Crestlyn Isle Organizations And Knightly Orders

The guilds, organizations and knightly orders of Crestlyn Isle

When adding groups to this page, follow this format for a cleaner page; ==Category== ===Group Name=== <Description of said group, what they do/believe in, location(if applicable)> ====History==== <Insert history here> ====Members==== <List members here, use points under member's name to describe member> <example;> Sir Roune * <insert description> ====Notable Things Done==== <insert important contributions to Crestlyn Isle or acts of villany>

• Note: I know the formatting above looks bad, but when opened up in edit, it shows up as it should so don't worry about it

Knightly Orders

Grey Knights

The grey knights are an order of noble men and women who vow to protect the people of Crestlyn wherever they may be and from whatever threatens them. They do not get involved in political issue nor do they join a side in wars. They are varied, each of the original four races can be found as knights in the order. Taking up work from cities and towns alike, they travel in groups of 3 - 5 and eliminate any threat. The Grey Knights love adventure, they actively seek it. As long as there is evil, they will never rest from duty.

History

The Grey Knights were established as a simple group of trained men who were brought together by a common cause; to eliminate all threats to the people of Crestlyn from the dangerous creatures that live there. They were simply 4 adventurers who by chance meet in the Frozen North when hunting for a young dragon said to be causing much trouble in the cities around. After fighting and killing the dragon, they decided it would be best if they traveled together as their skills flowed smoothly with each others'. After adventuring as a party for nearly 2 years the 4 warriors; Dourne, Vorlen, Wesden, and Katherine; thought to begin a guild of strong willed adventurers, dedicated to protecting the people of Crestlyn no matter who they be. With the money earned, and looted, from their adventures, they created a guild house in an isolated section of the Frozen North. With permission of the nobles who rule over the country, they were knighted and had the authority to rule of a small section of land. With 5 more members recruited, they established their guild. Year 3180 was the year their guild was fully establish and were recognized as a knightly order. Today their numbers reach 56, with two other guild houses on Crestlyn; one in Keeper's coast, and another on the northernmost area of the Center Plains. Since their formation in 3180, the Grey Knights have gone through many battles and events. The original four that formed the guild are long gone, their equipment passed down to their respective children and family. In the back of the original guild house, the graves of the first twenty can be found.

Notable Members

'Note:' The time-line of the heroes below are not birth and death, but their service in the grey knights.

• Dourne the Giant (3180 - 3240)
  • A giant of man, hence his title, that stands at a towering 7 feet tall. Dourne is a human, born in a small town in the Frozen North. He grew up on a farm, expecting to become a farmer like his father, though that changed when his town was attacked by a goblin horde.

• Wesden the Lion (3180 - 3200)
  • An average looking man with great skill with a greatsword. He began as part of his town militia and was dubbed the Lion for his ferocity in battle and his booming battle cry.

• Katherine the Wind (3180 - 3240)
  • A northern elf from the Abudar forest. She has won great renown for her hunting skills. After joining the Grey Knights, she became a figure of awe as none could match her speed.

• Vorlen the Void Walker (3180 - 3280)
  • A stronger than average Shadowspawn that took up arms with three other adventurers to stop a dragon menace. He is extremely adept at magic, especially so with the void as he could easily travel great distances in a blink of an eye by travelling through the void itself.

