<div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px">One week ago...</span><br/>
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<b><span style="color: green">Sol Knight Academy, Dimhaven - Alia</span></b>​</div><br/><i>The whitewashed walls of Dimhaven shone in the morning light of the sun. Banners graced with the emblem of the Sol Knights flittered and weaved in the gentle wind. Villagers, nobles, and guards alike looked to the sun with a sense of peace as they went out to carry out their lives. All was as it should be: peaceful. Being a fortress stockpiled with able and elite guards along with the cream of the noble crop, Dimhaven spared no slack. As beautiful as it was, nothing would get in to much things up.<br/>
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This was the idea shared by almost all Sol Knights in the land of Alia. To this day, no demon had ever gotten past the walls. Complacent in their safety, the people of Dimhaven turned to their usual methodical ways of life while up and coming knights aspired to reach the top of their class. It was here where the class of 1500 FC would be graced with a speech from their superior officer. There in the courtyard of the Sol Knight Academy stood a large group of knights, all pieced together in a tight and orderly formation. They stood at attention, their armor and weapons gleaming in the morning light.<br/>
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They looked to the entrance of the academy and watched with surprise as someone else came up to address them. It was not their superior officer, the one who had broken them all down and remade them as righteous warriors, but Duke Edmund, the self-proclaimed ruler of Alia, if not the de facto leader of Dimhaven and the head of the Sol Knights. A man past his prime, the Duke was dressed in his usual red gilded robes, complete with the crown and jewels befitting a man of his status. Approaching a podium, the Duke looked out upon the knights assembled before him and suppressed a smile as he watched them all take a knee.</i><br/><br/><b>"Arise,"</b><i> the Duke called. The knights all got up at once and stood at ease.</i><b>"You are here because you chose to be here, because you realized that your land and your people require your assistance. You are here because you aspire to better yourself, to protect those you love, and to leave a peaceful land for your children when you pass on to the next world. And of course, the pay is nice too,"</b><i>the Duke added with a chuckle.</i><br/><br/><b>"I will not stand up here on this podium and lie to you all. The challenges you will face outside these walls are not to be taken lightly. Strife runs rampant throughout the land. Highwaymen patrol the roads and make your countrymen miserable, yesterday's allies have turned into today's enemies, and demonic creatures of all shapes and sizes seek to extinguish the flames that burn brightly inside each and every one of us good people."</b><i>With a frown, the Duke continued.</i><b>"To make matters worse, we are currently engaged in a civil war against our fellow countrymen who have allied themselves with the extremist group whose name strikes fear into the hearts of the truly innocent. The Order of Yami seek to terrorize our land, the people we hold dear, and our way of life. They think they are revolutionaries, but in reality, they are criminals, marauders, terrorists. Should they succeed in bringing their plans to fruition, why, you can kiss your loved ones goodbye."</b><br/><br/><i>The Duke paused to let the weight of his words sink in before he opened his arms wide.</i><br/><br/><b>"But you are men and women of Alia, protectors of the weak and symbols of order. You have trained long and hard for this day, and each and every one of you holds an inferno in your breast. You will not stand idly by as the Order rips away everything you hold dear! You will not go quietly into the night! You will not vanish without a fight!"</b><i>Pointing to the knights before him, the Duke pumped his fist.</i><b>"From this day forward, each and every single one of you has a purpose. You are to keep the peace, to enforce order, and to protect all that is righteous in this world. No matter your race, your ideology, gender or sex, you are Sol Knights! Congratulations, class of 1500 FC!"</b><br/><br/><i>At that moment it was as if the world was revolving around the newly christened knights. The formation broke into cheer as men and women of various races celebrated amongst themselves. Their noise carried over into just about every district of Dimhaven, and many citizens who witnessed the event applauded them and shared in their happiness. Even the Duke himself clapped and smiled, for he knew that this class was destined for great things. Perhaps it could even turn the tide of this pointless civil war. Under his breath, the Duke muttered:<br/>
</i><br/><b>"They will come to fear the knights of Alia..."</b><br/><br/>(TL;DR Version: Yay order!)<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><b><span style="color: purple">Ritual Chamber, Bunyan's Folly - Alia</span></b>​</div><br/><i>Moisture dripped from the stalactites in the many caves of Bunyan's Folly. Here where no sunlight could grace the interiors, the Order of Yami made their headquarters here. Growling, chirping, and hisses echoed throughout the caverns, their source unknown. As the odd traveler walked about the stoney outcroppings in the passageways, they would be able to hear a low rumbling from deep within the earth's crust. Hundreds of thousands of greater demons were sleeping down below, just waiting to be uncovered by the miners and magicians of the order. Uncovering them was one thing, awakening them was something else.<br/>
