brash and destructive knights come from city and castle-town.
– deep green and wine-red; leafy branch
– leather armour, chain mantle or buff coat; shortsword or axe and bow or crossbow
– woodcarver’s kit, foraging basket, weathercloak, deepwood charm, iron knife
09.The Midnight Tower“Long may the great walls stand; swiftly may we bring great walls down.”
Knights of the castle, these; trained to battle and to attend, not on the wide battlefield, but in the confines of stony hall and narrow battlement, to man the gates and hold back a siege. But the Tower’s familiarity with castled stonework cuts both ways — many a knight has undermined a palace to bring down those judged unworthy.
– dark blue and silver; stars over a stylized tower
– chain or scale mail + any shield; longsword, dagger, spear or crossbow
– personal blueprint of current castle assignment, skeleton key, mason’s tools, ciphered logbook, collection of engraved worrystones
10.Greyember“When everything appears to be over, there is still work to be done.”
The survivors of calamity may need a willing blade more than any other. There are those who make true effort to pull together the tattered remnants of pride, honour, legacy after all is stripped away. A loss is not the end of a war. For all this and more come these grey-marked knights.
– grey and orange; roundel
– chainmail mantle or chain hauberk; any weapon
– extra waterskin, healer’s kit, tinkerer’s kit, traveler’s satchel, crafter’s kit of choice


But wait, you might say. Three d10 tables is only 30 knight orders. What about the 31st of October?

What about Halloween?

Not to worry.


The 31st order is not a unique knightly pledge —

The Order Of …
The Grave Heart“Death is not the end.”
Oaths still sworn. Loyalty unbroken. Dedications unbowed. Quests still waiting, commands still standing, missions left undone. All these and more await the knight cut down before their time.
Which is why so many continue on from the other side of life and death.
And they know of each other.
– grey and silver-gold; heart’s outline over droplet
– armour and weaponry as preferred in life
– spectral weapon, teardrop manifestation, bone relic, token of favour or honour, place or person of earthly ties

Knightober 2022: The Order Of … pt. 02

Another week-and-half(ish), more Knightober and another d10 table of knight orders for scattering about a campaign and tangling PCs up with ~

