Chivalric Order

Chivalric Orders are a type of corporate entity within Bastonia, established by royal charter, almost always in conjunction with the Bastonian Church or one of the various religious orders of the Great Saints. In comparison to those religious orders, a Chivalric Order is necessarily a paramilitary organization, usually beholden either directly to the Bastonian Monarch or to another royal or noble patron. Such orders necessarily have a headquarters from which they organize themselves and are in direct service The Almighty or one of the Great Saints, though the extent to which the religious component is empathized in the performance of their duties varies. These orders organize as standing paramilitary forces professionally, supplementing militia levees in times of war.

As military and chartered organizations, all Chivalric Orders have an associated blazon, and members of those orders are entitled to the use of that blazon if they have no proper arms of their own.

Some orders in the frontier are known collectively as Blackguards and serve, illegally and in rebellion, the Enemy or, more often, San Meteo. These orders are rare, weak, fractuous, and rely heavily on subterfuge to escape notice.

Some of the most noteworthy orders are:

• Scores of orders dedicated directly to The Almighty exist, prominently:
  • The Order of the Lanyard, who constructed most of the castles in the Bastion Line and remain headquartered at Seapoint, at its western extent.
  • The Companions of the Light, a fractured order occasionally appearing among the ranks of other orders, who were headquartered at what is now the Seelie Ruins.
  • The Noble Order of the Gorget, an order of diplomat-knights whose dispatches take them away from their Fort Mondale, near Whiterock, to other cities in Bastonia to deliver (and, if needs be, put into force) Royal Edicts.
• The Martial Order of San Lukas, known colloquially as the Knights of the Breach, are a highly martial order making up the core of those troops loyal to the Bastonian Monarch, who is often the leader of their order in accordance with the tradition that the Monarch can trace their heritage back to San Lukas. This order has a strong chaplaincy at its core and is home to a greater number of paladins by proportion to other classes of men-at-arms than any other order in the Kingdom. They are unsurprisingly headquartered in Whiterock.
• The Order of San Lauren is the principle of all worshipful companies of San Lauren and are a specialist organization of prairie and temperate-forest rangers in the southwest. Of all the chivalric orders they have the most mixed approval in Whiterock; while they are loyal to the monarch they rarely take direct orders and instead tend to act as they see fit.
• The Bavonian Order is one of many worshipful companies of San Lauren and are specialist alpine rangers headquartered in Highfall Lodge overlooking Boischateau in The North. They are more loyal than the Order of San Lauren, but their fealty is to the Duke of the North rather than the monarch.
• Though not meeting the stereotype for formality and operating in highly different conditions, the Companions of San Marino the Arcwhaler are a chivalric order operating from their charterhouse in Coldwater.
• While orders dedicated to San Lauren range in the wilds and protect such travelers as they find, the Knights Hospetalier are an order dedicated to the patrol and protection of roads leading through the Bastonian Heartland, with the mandate to protect pilgrims to Whiterock and its holy sites. The order is dedicated to San Hera, Keeper of the Heavenly Hearth. They are headquartered at High Hearth, a small castle between Whiterock and Boischateau.
• An order known as the Right Honourable Companions of the Engineer are dedicated to San Hera, and occupy Crucible Rock, central to the Bastion Line. The order was historically charged with the maintenance, reinforcement and upkeep of abandoned fortifications in Bastonia. Many of its number now supplement the architects and militia of various Frontier Counties Earls and Barons, consumed in the work of constructing the new fortifications.
• Surprisingly given his personal alignment, San Sylvester has sponsored the Scholarly Order of the Azurejay, headquartered in Sylvestri Point. The order is seen more as an academic allegiance than a military one, but their combat-proficient arm occasionally rallies for the excavation of ancient sites and supplements the guards regiments of Oversea - and anyone else who can pique their interest.
• The Sacred Order of the Vault are a chivalric order in service of San Marino, who much like the Arcwhalers are atypical knights in that they are as likely to be profesional seamen as they are men at arms upon the land. Though headquartered in Oversea most of their order are usually away from their keep, keeping up with the sacred duties of excavating lost Bastonian treasures or escorting shipments of coin or critical goods. Many cities have successfully courted suborders to establish waystations in their cities to protect their most relied-upon exports or imports.

Additionally, there are blackguard regiments that are functionally similar to chivalric order:

• The Men of the Gauntlet are servants directly of The Enemy. Historically, they were few in number and rarely more notable than the rest of the Enemy's followers. With the recent expansion of the Frontier Counties into the lordless lands, a Gauntlet stronghold northwest of Southport known as Skull Rock was exposed, and is likely to be intractable barring a crusade.
• San Meteo's followers usually come from more discreet means but there is at least one well-regarded order of assassins under his organization known as the Order of the Obulus that functions as a chivalric order in many respects and is believed to be headquartered in or near Coldwater.