# Equites Ordinis Deorum The Knights in the Vers Empire who have magic powers and are trained in how to use them. Dating back to the earliest days of the empire, these Knights have worked closely with religious leaders and the Mages Guild to stick around throughout the various transtions of governments. Today the EOD serves the empress directly as their master, due to the requirements set on the EOD by the Sith Order during the Merging of Empires. The Knights are famous for their Orange Armour, Orange Void blades, purple capes with Golden trim, and most recognizable of all are the various tattoos of oaths embroidered on the most devote. ## History ### Founding(~3091) The Equites Ordinis Deorum traces its roots to days of the proto-Vers Empire, in the Lordship of Germushia, then held by Lord Troyard. He granted his Knights request to form a study group with several other Knights, Mages from the Guild, and senior people in the Lordships sizeable church. This laid much of the foundation of the EOD, a mix of Magic, Religion, and Knighthood. #### First Versian Civil War(~3121) When then knight Sigmar achieved his title, he joined the EOD, in this same period, the First Empire was forming. One of the reforms brought on by Emperor Alexi Volkov I was granting the Equites Ordinis Orbitalis the ability to confirm new Knights without needing the approval of the emperor. With this change, the number of knights and complexity of Knighthood increased greatly. Sigmar then had a much larger cast of recruits to draw from for his own Order. Once it reached a reasonable size, Sigmar approached the emperor himself to request a _Charter of Rights_ for his Order. An agreement was reached whereby the Equites Ordinis Deorum would have its Charter in exchange for devoted service to the Empire, their Lord, and the emperor, as well as adherence to service to the Mages Guild. Sigmar quickly agreed. #### The Three Knights Charter in hand, the EOD served a major role in the Versian Civil war, most famously were the three Knights: Resnov, Heidren, and Jarsol who liberated the Asteroid-Barony of Seguel without any other assistance. The mission is said to have begun with the three crashing a stolen tradership into the asteroid-bases shipyard/docks. The trio who had ejected an hour earlier, float through space using minor thruster power and the stations internal gravity system to coast towards it, until they were close enough that they were able to use their combined magic-powers to cast a spell which turned all oxygen within the station into methane, which took effect within moments of the ships impact, destroying the station and the asteroid. *The three were martyred by the super-accelerated debris from the explosion.* In their honour, the **Oath of Debris** was written. #### Council of Mages and religious reconciliation (~3349) Following the First Versian Civil War, the battered and beaten empire limped through recovery. The Lords of the empire grew in strength due to their ability to fund expeditions to nearby Solar Systems using the new Aldnoah Drives. The Lords dispatched their Knights in landing-castles to take the new holdings for the Lords. Once the planets were under a Knights control, the lord often send new Knights to assist the one controlling the world, creating a Knight commander and his fief of knights, who would often be given control over various towns or minor settlements on the new world, or within the system to manage and govern for the Knight or Lord in their absence., Due to this, the number of knights continued to boom. While Sigmar had taken most of the empire’s religious population, and the Mages Guild took many more, those who remained and may eventually be eligible for knighthood had begun to embrace a variety of beliefs. Those on Vers itself most often took up either the Versian Pantheon of the Mages Guild, or the Cult of Sigmar from Pluto. While the pages and squires in systems shared with the Federation often practiced Jedi-ism, and of course any young one is enraptured by the tales of heroic witchers conquering the most fearsome creatures in the dangerous border regions, especially the children of nobles safely locked away in cities with enough protections that many witchers felt safe enough to go weaponless. With the two issues in mind: the lack of candidates for knighthood due to the mage’s guild taking viable recruits, and strict requires for members of the Equites Oridinis Deorum to believe in the Versian Pantheon, a Council of High Mages was called. Across the rapidly expanding empire, the greatest mages of each of the Regealia’s were summoned by request of the Emperor to Vers. _All_ attended the council. Along with the Mages, many of the greatest Equites dae Ordinis Deorum were asked to join the council. The Emperor made the councils purpose clear: find a way to get more Equites for the Oridinis Deorum. Two solutions were presented, one from the Knights who were present, the other from the Mages. The knight’s proposition was to drop the religious requirement for the EOD. It was their order after all, clearly, they should be allowed to set the entrance requirement. The Mages Guild objected, citing that the Equites Oridins **DE**orum was a group whose power came from the God’s of the Mages Guild, and thus it was due to their Charter of Rights that the EOD fell within their realm. The Mages Guild instead offered to find a way to merge the growing and developing Witcher Pantheon with their own, and allow the EOD to study Jedi texts, as their knowledge was supposed to be secular in nature and thus outside the scope of the Mage Guild to regulate. The agreed to accept, but on the condition that members of the Mages Guild who _wanted_ join the EOD in an advisory role, as a librarian, teacher, or other form of academic or assistant, could do so, and in doing so could possibly work their way into a knighthood. This was agreeable to the Mages Guild, and the matter was settled. That agreement saw the birth of Versian Deorism, the dominant religion in the Versian Empire, most devoutly practiced by the Equites Oridinis Deorium. It merges the now ancient Versian Pantheon with the ever-evolving Witcher Pantheon, allowing Sigmoria to have a place, and through a crafty understanding of Jedi/Sith-ism has allowed for those religions to join as well. Effectively, Deorism is a hodgepodge of various religious that have brewed together out of necessity, and the groundwork for that brew was laid in the above deal. #### The Third AI War and the Knight Kenrus’ (~3363) The Third AI War is perhaps the most famous war in all of human history. Its age means many have learned of its. Its political, social, economic, scientific, and other effects are incalculable. As a result of this war, humanity for the first time, across all major powers, agreed to outlaw the development of advanced, sentient, artificial intelligence. While it has of course been broken more times then one can count, it serves as the foundation of anti-AI legislation in every major power in Universalis Confederation. It is thus no surprised that the Equites Ordinis Deorum played a vital role in this war. Overall, The Vers Empire was outside the reach of worst parts of the war (it was instead much more harmed during the first and second AI wars), but Vers itself was always at risk due to its proximity to Terra. The only time during the First Empire in which Equites dae Luna (EDL) landed on Vers was when a suspected Zalyn was thought to have infiltrated the House of Wagnar, posing as its Lord. Working with the EOD, the EDL was able to track down the false person and remove them before they could pose a real threat to Vers or Terra. One of the most remarkable stories from the Third AI War for the EOD is that of Knight Kenrus’. Kenrus’ had been born in the Empire, but his family had heritage back to the Lordship of Germushia and were practicing Sigmarians. Kenrus’ had gained his knightly title fighting against a xeno’s invasion for his Lord – he had snatched the lords void-blade and charged head long at three of the elite-warrior class aliens, drawing on instincts he had not known he had, with lighting speed he struck down all three of the warriors, then returning the blade to its proper owner and apologizing for his abrupt usurpation of weapon. The Lord agreed to allow it on the Condition that Kenrus’ take up a knight hood. As word of his deed spread, Kenrus’ was invited to trail for the EOD, and soon joined in full. During the Third AI War, before the Empire itself joined the war in proper form, Kenrus’ returned to the lands which had once been colonized by the Lordship of Germushia. The planet Rovterras was under Zalyn Siege, and Kenrus’ had joined a Sigmar battle barge on route to the word, and led the ground assault due to the absence of a proper light-seer. Marching with the Sigmarians into battle, Kenrus’ loudly recited the Versian variant of the Sigmarist Battle Hymn to the rhythm of shot from his pistol and strikes of his sword while the Sigmarians recounted their own hymn to the sounds of their own Ming-Corp™ rifle fire. After Kenrus’ finished using his powers to free a bunker of children under a school which had been trapped by rubble from Zalyn bombings, he heard from one of the teachers of survivors held up in a Sigmarist Temple not far away. Ordering his Sigmarine troops to remain, Kenru’s rushed to save the trapped people from the encroaching Zalyns. He arrived not a moment too soon, as the last of the Light-Seers seemed to be on the loosing end of Sigmorias Gaze. The Zalyns heavy weapons were pounding the Void-bubble protecting the temple and the civilians within, its casters aged a year a minute. Kenrus’ used his pistol to stop ten of the Zalyn, but far too many remained. While using his blade to defend himself, Kenrus’ called on Sigmar and the Pantheon of other gods and used the training the Mages had given him to bring forth an army of angles, the bits of the shattered gods which Sigmar had been able to salvage, who repelled the demoness machines. Kenrus’ would live through the whole war, after previous story, he would go on to liberate several dozen systems from the Zalyns before the Versian Vanguard arrived. He was part of the party who defeated the final Zalyns, scattering what was left deep into hiding. For his fame in the post war world, he became a Knight-Commander, and eventually gained the title of Lord in the Reverse Galaxy. Unfortunately the title would die out during the First Republic Period, but Knight Kenrus’ legacy lives on within the EOD. ### Second Empire ~4891 During the Second Empire period the role of Versian Knight Changed greatly, as such, the EOD was forced to adapt to the new reality. The largest change was the shift back to allowing free or unlanded Knights again. This allowed for the ranks of the Knights to swell in size once again, and the EOD to gain its pick of members. However, this new period came with many changes, as the growth of knights and the empire as a whole required the restructuring of Knightly society, and acceptance of larger religious changes; namely the newfound dominance of Witcherism among the nobility. #### Witcher Expansion and religious Changes ~4391-8391 Following the rise of the First Terran Empire, the Witcher Order took control of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the governments of the major powers were forced to flee with them. The EOD itself was split, as it technically had service to the Lords, but it really had been a tool of the Emperor. As such, the EOD properly continued with the Versian Empire as it fled, while in the Milky Way the EOD became another branch of the Witcher Order, a title held by those Witchers who had been put in charge of Versian worlds., As such, when the empire returned and retook their lands from the Witchers, the EOD was easily able to return to its spot, and many were willing to welcome back a non-Witcher source of magic education. In the waning days of the First Empire, the EOD had grown staunchly anti-witcher, relying heavily on its Versian Pantheon. That changed moments after the First Empire died with its Emperor, and the Second was crowned by a Witcher believing, civis-born, wrongfully promoted knight who had usurped the Emperor for his position, and seemed to have great support in doing so! The EOD was left with little choice but swear allegiance to the new emperor and hope for the best. Rather then mess with a good thing, the emperor left the EOD be for the most part, besides requiring that the Witcher pantheon be brought in line and that its names be used as the primary name for the gods. These minor changes left the EOD in a new position, but the changes the new emperor made to the Knighthood were of much larger benefit to the EOD. #### Reorganizing the Knighthood ~4891 The new emperors reorganization of the Knighthood mostly involved the reintroduction of Free-Knights, meaning anyone whom the Ordered allowed to become a Knight could become one. This resulted in a large boom in the number of Knights, and as such the EOD’s ranks began to swell. Within the Empire, the emperor ordered knew knightly titles be drawn up, setting down the current ranks of the Versian Knights: Page, Squire, Knight, Knight Sergeant, Knight Lieutenant, Master Knight, Knight Captain, Knight Commander. As well as granting many Charters of Rights to new orders. However, the EOD remained the sole organization for Knights of any religion who wished to refine their beliefs or magic into a battlefield artform. #### Mages Guild War / The Life of Knight Janus ~26528 A pivotal moment in Versian history, The Mages Guild War was a the result of the two competing Mages Guilds disagreements growing continuously more heated. The Versian Mages Guild was the smaller of the two, with most of its members in the ‘old world’ Milky Way Galaxy. The majority of the Versian Mages Guild’s members were that of the Equites Ordinis Deorum, and the Pre-Witcher Lords. The Witcher’s Mages Guild had more mages in it, and most of the Second Empire’s Lords supported it, as well as the Emperor. The War initially simmered as small, mostly verbal, conflicts between members of their respective guilds. Many Lords began to openly pick sides and deny the other entrance into their lands, which was considered a violation of Versian Law and the Guilds’ rights. When appealed to the Emperor, he declined to intervene, saying that the Charter of Rights only allows for there to be one Mages Guild, and so while there may be two factions, it is within a Lords right to favour one internal faction over another. Members of the Witchers Guild found this unacceptable, and decided to demonstrate their perceived insanity of the ruling by purging their Guild Halls and Worlds of Versian members, banning there entrance to Witcher aligned worlds. And with that, the battle lines were drawn, and the war began. Mages need not use starships to travel between nearby system; a large enough cohort of Mages may simply choose to tunnel through the void themselves and travel to another world. This is often how the most destructive battles of the war began. Mages quickly shifted up in the scale of objects they hurled at one another. Starting with stones, to cars, shuttles, ships, buildings, then escalating to: asteroids, moons, planets and eventually