Martial Order of San Lukas

The Martial Order of San Lukas, known colloquially as the Knights of the Breach are a Chivalric Order headquartered in Whiterock Castle, and are the oldest chivalric order in all of Bastonia, their foundation technically predating the establishment of the Bastonian Monarchy. While many chivalric orders are dedicated to the Celestial General, the Knights of the Breach are the only such order founded by San Lukas himself, organized shortly before the Battle of the First Wall and then formalized when San Lukas took the Bastonian Throne. Such an ancient and noble order carries heavy weight in the folklore and culture of Bastonia, and in particular the paladins trained and consecrated within this order are responsible for the sum total of the public conception of paladins and knights throughout the Kingdom.

The blazon of the Martial Order is gules, a pall argent; the popular story relating the pall to San Lukas as being symbolic of him standing athwart the in-rushing companies of the army of the Enemy during his occupation of the Breach in the Battle of the First Wall. This blazon is increasingly augmented with the rank of the members of the order; paladins and clerics immediately gain an additional charge, rendering the blazon gules, a pall argent; surmounted a palewise inverted. High ranking officers gain the right to instead use gules, a pall argent, on a chief argent a tower gules, symbolizing their responsibility for the defense of the city of Whiterock above all other matters. Additionally, so great are the number of noblemen with personal arms among the ranks of the Martial Order that a special dispensation has existed for centuries, allowing members of the Martial order to display the order's arms in a charge upon their personal blazon - most other chivalric orders do not permit this, or instead permit the opposite. This custom was established on account of the Knight Grand Cross of the order invariably being the Bastonian Monarch, whose arms are unsurmountable.

The Martial Order organizes itself into Companies, each with their own Knight Captain and one or more units of 150 or fewer men and their Lieutenant - each such unit known as a squadron - along with a number of administrative staff. These companies maintain responsibility over certain geographic areas in the area around Whiterock for recruitment and training, and many occupy their own fortifications. One such company is always headquartered in Whiterock, with their Knight Captain instead bearing the rank of Captain-General, making them the monarch's seniormost military advisor and nominally the commanding officer of all Bastonian militia - in practice, especially during wars of succession, this is not an authority de facto. Knights of the Breech are well respected by civilians, especially those in the Bastonian Heartlands where they are the most likely to be found. A village is considered lucky if it is occupied by or proximal to the headquarters of a company of this order, and can be assured of the order's steadfastness in ferreting out rebels, devils, demons, undead, or other monsters should they happen to arise in the Heartlands.

The order focuses on a traditional cavalry and heavy infantry doctrine and so is comprised of a large number of fighters, paladins, and clerics. When needs drive, the order will swell its ranks with village militia, trained by the Knights as best as possible and equipped from the Company inventory. Competition among minor nobles to have their untitled children accepted into the order is fierce, to the extent that even being examined for membership and rejected is held as a point of pride by some.