Excerpts from a lecture-transcript on the Order of Slayers, given by Master of Historical Divination Salvador Devalance at the University of Whitegate, 1538 ME.
The Order of Slayers began as an association of dragon hunters arising during the bronze dark age. The exact historiography of their founding has long since been lost to mythology. However, modern archeological divinations have revealed a sudden increase in dragon attacks which coincides almost exactly with the centuries long dark spot in our written historical record. It’s now considered likely that dragon strikes, and the resulting migratory patterns which they left in their wake, were directly responsible for the end of permanent elven settlement which we see in the bronze dark age… [some audience noise]
...Outside of certain far-flung costal locations.
It's not then unreasonable that many elves, who were both formidable wizards and warriors, would choose to strike back at these enemies. It is also not unusual that humans and other hominines should appear in their ranks. Although we might question their supposed prominence within the order. The elves at this time held many other races in their thrall. To hunt a dragon is a military endeavor requiring many men acting under orders. Their slaves would be the obvious source of this manpower.
What is surprising is how this shared hardship in the field appears to have broken down the barriers between officer and soldier, at least according to the ancient histories of Agrippa and all his successors. With all due respect to the father of history, this point is due further interrogation.
Aaja the huntress, Angar the Giant, and the human Heroes of the Red Banner are no doubt dynamic stories. But Agrippa is by now well known to have used tremendous poetic license, as well as heavy syncretic tendencies, to create the vivid characters he portrayed. [some murmurs]
Written records mentioning non-elven slayers have all been dated to the Imperial Era by modern divination. Still, we must in due course admit that - given the dearth of any records from the bronze dark age - absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence.
Nor were the Slayers a union of proto-suffragettes, as some sensationalists looking to sell lecture hall tickets have lately implied. [general laughter]
When it comes to such legendary figures, it becomes difficult to separate the fact from the fiction. I have in my career – I believe – done something to provide genuine illumination of their true character.
The earliest known record of the Order was found at an archeological site in southern Lusitan. [some audience noise]
Yes, the well-publicized Turner expedition. [more audience noise] [disruptive person is removed from the hall]
...We may then briefly summarize the legendary origin of the Slayers from the so-called ‘Kishar Steele’. They were founded by Kishar, the First Among Equals. He was the first-born prince of the ancient elven kingdom of At-Lat, the richest and most powerful of all the elven city states from this period. The city was destroyed by dragons, and amidst the devastation, Kishar swore vengeance upon all dragon-kind.
His father would lead their people to join the other elven nomads, but Kishar refused to follow them in retreat. Instead, he gathered likeminded survivors from this attack and other dragon strikes. He began to mold them into a weapon with a single purpose. To annihilate dragonkind. Most of the common ‘rules’ of the Order are attributed to Kishar from this time.
However, what exactly these rules consisted of vary by source. The largest and most detailed rules compendium was found in the records of a Teutonian monastery dating from the year 538 ME. It runs through forty-eight pages of restrictions- and then allowances for circumventing those restrictions. [mild laughter]
The most common rules, however, do remain mostly consistent. Slayers are forbidden from hunting hominines for bounty. They must renounce land, title, or any other involvement in politics. Both rules appear on the ‘Kishar Steele’. As does a recounting of the famous story which Agrippa related to us, in which Kishar killed his brother as part of a dynastic feud, and his resulting justifications for violating his own rules.
It seems the more things change… [general laughter]
As the iron age began to dawn, the Order of Slayers formed a crucial alliance with the newly expanding Imperium. It was this alliance which seems to have been the death knell for the master-servant relationship between the elven Slayers and those of other races. It was the young and growing Imperium that provided the strength and arms necessary to finally turn the tide against the dragons. Forcing them first down to the southern continent, and finally back across the desert into the lands they now inhabit today.
With their original purpose now achieved, the Order began to turn their attention to the other monsters which threatened the innocent. Slayers had already killed many vampyres, loup garou, witches, and fae. In the absence of their draconic foes, these creatures now became the Slayer’s prey. The hunt continued.
This was the age of the great academies. At one time, there was a slayer academy in each province of the Empire. They taught both through books and physical exercises, turning out hunters by the class-load, to fuel their endless hunt.
Then the Imperium’s long decline began, and the decline of the Order with it. Most of the successor kingdoms made noises about continuing to support the Order and their academies, but in practical terms, their funding ceased almost entirely. Official Slayer records slowly begin to disappear following the collapse of the ancient Imperium, as the Order closed academies to preserve their remaining resources. Scattered enclaves carried on their traditions until roughly 8th century ME. Secondary references to itinerant monster hunters claiming heritage to the ancient Order continue for the next several centuries…
And even today, in certain conspiratorial quarters. [general laughter]
The most famous of these medieval quasi-slayers is undoubtedly the female knight Dame Veronique de Loix. Like so many other legendary figures, her true history has been muddled. Both by folklore, and later writers seeking to curry favor with those in power.
During the high colonial era it was claimed that the royal house of Velois held ancestry from the revered Dame de Loix, through a supposed affair with the Marquis de Fer. This was an attempt to merge the royal family and mythical notions of the Velian patrie itself in the minds of the common people, through one of their most treasured patriotic symbols. The result was that the Lady Veronique became a favorite subject for the writers of the Romantic movement which swept Velian literature of the period.
We do know that Veronique did appear to spend much time in the Fer-Mark, and that she received her ‘pseudo-knighthood’ from the Marquis. It’s natural that rumors about them should run rampant through the court gossip of the time.
However, there is no actual evidence that she and the Marquis were ever lovers. Outside of the idle speculations of artists and storytellers.
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