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Paladins
From Vel Anir's long and storied military history comes the Paladins. They are considered to be true knights recognizable by the enormous, bulky armor that they wear along with their gigantic weapons. Paladins are elite soldiers who lead from the front and eliminate any enemy in their path. Amongst the people of Vel Anir, Paladins are a symbol of hope and inspiration and an example what they consider to be a true knight. To soldiers just witnessing a Paladin charge into battle boosts morale. They are willing rally behind a Paladin and fight at their side even if the odds are against them. It's considered an honor to fight and die along side a Paladin.
Paladins are former Knights chosen based on the deeds they peform not only on the battlefield but staunchly obeying the tenants of the chivalric code such as: Protecting the weak, obeying your lord, fight bravely and honor your loved ones. Those chosen are taken to the Paladin Fortress to start again as Pages and go undergo intense training to get them ready for the benefits of the armor. Trainees work their way up to earn the massive armor they're known for.
Unlike Dreadlords who swear allegiance to one of the great houses, Paladins swear their allegiance to the people of Vel Anir from the poorest commoner to the richest noble. Given that the commoners have little power while the nobles play their game of thrones, Paladins would often come to the aid of the smallfolk and place their needs above the needs of the nobles though it is not always the case as sometimes a noble's power influences a Paladin to come to their side.
Tough, honorable and ready for a fight, the Paladins have had a major hand in Vel Anir's expansion. A single Paladin can turn a losing battle around.
Overview
Purpose
The Paladins (at least in their own mind) are the best of the best in the Vel Anir military. Considered to be invincible, Paladins are trained and made to become the most elite fighting force in battle. The Paladins often volunteer to be the vanguard of a battle line seeing it as a chance to get the most glory and to easily rout the enemy force. They charge forward using their thick armor to bush off any missile attacks that the enemy might launch and run over the enemy line happily annihilating anyone who is in their way.
The Paladins are the hammer of the Vel Anir military undertaking missions like maintaining the peace around the Vel Anir lands using the elite soldiers to squash threats before they can form, protecting Vel Anir villages from any hostile attacks while providing aid to Vel Anir's allies. Due to their prestigious position, Paladins are equivalent to a commander in the Vel Anir Military. This means that they can give out orders to lesser troops and many times lead them into battle personally though Paladins must obey their higher ups. Grandknights on the other hand are considered to be Generals and while they do lead from the front, sometimes they stay back and devise strategy with the other commanders.
In addition, Paladins do mundane tasks like helping lifting boulders in order to build statues or buildings or taking on contracts slay monsters. They also help escort scholars in their expedition to abandoned human cities keeping a look out for any threats along the journey.
The Paladins are to exemplify what it means to be a Knight at least in Vel Anir. Not only they have to fight well, but they also must display core tenants of chivalry at all times. While what is chivalrous is up to interpretation, breaking these rules may result in expulsion or in rare cases: execution of a Paladin. This may lead into cases where Paladins tend to be reckless and have tunnel vision often breaking ranks to show off their bravery. While their armor can erase their mistakes it can have dire concequences.
Training
Paladins are former Knights chosen for their great their great deeds either conducted on the Battlefield or their very generous acts of chivalry among the people. They are noticed by scouts: Paladins who are tasked with observing any kind of Knights from Hedge Knights, to Knights with a title and name and even prospects from The Knights Of The Fallen. Recommendations are made by nobles of which Knights serve and by the commoners if the Knight quells a threat or helps them in their day to day activities.
Scouts also watch Knights during tourneys such as mock fights or jousting though they base their decision not solely on whether they win in a tournament but if the Knight in question did it with honor and grace. An arrogant Knight who fought dirty but wins a tourney is less likely to get an invitation to join the Paladins compared to a Knight who lost but fought honorably, nobly and displayed proper courtesies.
Afterwards the scouts send their findings to the recruiters who meticulously examines the potential recruits. They write to lords, tourney setters and commoners who recommended the recruits and ask them to verify the deeds that a Knight did for them as well as a thorough background check. The recruiters then approach the prospects and offers them a chance to join Paladins.
If they accept, the recruits are then sent to the Paladin Fortress that is located near the Keep of Vel Anir. Once they arrive a GrandKnight approaches them and says that they are formally stripped of their titles as Knights and will be starting over as pages explaining that a Paladin thinks, acts and fights differently compared to a regular Knight. The recruits will be entering Paladin armor which will feel different from regular and must prepare to be worthy of it.
Recruits undergo rigorous training made for the purpose of breaking whatever bad habits a Knight picked up and molding them into what a Paladin should be. Paladin recruits run daily about 4 miles a day but can be up to 10 miles if the trainer feels particularly nasty. They also run through obstacles and other unique training exercises such as live exercises where a Dreadlord is sent to bomb hurl spells at the recruits or archers launch arrows at them to simulate live combat.
If a page is deemed worthy after the physical training, then they are promoted to squire. From here, the recruits are introduced to the generic Paladin armor. They are taught about the history behind the armor and the mechanics that go behind it. Recruits wear the armor and train in it learning how to move and how to fight and wield every gigantic weapon that is at a Paladins disposal.
In addition, it's imperative that a squire must clean and maintain their armor daily. This means learning basic physics and mathematics which is taught to them by dedicated engineers. This is considered to be the most difficult rank to move from since there's not only physical aspects to overcome but mental hurdles since the average recruit doesn't have a high level education.
Once the training is complete, the recruits become full fledged Paladins. They are Knighted by a GrandKnight and are granted their armor in which they have the freedom to customize it as they please. Like Knights, Paladins are on the go willing to answer the call if need be but if off duty then Paladins rigorously train to maintain combat effectiveness as well as monster hunting and patrolling the city of Vel Anir.
Armor
The most recognizable aspect of the Paladin is their armor. Created by Tyrus Clarke: The founding father of the Paladins, the Paladin's armor is designed to vastly improve the strength, speed and endurance of the user without the use of magic. The Paladin armor is considered to be the most advanced piece of military hardware that Vel Anir has developed though the cost to create a suit of one is equivalent to the cost of 2 Frigates.
Not much is known in the specs behind the Paladin armor. The organization keeps the construction and forging of the armor a secret because they don't want the its secrets to be replicated by enemy hands. Engineers and Paladins are hit by a stringent anti-truth spell the moment they accept to prevent them from divulging information the moment anything happens to them.
From what can be observed, the metal that is forged for Paladin armor is made out of Orichalcum: A very rare metal in Arethil though others scholars suggest it could be Starmetal: Metal that is collected from meteorites. The trainee version of the Paladin armor is a dark bronze color, with a helmet with a light blue visor. Once the trainee becomes a Paladin then they are free to customize their armor in any way they please. It is common to see a Paladin with radically different armor than the plain trainee versions. Paladins work closely with the engineers to build and improve their own personal design of their armor. Many Paladins often design their armor to reflect their own culture and personality.
Paladin armor grants the user with enhanced strength to the point where they go toe to toe with a giant while also can endure multiple arrow shots and huge blows. They also have resistance to magical attacks almost making them immune to them. The armor greatly improves their speed to where they can run faster than even a Horse as well as their helmets containing visors enabling the Paladin to see in the dark.
History
Coming soon......
References
A Lesson by The Sea