Knights of the Silver Moon Empire

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As preserved and set forth this 12th day of Soothcool, 1267

Knight's Oath:

To preserve and serve the Emperor.

Code of Conduct:

Code of Knighthood: A Knight of the Silver Moon shall not steal, cheat, lie, or murder. It is a Knight's duty to protect all lands appertaining to the Emperor and the people therein that declare loyalty to the Emperor. It is a Knight's duty to preserve all property of the Emperor and his loyal subjects from any who may threaten it. It is a Knight's duty to preserve peace and order within the lands of the Emperor and to ascertain that any order of the Emperor is carried upon all the lands.

Code of Loyalty: A Knight shall obey and follow all orders of his superiors and will not take any actions that may contradict the will and intent of his superiors. Any orders disobeyed can be disciplined at the superior's discretion, with the likelihood that formal charges will be made to the Knight Court. First and foremost however, any Knight of the Silver Moon must be loyal to the Emperor's cause and safety, above all else.

Ranks:

Lord General: Jinhiol "Hawksbane" Niliahas
The Commander-in-Chief for the Emperor, in direct charge of all the captains. He keeps the Fort in Shadokhan running and basically reports directly to the Emperor. The Lord General is somewhere in his 50's.

 

 

Captain:
There are six total, each commanding one of the forts, with ranking within decided informally by location, wealth, and experience. All six of the Captain's are officially of equal rank. Perhaps unspoken difference are present, but the authority are even across the board.

 

 

Lieutenant-Captain:
Each fort has several Lieutenant-Captains, acting as battalion commanders or special unit commanders. The rank of Solar Knight is equal to the rank of Lieutenant-Captain, and serves many of the same functions, in addition to their responsibilities as healers.

 

 

Senior Knight:
Acts in the position of company commanders, or as special unit team commanders.

 

 

 

Junior Knight:
Acts in the position of platoon leaders in regular units, or as the lowest rung in special units.

 

 

 

Sergeant First-Class:
Acts as platoon sergeants, advising the platoon leader, and carrying out mission tasks in their absence.

 

 

 

Sergeant:
Serves in staff positions and as squad leaders within the platoons.

 

 

 

Infantrymen:
Two rank classes of infantryman exist, First-Class and Second-Class. They are the rank and file of the Silver Moon Knights, but are not all footmen, as the name might suggest. They serve in whatever units they are trained for during their Basic and Initial Training.

 

Squires:
Not an actual rank within the Order of the Silver Moon command structure, squires act as aids to Knights of Junior-Knight or higher rank. They are taught the basics of military discipline, custom, tactics and care of the personal equipment of a soldier by their Knight.

Solar Knights:
These are knights trained in the art of healing. While they respect the Goddess of Vivomancy, Nostrella, their ways in the art of war cannot fall under her worship. There are usually one or two Solars at each fort, depending on how many troops are present.

 

Solar Apprentices:
A Solar Apprentice is any knight of a rank lower than Lieutenant Captain who is a member of the sub-order of Solar Knights. They are inserted into regular line units, where they serve as line-medics and learn from other Solars of higher rank and expertise.

 

Training:

Fort Ubolutiin in Shadokhan is the main recruiting point and as well as the center for basic training. Then the knights can be assigned to any of the seven forts in the different realms.

Recruitment:
Before a prospective Silver Moon Knight can begin training, he or she must first be recruited. Each Fort has a Recruitment Officer who handles taking applications, as well as actively seeking out likely prospects among both the common and the nobility.

Currently, the Recruitment Officer at Fort Ubolutiin in Dreven City is Junior-Knight Sir Roderick Therault.

Possible recruits are interviewed by the Recruitment Officer, and if deemed suitable are passed onto the Training Cadre for testing.

Testing:
Testing is a week-long process, during which the recruit is tested for many qualities. Needed qualities for a recruit to be accepted are dedication, integrity, loyalty, honor, courage, respect, a sense of duty, selfless service and justice. Also tested for is physical fitness, capability to complete the necessary training. The exact methods of testing vary, but there is a general guideline which is followed for all testing.

Initial Orientation: The recruit is settled into temporary barracks on the Fort's grounds, normally situated near the stables. Explanations of what is to happen over the course of the next week are made, but kept vague. The only thing that is made crystal clear is that the possible recruit may leave AT ANY TIME.

Trials: During the week, the recruit is made to perform the most arduous, unpleasant tasks possible. The bad parts of life as a Silver Moon Knight are emphasized, and the recruit is constantly hammered with unexpected questions of all sorts. The purpose of this is to determine if the recruit has the determination necessary to enter the Order of the Silver Moon, as well as glean insight on how the recruit thinks and feels about certain various issues, by forcing them to answer the questions when mentally drained and off guard. This will continue daily, from sun-up to sun-down until the final day of the training.

Crucible: This is the final phase of the testing. The recruit is pulled out of their daily activities, and given a task. This task varies, but always includes certain elements.

• A secret, which the recruit must carry, but not attempt to discover; (a note, or a package, usually).
• Apparent physical danger to the recruit.
• A time limit.
• Moral dilemmas presented along the way.

This task is always virtually impossible to accomplish. If the recruit does succeed, he or she will be informed that they failed regardless, and sent back to the Recruitment Officer to report their failure. This is an equally crucial part, perhaps more so than the Crucible itself. Either way, the recruit must return to the Recruitment Officer, if they do, then they have passed. If they do not, then they fail.

