| The Commandery of Sanctuary | |
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 A map of Sanctuary and it's surrounding lands. | |
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Factional Allegiance |
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Grand Master |
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Ruling Order |
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Resident Sects |
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Seat |
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Subsidiary Buildings |
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Beliefs |
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Founded |
Circa 634 K.Y. |
| “ | This is my Creed. I am the shield on my arm. I am the sword in my fist. I am meat and metal. I want for nothing. I am the brother to my left, and the sister to my right. I am the armor of the weak, defender of the meek. I know not surrender or defeat. When my last drop of blood is spent, then will I know death. I am the light that guides the righteous. I am the Flame that burns the dark away. I am this battle cry. I am the life of all who fight beneath this banner. So it will be, until I am ash. Until there is no enemy, but Peace. | ” |
–The Creed of the Order of the Ivory Flame. | ||
Sanctuary is the Commandery of the Order of the Ivory Flame. It was previously an abandoned fortification located on the coast of the Swamp of Sorrows, and it was reclaimed during a mission of the Ivory Flame. Led by the Supreme Grand Master of the Order, Sir Ludwig the Bold, the efforts of the Order turned the rotted and forgotten ruins into a rebuilt and operational fortification. Currently, the Grand Master of the Ivory Flame is Sir Adalhard the Chivalrous, and it's steward is Sir Tildom the Constant.
Culture[]
The people of the Commandery of Sanctuary consist mostly of Knights and attendants, as well as their pets. They are simple and common folk. These people come from all different walks of life and families, but have come together in the name of spreading Good throughout the Eastern Kingdoms and protecting those who are often forgotten or ignored by higher lords. Each Knight or member of the Order proper take the creed of the Ivory Flame and forsake their surname, and relegate themselves to wearing only authorized uniforms of the Order. Members are expected to travel light and give away their excess wealth, keeping only what can be considered essential needs. Their purpose is to exist solely as the aid to the smallfolk, which is what they are themselves.
Each person is expected to do their fair share as the next. It is communal living, and chores and duties are often swapped and rotated so that each person may learn new trades and skills and respect for others professions. While only attendants and garrisoned members - those who are too old or young, disabled or otherwise unable to travel for true combative purpose - are year-round residents of Sanctuary, even the Knights and other soldiers of the Ivory Flame toil out in the fields, or within the stables and smithy.
Religious Beliefs[]
While formally and primarily a knightly order, the Ivory Flame has members that are religious, with most of the people within the Order following and belonging to the Church of the Holy Light. An interesting superstition amongst the Knights of the Order of the Ivory Flame is that they seem to believe in some sort of 'Ivory Flame'. Whether it is purely metaphorical or is a true belief to be worshipped, one can only speculate. What can be noticed, is that some of the more fanatical members of this Ivory sect, is that they are blessed with striking white flames around weaponry and armaments, and even their body parts.
Economy & Resources[]
Sanctuary tends to itself, it's knights and attendants farm the meager farmsteads surrounding it's walls and fish from the sea off of their docks and shore. They have no natural resources, being in the murky muck of the Swamp of Sorrows, and they refuse to call on importation to survive in their corner of the world. No, the Ivory Flame wants for nothing, insisting upon relying on themselves and providing for others, giving all excess to the poor and the needy. Lumber from trees and what grows in the marshes are harvested by the members, and seeds brought with the initial settlers of Sanctuary began the few farms that dot the outskirts of Sanctuary's arable land.
The Order of the Ivory Flame's true resource is it's people. A knightly Order founded by Sir Ludwig the Bold, their strength falls upon their versatility and peripatetic nature. Each person coming from varied and unique backgrounds provides new insights and variables to their operations, and having only meager Sanctuary to occasionally tend to, the Order is able to pack up and move about all around the Eastern Kingdoms to deliver their aid, be it through combat against Evil in all it's forms, or through largesse, charity, and other relief and aid.
History[]
Founding[]
Before this commandery was known as Sanctuary, the fort was an Alliance-aligned fortification. At some point in the unknown past, it fell to ruin and was abandoned. As the years passed, it faded from memory at large and became a place of folk legend and myth for locals, insisting it was a haunted site plagued by an ancient monstrosity.