d10The Order Of …details
01The Velvet Glove“Triumph is never solely through force of arms.”
The battle-skills of these knights, notable as they can be, are overshadowed by their knowledge of battle tactics and strategic planning. One of the Gloves is content with hanging back from the front line, knowing that their strategies led their people to victory.
– violet and black; chequered pattern or glove
– chain hauberk or buff coat, longsword and light crossbow
– satchel of dispatches, messenger pigeon or other small critter, signal horn, battle map, military annals
02The Winding Path“If you must put down your burden; if your cause has proven too much; know that there will be a way, in the end.”
These knights have, as their unifying code, the codes — and wishes, and hopes — of others, each carrying on the work of one who was overwhelmed, who failed short of their goal, or was otherwise broadsided by fate or inability.
– green and earth-brown; stylized path
– chainmail or plate mail; any weapon, as appropriate
– collection of letters and petitions, traveler’s pack, map of main roads, pledge cup, woolen mantle
03Adamantine“The path is clear, the way is known, and so I stride toward the future with eyes wide open and mind free of illusion. I will not fail.”
There is both honour and tranquility to be found in the stillness of the mind, these knights aver, and they quest for it in actions and in silent crystalline meditations. Falsehoods and mirages of all sorts are anathema to the Adamantine, abominations to be fought at every opportunity.
– silver and pale blue; crystal
– chain hauberk; mace and dagger
– personal journal-book or scroll, meditative focus of glass or crystal, pouch of salt, iron knife, string of crystal counting-beads
04The Watchers“Long may we stand, the devoted, the unworthy, in dedication to sacred grace.”
Swearing themselves to a power higher than themselves; guardians of roadside shrines and soaring temples, travel companions of holy seers and anointed questors of the divine and those who serve them.
– grey and brass; ten-pointed star
– any armour; hammer and spear, or as directed by sacred calling
– flask of consecrated oil (or water, milk or blood), sacred token, censer or anointing bowl, small knife, warding cord
05Crimson Banners Burning“Let the fires be started, let the blazes burn; hear our voices, hear our roars!”
Knights-celebrant, equally likely to be seen flinging themselves headlong into battle or leading a shaken town in raucous, fire-lit rousing of flagging spirits — like the flame, they burn swiftly and brightly to show off exactly how it’s done.
– crimson and orange; leaping flame
– any armour, trimmed in flame colours; fire-arrows, greatswords and polearms treated with pitch
– wineskin, firestarting kit, musical instrument, weapon-repair kit, handkeg of pitch
06The Basilisk Claw“If there’s blood spilling, we’re spilling it.”
Some just want to fight. That’s the Basilisk Claws; first to take up arms, last to lower them, and legendary for never backing down from combat, no matter how brutal, no matter how insignificant.
– sable and green-gold; reptilian claw
– chain, scalemail or plate mail; bastard sword or greataxe
– collection of whetstones, record of battles, healer’s kit, extra travel rations, satchel of battle trophies
07Twinned Blades“None of us need to stand against the world alone.”
Matched up into pairs — at the very least — and, if possible, trained as such, this order emphasizes connection and support amongst its members in the face of the fact that knighthood means battle, and killing, and unpleasantness, and even if that connection is at a remove at times, it’s still a shoulder to lean on.
– bronze and azure; two swords, sometimes crossed
– chainmail or scalemail; longsword and choice of secondary
– bundle of letters, personal seal, mending kit, token of partner knight(s), ceremonial ring or gorget
08The Eighth Bulwark“Fight to preserve that which cannot fight.”
Most knightly orders take up arms for people, or for causes; the Bulwark stands between places, and objects, and all that may destroy them, whether out of a sense of history, of pride, or simply of the beauty that would otherwise be lost.
– amber and brown; shield
– plate mail or plate + shield of any type; hammer and glaive
– antiquated text, choice of crafter’s tools, armour mending kit, small chisel, adze or trowel, healer’s kit
09The Grey Wolf“Learn from us, one way or the other.”
Knights often die young. Of those who do not, many grow disillusioned and leave their order, or any association with the knighthood at all. Those who remain? Who return, even? They find a new network — a new order — and it rallies to show the youngsters, of all stripes, how to keep on keeping on.
– dark grey and black; wolfprint
– buff coat, scalemail or chain; weapons of their original order, or longsword and bow
– traveler’s satchel, lined mantle, personal journals, collection of mementos, jack-of-trades mending kit
10The Firefly Lantern“O Light, lend yourself in these travails of the night-time, for the way is long and we have far to go.”
In the rush of civilians fleeing war-torn land; in the depths of night as travelers try to reach shelter; in the face of the twisting alleyways of cities and the shuttered doors of wary villages, these knights are there — to be a guiding light to find a way for others out of their personal dark.
– green-gold and silver; lantern or firefly
– leather jack or buff coat or chain mantle; staff, shortsword, longsword
– hand-lantern of glass or horn, healer’s kit, ciphered travel maps of several locations, dropbox location for letters and small parcels, traveler’s kit to be shared

Putting Details In Order

(I regret nothing of that title and you can’t stop me)

All these knightly orders are all well and good, of course, but what do you do with them? Well, you have PCs in them, and NPCs, and spin some adventure seeds out of it.

But what if you need a bit more of a starting point? Like, say, just who’s running the show or at least where this group of unusual folks came from. It’s a good question, after all, especially if a PC is a member of an order, or for that matter any of the other guilds, factions, and various organizations tossed up here on the blog, or written up elsewhere even.

So here are a few tables for inspiration; roll on them for any given order, or pick one of the results, or just use them as a jumping-off point for your own ideas. They don’t give the nitty-gritty of internal group structures or the like, but they should make a start.


Who Do They Answer To?

