Chevaliers

The Purpose of The Chevaliers
The famous, noble, knightly, and highly trained order of the Chevaliers is the elite military arm in the Orlesian Empire. The order have been established for several ages, forming both: the empire's sword and shield, taking part in every campaign Orlais have pursued over its long and proud history. Chevaliers can be seen as prominent guests, guards, and members at the Imperial court. Or over their dressed and armored horses, patrolling the borders and watching for any trouble. Their loyalty to the empire is absolute and their job is to protect it from all threats, be it internal disorder, rebels, or betrayals. Or foreign threats from neighbours, but also go further and undertake invasions to these neighbors if the Empire’s interest demanded. They are honor guards

Symbols of the faction

 * The Yellow Feather is the mark of the Chevaliers in Orlesian Society.
 * The heraldry a Chevalier carry or wear on his shield is that of the empire itself, The golden lion.

Methods and Training
The Orlesians nobility look for their knights with pride and admiration, ensuring to satisfy them and keep them content, because they know without them, Orlais wouldn’t endure. That position had not been granted, but rather ’’earned’’, after going through the whole process of toughest training courses Thedas have known free men to ‘’willingly’’ undertake, at least in civil lands.

Recruitment and Joining
"Only those descendant of a noble family recognized by the Council of Heralds are eligible to be selected for the training of the knights."

That’s the official version of the rules of L'academie des Chevaliers in Val Royeaux, which render it impossible for elves or dwarves to even dream about joining the noble order, while making it severely hard for commoners to get their way in, unless they cheat their way with help of some willing noble. Nobles on the other end, joins the knights to improve social standing. A useful path for lesser, landless nobles and noble children not in line to inherit.

Women are not forbidden from joining the Chevaliers, but neither encouraged to take up arms and fight. Those who do, are following the footsteps of the famous and first female knight, Aveline.

Forms of training
Chevalier training is brutal and effective, and involves relentless training and honing of one's strength and skill. In addition to the history of the order, students learn proper form and breath control, and how to exercise their muscles to keep them limber as well as ascertain strength in a wounded limb, keep limbs from going numb from being bound, and even fight off the effects of magic or drugs. Chevaliers are also taught to identify different types of pain, by way of determining life-threatening injuries.

Exercises at the Academie include fully-armored endurance training such as tree-climbing followed by melee training with weighted weapons. One of their most grueling tests of skill includes sparring with moving, bladed pells. Students also learn horsemanship and how to care for their warhorses.

Melee training provides a student with tremendous prowess in light and heavy armors and in all forms of melee and horse combat, including two-hander weapons and sword-and-shield, and the use of a longsword and shortsword or dagger in tandem as well.

Other methods
Though chevaliers prefer to fight in armor, they are quite capable and resourceful without it, as well as against opponents who may eschew armor all together. Additionally, chevaliers also learn some of how templars battle mages, how Grey Wardens combat darkspawn, and how to slay the undead. So they can be ready for any and all situations.

Duels
Duels are extremely serious affairs for chevaliers, a civilized and honorable way to solve several conflicts with least bloodshed. Be it conflicts between the chevaliers themselves, between a chevalier and a nobleman, or between the nobles themselves. In case one of the conflicts sides - or both - have no martial talents, they can choose a chevalier as their “champion” to fight in their honor. The winning side will force their will and takes what they intended to take, while neglecting the duels is a crime of the highest order in Orlais.

For that, chevaliers training focus on duels - among many other expertises, and a knight with full training is one the most deadly duelists in Thedas, outmatching the skills of bards in this field and put in comparison with the duelists of Rivain and Antiva. Though honor plays a big part in Chevalier’s life, It does not preclude a level of opportunism. Indeed, a chevalier will likely make note of an any defects or nicks in an opponent's weapons or armor and seek to exploit them. Not calling this as “Fighting dirty”, but - rather, “utilizing tactics”

The Emperor always have a named champion from the Chevaliers, and usually accompany him everywhere, becoming more than his personal bodyguard. Nobility can ask the academy for appointment of a champion as well, though they usually get a low ranked officer, as the extraordinary ranks answer only to royalty and the council of Chevaliers.