Reclamation and Reinstation[]
The fort was reclaimed by the Order of the Ivory Flame in 634 K.Y. They campaigned against the fort and ended up revealing indeed an unholy monstrosity that had made the fort it's lair. After a valiant battle, the Order emerged victorious as threw the beasts' corpse back into the sea. Together, after recovering, the Ivory Flame set to work repairing and reinstating the abandoned fort proper, turning it into the commandery of Sanctuary.
Present Day[]
Since 634 K.Y. the Ivory Flame has worked tirelessly to turn a ruin into a home. A palisade wall surrounds a simple keep, dubbed the Ivory Keep. There is also stables for their horses and mules, forges for armaments, and a longhouse to act as barracks. The Order has constructed a memorial monument, a simple stone slab. As it is a military order of knights, there is also a simple training yard for members to stay sharp and well-disciplined. Most recently, the Grand Master of the Order of the Ivory Flame has gone missing, and until his reappearance, second-in-command and member of the Inner Circle, Sir Adalhard the Chivalrous, has taken up command of the Order.
Subsidiary Locations[]
The Ivory Keep[]
The Ivory Keep, so aptly named, is the central, main building of the commandery and is a rather humble building. Inside are the quarters of the Grand Master, untouched since the disappearance of Sir Ludwig, as well as a mass meeting hall, a prayer room, an armory, and an artifact room where the Order of the Ivory Flame places sacred artifacts to worship, and profane items to hide away from the world for the better good. The building is not a sturdy stone keep, for the Order prioritized humbleness and regularity over excess spending. Pale white iconography of the 'Ivory Flame' adorns the walls as well as other minimalist décor.
The Barracks[]
The barracks building is less of a barracks proper and more of a common longhouse, with an attached training field. It has several rooms with quaint, humble spaces for individual Knights and members of the Order to reserve. It is communal, for Knights and Members are often out traveling the roads, and thus rooms are often swapped about. There are three hearths, as well as an eating cafeteria and small armory room for extra armaments.
The Docks[]
The docks are a site of pride for the Ivory Flame. Never before had they their own access to the sea, and after the purchase of their own ship, the Ivory Flame can travel the seas and give aid to more locations at a faster rate. Their ship remains unnamed and is rather unremarkable, so is the way of the Ivory Flame. The docks themselves is simple and wooden, looking more akin to that of a fishing pier rather than a proper harbor. Either way, it is used for both.
The Forges[]
The forges of the Order of the Ivory Flame are simply that. The Members are cross-trained in all areas of life in Sanctuary, and the forges are manned and used purely for making the mediocre and practical armaments of the Order. Nothing of specialty or renown comes from here, for the Order strives purely for what passes rather than what can be used for bragging rights.
The Stables[]
Arguably one of the largest parts of the commandery, the stables of Sanctuary house the many horses and mules for the members of the Order of the Ivory Flame. Bales of hay and grass, and containers of seed and apples are stored in surplus - perhaps one of the only few surpluses around the Order - in the stables, readily available to give to the many steeds. Despite the space allocated, it could not possibly house all the steeds of the Order of the Ivory Flame, but it does not matter, for members of the Ivory Flame are always traveling and rarely are all of them situated together in the same spot. Whenever the Ivory Flame is called for some official congregation within Sanctuary, steeds are stored in the Stables until they cannot safely, comfortably fit, and then they are hitched wherever possible, and even stored outside the walls.
The Farmlands[]
Including a lumbermill, the farmlands surrounding the commandery of Sanctuary comprise the largest amount of space that the Order controls. The lumbermill is essential to the construction, upkeep, and repairs of Sanctuary, and the farmlands are vital to the survival of it's members. They are worked tirelessly by the squires and attendants to the Order of the Ivory Flame, whilst more often than not the members proper and Knights are working the inner-most buildings. Still, duties are rotated and each person in the Order gets a chance to get down and dirty in the muddy muck. Whenever harvest produces more than expected, and the back-up stores are sufficiently full, the attendants in charge of operating the Farmlands are sent to nearby villages, the poorest prioritized, and all excess is given as donation.
Map[]
Gallery[]