suns. The destruction of this war was enormous, across both galaxies in which the empire operated. The Emperor was forced to intervene, but struggled deeply between listening to the majority of Lords and their Godly Knights, or his heart, the minority of lords and the temporal knights. His initial solution was a failure: use the EOD as a strike force to fight against Mages battles where they occur, regardless of who started it, and without favour to either side. The failure of this plan came quickly, as mages would move, fight, and move on long before the EOD with their ships and personnel could be called, raised, and arrive. Lords soon shifted to personally instructed the EOD to lead local taskforces to knights to hunt down and purge any Guildhall who failed to swear fealty to the Lord above all and sign away their right to carry arms or commit violence. The Emperor, not wanting to appear disempowered, finally issued a decree ordering the EOD to support the Versian faction of the Mages Guild, but if any Witcher faction whished to remain and laid down their arms to do so, they would be offered protection in the Versian Guild. The EOD was not without worry in this regard, as the story of the Life of the Knight Janus tells. Janus had spent most of the war watching over a series of systems with a group of knights he was training and had negotiated a settled peace between the Witcher and Versian factions within. This was disrupted however when his lord took the mattes of the war into his own hands, and order Janus to remove the Versian Mages, spitting that they were heretical, backwards vermin not even deserving of worship in the Godly Versarians triangular Churches. Janus gathered his Knights and complied with the order. Sending a Page ahead of his journeys, carrying a message. By the time the Knight’s arrived to purge the Guildhalls, they found empty chambers, libraries without books, and no hint as to where its members may have gone. Within a few days Janus received word that the Witcher Guilds had recently had a large influx of new members. When Janus received the word from the Order that the Emperor had commanded the protection of the Versian Mages, Janus dispatched the same pages to the Witcher Halls to tell them of the news. Within a few weeks, Janus was informed that the lost Versian Guildsman had been discovered, and that those same guildsmen now controlled the Witchers Halls! _Janus was executed by his Lord for failing to properly see through the Lords commandment; misreporting success to his lordship; and failure to enforce the emperors will._ #### Sigmarism bend, Failing to stop a Crusade ~34895 While the Germushian Empire was facing internal collapse, a mad ruler who was hated by his people, the Church of Sigmar was vying for power and autonomy from the Germushian State. At the same moment, the _Dicollossius dae Vetparis_ (the local legislative body), decreed that Church of Sigmar was actually part of the Versian Empire, and attempted to merge the ideological beliefs of the Church into the empire. This was considered a great spiritual and legal wrong by the Church, who decreed the Empire heretical, its government heretical, and any who joined its so-called church heretics. It then called on all good servants of Sigmar to join the Sigmarines, Inquisition, and Light-Seers of the Germushian Church in a great Crusade to liberate the true believers trapped under this flagrant violation of Sigmarist belief. While the Church rallied troops from across the Milky Way, garnering great support from every major nation besides one: Vers, who had instead become the target of trillions of newly found Siginf and their Sigmarine betters. For the Mages Guild, who were already having to deal with the physical threat posed by the Light-Seers and Librarians of the Church, they also had to navigate merging the new Verisan-Sigmarist religion, Lightseers, believers, and ideas into their Guild and its teachings. For the Knights of the EOD, they were attempting to merge the beliefs in their Lord as a supreme deity, with their legal obligation to defend their Lord from invasion as was currently underway by the Church’s forces, and also navigate its legal obligation to assist the Mages Guild, who was undergoing the same Church reforms, and who if the EOD deviated to far from, could become the enemy of the EOD.s The Crusade itself can be best described as a great victory for the Church. In the earliest days of the Crusade, the EOD were dispatched to various Churches throughout the area who refused to convert to Versian Sigmarism. The churches were either forced to convert, entered into an armed standoff between the congregation and the Knight, or were outright destroyed – in one particularly notable case, a knight who had previously been a devote Germushian Sigmarist, called upon his Lord as a conduit to Sigmar to smite down the impure house before him, then using his own powers to bring forth a bolt of Void Energy leaving only a crater where once the church sat. Such harsh actions only further riled those who believed in Sigmarism throughout the Galaxy and affirmed the justness of their crusade. The second stage of the Crusade went worse then the first. The Empire lost 65% of its land, hundreds of trillions of dead civis, billions of dead soldiers across countless worlds. The empire lost more ships, military and civil personal, and territory then it had in all the wars it had fought that millennium, and the previous two, combined. The Empire EOD fought valiantly, but even the reforms which had previously swelled its ranks were not enough to feed it. The New empire in Reverse had much higher membership, and they hadn’t even heard of the (official only) proposed merging of Sigmarism yet, let alone had their Collosius confirm it. The EOD suffered major losses in its own right, severely depleted in the Galaxy, they had abandoned the goal of defending Churches and other religious buildings, with most Knights returning to fiefs if they had, otherwise assisting their fellow knights in keeping hold of their fiefs. Unity among the Lords and Knights had been broken. The crusade was an unstoppable wave which would obliterate all in its path, the best any knight could hope for was to shelter the storm without loosing everything. The third phase of the crusade started off appearing better for the Empire then the previous had. The Emperor had arrived in the Galaxy with several lords and a majority of their Knights in tow. However, the reinforcements quickly became depleted, and the Lords grew defiant when they learned the circumstances behind the war, and the emperors stubborn unwillingness to concede his unofficially granted title back to the Church. Instead, he wasted countless more lives attempting to hold on to an ever-shrinking amount of land. Eventually it was too late, the emperor could not deny that he was loosing, and under pressure from both the Lords he had brought with him, and what was left of the local lords, the emperor agreed to peace negotiations with the Church and relevant parties. The negotiations would take place on the journey back to Reverse where the treaty could be confirmed in the Collosius. But, before departing the emperor publically in the _Dicollossius dae Vetparis_ rejected the title which they had granted to him. The rejection had great effect on the Mages Guild, but little effect on the EOD. As the EOD had developed into three fractionous sets of beliefs: The Emperor was the Sigmarian (the human embodiment of Sigmoria, aka God), and the Lords are his Sigmarettes; The Emperor was also the God Supreme who was Sigmaroria, who had been Sigmar and Gerald of Rivia, and the Lords are the Sigmarettes; or that the Emperor was merely a man, and the Lords were men, and the Church a separate entity from them. The first belief was common among those who were from the Milky Way, the second grew prevalent among those EOD members who had come to the Milky Way, and the Third most common among those who never visited the Milky Way. The first two groups were able to work together to push the EOD to enshrine the first Oath to the Emperor and their Lords. Which saw the Emperor as the living embodiment of Sigmoria and the Lord Supreme, in a position equal to the Germushian Sigder, which was acceptable to both the Church of Sigmar in Germushia, and the majority of EOD members, while pleasing to the minority of survivors of the Crusade. This belief was not jostled when the Emperor and Collosius confirmed that the Versian Church Declaration had been wrong, Lords were not Sigmarettes and the Emperor was not the Sigmarian. However, the treaty did leave the door open to the interpretation that the Emperor was the Sigmarian. This overall line of thinking would be the basis for the Equites Ordinis Deorum’s Cult of the Emperor. #### Service Till Death and the end of the Second Empire ~52556 The Cult of the Emperor reached its first peak at the very end of the Second Empire. The belief had become a doctrinal part of EOD teachings, the Emperor was the embodiment of the highest God, and the EOD were their servants, who depended on the Emperor for their power: political and magical. The end of the Second Empire came during the 9th Imperial invasion of the Milky Way. During this invasion, the Trans-Galactic Empire (TGE) had exploited the internal chaos of the Federation following a series of destructive internal wars between Lords. Simiarly, the weakened Vers had only some small holdings in the Milky Way, like most of the other Great Nations. Thus the TGE assumed it would be unimpeded in its invasion of the United Federation of Earth (UFE). This belief was shattered when the UFE’s D.A.M called on his friend and ally Empress Catharine Reverse Alluysia for assistance, and she answered by sending all Lords in the Milky Way to assist, and personally leading a large fleet of EOD members to assault the Empire. For the Knights within the Milky Way, they began to lead wars against Imperial forces, while EOD members began battles of both blade and intellect against their Sith counterparts in the opposing Empire. Many Knights and even Lords recounted that it had been a brilliant game of interstellar Chess, let down by the ever-weak player: the UFE. Many desperate battles and one massive fleet of Versian Lords, their Knights, and an Empress later, and a hole had been opened in the Imperial vanguard. Until then the vanguard had been scoring victory after victory against the UFE and Versian alliance. The Empress took her chance and led a fleet through the opening and into the heart of Imperial territory. While the EOD distracted the various Sith in the Area, the Empress lead her ship and a small fleet on a suicide mission into the Void-Gate. Many ships destroyed themselves by crashing into the massive ring. But the maneuver was a success. The gate was destroyed and the Imperial Fleet which was in transit and would surely have destroyed the UFE had been destroyed. There was only one problem. The Empress was almost 5,000 years old. She had no living heirs, most had died in this war, and all who the crown could have fallen too were dead or otherwise ineligible. It was thus that for the first time in nearly 51 thousand years the Versian Empire was without emperor. ## First Republic ~52561 The First Republic is a highpoint of Versian society. The lack of emperor allowed Lords the ability to exercise more of their power, while self regulating into ‘fealties’ (swearing alliangce to one, essentially political factions) which governed in the Collosius. Meanwhile the thoroughly expanded empire, with many competing guilds in the Reverse galaxy, competed with each other while holdings lords and other lieges to the obligations which came with their rights. Economic prosperity brought on by the formation of the Banking Union, and eventually the Banking Guild meant far fewer wars between Lords. This period also saw a great increase in the new Titles of Lord, and the consolidation of old Titles. nights flourished in this age as well, though in a different manor. Gone were the days of warrior knight, instead now the purpose of a knight was to assist their lord, either in day-to-day tasks or in managing their Regalia. For the EOD they took their ability to call on other-worldly and social status as a call to serve the people, and without an emperor to build a cult around, the EOD’s religious beliefs were forced to adapt. #### Service to Lords ~52891 The EOD adapted to the loss of their religious leader easily. They expanded on the idea of the Cult of Emperor, deciding that the Lords titles were the representation of one of the Gods from their Pantheon. The belief being that if the Emperor is the God Supreme, then the Lords – as the Emperors lesser but equals – must thus be the other Gods of the Pantheon. But their belief was only that the emperor was the embodiment of the God supreme, and the person themselves didn’t matter so much as the title of Emperor did. Thus, the EOD’s new belief in the idea that their Lords titles confedered the support of a god from the Pantheon. Thus, Knights would request to join the service of lords whose titles represented the Gods that those knights felt most aligned to. It is for this reason, that the Titles represented the Gods who the Knights were believing in, that knights of the Order of the Gods devoted themselves to the service of their lords. And thus the _Oath to your highest master, the Lord (x)_ entered the cannon of EOD Oaths. #### Devotion to the public ~54962 Soon though, the Knights felt that devotion to their Lords alone was not enough. They could see that the empire was an organism greater then just the Lords, and their gifts had come from the Gods, but much like their title conferred service to the Lord and obligations to the people, then their service to their Lord as service to their God meant that in carrying out their feudal obligations they must also do so with their spiritual obligations. For this reason, the EOD developed the **Oath of the Service to the Civis** and many knights turned from helping their Lords crush devils and demonic incursions, to instead using their powers to focus on dealing with inequality in the empire, bringing forth great amounts of food, fuel, or other resources as needed. However, the monster hunting still happened, and those who took the **Oath of Protecting the Civis** become devoted members of the _Aeterna Proelais Daemes_, whose primary goal is hunting Daemons, but its generally fallen to them to deal with any otherworldly incursion. They are considered some of the top monster hunters in the Galaxy, and many Witchers take great honour on serving along side such famed warriors. #### The deeds of Debonio; ~54,941 Debonio; was a great Knight, and an exemplar of the period. She first entered the Knighthood transferring from the Mages guild, after spending thirty years to use her powers to help build school in rimword systems. With the extra training, knowledge, and prestige from the EOD, she was able to work out a deal with one of the Great Shipping Guilds of her day, whereupon once a week she should use her powers to produce enough food to feed a subsector in need, and the Guild would see to it that the food was delivered. It was Debonio; who wrote the **Oath of Protecting the Civis** after helping repair a