Question that I just thought of... So the Order of the Owl was not active in the Byzantine Lands, thankfully... But did the emperors of Constantinople have their own groups loyal to them dedicated to combating the Night People?
Good question! They did, although I haven't given them much thought (or even decided on the name - it's either Knives of St. Dedenia or Knives of St. Eudoxia). It was founded around 500 AD by the order's namesake, a young Greek girl who survived an attack by a vampire by laying hands upon it. She was so holy that her very touch set the beast on fire. Afterwards, she took it upon herself to hunt and destroy other such creatures, and she eventually had a small but dangerous following. The Knives, much more loosely organized than many of their counterparts in other faiths (they have different names in different countries, for instance, and often completely different origin myths), are still active today across most of the Orthodox world. I might do a longer write-up on them in a future entry. We'll see!
I'll bet that the Crusades were an "interesting" period for Champions and their peers based in and around the Near East... Franks and Saracens fighting one another, with Night People in the mix. Hey, I wonder if the Templars, th Hospitalers, and the other militant chivalric orders fought the Night People?
Great stuff! I love this kind of deep dive into background material.
Thank you! It was a lot of fun to write.
Question that I just thought of... So the Order of the Owl was not active in the Byzantine Lands, thankfully... But did the emperors of Constantinople have their own groups loyal to them dedicated to combating the Night People?
Good question! They did, although I haven't given them much thought (or even decided on the name - it's either Knives of St. Dedenia or Knives of St. Eudoxia). It was founded around 500 AD by the order's namesake, a young Greek girl who survived an attack by a vampire by laying hands upon it. She was so holy that her very touch set the beast on fire. Afterwards, she took it upon herself to hunt and destroy other such creatures, and she eventually had a small but dangerous following. The Knives, much more loosely organized than many of their counterparts in other faiths (they have different names in different countries, for instance, and often completely different origin myths), are still active today across most of the Orthodox world. I might do a longer write-up on them in a future entry. We'll see!
I'll bet that the Crusades were an "interesting" period for Champions and their peers based in and around the Near East... Franks and Saracens fighting one another, with Night People in the mix. Hey, I wonder if the Templars, th Hospitalers, and the other militant chivalric orders fought the Night People?
Oh, excellent question. I'm sure they had their battles, yes.
Fascinating stuff, as always, Paul. What about the Athanasius Kircher club?
Thanks! As far as Kircher goes, check back in a couple updates.
Awesome! Eagerly awaiting it.