Steel and Gunstones: The Lucern Brotherhood

THE LUCERN BROTHERHOOD


…To fight for the right, without question or cause..
to be willing to ride into hell for a heavenly goal..
-Man a la Mancha


The Lucern brotherhood was originally brought together by a spontaneous oath at the dawn of the Thuron Empire to rid the world of the Azchirgnoth threat and bring order to the newly conquered lands. With the help of the last of the Shea, many brothers learned special runic powers to battle their grisly foe. As the primary military order of the Thuron Empire the Brotherhood increased in power and significance, fragmented during the Thuronish civil wars, and has since waned considerably. There are numerous sects and schools throughout the remains of the old Thuron Empire. Different Lucern schools and abbeys focus on different aspects of the Lucern Oath. Brothers are sometimes referred to as oathsworn. As the embodiment of truth, the Lucernites act as judges for the lands around the old empire. Many send their children to be schooled and brought up to be a famed knight of the Lucernite order. Many city folk and the new nobility see the order as an archaic society.


History:
After the Thurons ended almost a century of war by driving the Azchirgnoth forces from the shores of the Perosian continent; they began to direct their forces to ruling their newly acquired empire. The ways of peace were hard to accept for some and impossible for others. Many men knew nothing but war and could not turn their swords to plowshares. Some Thurons began bickering and taking up arms against one another. The land had been conquered but it was still not safe: Azchirgnoth and other foul and created creatures still abounded in Thuron lands.
At that time a small county named Lucern was raided, looted, and defiled by a war party of malignant kraechadd. One woman-child of that county survived, and that child went throughout the Thuron Realm looking for aid. Miraculously hundreds of warriors and knights and men-at-arms came to avenge the Lucern massacre. At the burned out remains of a village a vow was taken by the equestrians to rid the realm of the Azchirgnoth and their created spawn: the kraechadd. With that vow the Lucernite Order was created. The newly formed brotherhood tracked the raiders of Lucern to their lair and in a terrible slaughter destroyed the vile creatures. Word spread of this great victory; bards and minstrels sang of the great deeds of this...this…”Lucern Brotherhood”. Landless knights and mercenaries from all over Perosia rushed to join and take the vow of Lucern.
In the following years the land was filled with knights errant and mercenaries searching out the lingering evils of the Second age. Old magics were found and revived which would aid these holy warriors in their duty. There are rumors that several surviving Shea helped to create or teach the powerful new runes that would become the symbols of the new order. At first the emperors were afraid of such a large armed force operating within their borders, but the order agreed to include in their vow a pledge of allegiance to emperor and realm.

As times changed so did the noble order of Lucern. The empire launched into a long peace. Almost all major strongholds and hiding places of the Azchirgnoth and their kraechadd servents who survived had been scoured out by the lances of the Brotherhood.

As the promise of glory and booty dwindled, so did the numbers of the new knightly order until finally only the truly dedicated and faithful came to make the vow. None-the-less second and third sons of nobles, being of high birth but lacking title and lands, still continued to arrive in a steady stream. New members of the order were required to excel in arms and wisdom and go through a rigorous training curriculum. This Lucern training became so famed that many lords would trust the noble brotherhood with their son’s upbringing and education.
In addition to the first formal education of Thuron, the order also performed another service for the Emperor. The empire was still much too enormous for its administrative structure. Many villages on the frontiers and away from the major roads were without law and justice. Some lords and barons became tyrants. The Brotherhood rose the challenge. Many of the Order had trained in the use of the truth rune and could magically tell if a lie was being told. This ability made them perfect itinerant judges. In small groups they rode across Thuron carrying out justice in the name of the emperor. They became a powerful force in the colonies and borderlands.
For years the Brotherhood remained steadfast, a strong and loyal arm of the Emperor. But as the age neared a close many of their number became disillusioned with the ever more corrupt emperors. When the great rebellion and civil wars came a number of the knights did not take the field. Many believed that the line of emperors had become corrupt. Some fought for the Emperor and others joined the rebels. Others still, did not fight at all but used their healing skills to cure the sick and wounded of the brutal wars. As the Empire crumbled and the wars continued, many Lucernites fragmented and many of their number scattered. It was not unheard of that Lucern would face Lucern on the field of battle.
As the wars subsided, the Brotherhood struggled to knit itself back together. The scars never truly healed and disagreements were difficult to put behind them, but the fragmented order accomplished a peace. Most major abbeys and schools had each gone their own way and would never again entirely agree with each other on many points, but they still basically have the same beliefs. They agreed to build a abbey at Blue Rock Heights where they could all meet on common ground and have a great council with representatives from each of the great abbeys.

