“I have been entrusted with the full power and authority of our king. Where I am, he is too. What I deem right and just, he approves. What I condemn as seditious or criminal, he also condemns. I am the law.”

Judges, officials, and enforcers of the king’s laws, templars are the embodiment of civic authority in the great cities of Athas. They form a privileged meritocracy of individuals who serve as the sorcerer-king’s eyes, ears, and mouth among the populace—and, as circumstances require, the heavy hand of crushing tyranny. Given broad discretion to enforce the king’s will as they see fit, templars are often brutal and corrupt, using their positions to wring ruinous taxes and bribes from all who fall under their power. A sorcerer-king doesn’t care about templars being corrupt, as long as they keep the city in good order.

Templars commonly enjoy broad powers to arrest wrongdoers, impose fines, and command soldiers or city guards to do their bidding in their home cities. Of course, higher-ranking templars can countermand these orders, so a low-ranking templar can’t just commandeer the half-giants guarding a city gate and march off into the desert with them—he would have to appeal to his superiors to approve his mission and request that guards be assigned to his command. Likewise, templars of a particular city-state have no civic authority in other cities or in places not under the direct rule of their king. Though the civic powers granted to templars are formidable in their own right, templars are not simply bureaucrats—many are also formidable spellcasters, sanctioned to wield the terrible magic of the sorcerer-kings in the pursuit of their duties. In many cities templars are trained in arcane magic in formal academies and are bestowed with the ability to call upon their sorcerer-king’s magical might through lengthy pacts.

The exact ranks and customs of the templar hierarchy vary widely from city to city. In Balic, templars are known as praetors and are elected to their positions (although a few elections end in unexpected upsets). The templars of Nibenay are exclusively female and are ceremonially wedded to the sorcererking. In Draj, templars are known as the Priests of the Moon and are charged with observing the civic worship of the king Tectuktitlay, who claims to be a god. Notwithstanding specific customs, all templars constitute a powerful, wealthy social class within their cities—a social class highly invested in keeping each sorcerer-king the supreme master of his or her city-state.

Most templars revel in their positions and ruthlessly exploit the weak and the poor. However, a few are patriots who are truly concerned with what’s best for their city and their fellow citizens. Some are reformers who seek to moderate the excesses of the system, and a rare handful are rebels seeking to effect change from within. Heroic templars likely hold these convictions.

Civilization rests in the bloated city-states scattered across the only inhabitable lands left on Athas. In all but one metropolis, power rests exclusively in the hands of the tyrants known as the sorcerer-kings, each an ancient being of nearly godlike power whose command over his or her subjects is absolute or very nearly so. Although some sorcerer-kings are worshiped as gods and seem as immortal as the deities long lost and forgotten, sorcerer-kings are no more divine than are any creature in the world. They are subject to the same limitations, errors in judgment, and whims other creatures face. They might teach their subjects they can be in all places at once, but the truth is these powers are neither omniscient nor omnipotent. It is in their interest to dispel any doubts about the power they wield and to ensure those people living under their rule remain obedient and loyal subjects, because as powerful as these individuals are, the death of King Kalak in Tyr proves they are neither invulnerable nor eternal.

The insurance all sorcerer-kings have comes from the templars who serve them. These men and women, who are usually human, are selected from the masses to act as the tyrant’s eyes and ears and to represent his or her interests in the city-states and manage the affairs of government. Templars free the sorcerer-kings to pursue their own secret agendas and indulge in the fruits their exalted station affords. To the templars it falls to lead the armies, negotiate trade agreements with the merchant houses, and manage resources while also enforcing the laws and controlling the slaves. Much responsibility falls onto the templars’ shoulders, but much wealth, status, and power goes to them too.

The authority invested in the templars might be enough to keep the nobles and common folk in line, but the templars have more than just a writ to enforce the monarch’s will. Sorcerer-kings invest magical power into their prized subjects, lending them the tools they need to keep the city-states secure. Many templars learn just enough magic to protect their masters’ interests and perform in whatever capacity they are assigned, but a few possess true power, gained through profane rituals and dark ceremonies wherein the sorcerer-king makes available the magical source from which he or she draws power. These warlocks are the most dangerous of a sorcerer-king’s retinue because they can call up their master’s might without fail and without fear of ever losing it. It is these individuals who deserve the most scrutiny and who are the subjects of these pages.

In Evil's Service

Templars are the sorcerer-king’s agents, and although some sorcerer-kings might be loved, admired, respected, or feared, all are evil’s agents in the world. The ruin and hardship gripping the lands rests solely at their feet. The abuses folk endure and the hopelessness and despair reflected in the common citizens’ eyes all find their source in the magnificent powers who have carved up the world’s corpse into tiny, competing empires. So no matter the reason for the templar’s service, whether he or she came to this occupation out of free will or through conscription, they represent the most dangerous and wicked powers known in the lands.

As one might expect, sorcerer-kings attract those of dubious morals to their service. Most templars are cruel, malicious, and ambitious, acquiring the worst traits embodied by the masters they serve. Although evil runs rampant through their ranks, it would be false to say they are all without virtue. Many become templars for status, wealth, and excess, but others shoulder the responsibility as an obligation—a service to which they are called for the good of all—even if their masters exhibit troubling behaviors. Some templars are idealistic, hopeful reformers seeking to change a terminally corrupt system. A few harbor treasonous thoughts and ingratiate themselves to their masters as a means to destroy them, either ending their tyranny for good or to claim their place.

Becoming a templar means standing apart and facing distrust on all sides, with your companions questioning your motives and loyalties. You might have unimpeachable morals and a wholesome aspect, but you are sullied through your association with the sorcerer-king, who saw something in you that enabled your master to set aside any doubt and reveal to you the power he or she wields. You must decide how to reconcile the darkness fueling your power with the goals and objectives your companions might pursue. Do you hide your allegiance, working from within the heroes’ midst to serve your master by opposing other sorcerer-kings? Do you regret your pact and seek redemption through great deeds and noble efforts? Or does it even matter?

Templar

Dragon 390

In Evil's Service

Children

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