Structure
Due to the unrest in the Empire, and the events of 9:40 DA (including to the assassination of Empress Celene) that led to his ascension to power. The new Emperor “Just La Guerry” have made major changes to the the knightly order’s structure. To achieve both: Securing the absolute loyalty of the order to the throne, and to ensure they stay out of the Chantry’s control, even if they help the templars in the war against rebel mages. The current structure as following:

Le grand maître
The Grand master is rank of the supreme leader of the Chevaliers, the sovereign of Orlais, The Emperor of the Empress. He or she appoints every Chevalier with or without the advice of the Grand Chancery. When the sovereign is crowned, he or she gets ‘’l'insigne d'honneur’’ (the badge of honor), the symbol of leading whole Chevaliers of the empire.

Le grand chancelier
Under the authority of the Grand Master and his instructions, the Lord Chancellor directs the work of the Grand Chancery, He reports directly to the Emperor, and can be called to be heard in the Imperial court when interests of the order are discussed.

The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Emperor, and nominated by the Grand Chancery from the rank of the Grand Lion. He remains in office for a maximum period of seven years - unless terminated earlier in his duties, then retire with a noble title of ‘’Duc Chancelier’’ and may or may not get a land as a gratitude for his service.

The retirement title is just honorary and can’t be inherited, which discourage many of the high nobility from chasing the rank of “Lord Chancellor” in the first place, and encourages those officers who are more devoted to the order of Chevaliers and interest of the Emperor. Securing more “professionalism” in the order, and keeping away most of the power hungry nobles.

Known grand chanceliers

 * 9:40 - 9:44 DA: Lord Chancellor Cyril Lafaille, Murdered by a noble after discovering he was a mage in disguise.
 * 9:44 - 9:51 DA: Lady Chancellor Corinne De Verechiel, she will retire at late, 9:51 Dragon.
 * 9:52 - ???: Not known yet who will be chosen by the emperor to fulfill the role.

La Grande Chancellerie
The Grand Chancery is the supreme council that meets under the chairmanship of Lord Chancellor, deliberates on matters relating to the status and budget of the order, appointments or promotions in the hierarchy, discipline of members of the order.

There are several structures funded by and operated under the authority of the Grand Chancery, like L'academie des Chevaliers in Val Royeaux and its branches outside the capital, Les Chevaliers musée, and La Grande Forge in Val Firmin.

The board of the council consists of eleven members:
 * The Lord Chancellor, President.
 * One Steward-General, administrator of the civil structures.
 * Seven members from the Grand Lions and Grand officers of the Order.
 * Two members selected from the commanders.

The officers
Officers of the Chevaliers come in four ranks, though they are not publicly used outside of the order itself, and for commoners they are all “Chevaliers”, specially they all addressed with the same form: “Ser” or “Dame”

The ranks (from lowest to highest)

Officer
Must pass Two advanced courses, each is one year in the academy in addition to the primary Six-months Chevalier course they passed to be a knight. Officers are appointed as leaders of the teams of Chevaliers within a Legion.

Commander
Must stay in service as an officer for at least six years. They leads battalions of normal soldiers, and are responsible of the training of new Chevaliers in the academy. They are the largest rank of Chevalier among officers (in numbers) due to the advancement past this rank is severely harder.

Grand Officer
Must stay in service as a commander for ten years, pass Top course of the academy, and have a recommendation from a Grand Lion to promote. They leads the legions of Chevaliers during war, and they are the fiercest and toughest warriors In the Empire. The best duelists and most skilled with big variety of weapons. Usually the Emperor's champion comes from this rank.

Grand Lions
There is no number of years requirements for this rank, as they few, hand picked by the Council from among the grand officers due to excellence and talents in strategies and tactics. They are the generals of the Orlesian army and admirals of its navy, and they form the brain of the military affairs in Orlais. Their command in war time can override authority of low nobility like Comtes, but with any signs of corruption in using their power, they must answer to the council, which can be very humiliating since the council includes officers of ‘’lower’’ ranks. And that way Grand Lions try to avoid any action not adhered with the code of honor that might bring them into questioning.