Once the testing is finished, the successful recruit is given a small but very personal and very formal ceremonial induction into the Order of the Silver Moon, and they are sworn to secrecy about the testing methods, other than to say they are very difficult.

Squiredom: Once the recruit is finished testing, they are released from the Fort, as a squire-in-waiting. When a Silver Moon Knight of rank Junior-Knight or better picks them from a list, then they will begin their training.

When a Knight takes a Squire, they must fund the squire's initial issue, as well as paying for room and board. Usually, the squire will stay at the Fort in a room nearby their Knight, but may be required to sleep on a cot in the Knight's own room. The Knight also conducts all training for their Squire, usually including imperial history (all 58 years of it) the way of the warrior, care and wear of armor, care for battle-trained horses, and basic use of weaponry. The squire will receive a small amount of pay for sundries from the Order.

When the Knight feels that the squire is ready, then he may recommend him or her to continue into basic training.

Basic Training: This is the physically and mentally most strenuous 3 months of training possible, because the Knights of the Silver Moon have to be the best. Even the lowliest Infantryman Second Class is a more than proficient warrior. Also, friends made in Basic Training are made for life, due to the shared hardships.

Specific descriptions of Basic Training are not permitted, in case this document falls into the hands of some bleeding heart courtier. Just suffice to say that most of the horror stories you might have heard... They're more than likely true. However, the number of casualties at Drill Instructor's hands is vastly, vastly exaggerated. The Drills do NOT kill their trainees. Anything short of that, however...

Like all training, the trainee is permitted to leave at any time.

During training, the trainee's aptitudes are determined for when (if) they complete their three months of Basic Training.

Aptitude/Placement Training: The aptitudes and interests discovered during Basic Training are furthered during their Placement Training. They will receive mission-specific training for whichever position they will be entering when they move on to active duty.

Some Placement Fields:

• Light Cavalry (mounted archers)
• Heavy Cavalry (lancers)
• Dragoons (mounted infantry)
• Investigative Corps (infantry/cavalry, investigators)
• Solars (infantry/cavalry, healers)
• Footmen (infantry)
• Longbowmen (archers)

Active Duty: Training continues in active duty, for the purposes of maintaining proficiency, building an integrated team, and honing techniques.

Forts:

There is one fort in each of the seven realms, except Cloosidian and Balthazor. The largest forts and battalions are located in the Capital Dreven, Luminii, and Oceanuus. The fort in Arboria is the smallest then Thermador.

There is a Knight Court Hearing for formal accusations against any of the knights and their charges, and they are also held in Shadokhan, as well as regular meeting of the Captains with the Lord General.

Each fort has one Vivomancer, and if required, more unofficial healers in training under the Vivomancer's charge.

Each independent realm can raise their own private armies by recruiting their citizens. They can have their own resident generals that report directly to the Arch-Mage and Magess. But by the order of the Emperor, the Captains and the Lord General have superior authority when both parties are present. This can pose a theoretical problem, since the Arch-Mage and Magess outrank any Silver Moon Knight, therein able to command their own generals as they wish. But since the the Circle of Six must then answer to the Emperor, unless there is a direct order otherwise, all the armies will typically defer to the Silver Moon Knight Captains.

Fort Ubolutiin (Shadokhan):
The second biggest fort in the realm, located near the center of the capital, commanded by the Lord General himself.

Fort Denebrul (Xieng Khouang):
Commanded by Captain Roland Sulziel, the Silver Moon Knights stationed here work conjointly with mermen under Elorac's rule. The fort itself is the biggest port within Xieng Khouang, and third largest fort within Lyran Tal, harboring military ships that patrol the seas of Southern Oceanuus.

The second part that makes up the military presence within the water kingdom resides in the Northern Oceanuus. Cornelius Dreven, back in the Icaruss Wars, needed the support of the mermen. As payment for their support, he negotiated a separate treaty with the King and the Queen of Northern Oceanuus, who represented a separate sovereignty from the Southern Oceanuus. The Merfolk of the North were allowed to patrol their own realm, without the presence of the Emperor's Knights after the war. The Northern group is headed by Captain Fyul Devvol, the son of Cyyroidius and Gervoia Devvol, the Merman King and his Queen. This is a purely underwater group and they have an underwater fort located in Hvannadalshnukur.

Fort Wantlokin (Luminii):
The largest of all the forts in the Silver Moon Empire, it is commanded by Captain Volaraine Deptoniuos Shakar. Recently, Fort Wantlokin was assaulted by a large force of goblins shortly before war broke out over Lyran Tal, led by a bloodthirsty redcap. Word has reached the capital that Captain Shakar may have been one of the casualties, but it has not yet been confirmed. Though Fort Wantlokin is severely damaged, many of the knights survived, and are being aided by Annabella Morningstar's Vivomancers.

The Rock of Duval (Thermador):
The second smallest of all forts, commanded by Captain Lann Dubhás, located on the top of a 500 ft mesa about 15 miles from Wadi Medani.

Fort Klimteg (Arboria):
Located strategically next to a mountain pass that is critical to enter the forestlands of Arboria from the East, this is the smallest fort of them all. It is commanded by Captain Hadius Pergaeron.

The Fort in Cloosidian is currently defunct. The Seleventi are in a political power move with Dreven, and refuse to have the Silver Moon Knights in their land. There is no current captain.

As part of a treaty agreement between Cornelius Dreven and Irmaa Vep that was made during the Icaruss Wars, there is also no presence of Silver Moon Knights within Balthazor.

 

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