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Talk:The Motherhouse (Lore)
From Hofborg
Valgarin Riddari
A Riddari Paladin is expected to be skilled in both mounted and unmounted combat with the following weapons: sword, spear, shield, and great axe. Valgarin Riddari generally do not use bows, preferring throwing axes. In addition to martial skills, they are expected to give 40 days of service to the Motherhouse, serving as armed escorts for the Volva and Druids. They must know the tenants of their faith and furthermore be skilled in Northern poetic verse and High Speech. If the Hoplites of the Euresu are the “Musical Warriors”, the knights of Valgard are “Warrior Poets”. Not all Riddari are trained at the Motherhouse in Ulster, exceptions are made for the heirs of noble houses. Training lasts for ten years, typically from 12 to 22.
The mounted warriors of Valgard developed out of the tradition of dragon riding. The last dragon rider was King Øybiorn Skialgsson in 494. The relationship between dragon and Riddari developed much like the tarns and the tarn riders of Gor, the Na'vi and the Ikran. Consequently, Valgardin Riddari raise and train their horses from babies, often with the animals living in the longhouse with the warrior. This is not necessarily uncommon for Valgarin culture anyway. Some of the Riddari claim to have a telepathic bond with their horses, and while this has never been proven, or disproven, it is a widely accepted fact.
Valgarin Riddari, by way of graduation, are branded with their sigil, which combines their personal sigil with that of their mentor. This is the same sigil used to brand the paladin's own horses. This final step in branding a stallion is a dangerous one, the Nordsvensk as the stallion would have been bred and trained for war. The paladin was expected to brand the stallion with no more than a single rope tie-down. There are Riddari that have been savaged and killed by their own horses.
It is most common for Alfarians to become Paladin-knights, but history has many examples of Jot and Frem Riddari. The expectations are the same for all.
- Note
- The average Nordsvensk stallion stands 5 ft at the shoulder in RL. Adapted for SL, the average height is 6.5 feet.