city following a meteor impact from a rogue Mage. She personally hunted down the mage and had their soul condemned to the Abyss. She then had the city issued a special charter, and a school of Mages installed whose sole job it was to protect the city from future attacks. Debonio; was also famous for openly mocking Lords who failed to live up to their duties. Upon having dinner with Lord Pawchelerius – whose Patron god was supposedly the God of Wheat, but yet whose people had been in an expanding state of famine for nearly a century – wherein the Lord bragged about his plentiful food stores, and great amount of profit from selling excessive amounts of food, the Knight stood from the table announcing: “I would rather dine on rats with the Civis who beg outside your gates then listen to another word from the abyssal vermin who hosts this dinner”. Departing in a rush from the dinning hall, and true to her word having a meal with the starving civis beyond the moat of the Lords Castle, with food she brought forth from beyond the material world herself. Upon another world, the Unions in service to the Nobles had gone on strike, claiming great abuses in the Noble houses. To investigate, Debonio; departed in disguise as a scab to work for the nobles. She quickly uncovered that the reports from those on strike had been but the surface, abuses of all forms were reigned down by the nobles on their servants. One day, upon a deeply dishonourable assault from a high ranking noble, Debonio; reveled who she truly was. The noble did not believe her and continued his attack. Debonio; crushed the nobles throat with her hand. She then went to the knight who governed the World and told them the whole tale. Upon discussion between the two, they agreed a new cast of nobility was needed, and granted numerous titles which once belonged to the vile nobles to the leaders of the Unions, and thus both they and their Unions were happy. Debonio; was no stranger to the issues of religion either, she was a key member in settling the Mages Guild’s internal dispute about the nature of Sigmoria in the absence of the emperor. Her conclusion was that the emperor was not truly gone, simply gone from the eyes of the Empire. While it failed at settling the dispute, it was a core argument in the winning camps overall argument. Thus, it is that Debonio; was an exquisite example of an Equites from her age, working to advance the cause of the people, even in the face of previous oaths to the Lords, and unintentionally laying the groundwork for the eventual return of the royal family, and restoration of the Versian Empire. ### Third Empire ~68144 If the First Republic was *a* high period, the Third Empire is considered by most to be *the* high point, especially the pre-war empire, and many, especially youth, in the Fifth Empire are nostalgic for the Third Empire, especially those who didn’t live through it. For the EOD, the Third Empire was a time of great change and uncertainty, followed by a time of triumph, which culminated in the Great War. This trend was true for most of Versian Society in this period. The changes started with the return of Asselyum Tarkarias Skywin Vers Allussya, the long-lost descendant of lost Empress. Upon her return, a mass upswelling of popular support and their Guilds/Unions, combined with the support of a small but powerful royalist faction, and the informal support of the United Federation of Earth (as thanks), and her then fiancé, Ex-D.A.M and now Emperor of the Trans-Galactic Empire, Johnathan Reid, also known as Darth Vampyrius. Asselyum won the support of the Collosius, and to her lineage the title of Empress returned. She then married Emperor Reid and began to merge the two nations together. #### Merging with the Sith Order ~68170 With the two empires merging, a consequence was merging spiritual and governmental agencies. For the EOD, this involved merging with he Sith Order. The TGE mandated that their Supreme Grand Master Dark Lord of the Sith, and Emperor be one in the same. While Vers had a similar requirement of their emperor being endorsed by the EOD. It was decided thus that the Sith Order would merge with the Mages Guild, but those Sith who also held titles within the new, Third Versian Empire, would join the Equites Ordinis Deorum as Part of the Sith Guild. The merger was done without too much overall difficulty, as the Sith officially fell into the same category as the ancient Jedi loophole. The first impact was caused by the mass number of Sith who joined. It would not be until the year 69,041 that the merging of Knight hood and System Ownership took effect. This was in large part due to the massive influx of new Knights who had come through the EOD from the Mages Guild by virtue of being ‘Title bearing’ Sith, which the Sith Order took to mean any Sith who had been granted the title of Darth or greater. The second large impact was reopening of the question of allegiance. Sith were devoted to their Order, and by extension their Emperor. But a core trait of Sith belief is a strong libertarian individuality. The EOD had been operating without an emperor for over a millennium and had developed a cannon around helping the Civis and service to the holders of Lordly Titles. The culture clash was immediate and great. Fractures within the EOD about where the heart of their loyalties lied were quickly exploited by the Sith, pushing their own agenda. One focused on Devotion to the throne. #### Devotion to the Throne ~68538 The Devotion to the Throne period of the EOD started with an alliance between the Royalists in the EOD and the Sith, against the divided Lordists and Civists. The Imperial alliance installed a mostly Sith group into the senior positions of the EOD, and who then reissued the **Oath to the Empress**. Within the TGE politics, there was a devotion to precedent. The Sith were experts in law and combed the Orders ancient tomes searching for any possible precedent which could be used as the basis from which their ideas could be built in and reinstated these changes. For example, they reinstated the concept that Lords were Sigmarettes, but extended it, instead saying that *Dark Lords* were in fact Sigmarettes, and the Empress the Sigmarian. For the majority who were not Sigmarian, the royalist ideas were heavily championed, while the Civis supporters were actively discouraged. In their stead, a more Imperial culture developed within the EOD, and it developed a reputation within the Knights overall for being a ‘cold, cruel, uncaring institution of Godly Sciences beyond the sanest persons understanding.’ Long in the desperate to be forgotten past of the Third Republic the idea of the _Servants to the Civis_ remained. #### Colonizer Kings and Simon Cortez ~68991 The true kickstart for the Third Empire was the declaration from the Empress of a project of unity, the one thing that unquestionably the two merging empires could agree on: Conquering a galaxy that had yet to have humans in it. One was chosen, and the Empress declared a new Era of colonization. Within a few decades she would decree that any knight who wished to retain their title would have to settle land for their Lords. However, the empress made the knights and lords an intriguing offer. She agreed to grant any lord or knight who was able to claim a system independent of the support of the empire the title of king for two and a half decades. In that time, the Lords would be approached as equals of the empress to discuss a trade agreement with the empire. Knights were granted an extra privilege, if they colonized a system for their Lord, and held a system within the Lords Regalia, then the Knight was free to transport any resources from their colonized land back to their imperial holding without any tariffs of added taxes. This made many Knights very rich, which further motivated the process of equating Knighthood to control over a system. The TGE and Versian Empires had both been idle for far longer then either would have liked. The renewed call for colonization was greatly supported, especially among the EOD, who under Sith control had grown greedy and lost sight of protecting the Civis. They heeded their Lords calls for worlds, taking their landing keeps and forts and making for the new Asselyum Galaxy. The Knights used their powers to Conquer and colonize worlds. Before they left, they raised great armies of newly joined Militorius eager for war and a chance at a life better than that of a Civis. Especially prominent were TGE Volunteers, eager for a chance at action. The Knight Simon Cortez raised a sizeable army and set out, hoping to use the powers he’d earned through the Equites Oridinis Deorum to conquer many worlds. The first few systems he discovered were ruled by a small but well armed and deeply oppressive empire, who had enslaved the other inhabited species and used them as slaves for various purposes. Including using a species of enslaved stellar creatures as interstellar ships due to their ability to phase into the Aether. Cortez initially struggled against the threat, finding that Versian diplomacy seemed not able to succeed. His second tactic, drawing his pistol and shooting the ambassador, seemed to be much more successful, as Cortez quickly took the two-dozen system empire in less the three Months. With much more land under his belt, Cortez paid off his loans to his Lord, and recruited a few knights of his own, granting himself the title of Knight-Sergeant, much to the chagrin of the Equites Oridinis Orbitalis, but due to Cortez having taken land, which was officially outside the empire, they were powerless to do anything about it. Cortez then led his knew knights on a campaign raving and raiding several weak nearby stellar nations, many of whom had only recently achieved interstellar travel of some form. In one case Cortez smashed through a dawning civilizations first attempt at a stellar craft, before crushing the worlds militaries and granting the system to his half-alien bastard. As word of Cortez’s deeds spread, a large alliance of nations formed within the galaxy and approached Cortez with a peace offer. He agreed to meet if leaders of the nations met on a neutral world in a neutral system. The leaders agreed and they attend the meeting, opposite them was Cortrez alone, with his feet on a railing. Cortez sliced and ate an apple as the gathering of leaders issued their various request, concessions, and agreements. When Cortez had finished his apple, he stood, pocked the void knife he had been using to cut it, and tossed the rest of the finished apple core back away from himself while addressing the room: “Leaders, _and delegates_, You have called me here to tell me of the limits on what I may do. But I ask you this: What power do you have to enforce these limits? For I have the power to destroy stars with twist of my wrist” he made a quick gesture with a wrist, ending with it poiting towards the large window in the hall where the meeting was taking place. Outside the window, the systems star could be seen. Moments after the words left the Cortezs’ mouth, an infinitely black circle appeared ‘below’ the sun, impossibly thin. The circle begun slowly dragging itself up along the sun, leaving behind only empty space where the star had once shone. The stunned room was further shocked as Cortez walked towards the doors into the hall, pushed them open, gave a cheerful wave, and then left. Some in the alliance were not deterred, and they took Cortez’s actions as a declaration of war. Cortez was happy to meet such a challenge. His ever-increasing retinue of Knights, now under their ‘King’ were unquestioningly loyal. This was in large part due to the fact that anyone who question Cortez was simply killed by him. Several of his lovers were given the same fate when they chose to question him in any aspect of his decision making, imperial, personal, or choices he made in their lives. Cortez began to exploit old animosities between those he had scared out of joining the war and those who were at war with him, and so Cortez was able to gain a strong following of allies. The two groups of alliances battled one another, but Versian technological superiority, combined with Cortez’s willingness to use extreme tactics including destroying planets and cities in order to capture planets turned him into a demon to his enemies, and a hero to his followers. Even when Cortez was on the brink, he called on old allies from the Versian Empire who had themselves become kings, or those who had desires to do so, and had them join him in war. His name was on the tongue of every novice in the EOD, hoping that once they had finished their basic training, they may go mentor under him. Every time Cortez used his powers to throw a planets moon at its capital city the Knights cheered for more. Cortez would die during his war against the Great Alliance, though the war would live on long after Cortez, only coming to an end when the Empress declared the Age of Colonization over and required that any Knight who wished to keep their title, and their temporary autonomy, must stop making war with the Alliance, and a relatively short peace was negotiated. #### Equites Ordinis Deorum in the Great War ~81841 The Equites Ordinis Deorum were instrumental in getting the Vers Empire into the Great War. As Xiao-Ming persecutions on Jedi increased in the Axion Galaxy, many Jedi fled to the United Federation of Earth as well as the Versian Empire. The Sith within the empire were especially empathetic to the Jed-I’s plight, and while they had lost their place as the heads of the EOD, they still were a powerful faction, and they held great say with the Imperial faction in the Collosius. So it was that even before the Empire officially joined the war, many knights of the EOD had left to conduct a study term with the Jed-I. And when Xiao-Ming attacked the temples, the knights, their landing keeps, and their personal bodyguard of 5,000 troops, plus armour, air support, artillery, and other casual tools of war became vital instruments in the temple’s defenses. Xiao-Ming eventually had enough of the proxy war and called on their ally, the Empire of Deutschland, for assistance. This started the chain of events that would eventually unfold into the Great War. But at the start, Vers was mostly focused on liberating the Axion-Alliance, and the EOD on defending their fellow mages, the Jed-I. #### Axion Alliance Front and the Defense of the Jed-I temple ~81954 The majority of Equites in the Oridinis Deorum focused on defending Jed-I and other religious or spiritual centers of study from the Xiao-Ming voidforces. These sieges were a multistage process, as most Jed-I temples were on remote worlds, often without many other inhabitants, even if the system did have inhabited worlds. For this reason, Xiao-Ming would used a VoidForcer, given command of their own heavy cruiser and detachment of corporate marines to take over Jed-I temples. Defending the temples with their lives, the EOD, Jed-I knights, and Versian military dug in. Landing forts had to remain in orbit to protect from the corporate ship, which limited the ability to deploy heavy artillery and super-heavy armour. The primary plan of defense were guerrilla attacks launched by Jed-I, attempting to confuse and draw off various corporate units, while