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.
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branchandroot
no subject
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.