Templar

"Shalun favors the brave!"

- Templar Battle Cry

The Templar Militant are famously known for their 12 foot tall Leviathan mechs in which they ride to war. They are the Zendu who have honed their Lineage memories in the fires of war, gaining skill and prowess with each successive generation.

''Templar notes As provided by historian Admiral Brutus Aurelias of Cadar.''

Origins of the Templar Order can be traced back to the Hadross Monks. In the beginning of the Guild’s domination of the Star Traders people, the Guild banished, scattered or exterminated many of the organizations, traditions and families that they considered to be a threat to their grand plans. Especially high on their list of targets were the Hardoss Monks, a Zendu sect known for their prowess in martial combat but also for their dedication to peace. The Guild exiled the entire Hardoss people to the ice world of Mal Direx Prime and then cut their lines of interstellar support to ensure their demise.

Over the generations, Mal Direx Prime was discovered to be an ancient bioforming world, and the Alfaan construct left its mark on the Monks. The Gift of Lineage was granted to the people, with the first recorded to be able to access the Lineage memories being a young girl and a young boy.

The birth of the Templar Militant began when an escape shuttle crash landed on the icy planet. When the boy within, Ardok Shalun; son of a Leviathan rig miner and a Guild prison laborer; stepped into the planet, it was said that he was immediately granted a Lineage so powerful that he saw all, past and future.

Shalun later took those that were willing and trained them to use the Leviathan mechs, then just mining rigs, for war. The Templars, under the command of Shalun, embarked on a campaign to free the Star Traders from the Guild's control. They fought in the void, where ships clashed and Valkyries boarded enemy ships or dropped down to the war torn planets below.

Planetside, the Templars fought much as they do now, as rapid strike teams. Some piloted specialist mechs, such as the Leviathan Titan. Not much is known about it aside from its armaments and size. Supposedly 50 feet tall, and armed with multiple autocannons, incinerators, and a cruiser scale Lance weapon.

Near the end of the war, the Templar Fleet managed to destroy the Star Forge that was constructing new Narvidians.

After the Founding that established the Factions as they exist in the current day and the system of Shalun Law and Retribution Justice, the Templar Fleet embarked alongside the World Ships, Colony Hives and myriad transports that made up the Exodus Fleet.

They escorted the great fleet of refugees, fleeing the ruined Galactic Core and the shadow of the Guild to the more verdant Farfallen Rim. They escorted the fleet, ever vigilant against more Narvidian or Xeno attacks.

All was well until the Gravity Jump that would have started the two century journey to the Rim. Shalun sent his bodyguard on a secret mission to the Quadrant now known as the Alzean Core, where they fought a long and bitter campaign that culminated with the death of the Prophet Shalun.

The Gravity Jump did not go as planned. The Narvidian attacked again, forcing the Templars into a defensive action. This began the scattering of the Exodus, which lead to the founding of the multitude of Quadrants that exist in the current day.

The Exodus fragmented the Templar and the Star Traders. Where they could or had to, they put down roots and founded the new colonies. The Templars aided in exploration and defense against the Xeno, which had generally been stirred up by the incursion of the Star Traders into new territories.

Many were forced to deal with the threat from within, the insidious Shelgeroth Xeno cult. Some Quadrants, such as the Cirm Sector, held. Others were lost, and the Lineages of the Zendu there snuffed out.

In the Farfallen Rim, the Fleet helped as their scattered counterparts in the other fledgling Quadrants had. Here, however, the Factions were much more numerous, and they spread into the Rim's virgin worlds more quickly than the Templar could keep up with.

Between holding off Xeno assaults and the rapid expansion of the Star Traders in the Rim, the Templar were unable to keep the peace. The Faction Wars sparked up and were only halted after the near total destruction of Aro Prime, and the subsequent collapse of the Baza Syndicate in the Rim.

Eventually, the Fleet received orders to embark on a defensive action, to reinforce the Templars in the Alzean Core. A skeleton guard was left behind, as the Faction militaries and Senate had matured and the Xeno threat was not as prevalent as it once was.

This was the year 0AE.

200 years later, the Hyperwarp Gates and the technology needed to access them were discovered, and the Reunification spread the Templars even thinner. They had never rebuilt their numbers from the losses sustained in the brutal Alzean Campaign, and their numbers seem to dwindle each year. However they still fight under their ancient creed of Faith, Fury and Redemption, as the Prophet Shalun taught us.

And the Factions look to these exemplars in their Leviathan mechs and with their gift of Lineage as a source of guidance and strength, especially when the odds are tough and the Xeno are at the gates.

Notable Templars:

Notable Templars include:


 * Major Luthor, commander of the Righteous Fallen.


 * Nyra the Paladin, historian and leader aboard the same ship.


 * Sergeant Kathos, a communications officer of the Righteous Fallen.


 * The Hero of the Cirm Sector, a young Captain who lead their Battleforce to victory in a boarding action against a Narvidian, and whose actions led to the victory against said Narvidian and its Xeno fleet.


 * Relliar, a Chaplain who led the defense of Roavin during the Siege of Roavin by Xeno forces.

Faction Ships
There are no known Templar-specific ships.

Special Rules
None at this time.

As of December 2020, there are no storylines or mechanics that allow for Templar or Zendu Recruits. You will notice they are very particular about this in their zones, especially in the FarFallen Rim.