armour, Infantry, and the Knights dug in. Void shields would be raised, armies of the dead, angles, demons, in 3 reported cases Versian-Sith Equites briefly brought daemons into reality to destroy especially danger threats. If the Xiao-Ming cruiser could get a break on the Landing Keep (or better yet a kill, though that was a much greater challenge), it would attempt to deploy a wave of landing craft. The first few scouting waves were mostly infantry, but soon began to include more light armour, and by the fifth wave heavy armour and Jr. Void-Forces and intern Void-Forces would be deployed along-side them, in an attempt to exhausted the forces on the planet. The various plans had mixed results, but on average the better positioning of the temples (often remote, hard to reach locations), and the combined strength of the Jed-I and EOD, along with the latter often having plenty of combat experience from the period of Colonization, allowed them to eek out victory in many cases. Though it would be the Versian Lords and their imposing fleets, including tens of thousand's of knights with their own fleets, would be the major force in pushing back Xiao-Ming. This meant that when Xiao-Ming helped Deutschland open a second front, Vers was quick to leap to help, joining the defense of Germushia shortly after Xiao-Ming declared war on it, though a sizeable time after the Federation had joined the war, which was also a sizeable time after Deutschland had initially declared war. #### Germushia and the defense against the Kuromukuro ~82566 In the Berlinnic Galaxy, Germushia had been fighting a loosing war for a millennium, when the Federation finally joined in beyond just in name, the tide slowly began turning, which prompted Deutschland to ask the battered Xiao-Ming for assistance. Xiao-Ming replied by dispatching their experimental Kuromukuro program to the Berlinnic Galaxy. The suits themselves relied on jump drives to collectively launch from a strike carrier and arrive in a system, ambushing passing by ships until they could hide well enough, get onto planets and sow chaos and destruction. Many Knights were dispatched to deal with the issue, but the EOD was given a special assignment from the Empress shortly before her death. (*Note*: _this is Catherine Vers Allussya, daughter of Assylum Vers Allussya, the empress who restored the Third Empire_) The Equites Ordinis Deorum were to patrol the border region of the Deutschland Empire, where it was said Xiao-Ming forces had been raiding heavily, attacking planets that were completely unaligned. On one such world, the Knight Tiberus’ was feasting with the planets greatest leader, having just made an agreement whereby the Knight would leave a super-heavy tank behind to deal with any Kuromukuro suits. As the two joined their wine glasses in a toast, the liquid inside splashed out as the room shook, gunfire filled the air outside, and more shocks were quickly felt after, twelve in total. The Knight’s Neural Net was pinged with data that his Fort had confirmed the arrival of twelve Kuromukuro suits, their jump rings had been detected four days away at systems edge. The Knight, with only his Armour to protect him, his blade and pistol to arm him, and his powers to defend him, was the planets best shot at defense until proper forces could be raised and send from the Fort. Checking his armour for Aldminium Crystals, he soon used all he had in a single, intense, supercharged burst. Heart racing, Tiberus’ used his powers to quicken himself beyond the speed of human perception. He then dawned his helmet, burst out of the rooms grand, stain glass window to Sigmar, and went towards the nearest mech, activating his void blade. Sprinting up a cart, onto the awning of a house, and then another’s roof, Tiberus’ then leapt from the house onto one of the suits great cannons, running his blade along the guns barrel splitting it to. He continued his impossibly fast sprint along the suits arm, continuing to slice whatever he could, including cutting the shoulder void-energy turret. He then severed the head of the suit, pulled the pilot out, and threw him to the ground. Two more suits approached the position, calling upon his powers once again, he brought forth from the void the energy to raise the suits massive sword, and began a suit against one of the suits. Towards the other approaching suit, Tiberus’ pulled on the damaged suits cannon, discharging it towards the unengaged but approaching suit. Now able to focus his whole attention on the duel, Tiberus’ called forth an angle, whom he handed control of the blade to. Leaving the cover of the suit that he had been hiding behind, relying on his already super-human, now near godly speed to protect him from the Kuromukuros auto-guided shoulder high-energy canon, Tiberus’ rushed forth. Slicing at the legs of the suit, bringing it to its knees, where he then jumped, amplified by his power, on top of the suits shoulder cannon, destroying it with his voidblade. He then went to the suits head and repeated the processes of removing the pilot. He then called upon his powers once again to raise the machines themselves, and he gave them a spirit to defend him from the other suits, while he rushed forth and attacked them using his powers ot throw objects, himself (and sometimes objects off of which he would then throw him himself), destroying the attacking suits. Planet saved, Tiberus’ apologized to the leader for destroying his window, but gave his word (and dispatched and message to his ship saying) that he would leave behind a large group of super heavy tanks and troops to defend this world until a new knight could come to watch over it. ### Second Republic ~83356 The dawn of the Second Republic marked the start of the end of the Versian Golden Age. The Empire who had triumphed in the great war, walking away with the fewest losses of any nation, only land gained, and little of its industry or facilities destroyed. The Empire was by all accounts ready to lead the way forward. The only problem was that the Empress Catherine had died during the great war, leaving her depressed, alcoholic, Federation born husband to rule the empire, with a son who as considered too inexperienced to take over, and their monarchs only remaining daughter, Camilla Vers Allussya having renounced her family name and personal claim to the throne to earn her rank in the Knighthood. It is said that Camilla was with her mother the day the Empress passed. However, Camilla chose to stay on the front, launching a successful counterattack which secured the besieged planet moments after the Empress’ was mortally wounded by debris from a successful Deutschland bombing run. With the war over and his wife dead, the Emperor grew greatly depressed, and gave up on running the empire. The Emperor instead chose to introduce the Citadel, which would be composed of officials elected by the Civis, who would debate and vote on what legislation went forward to the Collosius. Shortly after establishing the Citadel and granting power to first President: Apocdecaeli. Under this president the empires stock market would hit its greatest peak, his single motivation the enrichment of himself and his supporters. #### Post war decline and rampant corruption ~83351 The EOD was not insulted from the Changes. Apocdecaeli’s reforms led to a massive appearance in increase of trade, but in the same period actual production decreased greatly. As the stock market reported more success, more factories closed. The Free Men, their aristocratic patrons, and their liege the Knight all benefited greatly, earning credits hand over fist. Eventually even distributing free food to the increasing in size masses of starving Civis, who were out of work and growing more restless. With the ever-increasing amounts of money in the economy and wealth of the Aristocrats, the separation between themselves as the Civis became more pronounced. Nobles moved off world, either to stations in orbit or into private moon bases. The landing ports and great palaces of the planets soon were fenced off, and the Militorius placed on constant patrol. Police stopped enforcing laws for anyone who couldn’t pass them a year’s worth of wages in advance. As the increasingly displaced Civis began to leave Hubworlds, the fragile economies of many agri-systems began to collapse as they could not sustain the massive influx of new people. But too the stock market things appeared better then ever. Thus, neither the President who was profiting off of the chaos, nor the emperor who was cowering from the chaos, noticed or cared about the falling apart empire. This lack of care was felt by the Knights of the empire, especially the EOD. The Sith Order’s selfish influenced reached a fevered pitch. With EOD members refusing to serve those who could not pay them for the spell. Gone were the days of the using the Emperor and Gods gift to help the people of the empire. Now magic was a science, and like the Idea Creators, the EOD should be paid for the use of their talents. This caused many who were not of the Sith beliefs to leave the EOD, some, like Ex-Knight Celestius went as far as renouncing their title in whole. #### Ex-Knight Celestius ~83358 Celestius was ancient. He was tried in the school of Service, by one who had studied under Debonio;. It is said that Celestius had argued with Cortez about the morality of the colonizers action before the colonizer met his death. Celestius served in the Great War, including being with the when the Empress when she died. Celestius at first attempted to use the godly magic to heal the empress. But it did not work. Celestius would not move from the empress’ side until she was given her final rest. In recognition of his service, Celestius was raised to a Knight-Commander of the Emperor. It was in this position that Celestius truly gained his fame as a champion of the people, a paragon of good and truth in an age of evil and lies. Celestius was said to regularly storm into the Citadel and roar a speech to its members on their unethical actions. In one noteable instance Celestius even had a regiment stationed around the Citadel, preventing its members for entering for a vote which would have removed the Right of Knights to promote their own members, instead making it a choice by the Citadel. But no matter how much the President might have wanted Celestius gone, he had been inducted into the Equites Oridins Orbitalis, making him untouchable to political, or social coercion. No Knight nor Militorius would dare move on one of the 36 Orbitals – to do so was not just death in this life, but their very soul being sentenced to infinite service in the Abyss, assuming they a soul left to send once the Orbital Knight had finished with them, as well as a social death as no one would dare associate with an Orbital Killer. This was the protection Celestius operated under while as a Knight. Celestius was active in trying to stop the collapse of the Empire. Politically he lobbied to introduce stronger regulations on banks, and the stock market. Actively, he worked to support the Civis by using his powers to create food and other supplies for them, dispatching troops to deal with pirates and other brigands as best he could. But the imperial collapse far outpaced one mans attempt to do good. The final straw for Celestius was neither the open bribery within the EOD (including allowing several Knights with no connection to the Gods into the Order), nor the selfish desire for more from the Lords. It instead came from the ascension of the new emperor: Emperor Charles Vers Allussya. Celestius had hoped the new emperor would take charge and change things, restore the empire to its former glory. Instead, Charles followed in line with Apocdecaeli’s plans, fervently pursuing his own wealth at the expense of the empire. Celestius stayed as a Knight for a short while longer. But as the imperial stock market collapsed, the supposed wealth disappeared, and the disgruntled lords of Revese and Palpatinius Galaxies began to voice opposition to the demanding change. The response from Emperor Charles was to send Celestius to put down the wicket and traitorous lords. Upon his arrival. Celestius discovered the starving Civis pleading 30 meters from the gates to the Lords Palace. The area between the wall of Civis and the gates was strewn with bodies. Many having bullets placed through them, others starved to death while trying to find a shred of food. When the crowd recognized who Celestius was, they swarmed him hoping for a miracle. Initially reluctant, it was only when a young boy, no more then 12 approaches. A small half eaten rat in was in the boys’ outstretched hands, while the boy boastfully asked the Knight if he would care for a bite of this prized catch. Stifling his upset stomach, the Knight called on his Fort to dispatch food as soon as possible. Celestius then brough the young boy into the palace with him. Within the glittering palace, the boy and Knight marched to the banquet hall. Within at least two dozen Lords sat around a table so filled with food that even the most wasteful eater in the emperor’s palace would feel ashamed. The boy sprinted to the table, filling his mouth with everything he could. The nearest Lord smashed a fist into the boys back, causing the boy to sputter up bits of half eaten food while the lord chastised the boy for running, his lack of manners, lack of respect, and failure to use utensils. The Knight responded by removing the Lord’s head with Celestius’ void-blade. An uproar broke out in the room, calls for the guards were met without action. None in the Militoius would move against an Orbital Knight, even if their Lord commanded it, as all in the room did. The Knight instead told the boy to pause from his meal, and to instead lead a group of guards in taking the food out to the starving masses. The Knight then told no one in particular that if he did not see the boy again, in good health and free, before leaving, then the Knight would personally see to it that the boys second closest heir would become Knight of this World while his closest would take the title of Lord from its current holder. The knights’ orders were followed without question. The enraged lords took their credit-purses and went to the Emperor, who soon agreed that in exchange for the right sum of money, Celestius could loose him position as a member of the EOO. Something which was unthinkable to any other emperor. To protect the EOO, and EOD, Celestius chose instead to renounce his title in its entirety, while openly denouncing the emperor as a traitor and a fraud. The Ex-Knight Celestius would go on to find great power and sway in the United Reverse Lords, where he was granted the title of Lord by Supreme Lord Commander Richard. ### Forth Empire ~ 83366-83381 While many may bicker about the what the Golden Age of the Versian Empire has been, there is no dispute that its darkest age was that of the short lived Fourth Empire. The Fourth empire came into existence when President Apocdecaeli attempted to implement reforms which would salvage a bit of the failing stock market. Emperor Charles disagreed with this course of action, and in response declared a new empire, and the end of the Citadel. These reforms were mostly allowing Lords to buy their independence from the Empire, founding