Knights of Glory

Rules

Summer Magnitude 120

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. If the ritual is cast using the Imperial Regio it requires at least 5 minutes of roleplaying instead. This ritual targets an Imperial army. The general responsible for the army (or the egregore if the general is not at Anvil) must be present throughout.

During the ritual the casters must be in a strong Summer regio.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

This ritual summons a number of warriors from the Summer realm to support a campaign army. The presence of these supernatural warriors will raise the strength of the campaign army by the equivalent of 2,000 additional soldiers. As with any enchantment on an army or navy, the additional army strength granted by this enchantment may be reduced by the orders issued by the general While the effect is expressed as being equivalent to additional soldiers, this enchantment never reduces casualties suffered by the army.

While the enchantment is in place the general of the army experiences a roleplaying effect: You are confident you can face and overcome any challenge, no matter how daunting. When someone advises caution or restraint, it is difficult not to view that as a challenge and double-down on your glorious course of action.

The ritual draws warriors from the realm of Eleonaris. These heralds have been known to exert unpredictable influence those fighting alongside them, especially those with the changeling lineage. Past effects have included lingering roleplaying effects or temporary hero points for the captains of military units supporting the enchanted army. Such effects are unpredictable; when they occur they are described in the appropriate Winds of War.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

Assurance

The ritual loses all power and becomes useless if the Empire ever finds itself in a position where it is not at war with any neighbouring great power.

Options

Any caster who has mastered the ritual may choose to substitute orichalcum for crystal mana when contributing to it. Every 2 ingots of orichalcum spent counts as 1 crystal mana when contributing to the ritual.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional armies from the same Empire. The general responsible for each army must be present throughout the ritual. Each additional target increases the magnitude by 90.

Description

This ritual draws on pacts with Eleonaris the Eternal Queen of the Fields of Glory in the Summer realm. The ritual calls one of her hosts to join an established campaign army and fight alongside the troops for a season. These troops come from Eleonaris realm and may includ elfin knights, rambunctious goblinfolk, and even monstrous beasts. They are usually attired in gold-and-crimson surcotes and fight under the lion banner of their mistress, although some of their heralds will also fly pennants appropriate to the main army if they are asked to do so. They are almost invariably attired in heavy armour, often of burnished bronze, sungold or (in the case of champions) orichalcum-steel. They will die as easily as mortal troops, but they seem to treat death as a minor inconvenience or even a surprise - it is as if they consider themselves immortal. If challenged, they are likely to shrug and comment enigmatically that their slain comrades will "Return to the fields of glory, by and by."

The summoned soldiers fight with the appearance of great bravery and civility. They are cordial to mortal soldiers, although they can be a little distant. They engage mercilessly, with great ferocity, and seem to take an unholy joy in challenging and defeating any enemies. They will happily engage in tourneys or honour duels with mortal champions, but they lack a sense of consequences . This means that duels often end in death, or maiming, unless their opponents are very clear on the rules. They are also disinclined to stealth, ambush, or other guerrilla tactics preferring to face their opponents head-on. They love to fight other forces summoned from the realms - they will single out groups of shadow warriors, crystal guardians, or especially grim legionnaires unless explicitly ordered otherwise. Even then they chafe under such restrictions.

Knights summoned with this ritual are unable to pass through the Sentinel Gate. As with creatures such as the shadow warriors bound by the Conclave of Trees and Shadow or the prismatic soldiers raised by Carve the Crystal Guardian it seems that the magic of the gate cannot transport them. Attempts to do so result in the knights disappearing - apparently returned to the Summer realm prematurely.

When the enchantment ends, the knights travel to the nearest Summer regio and depart the mortal realm. They carry with them any of their number who have fallen in battle. The arms and armour of any soldier left behind, tend to disappear at around this time - never overtly, but when unobserved the items vanish. The same applies to any remains of dead knights not retrieved by their comrades.

Eleonaris receives a full report from her troops when they return to her, and if they are mistreated, betrayed, or misused in some fashion she is likely to swear vengeance against the perpetrators. On the few occasions in the past when this has happened, she has called a truce with both her perennial rival Jaheris and her more occasional sparring partner Hayaak the gryphon-king and enlisted both of them in seeking revenge on those who have dared to betray her trust.

Common Elements

It is exceptionally common to include a flag, pennant, banner or standard as part of this ritual, especially one that bears the device of Eleonaris - a golden lion on the red field. Other common elements include the invocation of brave warriors who have fought for the Empire in the past, and symbols of Pride and Courage. Other elements include girding the military leader, the sound of martial horns or drums, and the presence of warriors from the same nation as the target as witnesses.

The rune of victory, Tykonus, is favoured for this ritual both for its association with banners and flags and for its connection to the Eternal Lady of the Crimson Host.

History

OOC Note

The knights that are summoned by this ritual will not appear at the event as a result of this ritual being cast. They will only appear in response to plot created by a plot writer. Whatever happens, such knights cannot pass through the Sentinel Gate, so they can never assist the heros of Anvil on battles or skimishes that take place during the summit.

During the Summer Solstice 383YE, Eleonaris placed restrictions on the performance of Knights of Glory. Her herald delivered a proclamation to the members of the Conclave, laying down her concerns and ultimately ending with a promise that further castings of the ritual by the Empire may incur serious consequences. Eventually the angry eternal was mollified by the construction of a monument honouring Eleonaris and her knights in Semmerholm. She made it clear at this time that she would no longer countenance the performance of Knights of Glory by any caster and would instead be presenting a new ritual to Brother Luke, in his role as Archmage of Summer.

The replacement ritual was meant to be created by the Golden Magician on Eleonaris' behalf. However before the Lord of the Lake could undertake the work, the subtle influence of the ongoing conjunction of the Lock and the Key exerted small but significant changes to the ritual. Eleonaris has declared herself to be content with the ritual in its new form. Rather than require the Conclave to go throught the rigmarole of placing a new ritual into Imperial lore, she has sent word to the Archmage that she is now happy for Imperial magicians to call upon her aid by performing Knight of Glory - provided of course that her assurance remains intact.

Eternal Rivals

Some Enchanters of Dawn say that in the past Jaheris, the consort-rival of Eleonaris, offered gifts that allowed the ritual to summon troops loyal to his silver-and-blue Unicorn standard. Similar gifts were apparently offered by Hayaak the Lord of Wrath to summon his hosts of vengeance; by Cathan Canae to call forth her cold-hearted giant warriors; and occasionally by Barien, the arbiter of worth, as a reward for those who have bested one of his challenges Regardless of what may have once been possible, the Commander of the Golden Armies has put a stop to her ritual being used in such a way. Shortly before the Autumn Equinox 383YE, Eleonaris claimed she had "taken back control" of the ritual. Knights of Glory was crafted with her power, she claimed, and it had only been through her grace that other eternals had been able to make use of it. That grace was now withdrawn, as was her right. The ritual will now only bring forth knights from the Fields of Glory. "Let other eternals empower their own magical rituals if they wish to aid the Empire," she concluded.

Enmity and Neutrality

At the Winter Solstice 379YE the eternal was given Enmity by the Imperial Conclave. It was thus a crime to perform this ritual. At the Spring Equinox 380YE Conclave voted to return Eleonaris to the state of Neutrality, which among other things made this ritual once again legal to perform.