Welcome to the Codex! Every Friday, we will focus on one topic from one of the upcoming books, or one of the books that have been published. The Codex will review what is commonly known about that topic in the world, even if just at a scholarly level. There will still be mysteries, but if you are interested in learning more about something you read in the book or in another blog post, the Codex is the way to go.
Although we are one day late this week (we're gearing up for the launch of North Star on Monday!), here we are with another appointment with the Codex. This time, we temporarily abandon the larger foundational concepts of the Twin Worlds universe, and focus instead on an organization which features heavily in North Star, as well as in Leaves (although in a lesser capacity). Founded in the early Fifth Age, today we talk about the Knights of the Ashes.
In the wake of the War of Saints, the people of the Fifth Age began discovering just how much the Ledhrorn had lied to them regarding the world. Entire swaths of history had been erased and - by the will of the Ledhrorn - any who stumbled upon them would be persecuted or silenced. Ancient ruins were forgotten, buried, and lost. Entire civilizations which existed during the Fourth and earlier Ages were made to disappear without a trace. The world, it turned out, had stagnated for thousands of years, and any who had discovered even so much as a hint to the truth had been made to disappear.
In the first or second century of the Fifth Age, a book was published in the northern part of the continent of Teidar. It was called From the Ashes of the Past. In it, the author described the enormous issue that faced the people of the Fifth Age, as they struggled to rebuild and adapt to the tectonic shift caused by the disappearance of the Ledhrorn, and the ascension of the more benevolent Ilelorn. The author explained how it would be nearly impossible even to know where to start in rebuilding the lost history of the world: the past was, for all intents and purposes, a wasteland where the most significant discoveries had been destroyed nearly as soon as they had been found, and what was left was ashes. Just as it would be nearly impossible to rebuild a log from its ashes, so too the author explained, it would be a near-impossible task to rebuild the history that had been lost. Even so, he argued it was an effort that needed to be made, for the people of the Twin Worlds deserved to know where they came from, and there were still dangerous things hidden in the past that needed to be known, if one were to prepare for them.
Heeding the call were like-minded adventurers, explorers, scholars, and collectors of antiquities. They coalesced around the mission the book offered, and eventually became known as the Knights of the Ashes, or the Order of the Ashes, after the book's title. Despite the name, the organization wasn't ennobled, and it wasn't composed only of warriors and travelers. Scholars who had never set foot outside of a library were just as welcomed, and indeed, the entire gamut of personalities and professions could find a home there. Each member naturally developed a specific passion, and provided his or her help to unravel what could be unraveled of the lost history of the Twin Worlds.
Due to the far-ranging nature of the organization, lodges of the Knights of the Ashes appeared throughout northern Teidar. They were semi-independent, although they all shared information and all reported to the Knight Praeceptor in the city of Logard, in Ailund, where the Order had first been founded. While the Knights accumulated snippets of knowledge of the past, they didn't disseminate everything they learned, realizing soon enough that some things should remain hidden from the general public (such as what happened with Kananak the Stone-Child).
The Order of the Ashes appears in North Star, where it plays an important role in the story. It also appears in Leaves, although its role there is more marginal. The Order was also the focus of one campaign I ran in the Twin Worlds, which intertwined three major story arcs, all of them connected to the lost past of the Twin Worlds. The lost history of Gaer Arythal, and the ancient kingdom's influence on the danger assailing Ailund; the buildup to the Anger War, and the revelations surrounding its start and purpose; and finally, the resurrection of the Moonlord and his final fate.
It is possible that the story of this campaign may find a home in another book, one day, whether in parts or entirely. A character in Leaves had a supporting role in the campaign as well, which was titled "An Ashen Lantern" after the Knights of the Ashes and an important tool found early in the campaign. During the story, the lodge of Logard was destroyed when the city was razed, but it was re-established later, although the Order changed its organization as a result.
Either way, the Knights of the Ashes are working tirelessly to rediscover what we can find of the lost history of the Twin Worlds. While their work advances slowly, each discovery adds a piece, however small, to the rich mosaic that is the history the Ledhrorn buried. And despite their share of eccentric members, the organization as a whole leans towards being well-meaning (although some of its offshoots, like the Shroud, are more morally gray).
Thank you for joining us in another Codex session (albeit slightly late this time). I'll see you next week - and please don't forget, North Star comes out this Monday! If you haven't preordered it, please do so now, or look out for the paperback edition coming September 1!
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