Britannia and the United Reverse Lords. The new Emperor wanted to reclaim his lost lands and restore the empire to its former glory and wash away the second republic as a small mistake, to be forgotten as a footnote in the history text. Thus, he launched what many called (the most recent) Versian Civil war, in an ultimately futile attempt to reconquer the Reverse Galaxy. In the process, he lost what would come to be known as the Imperial Versian Federated Territories, and what was left of the Vers Empire in the Reverse Galaxy. #### Actions in the civil war ~83366-83376 During the relatively short civil war, the EOD played a pivotal role, their early start as a tool of the Emperor allowed him to quickly score numerous victories and quickly retake much land which had been given to the United Reverse Lords and other parties. It would ultimately be their perceived betrayal and change of beliefs which led to the _Purge of the Unworthy_ and ultimately a new chapter for the Order. During the war, after swearing fealty to the Emperor, the Knights became the dominant force in turning battles. With squads of knights continuously being sent on impossible suicide missions, with the threat of losing their title, they kept pressure on the URL. The absolute minority who returned home from their missions refused to speak on their experiences. The few who did reveal horrifying tales, summoning abominations from other dimensions, ripping the souls from children who were being augmented with Aldminum injections to turn them into angelic soldiers. In other cases, the EOD’s Knights would pull the most terrifying creatures of the Civis’ mind, render them real and unleash them on vital worlds – including 9 attacks on hospital worlds, all directly ordered by the Emperor – causing great levels of physical and mental harm, destroying planets and lives. Stations would regularly be damned to planes for simply orbiting the wrong planet. #### Forced Oath to the Emperor ~83366 At the start of the Civil War, the Emperor demanded that all Knights who wished to keep their place in the Brotherhood of Knights and thus their titles must retake the **Oath to the Emperor**. This became colloquially known as the **Force Oath to the Emperor**. While formally being the same as previous Oaths. The Emperor lorded it over his Knight’s heads’ at all times, turning many off from serving him. The first group to try were shown the authority of an Absolute Emperor, by stripping the Knights of their titles, forbidding them from the brotherhood, and demoting them to Versarian status. This was also indirectly responsible for many Knights, especially from the EOD, fleeing to Britannia. Those who chose not to flee to Britannia instead became traitors by joining the enemy, most often choosing the United Reverse Lords. The fraction who remained loyal to the Emperor became the main leaders of his attempted conquest of Reverse. The attack was a success mostly due to Reverse being consumed with infighting, bureaucratic issues, and intra-national border conflicts leading to poor allocation of troops and resources. Supplemented by the fact that most of the Lords in Reverse had not engaged in any real violence in centuries, with many not even being involved in the Great War. This meant that while having fewer Knights and lords, by controlling more overall land allowing for more ships to be produced and people recruited, and with those Knights and Lords being more experienced in combat, allowed for the Emperor and his forces to gain many early wins. By the end of the civil war, the now lightly seasoned URL commanders began to eek out victories. After the battle of Deverssigus, the EOD withdrew their support for the Emperor and ordered their Knights to return to their systems, on threat of disbanding the Order if any were excommunicated. With the EOD out of the war, many other Orders followed suit, allowing the URL to press their advantage, eventually leading to the duel between Supreme Lord Commander Richard and Emperor Charles. The duel ended with Charles’ death, and the return of Emperor Henry, the father to both Charles and Richard, former Emperor of the Empire; whose first child from his first marriage hates him and rules an opposing nation, and whose lost all but one of the children from his second marriage in which he also lost his wife. In the time after the civil war, until the emperor’s death and the rise of the Third Republic, the empire would stagnate, as the Emperor did nothing, and the Lords often fought among themselves. #### Purge of the Unworthy & the battle of Deverssigus ~83374\nThe Purge of the Unworthy is one of the most notable events in recent EOD history. It served as a rejection of Sith Belief and cannon as the dominant truth and ushered in a new age of dispute on direction, which for many is considered a welcome breath of fresh air. However, there is still much stigma associated with those who were involved in the purge, both by other Knights and those within the Order who were not purged but also did not support the purge or leap in with full force. The purge itself involved in an internal revolution on the planet Deverssigus. The planet had long been a stronghold of Sigmarist belief within the EOD. By whispering in the Emperors ear, the Sith who had retaken control of the EOD were able to get permission to purge those who refused to affirm the ‘correct’ beliefs of EOD Sithism, starting with the large Sigmarist cult on Deverssigus. When the Sith Knights attempted to arrest all Sigmarists who did not convert – and kill any who resists – the Sigmarists responded by sending out a message for help to the rest of the EOD, and then attempting to hold the world, and system, on their own. The battle in space was bloody, long, and painful. The Sigmarist fleet launched lightning raids on the larger Sith fleet, destroying key ships are every turn, attacking supply fleets to prevent reinforcements and supplies from getting to the ground, and even in one case destroying a moon to prevent a fleet transporting several superheavy siege weapons from reaching the planet. On the ground, ever meter taken by the Sith cost 15 lives, to the Sigmarists 1. The villagers joined their Sigmarists knights, committing terrorists’ attacks on Sith patrols. When the Sith Knight Commander made it known that any village caught colluding with the Sigmarists would be destroyed, the villages, towns, and cities responded by issuing statements affirming their adherence to Sigmoria and permitting open street sermons whenever Sith Knights visited. After three months of constant, hourly, bloodshed, when only the Greatest Sigmarist Knights, the wounded, and those too old or too young, or too inexperienced to fight, were left to defend the Temple, a fleet of supporting knights entered the system. Not just members of the EOD, all professed loyalty to the Empire, but claimed that the Sith had gone too far, violated to many ancient and sacred rights, and most importantly had violated the sacred fraternal brotherhood of Knights. The Sith were forced to concede, step down from control of the EOD, and any who participated in the Siege of Deverssigus were banished from the Brotherhood and Order. Following the battle, the EOD recalled all members from the field, and began to hold summits, interviewing all members and weeding out any who did not meet the new standard of purity – the defining trait of which was a sense of selflessness, devotion to the Empire, and to the Civis. #### Post Civil-War Reforms ~83376\nWith the worst elements of the Order purged, and the civil war behind them, the EOD turned inward with a focus on healing and repairing the damage. Over the next 5 years the major school of thought would shift from the Modern Sith thought to the Classical Versian thought which had been dominant in the First Empire. This taught a focus on supporting the Empire and being agents of the Empire. The dominant belief returned to the classical goal of the EOD serving as the standard by which all other Knights should desire to live up to. There was a noticeable shift away from focusing on economic prosperity and one’s own wealth, back towards the value of one’s honour. Service to the emperor decreased, but service to the Order became much more important. The Order also worked to strengthen its members abilities to argue against corrupt or otherwise distrusted lords. The Mages Guild was brought in to review members and confirm that the religious beliefs were inline with Guild teachings. This was important as in the pre-purge period the religion of the EOD became God-through-science and that one could achieve godhood through understanding science, a belief which was at the heart of Sithism. Thus, while Sithism as a science was still allowed to be taught, as the Order did not believe in supressing science, Sithism as a religion was banned. The outcome of this period is the three-core oath of the EOD: the Oath of Knightly Service, of Service to the Gods, and of Service to the Mages Guild. The first because members of the EOD were now to be the exemplar Knights for all others. Your honour is vital and is gained by fulfilling your obligations to your liege, your serfs, your order, and above all your fraternity. The second was affirming that you held God-in-Science beliefs, and not God-through-Science, and thus denying the Sith religion its place in the Order. The third and final Oath was to the Mages Guild, as the Empire was seeming to return to something akin to the First Republic, the Mages Guild seemed a useful ally to draw closer to, and the recent help in the purge solidified the relationship. ### Third Republic ~83381-83390 The Third Republic was brought on by former Kinder-D.A.M John Hellsbeck, having fled the United Federation of Earth following his attempted assassination of the just elected D.A.M Emily Goodwin. Having fled to the Vers Empire, he began to whisper in Emperor Henry’s ear, and eventually was granted the title of Lord. After the public announcement of the Emperors death, and Knight-Commander Camilla Vers Allussya taking up the title of Lord in Command (of the Emperors fiefs). This started the Third Republic period, as Lord Hellsbeck and Lord in Commander Allussya battled each other for control of the Empire, while causing great harm to those who lived within it. #### Reaffirmation of Service to the people ~83381\nWith the lack of Emperor, and renewed sense of purpose, and general changes, the EOD was ready to reaffirm that its goal was to serve the people. While this would contradict their later role in the defense of the Palace from the People, at the dawn of the Third Republic, the EOD was focused on repairing the empire for the people, bringing food to those who needed it, and dealing with various extra-planar issues as they presented themselves. The Knights returned to their position as exemplars of what the Aristocrats should be, as well as what the Militorious should strive for. They also continued their focus on reforming and rooting out corruption within themselves. #### Defense of the Palace from the People ~83389\nFollowing Empress Camilla gaining the fealty of most of the Lords, thereby becoming Empress. Now President Hellsbeck desired more power then had initially been agreed upon. He called one final, great, assault on the palace by the people. Each previous attack had been devasting to the people, but also to the now Empress’ PR, and the President hoped that by smearing her image with another of these attacks he could force her into conceding some terms, especially the ability to hold both the title of Lord and President. To do this he rallied the starving masses as best he could, telling them on the night of the Empress Coronation Feast, of the grand meal taking place within. Telling tales of Debonio; Celestius which riled the crowned into action. As the mob encircled the palace, the troops out front ordered the crowd halt their advance. After two warnings were given, smoke and tear gas were deployed. In response, Hellsbeck planted provocateurs opened fired on the guards, quickly turning the entire mob hostile. The hoard rushed towards the guards who opened fired on the crowd, hurling bullets and grenades into the weak and starving masses, while Hellsbecks agents within the crowd distributed void/Energy/Vibro/chain-axes/knives/hatches/swords and whatever other melee tools they had gathered. While others in the crowd were given pistols and sub machine guns, some laser and others with plasma-cartridges. Within this fighting there were many EOD in attendance, both as guards and knights of the Empress, and those with other Lords and guests at the dinner. When the fighting began to turn against the guards stationed outside. The Empress ordered her Knights to assist. The EOD among them realized their best strategy for fighting a mob was to create one of their own, and got to work casting spells, animating suits of armor, rifles, drawing skeletons to life, or building new creatures entire, an army was raised and send to help defend the palace from the crowd outside. The Knights did not stop there, on the front lines Knights were quick to draw their void blades and make liberal use of plasma-grenades. With the EOD’s spells, including raining balls of frozen hellfire, that upon contact would freeze the persons skins while burning their blood cells, and knights on the battlefield, supported by their raised armies of creatures, the tide quickly turned towards that of the guards. The Knight and their hoard however did not let up, and until the crowd had broken down into its smallest cells and completely petered out, groups were hunted and killed. In the days after, those who were thought to be working with Hellsbeck were killed. This hurt the Knights image with the Civis, but much of the damage was offloaded onto Hellsbeck. Following his suicide/murder by his successor Lord Libcivius after losing the Presidency, his title, power, the KinderD.A.Mship, his family, and everything else, it was unveiled by his Knight-Commanders the extent to which he had been behind several of the largest riots on Versarius and was indirectly responsible for much of the bloodshed that had ravaged the empire for the past ~10 years. ### Fifth Empire ~83390\nThe result of the Third Republic was the ascension of Camilla to the title of Empress by swearing of fealty from the Lords in the Collossius, in exchange for Lord Hellsbeck renouncing his title, trading it in the for resurrected title of President of the reborn Citadel, now in a more equal power sharing agreement with the Collosius, briefly establishing a bicameral legislative system. This system would be radically after only a year of being in place, after President Hellsbeck lost his title, and the Citadel moved to a purely advisory position to the Collosius, beginning the Fifth Empire. In the short time since then, Empress Camilla has declared a new Era of Colonization, the first step in her plan to move Vers forward, away from the Empire of the past and towards a new and glorious future. Among her other actions, she has begun to reach out and work with Guilds, Corporations, and other rights-holding bodies to help them as best she can. She has also requested the EOD assist in dealing with extra-planer threats, rogue mages, and other internal magical issues. #### Oath