Knighthood, Imperial Orders of
Several dozen orders of knighthood exist within the Imperium. Some are restricted to
specific classes of noble such as members
of the Imperial Family, racial Aslan, racial
Vargr, or other special groups. Others
are awarded for specific achievement or service or for holding specific positions
within the government. Still others are broadly based orders into which
most new knights are inducted.
The most common orders of knighthood are the Order of the Emperor's Guard,
established in 52 and originally limited to the Emperor's personal retainers
but now of wide and diverse membership, and the Order of Starship and Crown,
established in 17. More exclusive orders have also been established:
the Order of Hlyuea (established to honor loyal Aslan citizens), the Order
of Gvadakoung (established to honor loyal Vargr citizens), and the Honorable
Order of the Arrow (established to recognize interstellar explorers). The
domains each have orders named for them: the
Order of Antares, the Order of Vland, the Order of Sylea, the Order of Sol,
the Order of the Gateway, and the Order of Deneb. Of these, the Order
of Sylea is administered by the Emperor himself, as de facto Archduke
of Sylea; the Order of Deneb has only recently been used, as Norris is the
first Archduke of Deneb to be named.
Each order has its own code (some lax, some stringent) and member knights
are expected to abide by these codes. The head of each order (for example,
the Emperor as head of the Order of Sylea) is expected to abide by this code
in addition to the protocol of his title, although conflicts are resolved
in favor of the protocol.
-cam MW
-IE nob