| Militant | |
|---|---|
| Seat | Temple of the One, Imperial City |
| Allegiance | Faith of the Eight |
| Current Leader | Emperor Titus II Mede |
| Founded | Early First Era |
The Militant are the military arm of the Faith of the Eight, under the command of their religious head, the Emperor himself. It is composed of several military orders, including the Knights of the Eight, and the Holy Followers.
Orders[]
Knights of the Eight[]
The Knights of the Eight are knights who renounce their titles, lands, gold, and possessions to fight for the Eight. They swear their swords to the head of the Faith, the Emperor. They wear inlaid silver armour over hair shirts, bear white and black cloaks, and wield swords with crystals fashioned into the symbol of the Faith in their pommels. They developed a reputation for fanaticism and implacable hatred for enemies of the Faith.
The order contains eight branches that a progressed member of the order can choose to join if he or she wishes, though it is not required. There is one for each of the eight gods:
- The Order of the Hour, militant branch of Akatosh.
- The Knights of the Circle, militant branch of Arkay.
- The Knights of the Lily, militant branch of Dibella.
- The Knights Mentor, militant branch of Julianos.
- The Kynaran Order, militant branch of Kynareth.
- The Maran Knights, militant branch of Mara.
- The Knights of Stendarr, militant branch of Stendarr.
- The Knights of Iron, militant branch of Zenithar.
A knight of the Eight can choose to either join one of the branches or remain an unsworn Knight of the Eight and fulfil other functions at places of worship in Cyrodiil. If one decides to choose a branch, they swear an oath to the respective god for life and are barred from choosing another until their death.
Non-Knightly Militant Orders[]
Due to the restrictions of the Knights of the Eight, separate Militant orders were founded that allowed commoners into their ranks. Such orders tended to fulfil baser tasks and would interact with the layman more often than the Knights of the Eight.
The largest, most prominent of such orders are the Holy Followers, a general order that is open to all sorts, including commoners, hedge knights, etc. Holy Followers wander the realm and escort pilgrims between temples. They are lightly-armed footmen, who carry whatever weapons they can make or find, often axes or cudgels.
Other non-knightly Militant orders include:
- The Vigilants of Stendarr, sworn to Stendarr. The Vigilants bear simple roughspun robes and cheap plate armour of iron or steel, and wield maces. They wander the realm in search of daedra worshippers. They are often known for their questionable practices and chaotic organisation, often arresting people indiscriminately and coming into conflict with the lords of the land they enter.
History[]
The Holy Followers were a more humble order generally for commoners. Holy Followers wandered the realm and escort pilgrims between temples. They were lightly-armed footmen, who carried whatever weapons they could make or find, often axes or cudgels.
After the death of Emperor Tiber I Septim in 3E 38, the late emperor was added to the pantheon as a ninth god under the name 'Talos', and the famed Knights of the Eight renamed themselves to the Knights of the Nine. This lasted until 4E 175 when the Talos heresy was outlawed and the Nine once more became the Eight. At this time the knightly order was also renamed back to the Knights of the Eight.
In 3E ??? the Militant supported House Fyste when they tried to supress the worship of the old gods by House Tarbor. The Tarbors were supported by many Houses from Skyrim and eventually House Fyste and their Militant supporters were defeated, solidifying the legitimate worship of the old gods in parts of Skyrim for generations. Eventually what House Fyste failed to do through strength of arms would occur through the passage of time, as the Nords of Skyrim would largely come to adopt the Faith of the Eight as their religion.
In 3E ??? the Vigilants of Stendarr were forcefully disbanded by Emperor X ? Septim, as they were a collection of commonfolk arresting anyone they pleased, causing many commoners to turn against Septim rule. The order would later be revived by the Mede dynasty in 4E ??? in an attempt to seize back religious sovereignty from the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion. The reorganised order was given slightly better organisation by having it be lead by a recognised knight from the Knights of Stendarr.
Quotes[]
Behind the Scenes[]
The Militant are loosely inspired by crusading orders.