Laranian Fighting Orders

Hierarchy

The Command Structure: Like their parent clerical organizations, the fighting orders are composed of a hierarchal command structure as follows.

Chabla (Grandmaster)

"The commander of a fighting order. His duties include liaison with the clerical grandmaster in addition to military organization and administration. Although the office is seldom filled by a priest, it is by no means unheard of. Either way the grandmaster is well schooled in ritual and may serve as a "lay-priest" to his command. Some orders may even appoint a secular lord as grandmaster as a political expediency. If this is done the position become more ceremonial with one or more deputies doing the actual work. The Chabla is usually appointed by the clerical grandmaster of the sponsoring order."

Reblena (Commander)

"The reblena's duties vary considerably. Many are commanders of a single chapter house or independent unit. Others serve as deputies to the chabla, and others fill administrative roles within the order. Most Reblena are usually of noble birth."

Melana (Knight)

"A member of noble birth, these individuals rank below the officers mentioned above and above the commonality. Many are members in name but serve only at need; many having their own estates to support them."

Erana (Wandering Knight)

"A knight who, by request, has temporarily left the chapter houses of his order to travel either for a specific or undefined purposes. The concepts of the Chivalric Code frequently results in Laranian knights undertaking quests or pilgrimages. An Erana who has not undertaken a specific duty is often in search of a task to try his skills and honor."

Meken (Soldier)

"These are soldiers of the order of simple birth. There are also low ranking officers, the equivalents of corporals and sergeants, but most high officers in the Laranian fighting orders are noble. It is very rare for a commoner to rise in rank; the Chivalric Code and Tirithor are used as examples to show the "Holy Ordering of Man's Estate" and keep Mekens from resenting their station."

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Structure of an Order's Properties: The clerical orders have their temples, abbeys and supporting manors and likewise the fighting orders also have their own landed endowments.

Castles

A large fortified building or group of buildings with thick walls, usually dominating the surrounding country; it served the twofold function of residence and fortress. Most castles will have a square donjon, or keep, was set against the strong outer walls of masonry; the entrance was protected by a double gate, two flanking round towers, and advanced earthworks. The place enclosed by the outer circuit of walls was usually divided into two courts, or baileys, by a palisade. Subterranean passages made detection of underground forays easy.

In general, the castle was planned for security; the living quarters were rude, poorly lighted, and without provisions for comfort. Typically, the keep contained the living quarters of the lord and his family, the rooms of state, and the prison cells. Two independent systems of walls, each a fortress in itself, extended around the keep; the sections of the walls were flanked by towers, usually round, and the principal entrance was protected by strong gate towers, the massive gateway, with its portcullis and drawbridge, and the barbican, or advanced outwork. The defenders operated from galleries at the tops of walls and from the flat roofs of towers, whose battlements were provided with recesses with flaring sides, called embrasures, and openings, or machicolations, for shooting and dropping missiles on the attackers. The fully developed castle was thus marked by successive series of defenses; the fall of the outer works did not necessarily mean the loss of the entire castle.

Since a castle is extremely expensive to build they are normally constructed in regions where unrest may be expected, such as frontiers or rebellious provinces, although the conditions prompting their construction may have long vanished. Since a castle is such a strong symbol of strength most lords would be hesitant to hand one over to anyone but the most trusted or retainers. Therefore, few orders hold such a structure; however, the ones that do, have been awarded castles guarding regions prone to constant incursions and hostile attacks. Most keeps will be supported by 10-20 manors. The role of these manors being to supply the garrison with supplies and additional man-power. Castles belonging to an order will have a normal garrison of two full chapters; a castle guarding a hostile region may have double this.

Keeps

This is the same kind of fortified tower found in the castle above, however it is surrounded by a less substantial curtain wall containing a gatehouse but no supplementary towers. The supplemental features mentioned for the castle above are minimal at best or nonexistent. Orders were awarded existing structures within frontier or border regions for the explicit purpose of defending the region from outside aggression. Most keeps will be supported by 5-10 manors and have a normal garrison of one full chapter; a keep guarding a hostile region may have double this.

Chapter Houses (Preceptory and Sword Chapter)

All order are broken into numerous chapters which in turn are based at chapter houses. Chapter houses have the rural manor as their model. or a keep if the order has one under its control. The chapter house is the command center for all members of the order within a specific area and also acts as a collection point for proceeds gathered from outlying subordinate manors and/or granges. The chapter houses in this category are normally commanded by a senior Reblena and houses a full chapter of troops. The troops troops assigned to these chapters patrol trade and or pilgrim routes, provide protection for religious and/or political leaders, and act as concentration points for local defense. Some of these establishments may even have training facilities for new recruits. The above names are used to identify a chapter house used mainly in offensive matters.

Shield Chapters

Unlike the chapters mentioned above, the shield chapters are rarely assigned their own chapter house with its associated lands and village. These chapters are the official bodyguard detachments for the senior prelates of the Larani and possibly Peoni churches. It is common practice for shield chapters to be headquartered at the prelates primary residence and to travel with him throughout the year. However, not all prelates, abbeys or temples have a shield chapter assigned to them. Most of these institutions will receive their protection from nearby chapter houses of the type described above or following this entry.

Other Chapter Houses (Commandery)

Like the above chapter house, these are founded upon rural manors but are subordinate to the chapter houses above. They too are commanded by a Reblena but house a half-strength chapter instead. Their mission is very similar to that of the full chapter giving the order additional manpower in regions where they have the lands but not enough brothers to fill a full chapter.

Granges (Manor Chapters)

A grange is a support manor run by a retired Melana or senior Meken. Unlike the chapter house above, they have a only a few member on hand to oversee the agricultural operations of the facility. A grange has two primary functions: one is to provide their mother houses with provisions and the other is to act as a revenue generator for the order.

The Manor

A manor is the basic economic unit within the feudal and fighting order hierarchy. A manor might contain a manorhouse, at least one village of 10-20 families, Rethemi manors held by fighting orders tend to be substantially larger and have up to 50 or 60 households, and one mill. A manorhouse controlled by a fighting order would be a fortified house constructed of wood or stone; its central feature being a great hall. In addition, their would be outbuilding to support the military and agricultural needs of the manor. Manors that function as a chapterhouse would have far more outbuildings to support the large garrison housed their in comparison to manors that are subordinate to the chapterhouse. These smaller manors would be more like a secular knight's manor and concern themselves with supplying their superior chaterhouses with supplies.

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