Mad Knights


 * Madknightslogo.gif

The Royal Order of the Mad Knights is a household founded by the monk Madbaron which acted as the military of the Barony of Lyresong during his rule. The order is mostly inactive now.

History
The Mad Knights began as a hunting party early in the second century. The original group consisted of only a few members: Madbaron and Thebye, both of the Monk’s Guild; Sirrude and Ax, both of the Warrior’s Guild. In the 130s, the household system was organised and the Mad Knights petitioned for sanctioning. In order to meet the requirements for sanctioning, a fifth member was recruited: Sulfur of the Warlock’s Guild. The Mad Knights was the third household to receive sanctioning, and is one of the oldest households in Terris. The exact date of sanctioning was not recorded, but was later estimated to be circa 137. Madbaron was unanimously picked to be Lord of the household.

The Mad Knights grew slowly, usually averaging around 30 members, as they were not overtly concerned with fame, fortune or glory, though often they found all. Eventually the Order established an organisation based on the four suits found in a deck of playing cards: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades.

In the 160s and 170s, the Mad Knights carried out a series of crusades in Wintertown, the small mountain village that was being ravaged by Snow Daemons. The Order ran scheduled patrols and manned the shops in town, offering services that the citizens of Wintertown hadn’t seen in years. It was this time that is remembered as one of the best periods in the history of the order.

In 174, Madbaron was appointed Baron of Lyresong and changed the household's name to the Royal Order of the Mad Knights. The Order was now torn in two directions: maintaining their support of Wintertown, or moving across the continent to act as the guardians of the new land of Lyresong. Debates over how to carry out both missions led to discord within the Order. Some members departed, leaving the Order with a shortage of personnel, so the Wintertown crusade was abandoned.

Throughout the later years of the second century, the Mad Knights found themselves repeatedly coming up against Takara, Queen of the Dark Elves. Takara kidnapped members of the Mad Knights, including Ringdancer, Madbaron's wife. The Mad Knights declared war against Takara.

With the dwindling population of adventurers in Norland, the Mad Knights found itself steadily shrinking until it consisted mostly of Madbaron, Ringdancer and their extended family. With the sudden disappearance of that family in 295, the Mad Knights have all but disappeared themselves.

Organisation
The household's rank structure resembles a deck of playing cards. All new members begin at the rank of Wildcard. In order to advance beyond that rank, Wildcards much choose to join one of the four suits: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs or Spades. Though there was no formal difference between the four suits, each suit was led by a household lieutenant that imbued their suit with their own personality and style. Listed below, from the highest to the lowest, is the complete rank structure for the Order.

Joker (Lord of the Mad Knights) — Highest Rank Ace of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades King/Queen of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades Jack of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 10 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 9 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 8 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 7 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 6 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 5 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 4 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 3 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades 2 of Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts/Spades Wildcard — Lowest Rank

The four household lieutenants were called Aces. The singular leader of the household was called the Joker (though sometimes the titles Lord or Doyen were used by Madbaron). The Joker and the Aces together made up the Council of Madness, the ruling body of the household.

Famous Members
Many members of the Mad Knights went on to greater positions in Terris.
 * Axx - Immortal of Chaos
 * Rexington - Immortal of Love
 * Madbaron - Baron of Lyresong
 * Ringdancer - Lady Holder of Spire Hold, Chancellor of Lyresong
 * Tali - Lady Holder of Wintertown, Baroness of Lyresong
 * Radiance - Baroness of Devardec