I tend to reuse bits and pieces from old campaigns that I liked. One of the things that developed was the military organisation of the Empire Reborn. Now the regular army was divided into three parts. There was the Dragon Guard, which was essentially the standing army. Units were generally raised locally and usually identified by the area which raised them, but were not militia. They often served outside the area they were raised, which militia would only be expected to do in time of war (although they often acted as cadre to militia units and drew their recruits from them). Officers were, however, generally professionally trained, and often knighted once they reached the rank of captain (but served with their units rather than as a company of knights). The Lion Guard tended to be composed of specialised and elite units which drew their membership from all over the Empire. For example the Imperial Marines (being those troops trained to operate on ships), were members of the Lion Guard. The Phoenix Guard was the smallest grouping, and was essentially the palace guard of the Emperor. This distinction was more important when you considered the chivalry. The Empire recognised three orders of chivalry, known as the Knights Martial, which mirrored the distinctions of the Guard. The Knights of the Dragon were the military order of knighthood. Although it could field a number of companies of SHAC (super-heavy armoured cavalry), it was generally dispersed as an order be being the officers of the various Guard units. The Knights of the Lion were those heroic individuals that didn't really fit the military mould. They had their Valour Hall in the city of Eastgard, where they regaled each other with their tales of daring do. And went out to find more dragons to slay and princesses to rescue (or vice versa, if the situation demanded it). The Knights of the Phoenix on the other hand, were the agents of the Emperor. They rarely revealed themselves directly, preferring a degree of anonymity. Their mission was to preserve the Empire against threats internal and external. There were other orders of chivalry, known as the Knights Militant, which recognised that at the rebirth of the Empire there were numerous organisations capable of fielding military forces that did not fall under direct control of the Empire. These groups are chartered by the Emperor and lead an independent existence, but were technically summonable by the Knight Marshal* in times of war. These could vary from essentially player groups (such as the Knights of the Stone) to religious groups (such as the Knights of the Cross). Many of the Knights Militant had troops under their direct command that were neither Guard nor Militia, but allowable under their Charter. [Incidentally there was no requirement that a Knight actually be fighting man, although this was the most probable case with the Dragon Knights (and many Lion Knights were of the thump them and see school). On the other hand, the Knights of the Red Cross, for example, was a purely magical order (well, at least they were until they and their companion order the Knights of the Black Cross got their charters revoked for subversion and treason), and Phoenix Knights could be anyone who was trusted to act as the Emperor's Hand.] Now my big question to you (if there is anyone actually reading this) is this. We have three orders of the Knights Martial (and Guard), each represented by a totemic creature (Dragon, Lion, and Phoenix). Two of those creatures (Dragon and Phoenix) are magical in nature. Should the third creature (Lion) be changed to being something magical too, like a Gryphon or Manticore.** Or something else. [Admittedly originally I was thinking the Nemean Lion when the orders were created, but mainly because there was a Hercules "clone" in the Knights of the Lion.] I'm undecided about this. Then again, I've got a feeling that the elite units of the Lion Guard couldn't help but take a perverse pride in their "ordinary" mascot. * Yes, this is solely so I could use the phrase "the Knight Marshal of the Knights Martial." How well you know me. <grin> ** If forced to choose this is probably my favourite, but conflicts with my sign-off for stuff ("Exeunt stage right, pursued by mantichora") which is probably why I didn't think of it at the time.) | ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2011-01-20 01:44 am (UTC)what if, the lion in question, were a mythical anti-magical creature? that surely would suit the temperament of the lion knights, as you suggest. it might also have variants such as the sealion (for the marines)?
or, perhaps, the lion in question was actually a person, a great archaic hero ... a fact very few know ... the lion's head being a (mis)representation of his face - craggy, bearded, long-haired, scarred. a man familiar to many from statuary and the like. but in one place in the empire, perhaps his tomb, is the image from which the lion's got their totem ...
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Date: 2011-01-22 06:54 pm (UTC)Not actually sure where the lion came from historically. The Dragon Banner was the banner which the Empire marched to war under and was actually an old artefact from the First Empire, where it was the actual banner of the Third Legion (from memory [the First Empire was over 30 years ago in real time]). After being apparently lost with the destruction of the Legion it disappeared, it avoided the perils of the Second and Third Empires and the War Between the Sun and Moon (the time of the Twin Empires). It resurfaced and became one of the rallying points during the Demon War, and was brought into Exile with the survivors. Dragons were the alpha predator in my campaign but they were not exactly overtly magical (or intelligent for that matter). Viscious and dangerous. Yes.
