Strategos' Risk
February 20th, 2006, 01:10 AM
This pretty much straddles the line between secret history and alternate history, so ignore everything in this thread that has something to do with ASB stuff. I just want to know if the description of the knightly order itself is realistic in any sense.
Brothers of Nevsky: Knightly order within the Russian Orthodox Church extending back to the fifteenth century. Vampire slayers, the brothers rely on faith and God, and have been somewhat successful in purging the supernatural from northeastern Europe for centuries. As I envisioned it originally, Russia, while a big place and containing nooks and crannies everywhere for hiding the occasional leshiy or Baba Yaga, really has a very low proportion of monsters, at least in the western regions. And no vampires ever had any long-lasting control there, either- the Brothers are canny enough to send expeditions to Siberia if they have to.
Myth and legend tells that the Brothers of Nevsky were founded by Saint Nevsky himself, to protect Orthodox Christianity against the demonic servants of the Baltic that were left unchecked after the Teutonic Knights left. Other stories speak highly of the Brothers’ renowned courage and strength in defense against the Mongol overlords. In any case, the Brothers of Nevsky have had a continued presence in Russia for centuries, enjoying strong ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
However, following the Russian Revolution, the Brothers were at the mercy of the Bolsheviks for decades, and most were exiled to Greece. There they established stronger ties with the Greek and the other branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the region. They continue to be a force to be reckoned with, however, and possess great knowledge in fighting the undead threat.
The order is organized similar to the militant orders of the Roman Catholic Church [Sorry, I have no idea what Orthodox orders are like], with different levels of priories representing different geographical areas. There are numerous ranks for knights and clergy. Etc, etc. I probably won’t specify. But in any case, the notable things about the Brothers are:
1. The order is not purely monastic. It began that way, with knight-monks and monk-knights and following St. Basil’s guidelines and so on. But along the way, an “auxiliary” grouping was formed, allowing for married knights and their sons.
That’s because the Orthodox Church allows marriage for priests and anyone below the rank of bishop, though monks of course are celibate. As I read elsewhere, priests who wanted those higher ranks had to have their marriages annulled.
2. The order is divided into two sub-orders: the Order of St. Cyril and the Order of St. Methodius, after the two brothers who created the Cyrillic script and converted the Khazars. Cyril, the one who died earlier, represents the celibate knights, who are often middle-aged or older knights who already have fathered heirs and decided to join the Brothers as a deed of piety. Methodius, the guy who died later, represents the younger knights, who are often married and/or children of former Cyrillic knights. There’s a clear distinction of rank, since, when you think about it, it’s not called Methodic script. Oftentimes older Methodic knights annul their marriages to become Cyrillics.
3. The order’s main body is of faithful knights, but there are other auxiliary chapters that serve it, such as scholars, bookkeepers, and medical staff, some of which include women.
4. The order started off open, with many wondrous tales about this Brother or that slaying dragons(?) and whatnot, but the Church soon put an end to that, ordering the scribes to keep their records secret. Eventually, those tales faded into myth, and the order has since maintained a respectable reputation, much like the Knights of St. John.
5. The order considers most magic to be unscriptural, and practitioners to be dabbling in devilry. Knights are allowed to work with magic users as long as they are spiritually cleansed afterwards, and an effort is made to possibly contain or even coerce the magic user into not practicing magic. However, it is scientific enough to understand that some abilities (such as psionics) may have a natural explanation. This all depends on whether or not if this game will make a distinction between the two. Healing, anti-supernatural powers are seen to be as divine intervention against demons.
6. Fieldwork is organized around four-man units composed of a leader, second-in-command, point man, and defender.
7. Here I’ll give some extra historical info, because I don’t feel like explaining what the Brothers were doing during Ivan the Terrible’s Reign (fighting the oprichnina secretly), and Peter the Great’s Reign (same ol’ same ol’).
The interesting thing here is that Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, known to history as a hedonistically wicked mystic who led to the fall of the Romanovs, was possibly one of the Brothers of Nevsky’s greatest leaders.
I say possible here because the records from that time were so muddled, and many eyewitnesses found themselves dead at the hands of the revolutionaries.