01. A ruler — king, empress, etc — or a member of the immediate royal family, or equivalent
02. A great lord of some variety, whether duke or daimyo
03. The hierarch of a religious organization
04. No one but their own leader; the order acts independently
05. No one but their own leader; members may have pledged themselves to various lords and masters
06. There is no true group hierarchy, only cells or networks and apprenticeships
07. A sorcerous or mystical or otherwise non-mortal entity, from dragon to ascended soul
08. The leaders of a community or communities


Of course, a group does need funds. (well, sometimes; some may be more professions of faith or shared wellsprings of knowledge than a formal organization. that’s usually not the case with a knightly order, though, unless the order is a federation of hedge-knights in common.)

How Do They Support The Order?

01. Tithes from members (a percentage of income or labour)
02. Subsidized by royalty, nobility, or other secular patron
03. Subsidized by a religious edifice (temple or shrine)
04. Quests taken on for the order itself
05. Individual members take on quests or missions
06. A mutual aid society, informal in nature
07. Donations from those the order aids
08. There is no direct support for the order as a whole

How Are Members Expected To Contribute?
(beyond upholding the order’s ideals, which kind of goes without saying)

01. Tithing an amount of funds, or in kind, or with labour
02. Teaching new recruits or apprentices
03. Encouraging the growth of the order
04. Performing quests and endeavours that bring acclaim to the order
05. Contending with the order’s rivals and/or enemies
06. Offering aid or shelter to fellows, when called upon

Under many circumstances, several of these possibilities are just taken as a matter of course anyway; but even then, there may be an especial emphasis or value placed on a specific contribution in particular.


Also vitally important — when there’s scores of orders and dozens of factions out and about, it’s highly unlikely that all these groups will somehow never cross paths with at least a few others. So how does that shake out?

What does this order think of another?

01. Kinship, in arms or in peace
02. Casual allies, at least on a day to day basis
03. The leadership/established members are considered allies
04. The leadership/established members are considered rivals or enemies
05. The other order is anathema
06. There is old bad blood, but overtures are being made
07. There is currently competition for [hearts/faith/resources]
08. The order wishes to remain unknown to the other
09. A favour of honour is owed to the other order
10. The other order owes a favour of honour
11. Neutrality, with no particular opinion
12. Curiosity, with a side of jocular rivalry

And if the basic beliefs of the two groups are intrinsically opposed (or aligned) and a contrary result comes up, well, there’s certainly some potential adventuring and politicking in the weeds there —

Knightober 2022: The Order Of … pt. 01

Swordtember ended in a flurry and haze of hurricanes and covid; I got all my swords finished, but it was definitely a tiring work by the end of it, I won’t lie.

Of course, I still wanted to do Knightober.

But maybe not as much as Swordtember, or the fairly lengthy mostly-fiction entries I wrote for Knightober last year. Something a little smaller.

Why not some outlines for knightly orders, then, thought I? Ones in the same format as my first and second d66 tables of guilds, factions, and often-odd organizations — but smaller chunks, so I can recharge.

Why not indeed?

So, here is my first d10 table of knightly orders, inspired by prompts from Kalloway —

