Knightliness

[I'm a little concerned about the 'garnering the attention of an entity beyond the bounds of reality' bit.] Mike thought to himself as he reviewed the information in his <Status> screen. Combined with a rather concerning increase to his Mental Resistance skill, it appeared that some disturbing things had been happening to him without his knowledge.

He still felt fine, but maybe he should start regularly using Healing Magic on himself, just in case.

[And what's this about a Dragonknight? They act like riding a dragon is a huge deal.]

Despite the interesting new ability he gained with the Aerosense skill, he still hadn't broken through to the next tier in his Air Magic. It seemed that more practice was necessary.

Brushing a few leaves off of himself, he was about to start concentrating again, when he heard a few voices approaching. Guessing that his actions with the windstorm had attracted unwanted attention, he swiftly moved into the tree line to avoid detection. Walking as quietly as he could manage through the underbrush, he left the area and headed towards the main campus.

[I guess I'll do something else in the meantime.]

The Magic Theory classroom was currently empty, so he took his usual seat and opened "A Brief History of Ea," and started reading where he left off, with the gradual dissolution of the Second Pyrathien Empire.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the council, which had remained even after the Empire fell apart, the newly formed nations were able to maintain a tentative peace for centuries. Calling itself the Circle of Nations, the council provide a centralizing force that compounded existing diplomatic and economic ties. Minor skirmishes, however, were commonplace as the countries exercised their newly found freedom.

This all changed when the Inland Sea region was invaded by an external power. While there had been a few instances of interaction with peoples from other parts of the world prior to this, the Inland Sea was geographically isolated by several naturally occurring barriers. As such, little was known about the regions beyond.

So, they were unprepared when an army of giants crossed through the mountains south of the Vale of Silence and assaulted the Fledgling nation of Dovistan. Quickly overrun by their powerful and organized enemies, the Dovistanis appealed to the Circle for aid. Surprisingly, all of the nations answered the call, and mobilized their forces. What followed was a long and brutal war that eventually saw the giants repelled, at great cost.

Determining that they needed to be prepared to resist a similar attack in the future, the participating members of the Circle of Nations singed the Treaty of Medun, which promised mutual support in the event of an external invasion. Unfortunately, the wording of the treaty failed to account for internal acts of war, a fact that was rounded denounced by the author.

The centuries that followed saw regular warfare between nations, leading to much suffering. While the Circle was always quick to condemn the participants, they did little to halt the conflict, fearing that any attempt to exercise its authority would lead to its dissolution.

It was during this time that the Knightly Orders rose to prominence in several countries. Following the traditions of military units dating back to the Second Pyrathien Empire, these organizations brought about a new kind of warfare. Rulers quickly learned that it was easier and cheaper to maintain a small group of skilled warriors than it was to leverage a large army in every conflict.

As a result, the battlefields of the era evolved to place greater emphasis on small elite units that were capable of shattering lesser troops with ease. While large conscript armies never fell completely out of favor, they were seen as the tool of last resort.

The majority of the Knightly Orders went about establishing their own unique roles or styles of combat, but a few broke the mold and became something else entirely. The first of these was the Order of the Shield, which had been formed to protect the populace from monsters. Due in large part to economic forces, it eventually became the Adventurer's Guild after getting into conflict with the early Almiran royalty. It is now a multinational organization with branches in nearly every country in the Inland Sea.

A small segment of the order remained true to their original title, and now make up the current Order of the Shield, which focuses primarily on defensive engagements.

A second outlier was the Order of the Dragon. Arising from the wilds of eastern Theldholm, this group quickly came to international attention due to their unique abilities. Through a method that remains shrouded in mystery, they were able to bond with true dragons, and ride them into battle. Led by their Grandmaster Jovanis Drakheln, the order offered their services to the Circle of Nations. They were quickly put to use in bringing the age of warfare to an end.

The Dragonknights, as they came to be called, proved so dominating in combat that even a handful could turn the tide of the battle. Eventually, the mere threat of their involvement proved sufficient to prevent open hostilities. They, in effect, became a policing force that brought order and peace to the region.

[Ah, that title makes a little more sense now. Hopefully, it doesn't come with too much baggage.]

After a few centuries of relative stability, the stewardship of the Dragonknights was nearly brought to an end by a coalition of dissatisfied organizations that chaffed against the enforced peace.

Through a combination of well-timed assassination, corruption, and general chaos, this coalition succeeded in its primary task of destroying the secluded redoubt in eastern Theldholm that served as the Order's training grounds. In doing so, they annihilated an entire generation of prospective Dragonknights and their mounts.

