Knight-errant

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Knights-errant often travel the land together, helping each other to triumph in their tests. Such bands travel the land to wherever they are most needed, seeking out opportunities for heroism. Groups of knights-errant are often accompanied by loyal yeomen; faithful house retainers or childhood friends. The yeomen handle everyday responsibilities allowing the Knights to concentrate on less worldly matters. It is not unusual for yeomen to declare themselves Knights-errant but they often prefer to adventure by themselves or with others from similar humble upbringings.

The easiest way to pass a Test of Mettle is to petition the noble house you were raised in and pass the challenges they set you. It is a much more challenging to petition another noble house, particularly one with which you have little existing connections. But the most ambitious Knight-errants seek the ultimate prize – achievements so glorious that they are recognized by all the noble houses – and for a prestigious noble house to approach them and offer a Test of Mettle. Such achivements are rare, but a Knight Errant who is invited into a house rather than petitioning one is seen as being worthy indeed.

The travails of a Knight-errant are not just difficult, they can also be expensive. Most Dawn nobles have a fairly cursory disdain for money, it tends to get in the way of a glorious ambition, but no-one can completely ignore the realities of mundane life. To facilitate their quests, many Knights-errant or groups of knights, take a patron, a wealthy noble who can financially support their heroic lifestyle. Patrons can be useful, but often come with strings attached, even if just a requirement to serve the patron when called.

Questing Knights

Questing Knights are Knights who continue to pursue an adventurous lifestyle, seeking greater glory for themselves and their houses. They travel far and wide from the homelands of Dawn, spreading tales of their glory across the whole Empire, no matter how unworthy the locals - a Quest isn't just a monster to kill or a people to free from barbarian tyranny, after all, but a long and arduous journey to get there first.

The Questing Knight's idea of the Quest is that of being the first ray of sunlight to touch a place as the sunrise comes. They go wherever there is darkness, and they make sure that the only shadows they cast are at their fronts. If they come to a place where there is a wicked magistrate abusing his power, or a monster snatching children away, or an innocent young fellow is about to be forced into a marriage he doesn't want, then it is their right and duty to bring the light to that place. When they reach their goal - when it is time to fulfil their Quest - their faithful Troubadour must be on-hand to document every blow struck, and no doubt to insert a few in-between.

Many Questing Knights believe that their methods are entirely up to them, and as a result, the Imperial Bureaucracy often finds itself at odds with Questing Knights whose actions, while morally upstanding (and, no doubt, heroic), may contravene Imperial Law. Many a Questing Knight who has made a tough decision in the field has, upon his return, found legal challenge brought against him - and it is said (in Dawn, and generally in public) that no Cardinal of Virtue has ever refused to speak on behalf of a Questing Knight in the courts.