Clans

Ironbeards

While for as long as there has been a Steinhelm it has been ruled by the Ironbeards, they only gained control of it during the final stages of the old city's construction. The deepest halls that are now the Ironbeards' mountainhome and Steinhelm's inner sanctum were actually dug by the now-lesser clan known as the Goldbloods. In fact, the mysterious steel smelting technologies known only to the Ironbeard smiths of Steinhelm are said to have been stolen from the Goldbloods. The original purpose of Steinhelm was for it to be an outpost for the Goldbloods, that would use its rich veins of magnetite to produce a huge arsenal of steel weapons and armor. This would be used by them to gain supremacy over all the young dwarven realms, propelling the small empire of dwarves from its small hold of just three mountains to governing all of Crestlyn's subterranean kingdoms. Unfortunately for the Goldbloods, the Ironbeards, who were at the time a simplistic clan of nomadic hill dwarves, discovered Steinhelm before a single weapon was produced by it. The Ironbeards easily overthrew the Goldblood soldiers, using guerrilla tactics and barbaric rage to their advantage. The Goldblood smiths were enslaved and forced to use their secret techniques to forge steel goods of unmatched quality for the Ironbeards, who settled in Steinhelm permanently. Eventually, the Goldblood smiths all died out, and their methods were adopted by Ironbeard smiths, who are the sole workers of steel in Steinhelm today. The Ironbeards did not share the Goldbloods' dream of supremacy through war, but instead the Ironbeard clan leader Urist Trollflayer II established Steinhelm as the dominant dwarven trade city in all of Crestlyn (and some say the world). His complete control over the flow of steel across the Isle earned the Ironbeards their position as the most powerful and respected dwarven clan, which they maintain to this day. It also made Trollflayer II, as the leader of the leading clan, the first unofficial king of all dwarves, with Steinhelm as his capital.

• Magical Artifacts of Steinhelm

Over their millennia of economic dominance, the Ironbeards have built up, through greedy mining and copious exports of masterwork goods, an uncountable number of vaults, each filled with to the brim with precious metals, magical items, and expensive art. Each vault is defended by its own squad of guards, clad in masterwork Steinhelm steel. These guards are rarely Ironbeards, who are of too high status to grime their beards in combat, but instead are usually mercenaries from other clans (most often from the Gearhearts) hired by the Ironbeards to protect their treasure. The guards aren't given access to the vaults they protect, and rarely even know what they're guarding. Among these vaults, there is said to be one in particular that holds Steinhelms greatest treasures, that only the reigning Ironbeard clan leader has access to: the diamond strongbox. Although most of what is known about the vault is speculation and legend, it is said to be a one hundred cubic meter hollow cube made entirely of diamond, carved from one solid diamond. How it is entered or where it is entered from baffle even the most imaginative bards and gossipers. Inside are said to be five priceless and superpowerful magic items

Law Making Coalations

Order of Liches

The Order of Liches is a small group of powerful undead that once lived on Crestlyn Isle. Most people see necromancy as a taboo or a dangerous form of magic and some see necromancy as evil to the point of banning it cities. Every member of the order was a necromancer that achieved lichdom in some way. None were evil and hated the fact that some people still see undead as simply evil being simply because they are animated by negative energy so they made an attempt to clean their names. Now they live in their own crafted city, hidden from society, dealing with any issues involving undead. Any person practicing necromancy that wants to take the next step and become a lich, must seek out the liches and get their approval. When an issue arrives with undead, such as the sudden appearance of wraiths or other undead, a member of the order is assigned to investigate. Today people no longer view necromancy as evil thanks to the Order of Liches, though the art is still seen as dangerous and is not allowed in most civilizations. Even though the transformation of a lich is overseen by the order, that doesn't stop some necromancers that have malicious intent from becoming a lich in secret.

History

The Order started in year 3,200, which is 20 years after a group of outcast necromancers decided to work together. There were originally 3 members, two human and one shadowspawn, that were casted out from a human settlement after their work was discovered. They worked at a way to achieve lichdom without all the traditional dark rites that involve murder or demonic rituals. With three working together it only took them 20 years to discover a way to immortality without evil rites. Soon after, they created a group in order dedicated to prove that necromancy isn't evil. With two other necromancers recruited they began assisting willing towns and then cities with cleaning up desease and neutralizing any undead threats. People began trusting the liches and they revealed that they hold the ritual to achieving lichdom without evil acts, though they would never share the ritual with any city, stating that anyone wanting to become immortal must come to them. Today there are twelve members in the order, all being strictly neutral, only immortal to continue their research or assist civilization. Each race is represented in the order, 3 liches from each of the four original races are part of the order. The order is recognized as a group with authority and as such create laws relating to necromancy.

Members

• twelve members, none of their names known.