Chevalier
The knights is the standard rank that new graduates from the academy acquire after a six months excessive course. Don’t be fooled by the short time of this course, because it were never easy, and there were never many graduates from the first try. Indeed, the majority of the students fails the course and repeat it. The academy claims it proved to be more efficient to force students to squeeze several years training within few months, pushing the students to get the best possible results. Then there is another two courses the knights needs to bypass to get anywhere serious within the order, which takes only two years for the best of the best. But turns into several years of fail and retry for the majority.

The new knights are usually deployed for guard duties in noble houses, in the various structures that needs guarding in the empire, and in patrols roaming the important streets. And though they are graduates, they need to check in the academy offices spread around Orlais for regular inspection every three months until they become officers. If a Chevalier fails a check, they are forced to submit immediately to the academy, or be fired from the order. Which make new knights to either keep themselves fit all the time, or save the hassle and goes directly to pass the advanced courses.

Val Royeaux
The main facility of the Academy lies north of Val Royeaux, on the eastern bank of the river. And while other schools can graduate Chevaliers, the top training courses must be passed in the main academy. The capital entertain the Museum of Chevaliers as well, where old artifacts and trinkets are displayed behind enchanted glass and opened up for visitors who pay to watch them.

Val Firmin
The seat of the Grand Duc of the south, have a smaller school which can only graduate normal Chevaliers, not officers. In addition to the famous Chevaliers Forge where most armors and arms the order uses are specially crafted.

Montford
The old abandoned fortress of Montford have been taken by the academy after defeat and retreat from Ferelden at the start of the Dragon Age and turned into a new facility of the Chevaliers. It hosts a moderate school in size, but very serious one in quality since it was created with the mentality of mending the flaws that led to the defeat in Ferelden and to train even better knights.

There are whispers about horrors in the old castle that the recruits must face or die trying. Indeed these whispers came from the obvious higher death rates among the recruits than other schools, but also from other sources. But what people can’t question is the fact that knights from Montford are best in the country, and its said that most current Grand Lions are originally graduates from Montford.

Beliefs
Although we often refer to the “code of chivalry”, there is no written strict rules book or something like that. The code is a moral system which combined a warrior ethos, Andrastian virtue and courtly manners, all conspiring to establish a notion of honour and nobility.

Ser Armand Nouvrai, a philosopher and Chevalier from the steel Age summarized the Code in Seven values, calling them “The Seven Knightly Virtues” which are :
 * Courage: More than bravado or bluster, the knight in shining armor must have the courage of the heart necessary to undertake tasks which are difficult, tedious or unglamorous, and to graciously accept the sacrifices involved.
 * Justice: A knight in shining armor holds himself to the highest standard of behavior, and knows that “fudging” on the little rules weakens the fabric of society for everyone.
 * Mercy: Words and attitudes can be painful weapons, which is why a knight wearing the yellow feather exercises mercy in his dealings with others, creating a sense of peace and community, rather than engendering hostility and antagonism.
 * Generosity: Sharing what’s valuable in life means not just giving away material goods, but also time, attention, wisdom and energy - the things that create a strong, rich and diverse community.
 * Faith: In the code of chivalry, “faith” means trust and integrity, and a knight in shining armor is always faithful to his promises, no matter how big or small they may be.
 * Nobility: Although this word is sometimes confused with “entitlement” or “snobbishness,” in the code of chivalry it conveys the importance of upholding one’s convictions at all times, especially when no one else is watching.
 * Hope: More than just a safety net in times of tragedy, hope is present every day in a knight’s positive outlook and cheerful demeanor - the shining armor that shields him or her, and inspires people all around.

Everyday Life
The Academy is boarding schools, students don’t return home during the period of their courses. Each day life is regulated by trainers, the kind of training and how each individual are coached is far from being routine work. The students must be on their toes all the time, expecting and be prepared for any surprises or hard changes in the regime of their daily training.