It is true that Rasputin was a mysterious figure who had miraculous healing powers. In fact, his origins are not known by the order itself. But whatever happened, he managed to become well-connected to the order during his travels as a pilgrim at age thirty. He joined a small sub-priory of the Brothers of Nevsky in Novgorod and lived there for two years, before arriving in St. Petersburg in 1903. There, as in history, he lived in gross debaucheries, frequented the lairs of occultists, and became the favorite of high society.
Many of his exploits were either cover stories or created through charisma and showmanship. Rasputin became an excellent leader of the priory in the capital, and some say he became Grandmaster. In any case, during that time period, virtually anyone suspected of real supernatural power were eliminated. As his success grew, almost no one doubted his leadership, and as with the Tsar, the other leaders of the order were entranced by his abilities.
Here, it is easy to accuse Rasputin of being an unholy creature who really bewitched everyone around him. But what followed is more puzzling.
During World War I, Rasputin- like the Romanovs- experienced a great decrease in support. Here, the Brothers of Nevsky showed that its leadership had lost their sense completely. The order was in support of the war, because as with all great wars before and after, the supernatural thrive, and as a corollary the supernatural-fighters thrive as well. When there are battlefields filled with the living dead, how can anyone tell if you’re a ghoul? In fact, many knights were sent abroad at this time. And just like how Rasputin took control of the tsarina and her government while Nicholas was away, he took almost complete of the order in Russia.
It is suspected that his murder in December 1916 was completely staged, that he was so powerful as to convince conservative nobles- those most outwardly against him- to aid him in amassing more power.
When the Eastern Front broke down and the soldiers went home crying revolution, Rasputin had already been “dead” for months. The order, many of its knights abroad, and finding that the Church was not in good graces with the revolutionaries, fell apart in steps. Fortunately, many knights, already out of Russia, escaped to Greece and other safe havens. Unfortunately, perhaps conveniently, many scribes had been killed, and there were mysterious occasions of destroyed monasteries and order holdings in areas where there was little unrest at all. Many crucial records were lost, and many of the older members were killed in the revolution. Thus began the Brothers of Nevsky’s exile.
To this day, the legacy of Rasputin is fogged by rumors and confusion. Some say he was the greatest leader the order ever had, and it was by sheer misfortune that he was killed when he could have averted the revolution. Others call them idiots who don’t realize that Rasputin was obviously a paranormal menace. There may even be a few who understand that and wish for his return and to serve him. In the end, I wasted a lot of time not writing about my character.
Brothers of Nevsky: Knightly order within the Russian Orthodox Church extending back to the fifteenth century. Vampire slayers, the brothers rely on faith and God, and have been somewhat successful in purging the supernatural from northeastern Europe for centuries. As I envisioned it originally, Russia, while a big place and containing nooks and crannies everywhere for hiding the occasional leshiy or Baba Yaga, really has a very low proportion of monsters, at least in the western regions. And no vampires ever had any long-lasting control there, either- the Brothers are canny enough to send expeditions to Siberia if they have to.
Myth and legend tells that the Brothers of Nevsky were founded by Saint Nevsky himself, to protect Orthodox Christianity against the demonic servants of the Baltic that were left unchecked after the Teutonic Knights left. Other stories speak highly of the Brothers’ renowned courage and strength in defense against the Mongol overlords. In any case, the Brothers of Nevsky have had a continued presence in Russia for centuries, enjoying strong ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
However, following the Russian Revolution, the Brothers were at the mercy of the Bolsheviks for decades, and most were exiled to Greece. There they established stronger ties with the Greek and the other branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the region. They continue to be a force to be reckoned with, however, and possess great knowledge in fighting the undead threat.
The order is organized similar to the militant orders of the Roman Catholic Church [Sorry, I have no idea what Orthodox orders are like], with different levels of priories representing different geographical areas. There are numerous ranks for knights and clergy. Etc, etc. I probably won’t specify. But in any case, the notable things about the Brothers are:
1. The order is not purely monastic. It began that way, with knight-monks and monk-knights and following St. Basil’s guidelines and so on. But along the way, an “auxiliary” grouping was formed, allowing for married knights and their sons.
That’s because the Orthodox Church allows marriage for priests and anyone below the rank of bishop, though monks of course are celibate. As I read elsewhere, priests who wanted those higher ranks had to have their marriages annulled.