d10The Order Of …details
01The Thirteenth Banner“Gird thyself with arcane arts; it serves as steadfastly as any blade.”
As much hedge-witches as hedge-knights, dedicated to the melding of sword and spell, with many choosing to specialize in a particular sorcery or theme
– green and silver; banner or pennant bearing chosen glyph
– buff coat and gorget; swords of all varieties
– scrivener’s kit or other recording aid, spellstone, letters from arcane correspondent, warding charm, binding charm
02The Soulforge“Temper your blade, your bulwark, and your own spirit. All may be purified in the forge.”
Knights with a penchant for the strength of steel, both physically and metaphorically — and the most trusted steel is that which one smelts with one’s own hand
– grey and steel blue; blade through an anvil
– any steel armour + kite shield; longsword, bastard sword or greataxe
– smith’s tools, traveling anvil, steel-loop charm, flask of pure oil, alloy billet, crucible
03The Pale Ring“We stand with those who crossed over. We stand against those who cross back.”
Guardians of necropolei, wardens of graves, and grim stalwarts in the battle against the restless dead, an abomination against the peace of those who have passed on
– black and ivory; ring
– scale armour, often inset with bone or enameled ivory; mace and sabre
– lantern, consecrated oils, records of dedicated burials, bone or ivory ring, censer
04The First Wyrm“Emulate the First in all ways: Be swift. Be just. Be wise. Be ruthless. Be unconquerable.”
Followers of a code — some call them worshipers more than knights — based on the mythos surrounding Sarukkh, legendary origin of dragonkind. Some swear themselves to other wyrms.
– ruby red and indigo; rampant dragon
– scale armour + kite shield; longsword or war pick
– dragonscale- or -talon token, wyrmsblood candle, contract of the First’s laws, grooming kit, map of local dragonlairs
05The Silver Peony“Others may falter, but the Peony blooms for eternity. Our word is our bond.”
Swearers of oaths and upholders of righteousness, these knights strive to live and die in honour and to kindle the honourable impulse in those around them by example. And if the law be unrighteous, there is no honour in it.
– silver and white; peony
– chain mail or plate mail + round shield; spear or lance
– oath-ring, healer’s kit, fringed shawl or mantle, worry-beads, lamp or lantern
06The Dedicant“The heavens will fall before I am torn from my charge.”
All knights of this order swear themselves to a singular dedication, be it individual or institution, a cause or a campaign, oath or ideal — and place themselves in the vanguard of defense for their chosen one.
– tawny and green; shield and ring
– any armour + round shield; longsword and javelins
– token of their oath, personal chapbook of notes on their charge, mending kit, traveler’s cloak, oathknife and blood seal
07The Ashen Knife“When all has been lost, what is there to fear.”
Not all knights succeed in upholding their knighthoods; some turn against their oaths, some grow disillusioned with once-cherished beliefs, some lose themselves in bloodthirst. For all of these and more, there is kinship with their fellow fallen, even as they hate the reminder of what they were.
– grey and sooty; shattered weapon, usually a sword, sometimes over old emblem
– varies according to old order + personal bitterness
– disfigured crest, mending kit, hidden dagger, ashwood chain, handmade chart of hidden roads
08The Fathomless“Ever changing, ever flowing, ever adaptable. The soothing purity that washes away all with time.”
Chivalrous haunters of springs and hidden pools, bearers of water to the needful and expiation to those who need an ear to hear — or a purge of sin, true or simply believed
– teal and turquoise; cluster of teardrops
– scale or chainmail; spear, hammer
– length of immaculate cloth, several waterskins, flask of purified water, riverstone charm, ciphered map of water sources
09The Roaring Mouse“Our time will come.”
Not a true ‘order’, as much as a cross-order informal conglomeration of squires, pages, aides, apprentices, and other young knights-to-be, sharing news, gossip, insight and information with each other
– brown and white; stylized mouse
– padded jack; weapons of order-to-be
– handicrafts kit, mending kit, messages for senior or mentor, letters from fellows, award ribbon
10The Charge Perilous“Today we strive, we fight, we win! Tomorrow they sing our achievements — tomorrow, and forever!”
It’s all about the fight, for this order — the fight, the quest, the grand adventure, the crux when you’ve seized the moment, your moment, and immortalized yourself in song and legend. Whatever you do, do it well, so awesomely that no one dares to ever forget you.
– gold and azure; upraised fist or splayed hand
– virtually anything, really, as long as it gleams somewhere; battleaxe, halberd, bastard sword, or other standout weapon
– maintenance kit, healer’s kit, rallying horn, victor’s circlet, wineskin

Knightober 2021 – honour

“Stay on his back! Hold on, let Swift do the rest!”

Of course — of course — the ambush came after days of quiet pleasantries and glass-arts tours and trading gentle verbal duels with Ranai notables. Of course it came when Liamath and his new charge were following yet another dizzying shell-strewn forestgarden trail, one attached to Mairah’s own manor no less.

