Order of Palanthor

The Order of Palanthor, formally the Knights of Palanthor, is a highly prestigious secular order of knights. Its knights are the guarantors of the agreements made with the refugees who came from the south after The Desolation, and in this sense the order is older than The Empire itself.¹

Founding

After the Desolation and the Exodus that followed, the survivors sought refuge in the lands now called the Lands of Exile. The Order of Palanthor was founded by human knights to oversee the refugees and to honour the promises of safety made to them.²

At that time these lands were divided into five human kingdoms, and the order, made up of knights from all of them, was formed to keep the balance between the kingdoms. The knights used the Palanthor tablets to secure peace, and it is said that the tablets ensured a person would not go back on their word. The agreement made with the people who fled the great catastrophe was written on such a tablet and guaranteed by the order, and the lands granted to the elves were a result of it.³

With the permission of the Palanthor Knights, and through the powers of elf druids, the elven lands were separated from the territories of humans by the creation of the Calinor’dal, the most magnificent river in the realm. Ancient agreements witnessed by the Knights of Palanthor still decide who may wander the lands of the Da’fat Federation freely: the elven cities, tribes and high lords and ladies that make up the federation.⁴⁵

Tenets and standard

The tenets of Palanthor are written on the tablet of Palanthor:

• Let not the Martyr rot. Never allow the body or remains of a martyr to fall into the hands of the enemy.
• Die with the Standard. Never let the standard fall into the enemy's hands.
• First to charge, last to retreat. Never let others fight your wars for you, always stand with those who fight for your cause, and never abandon a fight while an ally is still fighting.⁶

The knights are renowned for protecting their battle brothers and sisters. They always carry the holy standard of their order, they banish the fear of losing from the hearts of their allies, and they are known for bringing peace and a sense of security wherever they go.⁶

"Wherever you see this standard, know this little child, you are home and you are safe." — Knight Palanthor Korvus Thain, to a child escaping from an orc raid⁶

Membership

The noblest families of the realm will make great sacrifices for one of their own to join the order, but only the most flawless and virtuous are accepted: if the members believe a candidate has even the slightest flaw of body or character, they do not admit them.¹

In the Lands of Exile the knights of the order are mostly human, though there can be knights from allied peoples such as elves and dwarves. The order still exists after thousands of years, and it now carries only one banner, that of the Red Eagle.³

The civil war

In 24 AVD a terrible civil war shook the Empire after Emperor Vaden I was found assassinated in his bed. Derek Sunshield, Grandmaster of the Palanthor Knights, wholeheartedly supported Vaden II from the early hours of that night.⁷

The order's reputation was tarnished during the civil war, when its Grandmaster, Derek Sunshield, stood alongside the usurper and became part of the conspiracy.¹

In Raphael Efsanesi

In the campaign Raphael Efsanesi ("The Legend of Raphael"), the order appears as the Palantir Knights of White City. They are described as nobles and warriors honoured by a lord or by the emperor: paladins in quality, but bound more by knighthood than by any god. Their ranks are marked by symbols; knights of lower rank bearing a shield kept the city gate and searched for wanted men, while knights of the Sword and of the Rose stood above them. The thief Picolo spoke of their harsh devotion to the law, their readiness to put men to death, their fine weapons and their wealth.^{8 9 10 11}

Their seal stood on the notices announcing the execution of a gang leader known as Dogface, taken through the efforts of their high knight Derek Sunshield; a knight of the Sword named Makilus carried out the sentence with a great sword before the crowd.^{12 13}

Derek secretly employed the thief Raphael to steal the chain of a dead Chain Warden and bring it to Palantir Castle. According to Derek, only knights of the rank of the Rose and the Sword knew of the task, and in the capital only he and one other knight; hiring Raphael made him neither a member nor a knight of the order. The story of the commission is told under Raphael's stolen chain.^{14 11}

Spoiler: The knights in later eventsRevealSpoils: Raphael Efsanesi #8 · Say what you have read

After the emperor was murdered, a Palantir knight read out to the crowd a decree of the new emperor claiming that a chain of the Chain Wardens' order had been found beside his father's body, and showed the chain Raphael had stolen. The city and its legion were placed under the Palantir Knights, with Derek answering for its security, and the military rule that followed lasted about six months, during which two fortresses of the Chain Wardens were torn down.^{15 16 17}

The dragon orbs

It is said that the order possesses two dragon orbs. One of these ancient orbs, when used, is said to keep dragons from flying for miles around; the other, used up close, to place an unbreakable charm on a dragon. At least, that is the rumour.¹