Paladin

A paladin was a holy warrior in service to one or more of the Celestials. Despite a mortal penchant for describing any righteous knight as a "paladin", true paladins were extremely rare, appointed only in times of great need or prophecy. To even behold a paladin in passing was a once-in-a-generation event for most societies.

It was said that, much like the existence of Solar angels, there could never be more than 24 paladins in the world at the same time.

Origins

Paladins originated in the aftermath of the Dawn War under the auspices of the Grand Cross. At their directive, three other heroes of the Dawn War formed orders of like-minded knights, each with a separate (but compatible) philosophy. Maximillian the White, an aasimar cavalier, Rillao the Green, one of the first half-elves in recorded history, and Quivan the Red, a close friend of Claudia the Reaper of the Grand Cross, each founded one of these knightly orders.

Paladin Organizations

There were three sub-classes, or Orders, of paladins:

• The White Order, sometimes called the Order of Devotion
• The Green Order, sometimes called the Order of the Ancients
• The Red Order, sometimes called the Avengers

Each Order traditionally followed its own customs, though they often worked together throughout Echelon's history. Occasionally, though rarely, the distinctions between each Order blurred enough to make delineation between them difficult. Some paladin traditions, such as the Knights of Kherak Peak, did not ascribe fully to any historical order, preferring instead to blend tenets from many different sources.

There were also organizations of warriors and knights which, though based on paladin traditions or tenets, were only partially aligned with the historical Orders. The Knights of Mastermarch, for example, included auxiliary members, squires and warriors who did not wield divine power, and even knights who failed to attain paladinhood.

Paladins were sometimes chosen to lead companies of knights-- most famously the Holy Legions of the Church of the Tetrarchs. However, these historical names were misnomers; in reality, these were not regiments made up of true paladins.