Knights of the Weave

The Knights of the Weave were a group of mystic champions of the Weave, that used the power of raw magic to defend the source of the Art on Toril in every possible sense. They believed themselves to be the protectors of the Weave and therefore went to great lengths to defend the Weave against any who would wish to abuse or destroy what the Knights believed to be a gift to be used equally by all.

""I once saw a Knight of the Weave teleport alone into a Cult of the Dragon stronghold. When we arrived an hour later, the cultists were nothing but spellfire-burned ash, and the knight was already halfway across Faerûn...""

- Toromil the Brightflame, arcane devotee of Mystra

Organization
While similar to paladins in many respects, they are considerably less organized than any order of the holy knights. The chief point of interest about the Knights of the Weave was that they drew their power from arcane magic, not from the divine might of a specific deity. They were a far-reaching but only moderately powerful group, and employed small-scale operations against evil, magic-defiling consortiums such as the Zhentarim or Red Wizards of Thay.

The Knights of the Weave had no official leader, nor ranks. Rather, they would observe each others' progress and encourage one another when they demonstrated new abilities. They were civil to their comrades, and often referred to them with unofficial nicknames, depending on how they served their cause. If disagreements did break out between members, they would usually drop the issue if they couldn't come to a resolution, and travel their seperate ways.

Beliefs
Whereas most individuals worship Mystra, Azuth, or Savras, Knights of the Weave worshiped the Weave itself, believing it to serve every living creature and give life a depth and experience that it would lack otherwise. They thoroughly loved the feeling of magic flowing through their bodies when casting spells or wielding magic items. Knights saw dead-magic zones as appendages that had been removed from the body of the Wave, and areas of wild magic as malignancies that were dangerous to the life of Toril.

Each member of the Knights of the Weave felt a unique full from the Weave, ushering them to the spells that would serve their needs and guiding them to the role to which they were best suited. Some saw their roles as those of protectors and focused on learning counter-spells, while others believed themselves to be the physical personification of magic, augmenting their bodies with arcane power.

Members
Many were drawn to the order from the ranks of the Guardians of the Weave or the churches of Azuth and Mystra. While most of their ranks lived their previous lives as fighters, knights and paladins, some bards and sorcerers forewent some of their power to serve the higher cause.

The knights of the order swore oaths to protect the Weave with their lives. Any within their ranks were qualified to teach others how to attune themselves to the Weave, provided they had sufficient interest and understanding of magic and its history in Toril. Informal training included meditation, studying patterns and books of lore related to the Weave and practicing their spellcasting and combat.

Relationships
The knights highly respected the Guardians of the Weave, who in turn saw them as their champions. They had rather unusual, but amicable rivalries with the knights and paladins that served Azuth and Mystra, who took slight offense that they held the Weave in higher regard than goddess of magic herself. They were not above juvenile displays of their respective prowess when they ran into one another when traveling across Faerûn.

Most of the more widespread malevolent organizations with which the knights had conflict were typically too concerned with their own schemes to accurately identify Knights of the Weave consider them as a threat. In fact only the Cult of the Dragon and the church of Shar understood what differentiated them from Mystra's champions, such as the Knights of the Mystic Fire.

Abilities
Knights of the Weave could cast magic in a manner similar to sorcerers, even while armored, using their strength to bend the Weave to their will. With some experience they became adept at metamagic, and could even create spellfire, to blast their foes and heal their allies.

Although the knights studied incredibly powerful magic, most of their powers and spells were used to enhance their military prowess. In battle they worked well with others, serving as front-line combatants, bolstered by magic might.