to the Empress ~83390\nWith the formal return of the Empress to power, and her professed goals to help the people of the Vers Empire, as well as numerous back room deals with the Equites Ordinis Orbitals and Equites Oridinis Deorum, she was able to gain their favour and support in this period, as indicated in the Oath to the Empress being pulled out of the Abyss to which it had been damned due to its association with Emperor Charles and given new life by the new Empress. With her generally positive message, her background – having renounced her families name and claim to the throne to enlist in the Militorum as a Civis. Then working her way through the ranks during the Great War, earning herself the title of Knight and Joining the EOD. Forcibly transferred to be under her mother’s control, she did not stop fighting for Vers even during and after her mother’s death. She earned her place as a Knight Commander under the Emperor during the Civil War and watched with her disowned Father as her half brother murdered her Emperor and full brother. Under the restored Emperor she was instrumental in preventing the Emperors personal war against the Communist Empire of Deutschland, by personally poisoning her depressed but seemingly immortal father, sending him into a coma from which he would never awake. Then working with the other Knight Commanders until she was the primary Knight Commander and could assume the title of Lord in Commander, thereby giving her the perception of having earned her title of Lord and Empress as a Versian, even if only, at best, a quarter Versian by blood, and in all probability with only the tiniest fraction the ancient royal blood. #### State of the Equites Ordinis Deorum ~83391 The current state of the Equites Ordinis Deorum is one of healing and recovery, but with an optimistic look forward. Their primary goal has become hunting extra-planar entities: from demons & devils to daemons and mutant madmen, fallen or misguided Angels and Gods whose wrath when incurred can destroy planets. Not counting that the past thirty years of trouble has led to massive upheavals among the Civis, and an exodus of Mages from the Guild, now forming cults or otherwise practicing rogue magic. Where most Knights are focused on trying to deal with the rioting Civis, their desire to colonize new lands and gain titles, honour, and glory, and deal with the issues of Piracy. The EOD are focused on dealing with the magical issues which have arisen within the Empire, while also policing Knights for their actions, and trying to help the Civis when possible, with their food, medical, and lack of work issues. ## Order Beliefs new List #### Overview There are several aspects to the beliefs of the Equites Oridinis Deorum which have formed over the millenniums of change and drift. However, with the recent purge, there has been a push to bring in a more uniform set of beliefs. The core beliefs of the EOD as of 83391 are composed of roughly six core aspects based on the post-purge reformation. The beliefs are: A focus on one being a symbol of honour, and that ones duties involve protecting and upholding the sources of said honour; a shift in education away from the idea that education and science were of equal rank to religion, and instead returning them to their proper Versian place as an explanation of the creations of religion, not an explanation for religion itself; this change in education coincides with a shift in Religious beliefs towards Classical schools of thought, which focus on the connection between Religion and Science, with the belief that science should come from religion, unlike the Sith view of religion from science; a belief in the Knights position in society as the exemplars of the Militorius class reaching to join the elite ranks of Aristocratics; of relation to this is the Orders place as it relates to the Brotherhood of Knights, the other Knightly Orders, and the Empires Guilds. From that same school of thought comes the three pieces of a person, which is another core belief of the EOD. ### Focus on Honour The EOD’s renewed focus on honour is just a resurrection of an idea that had existed before the Second Republic, namely that ones most vital resource in the universe was their name, and the honour/glory that was associated with it. In the post-purge EOD, one’s honour has become the primary status symbol. Hushed whispers flutter through the mouths of Pages and Squires, their masters overhearing while pretending to read – so that they may gossip when among their fellow knights. This covert spreading of one’s good deeds has developed into the core of the modern Versian Code of Honour: one should never brag about their Title, whether it was gained from honourable personal actions, or from the glory of their forefathers, to bring dishonour to one side is to bring dishonour to all. #### Family Family Honour is the honour associated with one’s family name. Family honour tends to be either very small scale and local – trapped to a planet, perhaps system, at best a subsector – or on a massive scale, spanning the Lords Regelia, if not the lands of multiple lords. Those who have just earned the title of Knight may see their family honour intermingled with personal honour, or perhaps they’re restoring an ancient familial claim to Knighthood or nobility. While those who are carrying on the family’s honoured tradition of Knights tend to desire personal glory with the goal of expanding the Honour of their family, and the title which the Knight holds. #### Title Title Honour refers to the honour and glories which have been one by those who previously held your title or are granted to you because of your title. Title’s honour tends to occupy the intermediary position between Family and Personal honour. If either is lacking in honour, it can be made up for by their title. As well, if a personal or family is particularly honourable, those people holding a title may itself bring honour to that title as well. Title honour does not just refer to the honour of holding a title (noble), or of the honour of the land controlled by that title (noble), but instead refers to all sources of honour that comes from Titles. Thus, a Free Man who has entered the mainstream holds more Title Honour then the technically higher Professor who lives on a backwater planet. Title honour is generally the most contentious, for nobility the title tends to carry with it its own great history which the noble or knight must try and live up to. For those in the Civis class, the honour of their title is much more tightly coupled to the guilds which they are a part of, who they serve, and then what their title is. For example, a Field Master at the Winery of Akwitius which is under direct control of the Empress is a title of much more prestige than the CEO of the largest corporation under a nobody Knight from a nothing Lordship out by the rim. #### Personal Personal Honour is the honour a Versian has themselves earned. Through glory on the battlefield, fame of one’s ideas, or success by another metric which is recognized by society (such as an advancement in Title) can serve as sources for one’s personal honour. Generally personal honour is thought of as being composed of the Honours you have added to your title and family, having been built on the past honours of said family and title. Thus, your personal honour is reflective of your actions, but by increasing your personal honour, you increase the honour of your title, and the honour of your family. This also has the effect that a bad member of one’s family poisons the collective honour. For this reason, many families may choose to disinherit members of the family (or a person may choose to renounce their family claim), robbing them of all previous familial honour, but also preventing their perceived poisoning of the family honour with their own personal dishonour. ### Schools of Education Following the purge, education within the EOD has fractured into three dominant schools of thought: Classical Versian, Orthodox Jed-I, and Modern Sith. It must be stressed however, that these schools are all taught inline with Versian doctrine and beliefs. They all use the same web structure for the planes of existence. They all agree in the existence of five planes of reality, they all agree gods exist. Essentially, it is believed to be three different ways from which one can understand the teachings of the Mages Guild and Order as a whole. #### Classical Versian The Classical Versian education focuses on the World as a religious being, a plane of existence as equal to all others. This teaching is generally regarded as being more superstious then scientific in nature but has been as large resurgence following the Purge. The Core of this belief is that everything and everyone, from each speck of sand and dirt to the gods in other planes are connect through various spirits, and humans are just part of this. As well, those spirits have the ability to impact their connected parts in other places or even planes of existence. This is where the three parts of a person in Versian Culture comes from. The Classical Versian view is also the foundation on which the other two education systems have been adapted from the Federation basis to fit. It has many similarities to the Versian Pantheon, as it is the other half of the Pantheons duoist explanation of reality. However as indicated by its prominence in the greater Versian Society, this is the dominant educational and social view of the Civis, Militorius, and Aristocratics. #### Orthodox Jed-I Orthodox Jed-Iism was the educational foundation throughout the Second Empire, and first Republic. It championed the Web interpretation of the five planes, and had widespread, popular, support from many. When the Third Empire began, many Jed-I willingly chose to convert to the new and believed better Sithism. As a result of that shift, Jed-Iism is the least practiced of the religious views, though due to the newfound disgust with Sithism, many of its practitioners are hoping for a return to the primary spot due to its overall similarities with Sithism, but its specific deviations from Sithism tend to be those that would help Classical Versian Beliefs. #### Modern Sith Modern Sithism tends is very similar to Orthodox Jed-Iism. The two were brought closer in line following the Purge. The differences between Modern and Orthodox lie mostly in the differences between Jed-Iism and Sithism, and not in the actual differences in the two schools of thought in Versian culture. The difference between Versian Jed-I and Sith lie in three major beliefs: - First, the Sith belief in ideal evolution, a concept under the umbrella of Social Darwinism which says that the strongest and best ideas will survive, and are carried on by those who hold them, thus the best ideas are had by the best people, who should be in charge, and those with bad ideas are held by bad people and should not have a place in the Empire. Jed-Iism drops the essential aspect of this, and instead says that good ideas will survive in the long run, but ideas are separate from their people - Second in the Sith belief in education for all, advancement for those who use it. Described another way, the Sith belief was that all people should be educated with the same Sith teachings. Those who were able to draw upon the powers of the void, and thus master the Sith teachings, should advance into the Knighthood and Aristocratics while those who did not use their teachings should be left behind, as they had been given a chance but failed to act on it. Them Jed-I belief tends towards the idea that people should seek out education if they wish to, and that one’s advancement comes from ones own self improvement, driven by oneself. - Third is the Sith belief in personal morality. Sithism rejects the Jed-I belief in extreme selflessness for those who need it – “as a Jed-I is able to live for longer without, and create when they need, a Jed-I should thus go without food when others could eat” a commonly debated Jed-I teaching. Instead, the Sith substitute an unbridled desire for personal advancement and wealth, as those who unable to achieve either are lazy or failed to realize the lessons given to all. This belief extends further however, as the Sith believe that morality is a tool of the person, and that so long as a person believes their actions are moral, then they are. There is no more immorality is using the powers of the Void then there is in using the powers of the Abyss, regardless of goal, as both are just tools for advancement of one’s own goals, and tools are themselves devoid of morality. It is the morality of the goal which must be judged. This is flatly against Jed-I belief who see the Nether and Abyss as sources of realities many evils, and that by drawing on those sources of power, you amplify their evil, thereby dirtying yourself. Thus, a Jed-I should strive to live a moral life and avoid the Abyss, Nether, and the corrupting lures which emanate from them. ### Religion Religion in the Vers Empire is governed by the Mages Guild, as the difference between Religion and Magic was deemed imperceptible in the First Empire, and the Mages Guild has fought hard to keep it that way. However, the Guild was able to hold onto religious unity, and it has now fractured into two major schools of through: the Sigmarist monotheists, and the Vesrian/Witcher pantheons. The differences between the latter two are more in names, religious ceremonies, rituals, rules, and a difference in Cosmology, but overall, the two are mostly cross compatible. #### Sigmarism Sigmarism is the belief in Sigmoria as the sole _remaining_ God, and the one true God. All living creatures have a shard of the soul of a fractured God (Friend of Sigmoria) within them. Sigmoria was redefined by Sigmar to match the new and evolved understanding humanity had reached. Sigmar himself had been given part of the soul of Sigmoria, as were each of his Light-Seers, and those with the strongest connection to Sigmoria were granted the title of Sigmarette. When Sigmar died, the collection of states which would become Germushia agreed to the creation of the office of the Sigmarian, essentially the living embodiment of Sigmar, who commands the Church of Sigmar and guides his followers towards the light. Within the Vers Empire, in the events leading up to the crusade, the Emperor was declared the Sigmarian. This title was stripped of the Emperor after the Church proved victorious in their Crusade. However, that has not stopped a small but devout group of Sigmarists from preaching that the Emperor is the Sigmarian, and the Lords his Sigmarettes. This attitude was agreeable to the nobility in the First Republic, which caused it to become part of the Mages Guild cannon. When the Sith rose to power, they used this belief to justify a renewed Cult to the Empress, and generally to push more Sithist views. Those who are Sigmarists are generally against Deutschland Church of Sigmar, seeing it as a corruption of what should be a divine and holy entity. This charge, especially after the collapse of the Rhineland is much of what the Sith built on, and what modern Versian-Sigmarism depends on. For a real-world comparison, Versian-Sigmarism is akin to Eastern Orthodoxy vs Deutschland’s Roman Catholic Sigmarism. #### Witcherism