Order of the White

Before The Guards came around at about 250AL, there was the Order of the White, which was also called the White Order, or simply the White. It was probably one of the noblest orders in the human history of Riiga. Lord Renin founded it around the year 13,000BD, making it also the oldest human order. It was established within the city of Lyte, which was constructed some years before. Unfortunately, it ended around the time that Daedalus came to Central and started the order of The Guards.

History

The White Order was founded soon after Lyte was finished and they were trying to establish a governing system as Nikina had instructed them to do. Just as Renin was seen as the ideal warrior, the White Order tried to uphold this standard of being just in all that it did. Because Renin kept such a close eye on his order for around 4000 years, it developed a powerful foundation of peacekeeping history which it relied on for years to come. With the birth of Ernamin in 6171BD came the addition of the ranks of prince and princess, and with the birth of Erinduo in 3887BD came the addition of the grand marne rank.

Oddly enough, the White Order never stood against any opposing factions or orders of humans or of any other race. There was the occassional incident, but no human-against-human battles or wars. There were, however, a bountiful amount of battles between the White Order and The Enemy's armies. Nowhere in Central was safe from the monsters. A few times, the White Order present was defeated and the monsters destroyed the town they were trying to protect, but it was never long before reinforcements would arrive and clean everything up. Members of the White Order were always known to be brave, loyal, and kind.

Renin joined the Paladins in 1972BD, seeing that it was a worthy cause and it did not conflict with the Order of the White. Despite his popularity, When Renin joined, the Paladins rose in power and more and more people came to like them. And although the Templars were made in order to combat the Paladins, the order remained steady until around the year 0. Both orders guarded Central humans for many years -- the Order of the White protecting common people and enforcing law and the Paladins taking the role as soldiers who were specialising in battle against The Enemy.

An Odanon known as Murluron came down in the year 0 and, using an unknown power, attacked and destroyed many of the temples that Ilertav had created. In a battle known as The Darkness, the Paladins fought alongside Renin against Murluron and the Templars, but Renin's life was abruptly ended when Murluron crashed into the earth, smashing everything beneath him with his size and weight. Ernamin, Renin's son, was also killed in this incident, though he was not a Paladin. At the time, there were stories that Ernamin held Renin in place when Murluron came crashing down and sacrificed himself in order to kill his own father, as many believed he had deals with Votorimin, but Renin's remaining family quickly doused the rumour. After this, Ilertav himself came down and defeated Murluron in battle. Ilertav than sealed his foe's power and threw his body into the sea. This event in the year 1AL was called The Light.

As Renin and Ernamin had both been killed in this event, Erinduo took the title of lord in the year 3AL. Statues to Renin and Ernamin were erected in the palace at Lyte. Unfortunately, when Erinduo was killed in 249AH, the city of Lyte became democratic, because Renin's line of leaders had been lost due to the Battle at Etalz. A collection of wisened civilians took leadership of Lyte and the rest of Central severed its links with the dying order of Paladins. The council of Lyte and the higher ranked Paladins argued constantly, and had been doing so since Lord Erinduo was killed.

The democrats successfully ruled their small area for quite some time, until the year 590AL. Someone called Daedalus sailed in from the East. Daedalus was born in North Nidonn but when he was 32 he sailed westward to Central when he had received word that Lyte had become democratic and the order of the Paladins had stopped growing. Ahartui, Daedalus's father, was known as a wise prophet, sometimes called the ArchProphet, and he foretold that Daedalus would find a kingdom to rule elsewhere, as Erertoga would rule Phedailin and North Nidonn when Ahartui passed away. Sure enough, when Daedalus heard that Central had no leader, he sailed there and claimed that he was the grandchild of Lyte's previous lord. The council was not hesitant to hand the power of Central over to Daedalus, as it was indisputable that he was indeed a Hireos and quite powerful. There was proof of this when Bartyl and Pandora tried to do what Daedalus was trying to do. Daedalus defeated Pandora after she had transformed into the Black Dragon, and he had Bartyl sealed deep in an underground prison. The citizens wanted to be rid of the council, and there were almost no disputes against Daedalus ruling after his impressive show of strength. They had been hoping for another Lord Renin, and they believed Daedalus was the closest they could get. Aside from this, the laws clearly stated that Daedalus was supposed to rule because of his lineage.

