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Heraldic Order of the Red Dragon

Basic information

Owner Bison Age Ancient Other Names red scourge, ordo dracul

Description

Type an organization Effects Creator

Out-of-character information

Writer Created on Image source Link to source of the image used in the infobox

The Order began on the road, not in a city. Knights turned in many lands and centuries met by duel, then by oath. They rode as free lances beneath a shared vow: honor in challenge, mastery in war, restraint in hunger.

Reikhurst’s fall changed their paths, not their creed. The city on the Sayve River, east of Alliria, was sacked by a vampiric host under Jürgen Kaiser; the old order died, and a vampire court later ruled the ruins below. Survivors and kindred sought haven. The Red Dragon chose Reikhurst as a rally point, a safe harbor for the deathless who kept knightly law.

From that haven they ranged again. The banner spread by deed, not decree. New oaths bound old riders to one company.

Every knight is ancient by mortal measure. Even the “young” count centuries. Training never stops. Duels test skill. Campaigns prove discipline. They accept any fair challenge. They bow to honorable defeat. They spare worthy foes for ransom or for pledge.

Command runs simple. Magnus Corvin holds the grandmaster’s seat. Three marshals manage marches and musters—one for each keep.

Each rider wears custom plate, fitted over chain and padded silk. Smiths chased the plates with arcane runes and cold-worked sigils. The armor shows bestial visages—horns, fangs, leering plates—and masks that hide pale faces. The armor is not only incredibly durable, but relatively light and resists magical damage to a degree far greater than mundane steel.

Their fel-blades hold etched death glyphs. The runes bite through wards and bone. Many carry lances of lacquered ash for the first crash, then glaives or long sabres for the press. Gauntlets lock to shield bosses to blunt arrow storms.

They mount Nightmares—vampiric war-steeds with bone-plate chamfrons and burning eyes. The horses drink fear and run sure on mud and blood. The Order keeps farriers who shoe with silvered spikes and mages who brand the tack with binding marks.

A red dragon rampant on black, framed in white. The dragon clutches a barbed staff and coils a skull-tipped spear. Knights ride to the banner; squires guard its shaft; enemies mark where the charge will land. In camp the banner flies above a ring of ward-stakes; in battle it rides with the vanguard.

The Order rides for Alliria, the great city astride the Allir Strait at the tip of the Allir Reach. The Reach feeds the city; the city pays for steel. The Lord Commander employs the Red Dragon as shock cavalry and night wardens. Three keeps hold the regiment—roughly a thousand and some per fortress—on key roads and river crossings. Patrols screen caravans. Musters form fast. When bells ring, the Red Dragon takes the vanguard by choice.

Afanas commands in theatre; Corvin rules in order and honor. Afanas’s tenure as Lord Commander appears across recent Allirian chronicles; Reikhurstan-armored patrols in blood-red plate now walk Alliria’s streets under his eye.

Festive days still see the Lord Commander surrounded by his honor guard; grim days see the Red Dragon on the line.

-The Order keeps strict dueling rites. Witnesses mark terms; seconds hold the field.

-They refuse no martial challenge offered in honor.

-They avoid wanton slaughter when terms are kept; they punish treachery without pause.

-They do not proselytize the curse. They view vampirism as a condition to master, not a gift to spread.

-Prisoners: Ransom preferred; recruitment permitted after parole.

-Feeding Law: Never on allies; never on the helpless; never within the warded mile of a host settlement.

Anyone may petition, provided they meet all three tests:

1. Vampire. The applicant must be a vampire or true kin of the night, able to master the curse. (See [[Core Lore:Vampirism|Vampirism]] for setting treatment.)


2. Merit. The applicant must be an exceptional warrior—arms-mastery proved in trial by arms against a sworn knight.


3. Oath. The applicant must take the knightly oath before the banner and the company.



Process: Present yourself at any Red Dragon keep in the Reach. A marshal assigns a sponsor, a witness, and a trial. Victory or worthy defeat may earn a vow. The oath binds conduct: answer challenges, keep terms, spare the honorable, and master the hunger. Failure in conduct breaks spurs.

Vampiric strains: Members differ by lineage. Some bear sunlight better and ride at dawn under hood and plate. Others burn quick and must sleep through the day.

Physical power: Strength exceeds mortal limits. Even the youngest ragdoll plate-clad men with ease. Veterans pulverize iron and use war horses as bludgeoning tools.

Speed and reflex: Bursts blur. Lances set and land before most eyes track. Blades find joints in a heartbeat.

Resilience: Flesh resists steel and shock. Wounds knit with rest or blood. Pain dulls in battle; resolve holds.

Endurance: Nights run long without fatigue. Hearts beat cool; breath stays steady.

Skill floor: Centuries of drill plus the affliction’s gifts. Any sworn knight can best a seasoned mortal with the slightest effort.

Variance: Power scales by age, strain, and discipline.

The Order fields many support roles. These members do not fight in the line; they keep mounts, gear, and keeps in working war-shape.

Squires: carry lances, polish plate, set wards on tack, and learn the code.

Stable keepers & farriers: feed Nightmares, shoe with spiked silver, calm frenzy, and watch for rot or curse.

Blacksmiths & armorers: mend plates, rivet mail, fit joints, and true edges.

Runesmiths & enchanters: chase sigils, renew glyphs, bind saddles, and seal scabbards.

Necromancers: raise tireless porters and diggers for labor and siege works; dispose of the fallen with rite and care.

Beast tamers: break fresh Nightmares, train remounts, and manage breeding pens.

Chirurgeons & leeches: stitch wounds, brew clot-draughts, and manage food supplies.

Quartermasters & scribes: track fodder, steel, and coin; log oaths, ransoms, and muster rolls.

Masons & wardens: keep walls sound, wells clean, and perimeter stakes lit.


Noncombatant law: support staff never join a charge. They may defend a gate, a banner, or a wounded knight when pressed, but return to duties once the line holds.

(Point of interest: While the knights themselves MUST be vampires, the support staff may come from any race, afflicted or otherwise.)