The Skysworn

By the light of the kilg, Comalan's sun, there is a cabal of warriors who swear to uphold the values of Tanis' Serene culture. Based in Fort Kieransgard, the elves of the Skysworn are a counterpart to Resta's templars, differing primarily in their solitary focus on Doctrines of Serenity. All Serene Doctrines are represented, namely Tranquility, Love, Dreams and-- to a much lesser extent-- Shadows. Those who join the Skysworn are taught to live by a particular ideal; all life in Tanis is to be protected. This informs various responsibilities including nature conservation, hunting for casters of dark magic native to the Bog of Anguish, offering safe harbor to Restan and Galean pilgrims, and collaborating with rangers to protect the land from their Heronite enemies.

This order owes its origins to a Restan templar by the name of Kieran Hawke, who once saved Tanis while escorting a group of pilgrims from his monastery in the year 2E87. He was unaware of the dangers of the Bog of Anguish, and so attempted to lead his people through it to Boggarde so that they may pay homage at a Serene temple there. This might have ended in the death or corruption of his entire group if not for a chance encounter with a ranger from Medear named Nalan. It was she who led the Templars safely through the bog, skirting known locations of sinister magical activity. Upon reaching their destination, Kieran bestowed a gift of prayer beads engraved with the markings of the Shadow Doctrine. Nalan initially rejected this gift for its association with Chaos, but a long and respectful discussion ultimately convinced her that the Shadow Doctrine was just as much a part of Serenity's wisdom as it was the war god's.

With the acolytes' charge to pray at the Boggarde temple completed, Kieran would thank his new elven friend once more before setting off toward Medear on a journey that would lead them back to Resta. Along the way, they would encounter an army of demons that bog witches had been cultivating in secret for over three decades. Although the rangers expected him to escape in order to protect his charges, Kieran led the acolytes to join the rangers in defense of Boggarde. While many acolytes would distinguish themselves as strong candidates for priesthood and knighthood in the ensuing battle, Kieran alone suffered a mortal wound from the horn of a crazed fever morph that took the form of a human-bull hybrid.

Understanding that this wound would finish him, Kieran surrendered his body to the gods for a powerful blast of divine energy that eradicated the remaining demons and rent a massive hole in the forest canopy. Elves who studied this miracle would find traces of Serenity in its aftermath as it opened up the sky not by harming the treeline above, but shoving thee branches aside. This exposed part of the Bog of Anguish to the sky for the first time and inspired many rangers to declare the site of this battle holy land. They would build a tower in this spot that reached beyond the treeline and swore to honor their newfound hero by adopting some virtues of his order. The Blackstone Order would send a commendation to the garrison of this new tower fifty years later, declaring them the Skysworn, Tanisian allies of the Blackstone Order. Nalan accepted this honor as the Skysworn's first Grand Master, pledging to uphold the honor that Kieran Hawke showed as a templar.