Chapter 124: Knightliness (1/2)

[I'm a little concerned about the 'garnering the attention of an entity beyond the bounds of reality' bit.] Mike thought to himself as he reviewed the information in his [Status] screen. Combined with a rather concerning increase to his Mental Resistance skill, it appeared that some disturbing things had been happening to him without his knowledge.

He still felt fine, but maybe he should start regularly using Healing Magic on himself, just in case.

[And what's this about a Dragonknight? They act like riding a dragon is a huge deal.]

Despite the interesting new ability he gained with the Aerosense skill, he still hadn't broken through to the next tier in his Air Magic. It seemed that more practice was necessary.

Brushing a few leaves off of himself, he was about to start concentrating again, when he heard a few voices approaching. Guessing that his actions with the windstorm had attracted unwanted attention, he swiftly moved into the tree line to avoid detection. Walking as quietly as he could manage through the underbrush, he left the area and headed towards the main campus.

[I guess I'll do something else in the meantime.]

The Magic Theory classroom was currently empty, so he took his usual seat and opened ”A Brief History of Ea,” and started reading where he left off, with the gradual dissolution of the Second Pyrathien Empire.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the council, which had remained even after the Empire fell apart, the newly formed nations were able to maintain a tentative peace for centuries. Calling itself the Circle of Nations, the council provide a centralizing force that compounded existing diplomatic and economic ties. Minor skirmishes, however, were commonplace as the countries exercised their newly found freedom.

This all changed when the Inland Sea region was invaded by an external power. While there had been a few instances of interaction with peoples from other parts of the world prior to this, the Inland Sea was geographically isolated by several naturally occurring barriers. As such, little was known about the regions beyond.

So, they were unprepared when an army of giants crossed through the mountains south of the Vale of Silence and assaulted the Fledgling nation of Dovistan. Quickly overrun by their powerful and organized enemies, the Dovistanis appealed to the Circle for aid. Surprisingly, all of the nations answered the call, and mobilized their forces. What followed was a long and brutal war that eventually saw the giants repelled, at great cost.

Determining that they needed to be prepared to resist a similar attack in the future, the participating members of the Circle of Nations singed the Treaty of Medun, which promised mutual support in the event of an external invasion. Unfortunately, the wording of the treaty failed to account for internal acts of war, a fact that was rounded denounced by the author.

The centuries that followed saw regular warfare between nations, leading to much suffering. While the Circle was always quick to condemn the participants, they did little to halt the conflict, fearing that any attempt to exercise its authority would lead to its dissolution.

It was during this time that the Knightly Orders rose to prominence in several countries. Following the traditions of military units dating back to the Second Pyrathien Empire, these organizations brought about a new kind of warfare. Rulers quickly learned that it was easier and cheaper to maintain a small group of skilled warriors than it was to leverage a large army in every conflict.

As a result, the battlefields of the era evolved to place greater emphasis on small elite units that were capable of shattering lesser troops with ease. While large conscript armies never fell completely out of favor, they were seen as the tool of last resort.

The majority of the Knightly Orders went about establishing their own unique roles or styles of combat, but a few broke the mold and became something else entirely. The first of these was the Order of the Shield, which had been formed to protect the populace from monsters. Due in large part to economic forces, it eventually became the Adventurer's Guild after getting into conflict with the early Almiran royalty. It is now a multinational organization with branches in nearly every country in the Inland Sea.

A small segment of the order remained true to their original title, and now make up the current Order of the Shield, which focuses primarily on defensive engagements.

A second outlier was the Order of the Dragon. Arising from the wilds of eastern Theldholm, this group quickly came to international attention due to their unique abilities. Through a method that remains shrouded in mystery, they were able to bond with true dragons, and ride them into battle. Led by their Grandmaster Jovanis Drakheln, the order offered their services to the Circle of Nations. They were quickly put to use in bringing the age of warfare to an end.

The Dragonknights, as they came to be called, proved so dominating in combat that even a handful could turn the tide of the battle. Eventually, the mere threat of their involvement proved sufficient to prevent open hostilities. They, in effect, became a policing force that brought order and peace to the region.

[Ah, that title makes a little more sense now. Hopefully, it doesn't come with too much baggage.]

After a few centuries of relative stability, the stewardship of the Dragonknights was nearly brought to an end by a coalition of dissatisfied organizations that chaffed against the enforced peace.

Through a combination of well-timed assassination, corruption, and general chaos, this coalition succeeded in its primary task of destroying the secluded redoubt in eastern Theldholm that served as the Order's training grounds. In doing so, they annihilated an entire generation of prospective Dragonknights and their mounts.

It was a blow that the Order of the Dragon could not recover from. As their numbers began to dwindle, they proved unwilling or unable to recruit new members. In time, the survivors asked to be relieved of their duties to the Circle of Nations, so that they might regroup and rebuild.