Monastic Order of Mage Knights

The Monastic Order of Mage Knights (MOMK) is a faction described as an "evil mage supremacist" group hunted by the Tower of Purgation. They play a central role in the Heist Arc.

ALL LISTED EVENTS TAKE PLACE AT LEAST 5,000 YEARS PRIOR TO THE CURRENT TIME OF AETHER.

0. Persecution of Mages

In times long past, in the days of the First College of Magi (known now as the Old College), mages across the coin were hunted and persecuted by groups of the mundane and those who didn't trust mages to handle such dangerous powers. Every magical catastrophe, large or small, was another example of why all mages should be locked away or executed. The College of Magi was admonished for it's supposed heinous actions of encouraging mages to grow and learn.

Tired of seeing prospective students and friends alike be murdered or locked away, a professor by the name of Daedelus within the Old College decided to make a stand, and so formed the Monastic Order of Mage Knights, a group for the clever, noble and strong to rally together around to push back those who would suppress the best and brightest mages of the lands.

1. A Corruption of Ideals

The monastic order swelled dramatically in size and power, recruiting the downtrodden and clever, all while avoiding enough attention to be seen as a direct threat. Even within the Old College where their supporters grew, they didn't declare themselves out in the open. While their telltale colour scheme of blue-and-gold was well known, it was still rarely known who exactly was part of the Order. A signet ring here, a blue and gold dress there, a quiet conversation in the back of a library between 'classmates'.

The monastic order slowly grew more zealous, more extreme. Three main tenets emerged for the Monastic Order's members to judge if a person was worthy of life, let alone entry. Bloodline, Affinity and Talent.

Only the strongest, most noble bloodlines were worthy of recognition. Specialization affinities are the strongest form of magic, with Soul magic being the weakest. Those without the talent to wield Magic, the ultimate power, do not deserve life.

Strength flourished and the weak were culled, more individuals starting to grow uncomfortable at the grasp that the Monastic Order held upon the college or the lands beyond. As the Order further played politics within the Old College, several individuals attempted to undermine their influence such as Kalefax O'Hendwyn and Vivaldi.

2. A Crusade of Blue and Gold

Using magics lost to time, Daedalus as well as the co-founder of the Monastic Order — whose names have both been stripped from the history books — created an artificial island using Aetheric Crystals, which would later come to be known as Aether Island. This island served as the main base of operations for the Monastic Order, a place where they didn't need to hide their identities. A gigantic Aetheric Vessel which had the ability to travel between planes. Growing stronger and more confident, the Monastic Order burned to the ground those who had once dared lift a hand against mages, the mundane and the weak falling to wave after wave of brutal, merciless assault.

The Monastic Order grew more confident and violent, ambition swelling to far eclipse their original intentions. No longer were their sights set upon mere protection of mages, they had grown to become the strongest of the strong, the elite, the true ruling class — the monastic order sought to reshape the whole world in their image. Ruling, as the strong deserved to do.

Another of their bases of operations was the town that would be later known as Redwall, a location of great interest to the Monastic Order due to the ruins underneath the land, where a series of excavations were undertaken in an attempt to unveil something of great power and value. Salvazar and Azarath were two of the lead members of the Redwall Project, Azarath in particular creating many constructs in an attempt to clear the furthest levels of the magical ruins and escape with their prize. Eventually the losses grew too great and the monastic Order put a hold on the Redwall project as they set their sights on greater ambitions.

3. Destruction of the Old College, "Day of Black Death"

So, they took further drastic action. What was later known as the Day of Black Death, the Mage Knights stormed the Old College, slaughtering everyone and burning the college to the ground, to ensure that they and they alone would be able to guide the future of magic. Student, professor, headmaster, all who didn't stand with The Order were killed. A scant few students survived, helped by the Druidic professor Indica, but survivors were scarce.

This final act was enough for the Tower of Purgation to declare the Monastic Order of Mage Knights as persona non grata, and thus began a laborious battle to hunt them down and banish them from the aetheric island which acted as their base of operations. Even for the Tower such a feat was difficult, as the Mage Knights were incredibly skilled combatants, while also being privy to the arts of Anti-Magic. Regardless of their strength, eventually they were removed from the island and went into hiding. Their leader, Daedalus, was captured and sentenced to a 2500 year imprisonment in the tower.

4. Remnants of The Order and the New College

With the destruction of the Old College of Magi, the New College of Magi was created by a good deal of the surviving students. This included many, many individuals who were sympathetic to the Monastic Order's ideals. Thus, the New College of Magi was heavily influenced by the brutal ideals of culling the weak so the strong could flourish, allowing for deadly tests and exams to weed out any who weren't worth their time, even enacting the Post Mortem Education Plan to bring back dead students as ghosts as the mortality rate was too high.

Every department in the New College has it's own cult of personality and it's own professor leading a department, but the influence of the monastic order still runs deep through most of them. Some are part of the Order still, others are simply molded by past events. Most Archmages would feel unwelcome stepping into the New College, as there would likely be attempts on their life from the students present.

As for the Remnants of the Monastic Order, they have rallied around a new leader. While they are even more secretive they haven't backed down from being persistent, interrupting the Phoenixian rebirth ritual of the old Archmage of Fire, leading to his death. They also were responsible for the Beheer under Aether Island, part of a larger plot to kill the dragon which controls the nexus.

Anyone who goes around proclaiming that they're a "Mage Knight" or have anything to do with a "Monastic Order" is likely to get put on a watch-list, however as it's been 5,000 years since the Monastic Order went into hiding, the terms get thrown around without people really knowing what they mean.

See also: Heist Arc | Magic Lore | Tower of Purgation | The College of Magi