I n t r o d u c t i o n
We are not Sith, we are not Jedi, nor any similar incarnation of either but claiming to be different. The Force is not a religion to us, nor a sacred path to serenity or vile way to power. It is our tool to bring what is necessary, what is desired and what is just. For justice is the only measurement you can truly cast on any living being. No life desires war, no mind seeks pain and neither do we or our Empire.
We believe order and justice are the way to be paved for the Galaxy and that only we can bring it. The Jedi have tried. Oh how they have tried. Thousands of years they have moved between stoically pacifist to genocidal militarist and always claimed to be the same. Eradicated entire worlds because they were 'evil', abducted generations of children from their mothers breasts because 'the Force has granted them insight'. They are hypocrisy incarnate, a weakness so rotten and corrupted that they are lost and damned to simply repeat what they have always been doing.
That same as the Sith. How can they truly believe to be different, opposite even, from the Jedi if all they do is the same. They worship the Force as their natural born strength-giver, embrace their darkest fears and deepest anger to become selfish, soulless terrormongers. One can bring minimal respect for their willingness to do and admit actions, but the narrow minded goals and the hollow copy of the Jedi teachings are just the other side of a medal. Tarnished by the blood of trillions. Victory and freedom are their goals and none of them has achieved them ever.
Justice is our dream. Duty is our life. Mind, hands and heart are mere tools, just as the Force is.
The Knights of Zakuul are the Eternal Empire's Force organisation and one of the most important aspects of its ideology and life. All Force sensitives are drawn into its ranks, to be trained, sent to dedicated Scholas which educate and train the young Zakuulans and Vandemarians in the path of justice and the forms of combat. They are not only the order of Force sensitives, they are a military unit, a security force and peace-enforcers. The Knights are actively involved in the maintaining and keeping of the public order and image, furthering the very goals the Throne sets and follow it with exemplary, zealous devotion and determination.
Although living in a society which opposes the Force, the Knights perform a number of official funcitons, moreso on Zakuul than on Vandemar, which vary from the simple training of young Force sensitives, to the keeping of the peace and hunt for outlanders and intruders and to the offices such as the Exarchs and the High Justice, having a word in governmental affairs and judicial matters.
The Knights have two notable sub-branches: the Horizon Guard and the Scions of Zakuul. The Horizon Guard are a handpicked group of enforcers, going far beyond the common laws and to the direct demands and commands of the Throne. They are as much a black ops unit as they are bodyguards and fanatical warriors, they are the unit which leans more towards the Dark side but is kept firmly in balance while pursuing anything which is exceeding the common Knight duties and public need. The Scions on the other hand are not a combat unit at all, their purpose is primarily in an advisory and support function, focused on the Unifying Force and the future. They are pursuing the perfection of precognition, farsight and divination, attempting to unwhirl the threads of the future to show the best possible path of action.
Altogether they serve the ideal of justice and oppose the Force as a religion or respectable entity. Their purpose is to bring an era of order and stability, to abandon the age of warring Force religions, that law and justice may take their place. Despite abandoning the belief that their power derives from the one who sits on the Eternal Throne, they are still deeply attached and connected to the individual who does and embrace them as the supreme ruler.
With justice in mind, the Knights are more than keen to embrace knowledge. Sharing knowledge and embracing it collectively is a part of their key tenets. It is both a path to strength and to balance, as suddenly it is not down to the individual only anymore to watch for missteps but for everyone and therefore strengthening both the comradery as well as reinforcing what is considered good and bad. This open culture and influence allows for the Knights of Zakuul to be much more efficient in their duties due to shared foundations as well as less suspectible to subterfuge and manipulation as it is never only an individual whos is threatened, but many.
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