THE CHIVALRIC WARS
PART I

P R E L U D E

This series of books forms a freeform chronicle, originally drafted in the year 320 of the Fifth Epoch. It is a collection of stories, describing the nebulous and highly abstract element of Valeronian history, known as ‘The Chivalric War’ (Here shortened: The Wars). The Wars are not a clearly defined period of time, or a distinct conflict between two specific participants. Instead, the Chivalric Wars is a name denoting the period of Valeronian history, during which the order of law was mainly enforced by the chivalric institutions and knights. The Wars are typically divided into two parts, those being the Old Chivalric wars, or the Palatorian Chivalric wars; and the New Chivalric wars, also known as the Long-peace Chivalric wars.

To fully understand the Chivalric wars, one must go much far back in history, to the very foundation of the knightly institutions. The Triune Wars of the late third epoch had lasted for almost three generations, shaking the very utmost foundations of Valeron. The newly baptized Elheirion: Palator the White, was not ignorant to the concerns raised by sudden peace after decades of war. He knew that there were millions of valeronians who had known nothing but war in their lives. They knew no craft, nor had skill in farming, and would be tempted to gain their living by violence, even after all war had stopped. After the war, there were approximately one hundred thousand knights in Valeron, who would be left with no purpose in peacetime. The reformed Imperial Seat could not in its state afford to keep them on monthly payroll. So, taking inspiration from Chivalric orders like the Red bat, and the Black rose, Palator instructed his stewards to establish a new institution. This order would organize the knights of Valeron into a powerful community, through which they could be rewarded for delivering justice, according to the laws of Valeron, and the Warrants offered by official institutions. All this would be orchestrated by the Most Noble Chivalric office of Valeron. The Office was also in contact with other knightly orders, like the Red bat, and paid their members all the same.

By most accounts, the establishment of the Imperial Chivalric Institution was a massive success, in more ways than one. It gave the warless knights purpose, pacified the Valeronian countryside and helped the Seat balance it’s expenses by allowing it to use less money on passive law enforcement. It also created a wholly new culture, which flourished in the coming century of the Palatorian peace. The romantic image of the valorous knights, riding through the Valeronian countryside, became a popular mental image, which lasts to this day. Those were the days of the Old Chivalric wars. The name Chivalric wars was not used then, and even in later times the Old Chivalric wars are seen as much more intermittent, than the New Chivalric wars. This is due to the numerous real military conflicts that would follow the Palatorian peace. These conflicts are seen as breaks in the Old Chivalric wars, since the efforts of Valeronian knights were concentrated on military endeavours, and not law enforcement.

This series of books will be concentrating on the New Chivalric Wars, which, due to obvious chronological reasons can be seen as more culturally relevant. The New Chivalric Wars are also much better recorded, with songs and accurate retellings dating back hundreds of years to the beginning of the Long Peace in 1055 of the fourth epoch.

The time before the Long Peace is in many ways comparable to the time before the Palatorian Peace. It saw the multi-generational Seledorian Wars ravage the entirety of Valeron. During this time, the full power of the knights of Valeron was obviously concentrated in the hostile west. It was during the Seledorian Wars that the idea and the name of the Chivalric Wars truly cemented themselves into the Valeronian psyche, as a concrete period and state of things. It was therefore predictable, that upon his victory and baptism, Kirbane Elheirion would re-establish the Imperial Chivalric Institution, heralding the beginning of a New Chivalric Wars. This new conflict, fought at least on the ideological level between the noble protectors of Valeron, and evil lawlessness, had the same function and effect as its predecessor. It could however be argued that the New Chivalric Wars reached an even more iconic station in the Valeronian mind. The wandering knights became every boy’s dream profession. The chivalric warrior was, and is, a valeronian obsession, which has through the centuries dug its roots into the spines of all its peoples. So much so, that the knights have become the unofficial symbol of Valeron. And when the foreigner thinks of Valeron, he thinks of the knights.

These are the stories of the knights of Valeron, who throughout the centuries of the Chivalric Wars fought to make their homes safer. Our most important source is the Chivalric Saga. A chaotic group of poetic literature, telling the stories of the New Chivalric Wars. These stories have been cleaned and rewritten to better stand the test of time. Our second source is the nigh-infinite archives of the Chivalric Office of Valeron, which we have had the utmost honour to explore in the making of these books.