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Within the dank, dark caves of Bunyan's Folly rested a hollow chamber large enough to fit a castle's courtyard. The weathered sigils on the floor along with the scattered remains of some dusty old tomes gave the place an air of magic and mystery. It was one of many ritual chambers that magicians of the Order used in their attempts to commune with the greater demons below, and to further their own scientific gains. Sometimes the Order tested out new magical theory in these rooms, and other times they used it to practice on live specimens. And let's just say that the Order was very thorough in their research.<br/>
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In this particular chamber was a large gathering of men and women of all races, shapes, and sizes. Most were dressed in black robes to conceal their identity while others didn't care in the slightest. There were dwarves, elves, the rare lesser demons, humans, even beast races. There were farmers, soldiers, craftsmen, assassins, even husbands and housewives. Some were as mad as hell, others were patient. Some were armed for war, others were under-equipped. All of them, however, had had enough.<br/>
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The sound of fire sparking to life reached the group's ears and they all turned to one side of the room to witness a woman in dark purple robes walk in and pull her hood down. She was one of the seven councilmembers who ran the Order of Yami, and she was chosen to speak to the group because of her charismatic skills and experience with people. Her name was Akiba, although calling her that while she was in front of you would possibly get you killed. The dark elf looked around and, pleased that she managed to get everyone's attention, she folded her hands together. She could hear the murmurs amongst the crowd, but she did her best to put them aside.</i><br/><br/><b>"Good evening, boys and girls. You know, it's a special day today. Today marks our lovely Order's 122nd anniversary. Just think, 122 years ago this realm, this land of Alia was riddled with corruption, taxes, tariffs, incessant regulations and a complacent police force. In some cases, a few things have changed between now and then."</b><i>Akiba raised a finger and smiled.</i><b>"Except for one thing... The will of a strong people. Yes my brothers and sisters, we are still strong thanks to our desire for freedom, change, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Because we stood up to fight against the unjust laws and meddling of these Sol Knights, we owe it to our pride to keep at it. We aren't going to lie down and watch as our homes, businesses, and way of life are ripped from us, are we?"</b><br/><br/><i>A few people in the crowd supported Akiba by shooting down her question, rhetorical as it was.</i><br/><br/><b>"Damn right we're not going to back down. This land is ours, and we have the right to do what we please in it. The Sol Knights, those meddling vermin born from the current Duke... They don't care about us. They don't care about the people they walk upon to get an extra shilling! War tax this, code of conduct that... In an orderly society, they can remove our rights as they please. Who cares about the little man when you're holding a sword of 'justice' in one hand and hiding behind your shield of 'honor'?"</b><i>Akiba turned back on the crowd.</i><b> "They think us mad. In some cases, we are, but there is a method to it all. But is it not mad that the allies we once looked up to have turned corrupt by the extra coin in their purses? Have we not been enraged by the sight of an enforcer using too much force? Who will protect the weak from the ones who protect the weak?</b><br/><br/><b>"Although our methods are extreme, our cause is just. Chaos needs to come to this land to weed out the truly weak, to test the strong. Too much order and the land eats itself, rotted to the core by corruption. You've all lost something in this world. Your money, your businesses, your homes... Your families,"</b><i>Akiba hissed.</i><b>"And who did you turn to? Why, the authorities of course! The Sol Knights, and what did they do? Nothing! Nay, worse than nothing, they lied to us. 'Everything's going to be alright'. Wishful thinking never got the mortal races anywhere. If we want to achieve our goals, we have but to go forth and carry them out."</b><br/><br/><i>Akiba raised her hand to the crowd as she sensed their morale growing.</i><br/><br/><b>"Will you take back what was so wrongfully taken from you? By coming here you have bound yourself to our Order, such an ironic name for our cause for chaos. Each and every single one of you now has a purpose... To fight for all the wrongs that were done upon us in our lives and to make the world a better place for our future children. We will be revolutionaries, and when the time comes, criminals. Even terrorists."</b><i>The was a period of silence as Akiba let that sink in.</i><b>"Still here? Very well. You've proven you have the will to survive, now prove to yourselves that you have the will to make a difference."</b><br/><br/><i>And with that, Akiba heard the roaring applause of a new class of members. They weren't pious knights, but they were countrymen who knew how to run their lives better than what any Sol Knight could tell them. Many weren't ready to take lives, and that was fine with the Order for there were plenty of other roles and ways they could help. As for the others, they were thirsting for blood, for an assignment in which they could spread chaos and bring the injustices of the Sol Knights into the light of the red sun. Akiba giggled as she retreated to her council chamber, knowing that the Sol Knights were going to have a hard time with this new group.</i><br/><br/><b>"They will come to fear the nights of Alia..."</b><br/><br/>(TL;DR Version: Yay anarchy!)<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>