It was a blow that the Order of the Dragon could not recover from. As their numbers began to dwindle, they proved unwilling or unable to recruit new members. In time, the survivors asked to be relieved of their duties to the Circle of Nations, so that they might regroup and rebuild.

They were denied.

Unfortunately, their request came at a difficult time for the Inland Sea region, as troubling problems were occurring one after another. First, the Dwarven kingdom of Galaglacia disappeared in an event that came to be known as the Day of Ashes.

The cloud of dust and ash that was formed by the event covered the region for months, blocking the sun, and leading to widespread illness and famine. On the central continent, the situation grew so difficult for the western portion of the Kingdom of Almir, they actually seceded and formed the independent duchy of Tennundi.

A civil war broke out as the Kingdom attempted to bring them back into the fold. By the time the Dragonknights were able to bring the conflict to an end, it had left tens of thousands dead and even more as refugees. Coupled with the suffering brought on by the creation of the Ashmourne, the populace grew increasingly restive.

Fearing a general uprising, both the King of Almir and the Duke of Tennundi used the Dragonknights as scapegoats, blaming them for the people's suffering. Even though this went against hundreds of years of selfless service, the traumatized populace was all too ready to believe the worst of the proud knights who soared over them on the backs of their powerful mounts.

While the nations of the Inland Sea were distracted by the aftereffects of the Day of Ashes, a new threat grew in the east.

A plague of the undead arose in the now extinct country of Yolindau. Led by the powerful Archlich Corridan, the horde swept through the nation, extinguishing all life, and growing larger with each victory.

The few remaining Dragonknights led a coalition of armies to the city of Batai, the last bastion of Yolindau's people. In the largest battle seen since the giant invasion centuries past, the combined forces of the entire Inland Sea region met below the walls of the city. By all accounts the fighting was brutal, raging for nearly three straight days.

In the battle's darkest moments, when all hope seemed lost, a talented mage, that would one day become the Archmage, defeated the Corridan in single combat. Knowing that killing the lich would only release his horde of undead on the world, a threat the nations of the Inland Sea were poorly equipped to deal with, the future Archmage offered him a deal. In exchange for halting the expansion of his empire and becoming a signatory of the Treaty of Medun, the lich would be allowed to rule his new kingdom.

Corridan reluctantly agreed to these terms, and pulled his armies back, giving the remaining Yolindans a month to leave his land. The Archlich named his new nation Lacot, and built the city of Mur to serve as its capital.

The author explained that, although many of his contemporaries widely condemned the choice, it has largely become the consensus among historians that the Archmage's famous deal was, in truth, a calculated move that took the future into account. While the full scope of the legendary mage's actions are not yet clear, it is believed that he made the choice that most benefited the people of the Inland Sea.

The Kingdom of Bone, as Lacot came to be called, has since honored the terms its agreement, keeping its conflict with other countries minor in scope. Nevertheless, it is widely believed that the Archlich is only biding his time. Waiting for the powerful mage that stands at the center of the Mage's Guild to die. After all, he need not fear death through aging.

Despite the ambivalent political results, the Siege of Batai marked the final action of the Dragonknights. The handful that survived unilaterally withdrew from the public eye, disappearing into the eastern wilds beyond the Brittlepeaks. The official history of the Order of the Dragon had ended that day.

[Of course the title comes with a bunch of serious baggage. Why wouldn't it?]

The rest of the tome dealt with a few minor political upheavals and, comparatively, minor wars. It was clear that the author felt that nothing of great historical significance had happened in the last two hundred years.

[I find myself with more questions than answers at this point....Kind of wish Morris was here to talk about these things. I guess I'll just have to pick up some other historical works when I can. Speaking of which, I need to find some time to stop by the Spire and swap out this book for a new one.]

The other students had begun to filter into the classroom. Mike even saw Aine and Rebecca. The redhead seemed a great deal more subdued, and even looked away fearfully when she noticed his gaze. Seeing her like this was quite depressing for him, but he wasn't sure how to fix it. Anything he could think of was more likely to backfire than help.

He was eventually distracted when the instructor came in and announced that a 'routine' mobilization exercise will be held in the middle of next week. Every student was expected to see their advisors about their responsibilities during the event.

Something about the announcement bothered Mike, but he couldn't place it. He soon forgot about his concerns when the instructor began lecturing on Earth Magic in detail. They had already gone over the fundamentals of Elemental Magic yesterday, and now they had started focusing on each element individually.

He hoped that the lesson would give him some insight to improve his command of Earth Magic. By the time the class had ended, he felt he'd gained a new perspective. When he had the time, he was definitely going to put it into practice.

Leaving the department, he hurried over to the Spire. With a little luck, he could secure a new book and make it back in time for his Summoning class.