Order of the Blazing Sun

"The Goddess instructs us to seek out the enemy’s weaknesses and to attack them with relentless force. Do this in all things – in love, in politics, in war. To accomplish any task – to defeat any foe, all that is needed is a keen eye, a sharp mind and the favour of the Goddess."

- The Order's Creed

The Order of the Blazing Sun is a Templar Order dedicated to the worship and martial practice of the Goddes of Warfare and Battles, Myrmidia. This particular Order is amongst one of the most well-known within the Empire, as their Order does not worship a native god of the Empire but a foreign one hailing from the lands of Tilea. They are a small but respected Order with a distinguished history dating back to the last few years of the Great Crusade. They were amongst the first of the Knightly Orders from the west to travel to Nuln and join with Magnus during the Great War against Chaos, and having fought with him all the way to the Battle of Kislev itself. These knights take great pride in their weapons and abilities, as their prowness in battle is equal if not greater then even the oldest and most power of many Templar Orders. They are often seen charging on the battlefield in their highly polished and resplendent armour of black and gold with sigils of the Sun adorned beautifully in their armor, a style that is the traditional color scheme and heraldry of the Order.

As a patron Order devoted to the Goddess Myrmidia, these Templars devoted themselves to the study and mastery of the science and art of warfare in all its aspects. These fervent followers of Myrmidia value ability and accomplishment over all other factors, including noble birth and their prowness in battle. It is because of this that the order has grown in prosperity over their years, attracting the finest military minds to its long and distinquished banner. A Knight of the Blazing Sun's primary goal is to obtain perfection in the art of War, and as such they travel the lenght and breath of hte Old World, individually seeking battle both large and small and to learn and perfect the many tactics and strategies from all the other Human nations. An army with a unit of Knights of the Blazing sun at its head is a potent force capable of dealing with opponents with a level of cunning, leadership, and strategy that ensures victory before the battle is even joined.

Overview
"The hammer is not the answer to every military problem, for even the mightiest of hammers will miss its mark if the opponent is wise enough not to wait around to get crushed."

- Knight of the Blazing Sun

Foremost of the many knightly orders in the service of Myrmidia, the Knights of the Blazing Sun were not always so pious. They were founded during the Crusades in IC 1457, over 1000 years ago. Once the first of these knights were a secular order of the Empire sworn to no one God, but during the precursor to the crusade of Araby they underwent a miraculous conversion that has passed into legend. Sixty of the original foundings knights were stationed in Estalia when the sultan's attack washed over them during Battle of Magritta.

They were cornered by his forces, with no hope of relief, but it was that they were saved from certain defeat by a freak earth tremor which dislodged a huge statue of Myrmidia from a temple roof. It crashed to the ground and landed on Emir Wazir the Cruel and his Black Scimitar Guard, killing them instantly, allowing the Knights to turn the tide of battle and escort several hundred Estalians to safety. After the battle, the survivors banded together and founded the Order of the Blazing Sun in Myrmidia's honour. They converted to the worship of Myrmidia and set out on the crusade of Araby in the name of the Goddess of strategy and battle, earning much glory for themselves and their faith. Upon their return to the Empire, they built a shrine to Myrmidia in the heart of Talabheim.

The Knights of the Blazing Sun are by no means the largest of the Myrmidian Orders. For example, the Order of the Righteous Spear, along with its countless sister orders, is much, much larger but thanks to their reputation, the Order of the Blazing Sun is by far the most famous and well-respected, not to mention the richest within the Empire. The Order was formely based in the middle of the Empire, within the heartland of Talabecland, but due to their popularity, they have begun to rapidly gaining support and influence in the south, and in these parts, the Order holds a great deal of political power amongst the nobility.

In recent years the Cult of Myrmidia has gained a stronghold amongst the Imperial warriors of the Empire, replacing Ulric in the prayers of the more southernly soldiers. As the cult has ascended, so too has the Orders fortunes in wealth and power. Foremost of the Order's duties is the maintenance and guarding of the important pilgrimage routes between the Empire and the holy sites of Magritta. These duties have proven to be especially lucrative, as many upper-class would-be pilgrims are willing to pay handsomely for the guarantee that their Gods will, indeed, keep them safe as they travel (albeit using the Myrmidians as vessels to ensure that safety). Since it was established, the order has spread throughout the lands of distant Estalia, and is one of the most prominent of the Knightly Orders.

Unlike most other Templar Orders, its members do not reside in large chapter houses; instead they travel the land individually or in small groups, looking for new challenges to test their skills and lend their aid to the poor and defenseless. They are well versed in the use of arms and armour, but their true expertise is as tacticians and strategists, and they often serve as military advisers and commanders on the battlefield when the former commander is far to incompetent to lead.

Throughout Estalia, countless villages, farms and isolated outposts owe their survival to the timely arrival (and subsequent assumption of command) by a Knight of the Blazing Sun. Since these knights spend a great deal of timeaway from their chapterhouses and temples, often embarking on crusades or quests for the glory of their Order, they would often travel in small groups of their fellows, sometimes alone, and lend support to whatever military endeavours is most needed for their aid, whether it is bolstering beleaguered units of soldiers on the battlefield, taking command of leaderless companies in the midst of a campaign, offering military advice to generals and nobles, or training local militia in the art of warfare.

Each knight must spend the first several years directly after his initiation performing these sorts of deeds, and only after putting his skills and training to the test may he return to the chapterhouse as a full brother of the Order. These Knights would normally live in a similar fashion as their other fellow Knights, but there are some notable differences. The knights spend a great deal of time training in rather unusual methods of warfare, unafraid to experiment with ploys, tactics, and equipment other Knightly Orders might overlook or find unhounourable. Many of these Knights are even well-trained archers, a result which lead to the formation of the Knights of the Verdant Field. Some of the knights have even to known to use highly burnished shields, employed to dazzle the knights’ opponents with reflected sunlight and strike while their blind. When not doing physical training, these knights would spend a great deal of time in the discussion of broader military tactics, the deployment and manoeuvre of entire armies, use of terrain, and placement of artillery. While all knights have a grounding in military theory, the greatest tacticians in the Empire may be found within the ranks of the Order itself.

Source

 * Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition) pg 42 - 45
 * Warhammer: Knightly Orders of the Empire pg 11 - 13

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