Oh, they planned it well. But not well enough to mark Liamath’s skill —

And they, wretches all, were also learning all too quickly that no moonstag fared well against the famed flesh-eating steeds of Kauvr.

Of course Swift had the run of House Reinan’s enclosed groves; Liamath would accept no less.

The knot of assailants — sleek creatures in unmarked buff coats, save for their leader in linen and lace and silvered shell-maille — swarmed them. Liamath barked a single warning — “Fall back and be spared” — before he drew his sword, tossed back his head, and howled.

Swift thundered through the trees heartbeats later, fangs bared and hooves lashing. In one fluid motion Liamath scooped the ghost-pale Mairah bodily from the ground and heaved him onto the gelding’s broad grey back, even as Swift laid open a stag’s throat and stove its ribs in.

Then it was time for a culling, and Liamath’s blade was every bit as swift as his companion.

He paid in blood — a gash, two gashes, on his blind side from darting assailants that escaped Swift’s teeth — but two corpses lay at his feet and three others took to their heels. Two corpses, and a kneeling figure in bloodied silvered finery who clutched a shattered blade as Liamath closed, sword high.

Then he grounded it, point to earth.

“You’ve lost your bid to founder the new accord. GIve me your allies’ names and come along in peace, and I will spare your life and render you unto the Rainlord’s court.”

The fallen cavalier gulped air, spit bloodily, tossed back her head in disbelief. Behind Liamath, Swift rumbled warningly, snaking his head low and closer; Liamath clicked his tongue, but kept his attention on the swordmaster before him.

“Stand, Swift. Stand.”

The gelding drew back, snorting; Liamath tried not to chuckle, struck by the ludicrousness of it all. Still he didn’t turn.

“Lord Mairah? Are you well?”

The response was quick, and shaken —

“A — It’s a close thing, Wolf, but I’m alright …”

“Good. Stay where you are, if you please?”

— not that Liamath expected him to actually attempt to dismount at the moment —

“And so here we are, oh would-be righteous one. Will you surrender?”

He saw the nerves, the doubt, in her amber eyes. Well, perhaps understandable. Still —

“You killed –“

“The poor fools, and their beasts, that you set upon us before you dared to close in yourself, yes. I regret, but they could have made another choice — as several of them chose to do.
“Will you surrender your blade, milady?”

“And you’ll do what?”

Liamath shifted his stance slightly, his own maille chimed softly, muffled by wool.

“Remand you to Ranai justice. I have stilled your hand, as was my charge to do so.”

He shifted his hands on his sword-pommel, ready to change grip and bring the blade to bear if necessary. The cavalier watched him for several breaths, listening to the soft chime, eyeing his bloodied furs.

“… You’re some Kauvra wolflord.”

“I am.”

Her blade clattered to his boots.

He offered her his hand.

-*-

Kauvra crystal maille: Perishingly patience-devouring to carve — and not at all silent unless well muffled with wool and fur (often not even then) or enchanted — maille hauberks carved from the toughest, least brittle of Kauvr’s crystal are a signature of the wolflords from the March Of The Grey. Some grow so accustomed to the tiny glittering links and their soft chime that they meditate to the sound.

Knightober 2021 – paladin

As it turned out, the fair young man in question — one Mairah by name, scion of a long line of glassweaver nobility — possessed a certain paleness of eye and angle to face that suggested ties to Cor-cael’s lord. This explained a good deal to Liamath, though he kept his observations to himself as he paced silently alongside the chattering Mairah.

Discretion, always discretion …

He was learning a good deal about the state of affairs in Ranah, to be sure, and the glances he kept receiving from pale-coated, patchwork-embroidered locals were — did the newly-gifted blade at his hip look so terribly mismatched with the rest of him, then? Did the shining thing not suit? Or was it something else ~?

“– So you see, Wolf Corvan, Lord Kaerna frankly dispatched you here ahead of expected, mm, disruptions. I’m not unskilled with a blade, but against …”

Liamath shook his head, dark mane swinging in its formal braid.