However, the graduated knights enjoy broad privileges in the Orlesian society. They are always welcome into nobility balls, events, and parties. High officers are prominent attendants in the Imperial court as well. In addition to to having ultimate authority over those of lowest classes, it’s said that a Chevalier can do ‘’whatever’’ they like to city elves and commoners. It’s encouraged by laws that consider assaulting a Chevalier - even in self-defense circumstances - is a serious crime and severely punished. So the Chevalier will most likely gets what he wants from an individual or a group of people in low places without expecting any resistance. That’s why commoners fear the Chevaliers, and don’t share the same reverence the nobility have towards them.

Marriage and Relationships
Though being nobles themselves, the knights of the empire don’t see that marriage with commoners is as much scandal as most nobles see, but rather a way to force the empire’s will on those poor souls who get chosen sometimes by a Chevalier and be ‘’forced’’ to marry them. Though most commoners consider that such marriage is little better than a slavery, the spouse would have - technically - be raised in society. Some Chevalier would go that path to have a cheap spouse, without paying a huge dowry, being bothered to court a cunning Orlesian lady, nor taking the burden of appeasing the noble family.

Though the previous way for marriage is available, most Chevaliers would refrain from going that way, considering their own families that would panic when their son takes such a serf as a spouse. Indeed, most Chevaliers when wanting to marry they would court a proper lady. Relations within the academy is prohibited, and frowned upon between full knights.

Influence and politics
Chevaliers have considerable influence in the Imperial court, though they can’t force the Emperor will, he will usually keep them content, why not while they are the elite forces in his army and the best generals and tacticians.

Individual Chevaliers can participate in the Grande Game with nobility, though if they are to involve the usage of any questionable methods - that can be judged by Chevaliers code while nobility can see no shame in using it, they would do with their family identity rather than their knightly status. As the only way to escape the council’s questions is to have a high noble rank to hide behind.

On the other hand, Chevaliers are heavily involved officially with the nobility responsible for keeping the Empire’s safety and security like all Marquis of the borders, and Protecteurs of important cities. They attend the war councils these nobles holds and discuss strategy and tactics with them.

Foundation
The chivalry order have several known precursors, one of them being the famous “Empress Arm” created by Empress Jeaneve I. But the Chevaliers haven’t been officially formed until Black age. Inspired by the great heroism and sacrifices of templar knights in the Exalted marches started since Black Age and continued through Exalted age, the Orlesian Empire have been founded its own knightly order. Starting with its highest officers being actual Templars knights who returned from the Exalted marches, then gradually started to take its independence and have their own officers and ranks.

Key events
Over the ages, Chevaliers took part in many great events in history:

Fourth Blight
A token force of Chevaliers have been deployed to aid other nations fighting the Darkspawns During the Fourth blight when it embarked at 6:12 Exalted. The goal of this Legion was more of learning more about Darkspawns and how to fight them and return safe than actual aid. The returning knights have wrote fully detailed reports that the orders uses until today to make sure Chevaliers are always prepared to fight Darkspawns if they ever targets the Empire.

Qunari wars
During the Storm age, Chevaliers fought the Qunari side by side with Templars knights in great Exalted marches. They successfully relieved the Qunari from the Tome of Koslun, and later at 7:44 Storm, the the Qunari occupation of Kirkwall was lifted by an Orlesian chevalier named Ser Michel Lafaille, who became its first Viscount on behalf of the Emperor of Orlais.

Ferelden Occupation
Over twenty years - starting from 8:24 Blessed, the Chevaliers of Orlais could occupy the entire lands of Ferelden and crush any resistance its nobles proved. The Chevaliers have ensured the safety of the nobles loyal to Orlais, and the king the emperor installed on Ferelden’s throne for decades. Until Prince Maric took the leadership of the rebellion against Orlais and with the help of a traitor Orlesian bard he could gain ground and eventually defeated both established forces, and reinforcements of Chevaliers and drove Orlesians back in one of the biggest defeats the order have faced. Which became a turning point in the order’s history, and since then, Chevaliers worked harder and harder to ensure that no such disgrace occur again with any other nation.