Witcherism is a pantheon belief in the 5 rings of existence, each being interconnected with one another creating the planes of existence and reality. Within Witcherism one can achieve godhood through their actions, combined with belief from their followers. It is believed that this was the path taken by the great Gerald of Riva upon his death to Commander Farsight, and now Gerald lives on within the God Supreme. The God Supreme is the head of the Witcher Pantheon, with its other main characters closing matching those of the Versian Pantheon. Witcherism also has a much larger focus on demi-godhood, seeing it as equal to godhood, but achievable through good actions for even your common person. Witcherism is especially popular in the Vers Empire due to its connection to the Versian founded Universalis Confederation. #### Versian Pantheon The Versian Pantheon can trace its roots back to Mars, where the first of the priests were experimenting with what would become known as the Powers of the Void. Creating demonic creatures to return to Russia for use in World War Three. The type of creature came to be connected to certain rituals. Following the Third World War, with work done by the Grey Knights and Jed-I, the first of the Major Gods were found and given their Versian (and federation) names. In the List below are the names of eight of the major gods, along with their Witcher name and what they are the god of. - **Emperor of the Gods / The God Supreme** – Highest of the gods, the God Emperor, some would say Sigmoria, generally considered a wise but benevolent emperor. Is also the god of Birth/Life/Creation/Construction - **Roberto / The Defender** – the God of protection and safety, Roberto is often prayed to by stellar sailors to protect them from the horrors of Void Storms and the creatures which accompany them. - **Gallard / The Helper** – the God of helping an healing and medicine. - **Vilkram / The Guide** – Vilkram is said to pull those who have fallen to De/Daemonic tricks, bringing them back from becoming another corrupted creature. - **Bel’lakor / The Daemon** – The god of destruction, self enhancement, augmentation, and suffering. He is not a daemon or from the Abyss but was thought to be one for a long period of time. - **Magnus / The Killer** – The god of death, war, famine, plagues, and pain. Magnus and Bel’lakor are known to be close friends, often working with each other, as well as with daemons and devils at the expense of the other Gods to gain more power. - **Civio / The Trickster** – The god of lying, betrayal, greed, and trickery. Civio’s name reflects the Aristocratic stereotypes of the Civis. - **Mortarior / The Corpse Eater** – The God of dead bodies, gluttony, festering, disgust, etc. Disrespect for the dead, and a lack of caring for the living, are key traits of Mortarior. ### Place in Society/Classes Within Versian Society, the EOD occupy a special place. They are among the elite Knightly Orders, respected by practically all others. As Knights, they are the top of the Militorius, and the bottom of the Aristocratics. To both groups, and too all the empire, Knights are to act as pillars of what a person should be, and how their class should act. Overall, Knights occupy a high place in Versian Society, and play a pivotal role in it. They are the intermediary agent between all the other levels. They should be both firm and carrying. Decisive and thorough. Driven but open to change. Above all, deferential to those above them, honourable to those equal to them, and paternal to those below them in the social hierarchy. #### Relative to Aristocratics When compared to the Aristocratics as they live their lives, the Knights are pillars of justice, equality, humble service, and morality. The lechery, perverted actions, and disgusting reliance on deflection from blame which many in the empire believe natural for the Aristocratics are often shown to be failures of the person by Knights. The only real exception is the Lords themselves, to whom all knights show deference, and where showing off could very well lead to the Lord believing one is a challenger for their position and thus be removed. Due to their failure to live up the standard set by these Knights, Aristocrats below them often get verbal lashings when their degeneracy becomes public knowledge. #### Relative to Civis To the Civis, the role of the Knight is to be a fair defender of justice and liberty. Both form foreign invaders, and in the Knights court form hungry nobles hoping to exploit the people. With the return to focus on serving the Civis, this belief that the Knights are the champions of the Civis has come back in full force. #### Relative to Militorius All soldiers of the empire hope to reach the rank of Knight one day, so that their next generation may attempt the leap to Aristocratics. For this purpose, Knights must be brave and stoic warriors, never backing down from a challenge, but at the same time not stepping into an unwinnable fight. Knights are supposed to care for their soldiers lives even more then that of their Lord or Civis, as the soldiers are those who got the Knight into their place and will be the ones who the Knight relies on to get things done. #### View from outside From outside the Empire the Knights, especially of the EOD, play a very important role. In the other aspects, where Knights are to be shining examples to the others of what they should be, the EOD should be the shining example to Knights of how they should act. The elite of the Elite. This has an effect that to those outside the empire, the EOD are seen as Jed-I like figures, but with a greater focus on their role as statesmen and political entities, not just warrior monks. This is an especially important aspect to keep up, and for this reason Knights are expected to be beyond their best behavior when operating outside of the empire. ### Place among Orders/Guilds Versian society is not just divided along class lines. Being part of the EOD effects your position among other Knightly orders, including some one might be a part of a Knights standing among the general Fraternity of Knights, and a knights place relative to the Guilds. #### Knights Order Among the other Knightly Orders, the EOD tends to occupy a very important position. While not as respected as the almighty Orbital Knights, given the EOD’s age, numbers, and that it’s the sole legal source of magical knights, it is very well respected by other Knightly Orders. See Relation to Other Orders for more information. #### Knights Fraternity Among the Fraternal Brother/Sisterhood of the Knights, members of the EOD, who have reached the title of Brother/Sister Knight, and thus fully joined the order, are considered above non-ordered Knights, as denoted by their title as Brother or Sister, not just Knight. While all Knights are part of the fraternity, and all knights within the fraternity must respect one another, being part of the EOD tends to make one first among equals in Rank if all other things are equal. #### Among the Major Guilds Among the Guilds, the EOD is questionably supported. The Mages Guild is its largest ally. But from the perspective of the Guilds, they have been greatly weakened while the Knights empowered. As well, the EOD’s shift toward Sithism further stigmatized them as selfish elites no different then the Aristocratics. Many Guildsmembers do hold positive views of the EOD, but the guilds as a collective hold a negative view, with more disliking the EOD then supporting them. ### Parts of a Person Versian Culture believes that there are three core parts to a person. This is a belief tied to the EOD, and the Mages Guild, due to religious beliefs. The Physical part represents the person’s ability to conduct a given action, the mental is one’s ability to understand an action and see its effects, and the spiritual is used to judge if an action is morally just or not. #### Physical The first part of a person is their physical part. This is the part of the person that lives in the Material Plane and acts as an anchor point for the other two pieces to build on. When the physical piece dies, the mental and spiritual components lose their ability to stay tethered together. One can think of this as the place where conscious and subconscious come together and act. #### Mental The mental component can be thought of as someone’s thoughts and beliefs. They are immaterial to one’s actions but informs one’s action as they are taken in the material plane. It is believed that ones Mind exists in the Void, along with the gods. Acting as the opening to a conduit for their godly knowledge and power to flow through one’s spirit in the Aether and into their physical form in the material. If one has acted immorally, in a way that their mental part was able to know was wrong, then as they fall to ground upon dying, so too does their mental and spirit parts fall from their place in the Void and Aether to their respective places in the Abyss and Nether. The mental piece can be thought of as akin to one’s subconscious. #### Spiritual The spiritual part of a person is the part of a person which exists in the Aether. It represents their ability to think morally, and as a conduit for godly energy and the ideas of their mind to flow to the physical form, a check on the mental ideas before becoming real. In Children this is taught as one should think before they speak. As the thoughts/words come from the Void, are judge as good and moral ideas by the spirit, and then confirmed in the physical by doing so. The child thinking about their words is happening on the conscious/Aether Plane, but the words initial came to them from the unconscious/Void Plane. The spirit is thus one’s conscious, able to act and judge actions as moral or immoral and inform the physical part as to its decision. It is this plane where we decide what actions to take, and it is this part where your internal monolog comes from, inspired by those given to it from the Void to be acted on in the Material. ## Major Oaths new List These are some of the various oaths of the Equites Oridinis Deorum. They are broadly grouped into six categories: Required Oaths, allegiance oaths, Civis service oaths, protection oaths, honour oaths, and support oaths. ### Require Oaths These oaths are required to join the Equites Oridinis Deorum. - * **Oath of Knightly Service (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Equites)** – You are swearing to the Equites Ordinis Orbitals that you will follow the expectations of Knighthood, your obligations to your Lord, Liege, and those below you. * **Oath of Service to the Gods (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Deus)** – You are swearing to serve the gods who have given you the gift of your powers. * **Oath of Service to the Mages Guild (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Collegeos Scimaga)** – You are swearing service to the people who taught you how to use your gift from the gods. ### Allegiance / Religion Oath This Oath is where your allegiance lies, however it is about which religion you follow, as each allegiance oath has a different religious connotation. - * **Oath to the Emperor and their Lords (Encaelia Mio Votveus Emparir; Etu Domemparias)** (Sigmarian) – You swear an Oath of Service to the Emperor as the reincarnation of Sigmar, and the Lords are his Sigarmettes. * **Oath to my Master, High Lord (Encaelia Mio Votveus Pridomparie)** - (Witcherism) – You swear an Oath of Service to your Lord, whose title is the personification of one of the gods of the Witcher Pantheon. * **Oath to the Empress (Encaelia Mio Votveus Emparor)** (Duoism) – You swear an Oath of Service to the Empress, as is she is the embodiment of the Supreme being. ### Service To The Civis Oaths These are the Oaths the EOD takes out to the Civis, or the normal people of the empire, to show their value to them and why they deserve to hold the titles they do. - ***Oath of Serving the Civis (Encaelia Mio Votdaous Civurs)** – You swear to serve the Civis in their needs as best you can, by using your powers to create food and heal the sick. - **Oath of Protecting the Civis (Encaelia Mio Votdaous Proomneot Civis)** – You swear to protect the Civis from the creatures who lurk in this plane of reality from beyond. - * **Oath of Enlightening the Civis (Encaelia Mio Votdaous Imdocio Civiss)** – You swear to teach and educate the Civis, helping them achieve their full potential. ### Oaths of Protection\nThis is the oath to protect you from the way in which you fear dying the most. - **Oath of Debris (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Coganteexitot)** – Never forget the effects of actions, both on yourself and on others, and never forget that in space objects don’t slow down and will kill you if they’re going fast. Basically, protection from physical harm, and that you will do your best to protect yourself and your fellow knights from harm.\n* **Oath of Mental Fortitude (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Fortmentido)** – Protect your mind from the attacks that being a knight can bring. The pressures of hard decisions and the horrors of the battlefield have crippled many a good knight, and this oath is to swear to do your best to protect yourself and others from mental trauma.\n* **Oath of Spiritual Fortitude (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Fortcaelido)** – Protect your soul from Devils and Demons who lurk to corrupt it and strengthen it as a conduit for power from the divine, or for protection from the denizens of the intera-planes. You swear to protect your spirit and the spirits of your fellow Knights. ### Oaths of Honour\nFrom where do you get your honour that so much of your power rests on?\n* **Oath of Personal Honour (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Honia Timai)** – You get your honour from being yourself. When you need to swear on something, you swear on your name and your honour above all.\n* **Oath of Family Honour (Encaelia Mio Votdaus Honia Tifamie)** - You drawn your honour from your family name. Your family’s history is what gives drives you. When you swear on something, it is your family’s honour. \n* **Oath of Titles Honour (Encaelia Mio Votveus Honia Titulir)** - You draw your honour from your position and title. After all, it is what gives you your power and wealth. When you swear on something, it is on your title. ### Oaths of Support\nWhere do you promise to dedicate your power? Who needs your help, attention, and support most of the major factions vying for it?\n* **Oath to the Stars (Encaelia Mio Votveus Stellaras)** - You swear your support and power to the Stellar-Navy, the people who crew your landing keep/fort, and without who the empire would be unable to function.\n* **Oath to the Ground (Encaelia Mio Votveus Terra)** - You swear your support and power to the Ground-Army, the people whose bodies you throw to conquer worlds in your name, without whom society would fall into chaos.