“There’s no reason for you to cross swords with dissenters and the lawless. It’s a different sort of fight, that one, all the more when it’s unavoidable.”

He cocked his head to fix Mairah with his hale eye, a thin smile creeping out for a moment. Oh, the lad looked puzzled; very well, then.

“I’m just as pleased that you recognize the difference between a duel, or a skirmish, and what we’re waiting for, young lord. But, rest assured that I have no intention to draw unnecessary blood. That’d be no better than the wretches I’m watching for.
“We protect those needing protecting, and cull when culling’s called for; nothing more, nothing less.”

-*-

Hundred-silver: A tradition still held by many older Ranai families of presenting a gift — a new knife or sword, philtre or pen-set, brooch or buckler — to one who has proven faithful, joined them in an oath, or become new kin. Whatever the object, it is at least partially surfaced in mosiac-work of tiny mirrored tesserae, as a reminder that the whole is made up of its parts.

Knightober 2021 – chivalry

Of course Liamath agreed to make the trek his liege requested; it would never have occured to him to refuse. Though off-balance from his earlier exploits, he’d sworn his oath and would not break it, certainly not for so petty a thing as being out on the road once more. Lord Kaerna did not command his loyalty — and for that, she possessed it until his dying breath.

What he hadn’t expected was what he — and the grumbling Swift — rode to the Mirror Of The Mirror for.

Or, for that matter, how Lord Kaerna planned to have them present themselves.

Oh, milord, you are a clever one. But I know very well that you have more than the favour of loaning out a fancy honour-guard in mind, else you would’ve chosen most any of the youngsters.

Well, I’ll do my best, and hope that a one-eyed swordhand doesn’t put off the fair young man.

Compared to their backlands travels, the road to Ranah was an easy one of waystops and pocket-villages and Swift earning treats from cheerful travellers; when Ranah’s bleached-silver walls loomed ahead before Liamath’s eyes he almost felt that it should’ve taken at least few days longer. And on that fine evening, Liamath drew Swift towards the side of the broad road to brush away the dust and settle their unaccustomed finery of shining dark furs and falls of tiny sparkling beads cascading from caparison and trailing coattails.

Swift stamped one hoof, tossing his head, as Liamath remounted, earning a chuckle and a scratch in his thick ruffed mane.

“Yes, we both look quite fancy, I’m sure. Let us present ourselves and our pledges to the gatekeepers, eh?”

-*-

Heart’s-pledge: One of several oaths and similar promises common to the northern reaches of the Edge, similar to the wolflord’s oath, the blood-binding oath and the guardian’s sword oath (and the Alabaster Blades have a similar tradition). Frequently represented by a special series of glyphs, with or without an inscribed copy of the oath itself; the specific form of the physical pledge varies, from illuminated documents to inscribed crystal prisms, precious-metal pendants or stone tablets. Many carry the physical representation of their pledge as a ward or charm.

Knightober 2021 – leaves

“You’ve had an eventful ride, Liamath. I regret needing to cut it short.”

Liamath couldn’t tell whether Lord Kaerna was joking or not. His liege was hard to read at times, with a cool professionalism forged in the fires of political war, and he admired her steel even as it made him occasionally second-guess himself —

“But do breathe, wolflord, you’re looking a little peaked. It won’t suit to have one of my finest wilting like a snipped flower.”

— like right this moment. He winced, and she chuckled, icy eyes sparkling. The sound echoed through the hall’s cedar ceiling beams, muffling into the tapestries that lined the walls. Liamath covered his moment of discomfit with a carefully contemplative sip from the pearly cup, blossom-like, he cradled. It wasn’t like him to act so much the callow squire, truly, but his nerves felt a touch raw after the gift, and the lost stranger, and the chase afterward, and …

I never thought I’d see the time I preferred to sit in Cor-cael and sip from fancy service. But …

But the warmth of the hearthfires, the smoky cedar beams, the brilliant tapestries and the glittering pillars, the soft dark pelts strewn across benches and chairs …

Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe …

“Liamath.”