At the present time a number of different factions of the Lucernite order still exist:

Order of the Scarlet Plume
The Knights of the Scarlet Plume were the brothers who ran to the aid of the Emperor. Other Lucerns sometimes refer to them as the knights of the bloody feathers for the atrocities they committed in the emperors name. They call themselves loyalists or royalists. During the civil war they ran to the Sealands to protect the royal line of their emperor. At the war’s conclusion these knights found that no true royal family and no political unity remained. They had lost everything that they had fought for.
Since that time the Knights of the Plume have worked continually towards a united Southern Thuron to no avail, but they strive until the present day for that goal. Ideally this new kingdom that they imagine would be ruled by a member of the Brotherhood. At first the Plumers supported the Merchants who seemed to be cleaning up Southern Thuron, but later when the Guild began moving against certain grain lords many of the Scarlet Plume began suspecting the Guild of treachery. Today the Order is sorely split on their political views of the Guild.
The Knights of the Scarlet Plume is the popular faction of the order in Southern Thuron. Clairburg, the capital of the Royalist Lucernites, is a abbey fortress that lies north of Persus and was originally a watch post over the Dead Lands. It became a stronghold during the Civil Wars and remains their headquarters to this day. Ambor also holds a smaller, more centralized Lucerne abbey loyal to the Plume.

Justicate Order (The Oath Breakers)

The Justicate Order is made up of Lucernites who originally did not come to the aid of the emperor and hence were dubbed oath breakers by other orders of Lucernites. They believed that the Emperors, or any authority could become corrupt, and the vow to the emperor should be left out of the Lucern Oath. Each knight should be allowed to have his own allegiances as long as he vows to fight all that is evil, administer justice, and heal the sick. Eventually the Justicars joined L'tarish Thuron in fighting the Sealand, Thuron Emperors. The Oath Breakers came primarily from the provinces of Thuron and had no ties to the emperor or his family, but under L'tarish Thuron the Justicars quickly excelled in political positions, and many of the L'tarish thanes and knights adopted Thuron custom and became Justicars.
There is still bad blood between the Jusicars and the Scarlet Plumers. The Oath breakers have two primary abbeys: Duasden, which guards the Empire Road and Dox, which is their capital.



Order of Purth (Keepers of the Way)

The Order of Purth has no actual abbey or stronghold of their own. They are the itinerant brothers who sometimes call themselves the Keepers of the Way. They do not use fortresses or abbeys but often sleep under the stars and travel from village to village administering justice and healing the sick. The Keepers are usually much more skilled in the special magical skills and runes of the brotherhood than the other sects due to the amount of time they spend on the road and in the wilderness. They often travel light and very seldom hold much cash. Most of the Keepers come from a poor background rather than being the sons of nobles. This means they seldom have any political connections and are usually accepted quite well by any of the other brothers, but it also means that they are quite poor and cannot usually afford the armor and trappings of the other knights. They have held the true spirit of the brotherhood and are very often found around country villages and settlements healing the sick and protecting the weak and keeping a wary eye out for hidden evils .

Conclave of Fire (Inquisitors)

The order of the flame are the true hunters of the Tainted. The Conclave of Fire exists to root out and destroy ancient evil secrets and purge the tainted users of the Un-rune. Most inquisitors are by nature suspicious, single minded, and do not concern themselves much with healing or other mundane matters. They generally hold themselves above commoners and even nobility and other Lucernites. In their zeal they are often rough on common folk and are generally disliked and feared by commoner and nobility alike. Inquisitors may also belong to other Lucernite orders and many members of the Conclave of Fire are also Scarlet Plumers.