The Phoenix emblem was self-explanatory adopted by the Emperor after he lead the surviving people into Exile, carved out a realm, and thereby assumed the mantle of Emperor. Also possibly inspired by Steven Brust's Phoenix Guard being the Empress' guard and [forgot name of furry comic with the Phoenix as the Empress who became a Firebird]. There was no use of the Phoenix as a symbol of anything before Exile.
Not sure where the Lion came from at all, beyond possibly the Nemean Lion. As I said there was a Herakles clone as one of the first members of the order (and a ratty lion skin which may or may not be the skin of the Nemean Lion - nobody was really willing to put it to the test, even if they would have been "allowed" to borrow it.*).
Although I suspect, now that think about it more, the root was probably a pun on "lyin'" (with regard to the knightly order's tendency to competitively boast of their exploits, it is not unknown for certain members to have exaggerated their stories [especially after a few drinks]). Hmmmm. That kind of removes the mystique from the whole thing, doesn't it.
Still, I think the specialists of the Lion Guard itself do take a great deal of pride in their role.
* The Order of the Lion, as a whole, had a distinct belief that it was always easier to ask for forgiveness (especially if nobody noticed anything that might require forgiveness) than to ask permission.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 01:33 am (UTC)something that *could* be discovered/uncovered because it was either in plain sight, or in some other way potentially obvious, but in practice overlooked.
especially as the other two have *meaningful* histories.
perhaps the guy with the original lion skin 'found' it somewhere ... in a recent ruin or some barn loft he was hiding in, trying to keep warm and not die of cold or capture. he kept it as his fortunes rose, and others who he rallied with saw it and made various assumptions. and thus a legend(s) was born ...
each guy had his own idea, embellished by stories from the bearer of the skin, as to how he came to possess it - and what it meant to him.
etc.
i would think the knights of the lion, and their bretheren, would take immense pride in who they are. much like silver daggers in katherine kerr's deverry cycle.
for them, it's the *deed* - not the detail - that matters.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-22 07:09 am (UTC)However, when I first read your comments about Dragon, Lion, and Phoenix, I'll confess that I leaned towards the Asian paradigm for the emblematic creatures rather than the Western one; given the roles of Guardian Lions and/or Snow Lions, the magical overtones were already there for me... *smile*
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Date: 2011-01-22 06:26 pm (UTC)Thumps head.
I had completely forgotten about the chinese lions. This despite the fact that for a few years we tried to get lion up and running to make the traditional New Years challenge for prosperity. Unfortunately it all fell through because we couldn't get the drummers (who are the vitally important thing when actually making a challenge against another lion, since they control the dance). We had the acrobats/gymnasts, choreographer, and lion's head (a very well made homemade one).
Then again my natural inclination is Japanese mythology where they are referred to as Lion Dogs, or Temple Dogs, rather than actual Lions.
Or maybe it is because all 44 of the stone lions are dead.*
* One of my favourite tongue twisters to show that I am not drunk was "44 dead stone lions." Of course I used English, rather than Mandarin, but I could say it.
** si4 shi2 shi4 si4 shi2 (phonetically something like: sih shr shrh sih shr). Of course that is the simple one, the full tongue twister goes "4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14, 40 is 40, 44 illiterate stone lions are dead" which is "sì shí sì, shí shì shí, shísì shí shísì, sìshí shí sìshí, sìshísì zhi bùshízǐ zhi shíshīzǐ shì sǐ de."
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Date: 2011-01-25 01:10 am (UTC)Being from Singapore with its Chinese-Singaporean majority, they were lions to me first, and that's what's stuck.
As for the tongue-twister, my personal favourite has always been the Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den, but the idea of illiterate, dead, stone lions is oddly compelling...
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Date: 2011-01-25 10:47 am (UTC)I sense we have been here before, since it has started to sound all so familiar. Oh well.
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Date: 2011-01-25 08:46 pm (UTC)