The Order of the Dragon – The oldest knightly order on the continent, formed by the grandson of King Hugh the Pious, Hugh III, in memoriam of the remarkable circumstances that led to Hugh the Pious’ ascention to the throne. Inspired by the dragon Salizarr’s commitment to its keeping its word following its defeat, knights of the Order of Dragon are charged with loyalty before all else: loyalty to their allies, their word and their society. In Salizarr and Hugh’s home region of Otraxis, this Order has remained strong; stronger than its waning fortunes elsewhere would suggest.

The Order of the Lion – Also formed by King Hugh III, shortly following the foundation of the Order of the Dragon. Hugh’s personal order took its livery from his mother’s family’s coat of arms, and again was founded on the principal of loyalty. This time, however, instead of swearing loyalty generally upon vague principals of honour, the knights swore loyalty to the king personally. Sworn to protect the king and expand and protect his realm, the Order rapidly came to be one of the richest and most powerful Orders (largely due to the support of generations of kings and nobles currying favour with the monarch). In the traditionally independent city of Otraxis, however, it has struggled for influence.

The Order of the Star – Formed a century later, the Order of the Star was founded under a petition from the Grand Templar Palatine to support and protect the church of the gods. King Edward I, a weak king, was forced to grant the petition to win the support of the church to his rule. The fortunes of the Order have waxed and waned over the years as monarchs have tried to support or suppress the Order based on their attitudes to the church and its independence. The Paladins take their name from the title of their founder, the Grand Templar Palatine.

The Twin Orders (the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Shield) – Founded during the upheavals of King Edward VIII’s reign, the Twin Orders claim repsonsibility for restoring order to the realm. The Order of the Sword was founded to uphold the noble virtues of chivalry, living lives of honour, virtue and valor. The Order of the Shield was founded to represent the smallfolk and protect those without the power to protect themselves. Remarkably, the Orders were founded in a calculated attempt to appeal to both nobles and smallfolk, and so bring the realm back to stability from the brink of civil war. The Order of the Sword has always been the stronger or more influential of the two, again due mostly to its appeal to the rich and powerful. However, Knights of the Shield are still welcome in villages and crofts throughout the land.

The Order of the Cockatrice – The newest Order, founded in Otraxis little more than a century ago by a blackguard named Sir Petyr Lucard. The cockatrice was chosen as their symbol in part as a sly insult to the city and its ancient dragon benefactor: a cocktrice being a combination of dragon and cockerel. The Order was founded as a crusading order, driving knight errants into the goblin lands north of Otraxis, and also into the dwarven and elven lands (although the Order has always denied this occurred). Almost parodying the other knightly orders, Knights of the Cockatrice are fierce warriors from their crusading origins, but utterly mercenary. They have a not underserved reputation as braggarts, drunkards, brawlers and mercenaries.

Knights of any order generally start as squires to annointed knights. Squires are promoted to knights aspirant upon earning the support of a priest or fellow knight. After questing for some time, the knight aspirant who has proven himself is annointed as a full knight. Annointed knights are divided between knights errant (who quest for their Order) and knights ecouter (who are sworn to a particular houshold).