Blade of Ession
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To flesh out an aspect of the Ashlan armies, and to provide AC members with a way to create their own Force Order.
Image Credit: Wookiepedia, photomoshed by me
Permissions: N/A
Links: Ashlan Crusade, Army of Light
GENERAL INFORMATION
Army Name: The Knightly Orders of Ashla
Classification: A coalition of various holy Jedi orders under the banner of the Ashlan Crusade.
Affiliation:
Cedric Grayson
,
Heinrich Faust
, Ashlan CrusadeArmy Symbol: There is no centralized symbol for the Knightly Orders of Ashla. Instead, each order adopts their own symbols in order to show their presence on the field of battle.
Description: The Knightly Orders of Ashla are a coalition of various Force Orders dedicated to the Ashlan faith, which have come together under the banner of the Crusade in an effort to stamp out the Dark Side for good.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Headquarters: Each temple is located in a different place, but the bulk of their forces are located within Ashlan Space. The current office of the Grand Marshal is located on Bosph.
Goals: In short, the goals of these Holy Orders are in line with those of the Crusade. They seek to eliminate the Bogan from the galaxy, and to reclaim lands that they believe belong to the followers of Ashla.
Reputation: Due to the fragmented nature of this army, their reputations vary from order to order. Overall, they are often seen as holy warriors by those of the Light, and harbingers of death to those of the Dark. Beyond this, there are varying views on them as an organization, depending on how one feels about their militant ways and religious beliefs.
COMPOSITION INFORMATION
Army Size: Medium.
Composition: There are variations between each Knightly Order, as they are a coalition of autonomous Force orders operating under the Ashlan umbrella. The general breakdown of hierarchy and composition is as follows, but by no means is a hard number. Individual Knightly Orders have had recorded numbers as low as 10, and as high as 1000 (these numbers include all members, regardless of rank).
Holy Ashlan Kaiser: The Kaiser operates as the primary leader of the Knightly Orders as a whole.
Grand Marshal: The direct commander of the Orders. Chosen by vote conducted by the Council of Grandmasters. The Grand Marshal holds the power to call upon the entirety of the Knightly Orders should the need arise.
The Council of Grandmasters: a circle of the leaders of the Knightly Orders. Each order has one Grandmaster that acts as that individual order’s commander. How these Grandmasters are chosen is up to the individual order.
Masters, knights, and apprentices: These are structured like other Force orders, but with variation between each individual Knightly Order.
Priests: Though many of the members within the other ranks function as spiritual leaders, many of the orders have dedicated priests of Ashla within their temples.
Other staff: This includes support staff for both on and off the battlefield. Everything from groundskeepers, to mechanics, to medical teams. All non-combat, non-leadership members fall into this category.
*Side note: Though uncommon, there are certain Knightly Orders that do not have Force users in their ranks. Despite this, they maintain the spiritual Ashlan customs, as well as the tenets of the Knightly Orders. Their ranks are the same as any other order. The only major difference is their lack of Force abilities and lightsabers.
MEMBERS
Cedric Grayson
: Holy Ashlan Kaiser
Heinrich Faust
: Grand Marshal & Grandmaster of the Knights of the Temple of EssionHISTORICAL INFORMATION
In their purest form, the Knightly Orders of Ashla have existed in some form or another for as long as the Ashlan faith has existed. They have operated on the fringes of Jedi society, considered to be too militant to mix with the more traditionalist Jedi orders. It is rumored that several of the orders had joined in several conflicts through the years, most notably as members of the Army of Light. As the Jedi slowly broke into different factions, however, they once again found themselves scattered across the galaxy.
In recent years, the various orders began reaching out to one another once again, discussing plans to unite under one banner in order to snuff out the Bogan once and for all. With the rise of the Ashlan Crusade, they finally found a way to make this a reality. Cedric Grayson sent representatives to each of the orders, proposing a method through which they could maintain their autonomy, while being able to act as one entity should the need arise.
The Grandmasters gathered at a meeting behind closed doors, and drew up a charter that would solidify their method of operation as a singular entity. They would maintain their individual values, methods, and identities (so long as they did not stray from the Crusade nor their Ashlan beliefs). Should there be a time when the Bogan reared its ugly head, the Grand Marshal would call them to aid the Crusade, and they would gather to put a stop to the rising tide of Darkness.
