Once cloaked in prestige and steeping in martial tradition, the Order of the Flaming Sun was a chivalric brotherhood of monster hunters and warriors whose origins lay not in noble blood, but in the hardened natives of The Sands of Serrakhan. Founded in the late Third Age during the rise of the Serrakhan Sultanate, the order served as a tool for the Holy Order of the Sun to conscript the skills of nomadic tribesmen without recognizing them publicly. Knights of the Flaming Sun were inducted under oath to never speak of their past—erasing identity, kinship, and origin in exchange for purpose and prestige.
Though they stood proudly as monster slayers and sentinels of the Serrakhanian frontier, in truth, they operated in the shadows—silencing dissent, eliminating threats to the Sultan, and carrying out clandestine missions deemed too impure or improper for the Sunsteel Legion to undertake. Their unspoken creed and veiled identities ensured that the Sultanate maintained a façade of unity and nobility, while the order’s quiet blades carved through any threat to its power.
Organization & Structure
Every knight of the Flaming Sun bore identical armament: half-plate lamellar armor forged from Drakkhid scales, black and gold robes that swept down over their armor, and metallic beast-masks fashioned in the likeness of the creatures they had slain—hatchling Sandwyrm, giant lizards, chitinous scorpions, or desert serpents. These masks offered both anonymity and dread.
Each knight wielded broad greatswords and long desert spears etched with Runewright glyphs—amplifying their strikes and channeling kinetic force. Their signature black shawls concealed all but their sun-burned eyes, and their silence in both battle and gathering made them near-mythic to the common folk.
The order was commanded by a Chapter Master, a title passed by rite of survival and merit. The last to bear the mantle was Ser Menge, a hulking brute of muscle and ritual scarring, whose bare arms were adorned with bound twine holding fang-trophies of beasts he had conquered. His brutality and success made him both feared and revered.
Purpose & Legacy
The Order’s primary role was beast-slaying—culling threats from the wilds of Serrakhan: sandwyrms, drakkhid broods, and any other beasts which threatened the Sultanate in any way. But they were also the Sultanate’s secret executioners. In the shadow of the sun (especially in Shariz), they hunted Vampire, werebeasts, Undead abominations, and political targets labeled as “unholy” by the Holy Order.
Their effectiveness and reputation grew, but so did scrutiny. By the Fifth Age, High Priest Ishmael himself questioned their usefulness, declaring them a “rusting relic” in a modernizing world.
It was then that Primarch Arkhan, recently released from the Temple of the Seven Suns (see: Primarchs Release), found a willing ally in Ser Menge. Desperate to preserve their fading relevance, the Order conspired with Arkhan to lure Gharazh'uul, the greatest of the Drakkhid, into a false rampage across Shariz. The plan was simple: unleash the beast, “slay” it publicly, and restore their standing.
Downfall
The plan unraveled when The Sunsations discovered the truth. After confronting Ser Menge, they exposed the plot to the Sultan through Altair Emris, presenting irrefutable evidence of the Order’s crimes and collusion with Arkhan.
A strike team—led by Tormund Brightblade and Talyen—stormed the Order’s headquarters within Shariz’s sandstone streets. As battle raged and the chapter grounds burned, Ser Menge fell beneath the blades of the very people his knights were supposed to protect. The Order was formally dissolved, their remaining sanctum collapsed, and their name condemned.
Legacy
With the Order of the Flaming Sun officially dismantled, many surviving knights fled or vanished. Some now serve as mercenaries in the fringe regions of The Sun Realm; others act as caravan guards, personal enforcers for wealthy nobles, or assassins under new banners. Their history may have faded into obscurity—but in shared tales around desert fires, some say they still work for those who have enough gold to pay.
Their legacy remains a grim warning: that in seeking glory, even the most honorable blade may cut like a knife in the dark.
Concept Art
