Warlock Knights

The Warlock Knights, also called the Warlock Knights of Vaasa, were the feudal lords of Vaasa in the 15 century DR notable for their aspirations of conquest beyond their borders. Their order was brutal and heavily militaristic, and the Knights drew their power from from an otherworldly entity they called Telos.

Abilities
Warlock Knights were expected to be skilled warriors first and foremost, but all were also required to have some aptitude for arcane magic. The secret to their power, as their name implies, was from forming a kind of star pact with the comatose primordial Telos, although this was more akin to siphoning its essence rather than making a deal with it. When a Knight wielded Telos' power, it manifested as radiant and searing light and was often themed around meteors or shooting stars.

Possessions
Warlock Knights wielded weapons and equipment made of ironfell, a metal-like crystalline substance harvested from the body of Telos through which a Warlock Knight could channel the primordial's power.

Every Warlock Knight wore a simple ring made of ironfell as a symbol of their status, and this ring could not be removed once their pact with Telos was completed. Higher ranking Knights were known to enchant their rings or to adorn them with magical jewels. These rings could serve as the foci for ritual magic, such as the Pact of the Iron Ring or the raising of shardsouls.

Warlock Knights were also known to own distinctive ceremonial armor which identified them as Knights.

Organization
The Knights were ruled by the Ironfell Council, who in turn served the Voice of Telos.

Hierarchy and rank were extremely important to the Warlock Knights. While all landed nobles in Vaasa were members of the Warlock Knights by the late 15 century DR, it was uncommon for their titles to be hereditary. Instead, most Knights earned their rank through hard work, raw power, or by undermining their rivals. They saw themselves as an elite fighting force, and only a few were considered worthy to join their ranks.

Ranks

 * Jack
 * Infantry. Members of this rank were forbidden to wear the Warlock Knights' ceremonial armor or to refer to themselves as "knights." Jacks were often conscripted from the Vaasan serf population.


 * Lancer, Halberdier, or Bombardier
 * Officers. Beginning with these ranks, members were referred to as "knights" and this designation could be added onto their title (e.g., Knight-Lancer, Knight-Executor, etc.). As true Warlock Knights, members of these ranks would have been expected to have at least some arcane aptitude.


 * Executor
 * Landless Knights and petty nobles. Knights of this rank served as emissaries, assassins, spies, and soldiers for higher-ranking Knights. Additional ranks of landless Knights included Myrmidon and Brigadier.


 * Fellthane
 * Landed Knights who exercised absolute dominion over their fiefdoms and who maintained their own fighting forces.


 * Vindicator
 * High ranking Knights to whom the Fellthanes served as vassals. Although they were the equivalent of politically powerful nobles in other realms, they were known to lead squads personally.


 * Councilor
 * Members if the Ironfell Council, made up of the twelve greatest Vindicators. This was the highest rank a Warlock Knight could achieve.

Bound Ones

 * Nishaadhri
 * These warlocks served similar roles in Vaasa as wizards did in other realms by advising high ranking Knights and supporting them in battle. As a rule, any arcane practitioner in Vaasa had to swear fealty to the Warlock Knights in exchange for the freedom to pursue their magical study.


 * Luminary
 * The greatest of the nishaadhri were recruited to join the Luminaries, an elite sect led by the Voice of Telos but independent of the Warlock Knights. They performed a function similar to that of priests in other lands.

History
The Warlock Knights were founded sometime shortly after the Spellplague when Telos fell from the sky and crashed into the Vasaan tundra. The primordial was discovered by the one who would go on to be called the Voice of Telos, and it was quickly determined that ironfell could be harvested from the body and used to enhance magical and martial abilities.

Using the power of Telos, the Warlock Knights prepared to seize control of Vaasa from the Kingdom of Bloodstone. They began subjugating small populations of peasants and humanoids, including wiping out out a settlement of minotaurs at Kond in 1453 DR to secure the site for themselves. In 1459 DR, they took advantage of civil unrest in Bloodstone to conscript and marshal an army, and began a war of conquest across Vaasa in the. Ultimately, they burned down the former capital at Bloodstone City in the, and declared their independence from the Kingdom of Bloodstone.

In 1470 DR, the Knights would also attempt to conquer the dwarves of the Galena Mountains, ultimately expelling them from Bloodstone Mines and driving Hillsafar Hall to seal its gates.

Under the Warlock Knights, Vaasa was restructured as a brutal feudal society with its capital at Telos City, which had been built on top of the sleeping primordial. The source and true nature of the Warlock Knights' power was kept a secret, and was obfuscated with an almost religious-like veneration of Telos that prohibited the worship of any gods with the exception of Bane.

Beginning in the 1470s DR, the Warlock Knights engaged in secret efforts to undermine the Moonsea region and the tribes of The Ride with the goal of expanding their influence. In 1479 DR, seeking to secure access to the Moonsea for trade, the Knights secretly brought together and equipped a horde of orcs, goblins, and ogres to exert influence over Thar and to seize control of the port of Hulburg, which was the destination for a new trade route which the Knights were constructing through Gramble's Climb. The horde destroyed the town of Glister, but was then defeated at the Battle of Lendon's Dike by the forces of Hulburg.

As of 1480 DR, the Knights were the masters of Vaasa south of the Lugsaas Chain mountains, and were eyeing expansion north into the titan kingdom of Kultaaakar, west into The Ride, south into the Moonsea, and east into Damara. They still held Bloodstone Pass with garrisons in the Iron Divide and in the ruins of Bloodstone City, and these forces were seen as an existential threat by Damara. As of 1489 DR, tensions remained high between the Knights and both Damara and the Moonsea.

Notable Members

 * The Voice of Telos, the leader of the Ironfell Council
 * Mansard Kanaoth, a Knight-Vindicator and member of the Ironfell Council who claimed the title of Witch-King
 * Ivor Chernin, a Knight-Vindicator known as "the Grinder"
 * Kardhel Terov, a Knight-Fellthane active in the Moonsea region in 1479 DR
 * Kaggen Entreri, a promising young Knight-Bombardier deployed to investigate relics relating to Zhengyi the Witch-King in 1480 DR

Related

 * Pact of the Iron Ring

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Swordmage • Avenger