The Council of Unity
The last and most recent of the major sects is the council of unity. The council was created by all the other sects to unify the Brotherhood and continues today at the mountain abbey of Unity near Blue Rock Heights in Boria. This sect is actually made of members of other sects who believe that the Brotherhood should join together again and the schism should end. The counselors also control the abbey and shrine in Lucern where the first oath was taken. A great many knights still take their vows at this shrine and it remains sacred to all the sects.

Role In Society:

Thuron Empire
The Lucern brotherhood remains a powerful factor in the military, education, as well as justice system in the Thuron Empire. Many nobles as well as a great deal of the knights and cavalry of the realm are at least a sworn members of the brotherhood. Lucernites still roam the less traveled roads of the Empire working as a rangers and police, as well as judges. They are very well respected among villagers all through the empire.
The Brotherhood also serves as a form of training ground for second or third sons of nobles who will inherit no land. Sons of the nobility are trained in intellectual as well as martial disciplines. In this way Gentry without land may still find an important position in governing the empire. In addition to the children of the very wealthy, the Order also adopts orphans and raises them in the paths of Lucernite, sometimes to become squires to the lordlings.

Sealands
In the Sealands, the Brotherhood's position has been greatly replaced by the Merchants Guard, and other rangers that the Merchants Guild hires to patrol the roads. The primary Lucernite order is the Scarlet Plume which is often seen as a rich boys club rather than an institution bound by honor. Its members are often seen rubbing elbows with the new rich of the City States. Although they are slightly out of fashion Lucernites are still respected, not so much for their honor as their abilities to see the truth and their powers against powerful evil. At the fringes, away from the main roads and settled lands though, many Keepers of the way still guard against lurking evils that many of the common city people have no idea exist.

Order of the Guild:

Initiate
Initiates are those that have taken the Lucernite oath to fight, destroy or at least report all Kraecheedd, Azchirgnoth, or other users of the Un rune. Furthermore, they swear to come to the call of a Lucernite mustering of troops to fight against any such evil. Sworn members are forbidden to lie, cheat, or ambush another member of the Lucern order. They do not need to give up there land, title or other responsibilities. Almost half of the knighthood of Thuron are sworn members. There are considerably fewer sworn members in Southern Thuron.
Sworn members may learn Lucern skills at prices cheaper than normal from any Lucern Hall or Abbey. Skills include Ride, lance, shield, Sword, axe, track, as well as the teaching of Lucern runes and magic.

Sworn Brother
The primary personnel of the Lucern Order are the sworn. In a ceremony sworn brothers dedicate themselves to honor the pursuit of darkness and the Lucern way. They must forswear any land, titles, or oaths they have previously made and become full and permanent members of the order. When Lucerns become full brothers, they choose whether they want to become knights or companions. Most of the brothers become knights. The knights are the warriors and fighting arm of the brotherhood. Although they still use Lucern magic, knights will spend most of their time studying the use of arms and armor rather than spells.

Companions:
Some sworn brothers decide to become Companions and devote great study to the Lucern runes, as well as other powerful aligned runes. Companions were originally allowed as augmentation and partners for the knights. Since then, they have become equals or even more important than the knights themselves. Although they are called “Companions”, the magically talented Lucerns are knighted in a similar way to the warrior knights. They also have the same political clout and standing in the Empire. Many knights who become old in the service of their vows will take to studying Lucernite magic and become companions.

Duties: Sworn Brothers have a duty not only to themselves but also to those in need, to their abbey, and to their superiors. Full brothers must spend at least 75% of their time working for the brotherhood in itinerant judging positions or in staff, guard, or reserve positions around the Abbey or hall. They may never knowingly tell a lie without making reparation on penance of some sort. Full Brothers must also give at least 10% of all the money they make to the poor. Lucern brothers are bound to dispense justice when asked and must always come to the aid of anyone who calls them to fight the forces of darkness (Kraechedd, Azchirgnoth, Necromancy or other manifestations of the Un rune).
Full brothers may learn Lucern skills at 50% of the normal cost provided they have the time and can find another brother who is willing to teach them.