However, once Daedalus began to earn the trust of his people, he made some changes. Because he was a neutral Hireos and thus didn't allow worship of Nikina, Paladins were depicted as weak by a new order called The Guards. A vast majority of people turned and joined The Guards, as they were convinced that there was no future in being a Paladin. As well as this, the Order of the White became completely replaced by The Guards. As soldiers would be protecting the same people, nobody saw a need to preserve the White Order. Somehow, The Enemy had made himself very discrete and the people had little to fear. Even the rest of Central rejoined North Tasif's dominant order and took on the new customs and systems.

Description and Ranks

Members of the Order of the White were under a ranking system devised by the noble Hireos, and this system lasted over 13,000 years and underwent very few changes. Because the order acted as the military and the government, the top ranks consisted of some of the most powerful humans in history.

Lord / Lady
The Lord of the White Order was also the Lord of Lyte and of Central. They are normally called White Lords to avoid confusion with Lords of Paladins and Lords in North Nidonn. Lords basically had power over everyone else in their land. There could only be one lord at the time, and he would rule all of Central. Though the lady was generally seen as an equal to the lord, the lord officially got the final say.

Prince / Princess
A prince or princess was basically any child of the lord and lady. They did not rule an amount of land, persay, but were involved in many political matters and were raised to be good decision-makers. Only a Hireos can be a prince or princess of the White Order.

Grand Marne
A Hireos who wished to be a militant commander and not a royal leader would become a grand marne, but there were very few of these in the White Order. Of course, they had greater power than the archemarne. Grand marnes had a very ornate set of white armour made specially for them, as well as a white weapon of their choice. They were usually trained to use swords, though.

Archmarne
An arhcmarne was the highest rank a non-Hireos human could have, and several people did hold this rank over the years. Archmarnes are considered military geniuses and often did handle militant issues under the supervision of the lord. Archmarnes were dressed in white armour and purple cloth and used swords. In battle, the archmarne will seek out the leader of his opponents with fierce courage.

Marne
The marnes were similar to archmarnes, but are higher in quantity and significantly lesser in power. They often left the city and took large patrols or even whole armies into the field and had the authority able to command them appropriately. Marnes were dressed in white armour with red cloth and used swords and spears. They were usually given horses and, together with vismarnes, acted as cavalry soldiers.

Vismarne
Vismarne were usually highly skilled and properly rewarded soldiers appointed to act as personal bodyguards and assistants to marnes or archmarnes. They were dressed in white armour with blue cloth and used swords and large shields. They were usually given horses and, together with marnes, acted as cavalry soldiers.

Braetis
A braetis was the ruler of a city and often had visbraetis, barons, and other knights beneath him in other nearby towns or villages. The braetis did not make military decisions, but has some say in what his military superior did in or near his city. There was usually no more than one mayor per continent. When the White Order was ended, braetis were replaced with mayors.

Visbraetis
The ruler of a town, and similar to a braetis but with less power, and there could be numerous visbraetis per continent. Visbraetis were generally sound-minded people. When the White Order was ended, visbraetis were replaced with ministers.

Baron
The next step down, a baron ruled and officially owned no more than a village or even just a piece of land, and often relied on the experiences of his or her own life. When the White Order was ended, barons were replaced with elders.

Cavalier
Cavaliers were basically promoted knights, with better equipment and more experience.

Knight
The basic soldier. Knights acted as guards, soldiers, and police. They were trained in swordfighting, as well as archery and horse riding.