Lord Kaerna set down her own cup. Her circlet gleamed in the lantern-light, thorns in grizzled silver.

“Will you ride to Ranah?”

-*-

Fernsilk: A creeping, delicate fern, tiny in the wilds of the forest but growing to luxuriance indoors, whose trailing curlicues of feathery leaves lend a cool, minty, earthy savour to Kauvri teas, meads, and raw dishes.

Knightober 2021 – key


A summons back to Cor-cael was not something Liamath expected, but — he’d learned long before — fate did not give a clipped wedge for his expectations.  If Lord Kaerna wished his presence, then her will would be done.

If it’s hostilities or calamity, I’m sure there would have been some hint in the code; but, nothing.  So, vital enough to call me back, not vital enough to inform me.

Or, it’s secrecy that’s needed.  No way of knowing who or what might be about when I received the summons …

As with the firebird, and the children.

His musings kept Liamath gnawing at possibilities — and his growing relief at returning to his liege’s lands — for nearly the entire return trip.  Distractions came when hunting with Swift or, once, offering aid to a stranded forest-gleaner desperate to reach his village and too thorn-riddled to make it back without that help; but no firebird appeared to chide him along, so Liamath deemed the detour more than worthwhile.  They’d make it up.

By the time he trotted through the cobbled lanes of Larell towards Cor-cael’s walls, Swift was growling and snappish and Liamath didn’t blame the gelding one bit.  The last few days turned into hard riding …

“Don’t you worry, my big lad, a warm stable and proper grooming and good feed are waiting for you on the other side of the gate — just tilt me there, now.”

Swift never paused, only sidling at the last moment for Liamath to hold his hand out to the veins of crystal threading through the massive nightcedar gates that loomed above them.  Beneath his palm, pale light flared, ghostly runes flickered, an echo of the light seeping through his glove; and the great Horizon Gate of Cor-Cael yawned open.

-*-

Portal Emblem:  Another example of Kauvri crystalwork, usually a finger-ring, pendant, or cloak-brooch, carved from a crystal spall mounted in metal or especially dense wood.  The emblem responds to the presence of of the core-crystal it was spalled from and is tuned to the life-pattern of its bearer, who can use the emblem to instruct the core to unlock or unbolt access to anything from jewelry boxes to buildings.

Knightober 2021 – skeleton


May this be the last.

Fate is a capricious, fickle thing, and Liamath seldom felt that so keenly as he did this storm-clouded evening, some hours away from the pleasant hub-village and its market filled with cheer.

How fitting, truly, to have his beloved’s final token delivered on bright wings in time for such a wretched discovery.

Whoever the poor soul had been, what scraps remained of their belongings bore no resemblance to the villagers’ colourful woolens, nor to Urulayan or Ranai fashions, or the descriptions of further lands.  The metal of the thin dagger — a strange violet washed with gold — also utterly foreign.  None of it resembled anything Liamath recognized, or had heard of, so where had the lost hailed from? A newworld, perhaps, beyond the Edge …

The pale bones were far too real to only be some primordia fever dream.

Not that it mattered.

In the end the poor creature went down — trampled under Swift’s hooves, its skull shattered like a broken moon-melon between stout sharp fangs, while Liamath swung a prayerlight overhead like a festival lantern, free hand clamped onto the saddlehorn.

The lamp’s pale-gold light flickered fitfully now, the lacy crystal guttering in its greenivory egg, but that was alright.  The work was finished.  Brushing earth and moss from his breeches, Liamath rose slowly to his feet.

I didn’t know your rites, but I did what I could for you.  I hope that our traditions bring some peace.

May you now find your rest, stranger.

And it was time to move on.

-*-

Prayerlight: A delicate crystal carving of interlocking, lacy curlicues, often stylized ferns, fitted into a protective shell much like a lantern frame.  Once activated, such a lamp will cast soothing light out to 60′, in which mindless undead creatures are slow and sluggish, ghosts may not possess the living, and the dead will not rise.  A prayerlight will last for six hours, which need not be continuous.