Knight



Knight (騎士, kishi) is one of three main occupations held by nobles in Yurgenschmidt, along with scholar and attendant.

See also Character List: Knights.

A knight's main duties include:


 * Protection: Guard knights (護衛騎士, goei kishi) serve nobles as retainers, acting as bodyguards whose first duty is to protect their lord or lady.
 * Extermination: The Knight's Order (騎士団, kishi-dan) is responsible for exterminating dangerous feybeasts and feyplants that could endanger the citizens of the area, such as trombe.

Knights who do not serve a noble as a retainer typically work with the Knight's Order. Those in Ehrenfest may live in barracks at the Archduke's Castle.

Knights must attend the Royal Academy and graduate from the knight's course, which begins in the third year. Prior to that, all first years take the same introductory classes. Most apprentice knights also participate in ditter matches throughout the year and exhibition matches during the Interduchy Tournament.

Armor. There are three main types of armor worn by knights in Ehrenfest:


 * Full Armor. When serving with the Knight's Order, Ehrenfest knights wear full silver plate armor made from feystones. The armor is a magic tool that has anti-cold and flame resistance mechanisms built into it. The strength of the armor depends on the quantity and elemental attributes of the feystones it is made from. as well as the quantity of the wearer's mana . The wards and enchantments can be customized by the wearer in accordance with their needs and abilities.


 * Light Armor. Guard knights typically wear "light armor," an outfit woven out of metal thread imbued with mana, with plating at the chest, arms, and shins. The outfit can be reshaped or softened at will, and can be condensed down into a feystone for easy storage. While less protective than full armor, it offers a greater range of motion and consumes less mana.


 * Feystone Bodysuit. Like all nobles, Knights are also taught how to create a tight "bodysuit" made of a feystone that molds around the body, like the magical equivalent of a bulletproof vest. It is so light it can be worn even under ballroom dresses. Even knights that appear to be entirely unarmored are usually wearing them under their clothes to protect them from surprise attacks.

Cape. Knights typically wear capes or cloaks in their duchy's colour. In Ehrenfest, they are ocher-yellow. The capes are embroidered in magic circles for the wearer's protection.

Helmet. When going into combat with the Knight's Order, knights wear Corinthian-style helmets that cover the nose while leaving the eyes and mouth visible.

Gauntlets. When in full armor, knights wear gauntlets embedded with highbeast feystones on the back of the hand. This allows them to easily call and dismiss their highbeasts at need. The feystones can presumably be removed and carried normally.

Rations. Knights carry rations made from powdered grains and vegetables, which are then soaked in salt and wine, drained of water, and hardened into balls. When a knight needs to eat, they can rehydrate the rations by soaking them in hot water. In situations where there's no time to soak them, they can also just bite into one and wash it down with water.

Weapons. Because knights can transform their schtappes to create a wide variety of weapons tailored to their personal fighting style, most knights do not carry physical weapons.


 * Since the armour is made up of mana, it is possible to change it's composition on the fly. One can even make it as soft as clothes if the need should ever arise, like when having a small person riding on your highbeast who'd otherwise constantly bonk their heads on your chestplate.
 * Should a knight be permanently maimed to the point of being unable to fight, they will usually do paperwork. Despite the more scholarly orientation of their new duties they will however still be considered knights and not scholars. Only if they have graduatied from both the knight and scholar course are they able to fully switch their job to being a scholar, if they so choose.