Knights of Imphras II
The Knights of Imphras II is an elite order of paladins and clerics who pledge fealty to the crown of Impiltur and dedicate their lives to the defense of the Realm of the Sword and the Wand. The Most Holy Order of the Sacred Shrike, as the order is formally known, is composed of holy warriors of the Orthodox Church of Impiltur who specialize in hunting down and destroying fiends and other buried legacies of ancient Narfell.
Because Impiltur is confronted by many threats from within and beyond its borders, members of the Knights of Imphras II must deal with a wide range of situations, from daggers hidden amid the robes of court life to the horrors of unexplored demoncysts that lie beneath the surface of Impiltur’s uplands, and respond with an appropriate degree of tact and martial prowess.
History of the Knights
In the Year of the Dowager Lady (726 DR), the unburied legacies of ancient Narfell precipitated the collapse of Impiltur’s Durlarven dynasty, driving most of the Impilturan populace into exile and allowing King Agrosh the Scaled to seize the throne. Determined not to repeat the mistakes of Cormanthor’s Weeping War (711–714 DR), the churches of Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater proclaimed the Triad Crusade, and noble knights from across Faerûn marched on Impiltur to answer the three gods’ call.
In the aftermath of the Fiend Wars (729–732 DR), the newly crowned paladin-king, Sarshel Elethlim, established the Order of the Triad by royal decree as a home for those who had survived the crusade. The Order gained fame at the Battle of Moaning Gorge (756 DR) in combat with Ndulu’s horde of demons, and it earned further prominence during the Harrowing of Nord (788–807 DR), as the never-ending hunt for fiends under King Nord came to be known. The Triadic knights served the Elethlim Dynasty ably and well for decades, but the plague that felled the monarchy in the Year of the Spouting Fish (922 DR) proved their undoing as well.
During the Kingless Years (926–1097 DR) and the early years of the Elethlim Dynasty, the tradition of Triad-pledged knights continued in the lands of Old Impiltur, but the number of such holy warriors slowly waned as lurking fiends and other terrors picked them off one by one.
In the Year of the Shrike (1196 DR), nearly a century after the monarchy was restored, King Imphras II returned from a royal hunt convinced he had seen a sign from the gods after observing a shrike attack and defeat a small demon. Immediately thereafter, Imphras II established a holy order of knights, the Most Holy Order of the Sacred Shrike, to serve the monarchy and rebuild the traditions of the fallen Order of the Triad.
In the years since their order’s (re)establishment, the Knights of Imphras II, as members of the order have come to be known, have served Impiltur’s monarchs and regents with distinction, never failing in their duty to the Realm of the Sword and Wand or the royal house of Heltharn. Time and again, by working in concert, the heirs of Sarshel’s crusaders have driven back fiend-led threats both insidious and overt.
The Knights Today
The Knights of Imphras II have always served at the bequest of Impiltur’s reigning monarch. After King Rilimbrar established the Lords of Imphras II in the Year of the Highmantle (1336 DR), he reconstituted the Most Holy Order of the Sacred Shrike to serve as the elite army of the dozen-strong Council of Lords. King Rilimbrar commanded that the order select twelve from among their number to lead the order as the ruling Twelve Companions of Imphras II.
The Companions leave the day-to-day affairs of the order to the Council of Shrikelords, forty-four powerful paladins and clerics who collectively direct the group’s efforts. Every Knight of the order is assigned to serve one of the Shrikelords, but the details of that assignment vary from unit to unit. Some Shrikelords organize their units into regular army companies, while others assemble elite strike teams to meet the needs of the day from among the assembled Knights.
All Knights are considered members of Impiltur’s warswords (the standing army), with most holding officer positions within the corps. The chains of command within the army and the order are distinct, and, while theoretically it is possibly to report to one’s direct superior or have one’s superior report to you, in practice such a situation never occurs.
The Knights’ Foes
The most enduring legacies of ancient Narfell to plague the kingdom of Impiltur are the tiny pockets of the Abyss known as demoncysts buried beneath the land, which house imprisoned fiends and other unspeakable horrors. The Knights of Imphras II are Impiltur’s first line of defense in confronting such horrors and the fiend-tainted spawn they have birthed. Because escaped fiends often recruit tribes of evil humanoids from the Earthspurs and the Giantspire Mountains and fleets of pirates from the Sea of Fallen Stars, the Knights often find themselves in battle with orcs, hobgoblins, buccaneers, or worse. Members of the order must also deal with those who would traffic with such fiends, including those who venerate the Gods of Fury and the Cult of Eltab.
The Knights’ Allies
The Knights of Imphras II are strongly allied with Impiltur’s monarchy, and with other groups loyal to the crown. The order receives significant backing from the Orthodox Church. They also enjoy the support and assistance of other, similar orders when their duties take them far afield. The Knights have fought alongside the Just Knights of the House of Tyr’s Hand in Milvarune and the Disciples of St. Sollars the Twice-Martyred of the Monastery of the Yellow Rose.
Membership in the Knights
Joining the Most Holy Order of the Sacred Shrike requires the sponsorship of one of the Shrikelords and a pledge of fealty to Impiltur’s crown. Would-be Knights are admitted on a trial basis until they prove their wisdom, bravery, and endurance. The Test of the Aspirant can only be completed when three senior knights of the order agree to sponsor the new recruit. All applicants who die in service to the order’s goals and cannot be brought back to life are posthumously admitted to the order, even if those who have not yet passed the Test of the Aspirant.