\n* **Oath to the Empire (Encaelia Mio Votveus Emversium)** - You swear your support and power to the empire, or more accurately the imperial system. Generally, this means that you are truly serving your lord, or conducting business of the empire. This could be by improving your world, or by being a personal guard to your Lord. ## Schools of Magic There are five major schools of magic in the Equites Oridinis Deorum, one for each plane. The most popular are either the Spatium or the Verus schools. Generally, only those who practice Witcherism or the odd Deorist will study Exanimum or Exitium, but they are generally rare, and shunned by the Order even if not intentionally. ### Saptium (Void) The Saptium school was one of the original two schools of the Equites Ordinis Doerum, and can trace its roots back to the Third World War on Earth, where the powers of the Void were used to create horrific mutant creatures which besieged Europe and the Middle East. Today Saptium is known for its creating powers, tapping into the raw unbuilt energy of reality, available for the mage’s manipulation. Saptium is the most popular of the schools and has a wide diversity of religions who make up its body. ### Caelum (Aether)\nThe Caelum School is the school of spirits and souls, as it focuses on the Aether. The most elite of the Caelum are rumoured to have visited other realities beyond our own, but those are only stories. Caelum was the third school added to the EOD, founded by Sigmar shortly before he left to form what would become Germushia, __many of those who are Sigmarists tend to focus on the Caelum school__. ### Verus (Material)\nThe Verus School is the other of the original two schools, it focused on manipulating reality, tossing building around, manipulating the ground to create mountains from nothing, bring storms to areas that need them, or send a wall of knives at an opponent. The Verus School is the second most popular school in the EOD. ### Exanimum (Nether)\nThe Exanimum School focuses on death, disease, and wrongful actions. It teaches how to draw on the powers of fallen spirits to animate the world around us, turning trees into watchful totems around a peaceful village, or giving life to a guarding gargoyle. The Exanimum school also teaches how to make deals with a devil, how to detect devils and demons, and how to expel demons, devils, and other creatures of the hells. _It is mostly made up of Deorists._+ ### Exitium (Abyss)\nThe Exitium School is the least popular of the schools, focusing on the most twisted and corrupt magic in the Known Universe, the magic of entropy, of destruction, and the pure absence of sanity. Where Right is Blue and Up is Claw. To make sense of it is to not understand it. It is the land of the Democratic Daemons and their unending debates. _The Witchers Dominate this School_. While it is considered by most in the Mages Guild to be the most powerful, its risk is also considered to be the greatest. ## Relation to other Orders #### Equites Oridinis Orbitalis: Knightly Order of the Orbitals (Knights of those who orbit the Empire) The most elite and respected Order in the Entire Empire, composed of the Original 36 Orbital Knights of Vers, who defended Vers and fought in the First Sol War. Their members are generally all Members of the EOD, and so hold a realtively high view of the EOD. -#### Equites Oridinis Dabellot Exversat: Knightly Order of those who fought in the Versian Civil War\nThe Knights of the Civil War tend to hold a *very* negative view of the EOD, in large part due to the EOD's purge. Many ex-EOD members are among the EODE, and many more of its members had friends who used to be part of the EOD. There is a lot of bad blood between the two orders, with EODE members often coming to blows with EOD members, and vice versa. For the most part, each side views the others are traitors and heretics. -#### Equites Oridinis Daaponbellot: Knightly Order of those who fought in The Great War\nThose who fought in the great tend to hold a more positive view of the EOD. They tend to respect the drive to enter into the war and defend those at risk, or advance the glory of the Empire, or due to the general sucess of the Empire in the war as a whole. Overall, those few Knights who lived through both the Great War and Civil War tend to hold a higher view of the EOD then those who only lived through the Civil War, though both conflicts left few and even fewer survivors respectively. -#### Equites Oridinis Dommonan: Knightly Order of the Treasury\nThe Knights of the Treasury tend to view the EOD as an extravagent expense. The Empire spends an exborerant amount of money on the EOD and its Knights, while rarely seeing them return much profit. But then again, the Treasury hates most Knightly Orders. -#### Equites Oridinis Domelis: Knights in the Order of the Army\nMost Knights tend to come from the Army, and so have heard many stories of the heroic and awesome deeds of the EOD, as well, many of the EOD's members also served in the Army and are part of this Order, which fosters an even greater amount of support. -#### Equites Oridinis Navstellaris: Knights in the Order of the Navy\nFar fewer Knights are of a naval background. Like Knights of the Treasury, the Navy tends to bundle within themselves, and while they have members within the EOD, and generally are more positive towards the EOD then the Treasury, the groups within still tend to be fairly insular cells. -#### Equites Oridinis Civum: Knights in the Order of the Civil Service\nThe Knights who manage the Empire in the Background have grown to dislike the EOD since the dawn of the Third Empire. As the Sith further sunk their teeth in, and the EOD shifted back towards warfare from their old path of public help/works, the EOC has grown to dislike the EOD, though they don't outright hate the EOD just yet. -#### Equites Oridinis Emparor;: Knights in the Order of the Emperess\nThe second most elite of the Knightly Orders, the EOE and its Knights are those who are most devoted to the Role of the Empress. Unlike the Orbital Knights, who are chosen by the Empress and are the highest of all Knights in the Empire, the EOE is an invite only group of those who are devoted to the Versian Pantheon, it is also known as the Cult of the Empress. They are almost all members of the EOD, or hold very supportive views of the EOD. -#### Equites Oridinis Domempareor: Knights in the Order of the Lords\nFormally the Order of the Lords are those who would like to work closely with the Lords and support them, similar to the Order of the Emperess. Informally however, the Domepareor is the Witcher safehaven after the Sith took over the EOD, and has remained that way following the Purge. It considers itself an informal rival to the EOD, and is lobbying the Mages Guild to support it in a future bid to the Empress for the Rights to practice magic seperate from the EOD. -#### Equites Oridinis Vetthronis: Knights in the Order of the Old Thrones\nThe Knights who are part of titles within the Milky Way Empire or whose titles can trace their roots back to those in the Milky Way. Generally speaking these Knights are not fans of the Modern EOD. It is an unspoken branches within the Milky Way preach modern heresies, but due to the distance, and legal issues with corexea status with the UFE, these issues are quietly ignored. Thus the two groups view eachother disfavorably. -#### Oridinis Comequites: Order of the Mixed/Shared Knights\nThe Order of Knights who are have multiple titles/are shared by multiple lords. They tend to hold a pretty moderate view of the EOD, many of its members also served in the Civil War, but many of its members are also new and have very positive images of the EOD. -#### Equites Oridinis Dacivis: Knightly Order of those from the Civis\nThe Knights of those who used to be civis. They tend to view the EOD negatively. Many feel that in the time since the First Republic, the EOD has abandonded the civis for their own gain. For this reason, these knights tend to hold negative views of the EOD. #### Equites Oridinis Ebellos: Knights in the Order Against War The pacafist Knights Agree with the Treasury, Civil Servants, and those from the Civis that the EOD does not do enough good, and that it has become a tool of war which should be disbanded. THey are oftne the most outspoken in their distain for the EOD. #### Equites Oridinis Coreos: Knights in the Order of Courtship and Love/Seduction The Knights of Courtship have long had a distain for the EOD, it comes from the EOD refusing to teach or supply Courtship members with spells or potions which would help them in their various jobs/roles. This has developed into a small but vocal hatered for the EOD, though some EOD members do join the Courtship Order. But even when they do, theri spells and potions are reserved for themselves, due to EOD rules. #### Equites Oridinis Commercon: Knightly Order of Traders The Order Of Commerce and Trade's dislike of the EOD is relatively recently. Following the Purge, and the Wars, the EOD's members generally started cleaning up their game, and while many have not done much to help the Civis, many have also not done much to help trade. This has led to those Knights who still actively try in trade to desperately try and get help, which the Treasury has supported, but the EOD's members tend to focus on less, due to their various other obligations, especially to the Mages Guild. #### Equites Oridinis Inquisis: Knightly Order of Detectives and Investigation The detectives tend to have a large overlap with the EOD, as the two's areas can benefit eachother greatly. For this reason, the Magic Knights and Detective's tend to work closely together, and the two groups have a very high and respectful view of each other. #### Equites Oridinis Legvealienis: Knightly Order of Ambassadors/Diplomats The Diplomats tend to hold a favorable view of the EOD, for two major reasons. First is that most Knightly diplomats view the world through a lens of tools to be used to reach a goal - within that lens, the EOD is very effective. The Second reason is that the EOD is great for propaganda. Many across the Known Universe know of the EOD's deeds and at least vague stories of these Knights. The Federation Void-net is filled with videos and mental-impresesions and knowledge packs on the deeds of the EOD. The two factors when put togther make the EOD a very effective tool in an ambasadors arsenal. #### Equites Oridinis Imperium: Knightly Order of the Servants of the Empire The Sevants to the Empire, or Knights who fufil the various roles and offices of Imperial Governence, tend ot hold an all togther positive view of the EOD. They are seen as valuable tool for keeping the peace, both through the enforcement of peace through violence, and through diplomacy, and magic. There is a large cross-over between the EOD and the Servants of the Empire. # Notable Members - Lord Troyard - the Lord who first granted the Equites Ordinis Deorum its existence and is considered the Grandfather of the whole Order. - Knight Sigmar - The Knight who was the founder of the Equites Ordinis Deorum by taking to Emperor Alexi Volkov for granting a charter, and the Father of the Equites Ordinis Deorum - Knights: Resnov, Heidren, and Jarsol. The Three Knights famous for being the myth behind the Oath of Debris. - Knight Kenrus' - Fought for the Lordship of Germushia in the Third AI war, was granted the title of Lord for his heroism during the war. - Knight Janus - kept Magse of both factions alive during the Mages War. - Knight Debonio; - The Knight who invnted the Oath of Service to the Civis, and who spent her life trying to do good for the Civis, helping them, feeding them, and healing them whenever possible. - Knight Simon Cortrez - Famed Colonizer King who started a major war during the Colonization period and earned many titles, was an Imperial first. - Knight Tiberus' - Defended a world which was not part of the war from a large-scale invasion of Xiao-Ming Kuromukuro suits, using mostly his magic powers. - Ex-Knight Celestius - Famous for going against the rampant corruption, he invaded a Lords dinner with a starving child, executed a Lord and fed the masses, a set of actions which cost him his title. - (false) Empress Camilla Vers Allussya - the Empresses of the Fifth Vers Emipre. However her reign is new, and many who were devoted to John Hellsbeck see her as a false empress, the murdered of the Emperor, and a traitor to the empire. - Emperor Charles Vers Allussya - The Emperor during the recent Versian Civil War, and very divisive. Those in support often view him the rightful heir trying to bring the Empire back, a message supported by Hellsbeck. Those who are against him see him as a tyrant and a murder, who destroyed what was left of the empire. - Emperor Henry Vers Allussya - The previous Emperor, who married his way into the title (though it is said that it was a marriage for love) after his wifes death he fell into a pit of depression, further exacersbated by the death of his son, Emperor Charles at the hands of his other son, Supreme Lord Commander Richard. His death is a high point of contention, as to whether it was Murder or Just for a man who really should not have been on the throne. ## Important/Interesting Points - There are four key pieces to each Versian Knights gear: their armour, their voidblade, their pistol, and their cape. Each of these pieces has their own meaning: - Their armour is a gift from the EOD, Aldminum Orange in Colour, and is representative of the Orders elite status in the empire, as only the most elite Orders are permitted to wear armour of a different colour then the standard Versian Red. - Within the EOD, Knights must make their own void-blade, which reprints the Knights Personal Honour, and they are permitted to use this blade in leu or with their families blade. - The Knights Pistol comes either from their family as an heirloom if a parent was a knight but is not anymore, or if the title was passed down to a child. If the Knight is new to the position, then the pistol is granted by the Lord who Knighted them. In either case, the pistol represents the families honour. - The Knights Cape is given to them upon gaining hold over a given System by the Knights Lord. It represents the honour of the title, its history, and the history of those who have commanded the title, both Liege and Knight. - Unlike the pistol, which the Knight may keep if they loose the title, the cape is kept by the lord an is considered a signifier of the Knights allegiance. - The complete set of the Gear used by the Equites Ordinis Knight is the same as that of a full knight: - Their Armour, Void-blade, pistol, 5 x stun mags, 15 x AP mags, 25 x HEAPPC mags, 5 x Plasma Grenades, 5 x Smoke Grenades, 5 x Frag Grenade, 5 x EMP Grenade, as well as clothes for their role, both Formal Dresswear, clothes for duty aboard their ship, a dress uniform for their military service, as well as common cloths befitting their class as Militorius, they also have a Signet ring to signify their legal authority, and their Cape to demonstrate their title. Finally all Knights have either a landing Castle or Landing fort. - EOD members are famous for their orange, glowing eyes. This effect is especially prominent after having consumed Aldminum, but generally happens after any usage of Magic. - To gain more power then they usually have access to, it is common for EOD members to crush up aldminum crystals and snort the dust. The raw void energy held within allows for a stronger connection to the Void, though consuming too much at once is known to poison the user. Chronic consumption is known to lead to addiction.