2. The order is divided into two sub-orders: the Order of St. Cyril and the Order of St. Methodius, after the two brothers who created the Cyrillic script and converted the Khazars. Cyril, the one who died earlier, represents the celibate knights, who are often middle-aged or older knights who already have fathered heirs and decided to join the Brothers as a deed of piety. Methodius, the guy who died later, represents the younger knights, who are often married and/or children of former Cyrillic knights. There’s a clear distinction of rank, since, when you think about it, it’s not called Methodic script. Oftentimes older Methodic knights annul their marriages to become Cyrillics.
3. The order’s main body is of faithful knights, but there are other auxiliary chapters that serve it, such as scholars, bookkeepers, and medical staff, some of which include women.
4. The order started off open, with many wondrous tales about this Brother or that slaying dragons(?) and whatnot, but the Church soon put an end to that, ordering the scribes to keep their records secret. Eventually, those tales faded into myth, and the order has since maintained a respectable reputation, much like the Knights of St. John.
5. The order considers most magic to be unscriptural, and practitioners to be dabbling in devilry. Knights are allowed to work with magic users as long as they are spiritually cleansed afterwards, and an effort is made to possibly contain or even coerce the magic user into not practicing magic. However, it is scientific enough to understand that some abilities (such as psionics) may have a natural explanation. This all depends on whether or not if this game will make a distinction between the two. Healing, anti-supernatural powers are seen to be as divine intervention against demons.
6. Fieldwork is organized around four-man units composed of a leader, second-in-command, point man, and defender.
7. Here I’ll give some extra historical info, because I don’t feel like explaining what the Brothers were doing during Ivan the Terrible’s Reign (fighting the oprichnina secretly), and Peter the Great’s Reign (same ol’ same ol’).
The interesting thing here is that Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, known to history as a hedonistically wicked mystic who led to the fall of the Romanovs, was possibly one of the Brothers of Nevsky’s greatest leaders.
I say possible here because the records from that time were so muddled, and many eyewitnesses found themselves dead at the hands of the revolutionaries.
It is true that Rasputin was a mysterious figure who had miraculous healing powers. In fact, his origins are not known by the order itself. But whatever happened, he managed to become well-connected to the order during his travels as a pilgrim at age thirty. He joined a small sub-priory of the Brothers of Nevsky in Novgorod and lived there for two years, before arriving in St. Petersburg in 1903. There, as in history, he lived in gross debaucheries, frequented the lairs of occultists, and became the favorite of high society.
Many of his exploits were either cover stories or created through charisma and showmanship. Rasputin became an excellent leader of the priory in the capital, and some say he became Grandmaster. In any case, during that time period, virtually anyone suspected of real supernatural power were eliminated. As his success grew, almost no one doubted his leadership, and as with the Tsar, the other leaders of the order were entranced by his abilities.
Here, it is easy to accuse Rasputin of being an unholy creature who really bewitched everyone around him. But what followed is more puzzling.
During World War I, Rasputin- like the Romanovs- experienced a great decrease in support. Here, the Brothers of Nevsky showed that its leadership had lost their sense completely. The order was in support of the war, because as with all great wars before and after, the supernatural thrive, and as a corollary the supernatural-fighters thrive as well. When there are battlefields filled with the living dead, how can anyone tell if you’re a ghoul? In fact, many knights were sent abroad at this time. And just like how Rasputin took control of the tsarina and her government while Nicholas was away, he took almost complete of the order in Russia.
It is suspected that his murder in December 1916 was completely staged, that he was so powerful as to convince conservative nobles- those most outwardly against him- to aid him in amassing more power.
When the Eastern Front broke down and the soldiers went home crying revolution, Rasputin had already been “dead” for months. The order, many of its knights abroad, and finding that the Church was not in good graces with the revolutionaries, fell apart in steps. Fortunately, many knights, already out of Russia, escaped to Greece and other safe havens. Unfortunately, perhaps conveniently, many scribes had been killed, and there were mysterious occasions of destroyed monasteries and order holdings in areas where there was little unrest at all. Many crucial records were lost, and many of the older members were killed in the revolution. Thus began the Brothers of Nevsky’s exile.
To this day, the legacy of Rasputin is fogged by rumors and confusion. Some say he was the greatest leader the order ever had, and it was by sheer misfortune that he was killed when he could have averted the revolution. Others call them idiots who don’t realize that Rasputin was obviously a paranormal menace. There may even be a few who understand that and wish for his return and to serve him. In the end, I wasted a lot of time not writing about my character.