State of the Order of the Dagger

State of the Order of the Dagger Dolchordenstaat
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Kenne Keine Furcht" (Know No Fear)
Anthem: "Dolchlandlied" (Song of Dolchland)
Status	Semi-independent state
Capital	Perlehafen
Largest city	Perlehafen
Official languages	Alemannisch, Anglish
Religion	Christian
Demonym(s)	Dolchic
Government	Theocratic elective constitutional monarchy
• Grand Master	Dietrich von Krieger
• Chancellor	Henry von Ulbrecht
Legislature	Reichstag
Establishment
• Declaration of the Dolchordenstaat	1224
• Exodus to the Perle Islands	1410
Area
• Total	69,420 km2 (26,800 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 census	2,500,000 (estimate)
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	TBD
• Per capita	TBD
Currency	Thaler (DLT)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.dl

The State of the Order of the Dagger (Alemannisch: Dolchordenstaat) is a semi-independent constituent state of Dolchland. The Dolchordenstaat is situated in the Perle Islands, south of Panedonia, in the Dolch Sea. Its territory includes two main islands: the western island of Bassenheim and the larger eastern island Großsalzaland. They cover an area of roughly 69,420 square kilometres and support an estimated population of 2.5 million people. The country's capital city and largest urban area is Perlehafen, in Großsalzaland.

The Order of the Dagger or Dolchic Order (Alemmanisch: Dolchorden) is the Dolchic military order that governs the country. It was founded in the mid-11th century in the Kingdom of Panedonia. It is best known for taking part in Dolchland's medieval crusades in northeastern Argis and its early sponsorship of Dolchic overseas colonialism. The Order's highest officer and the Dolchordenstaat's head of state is the Hochmeister (Grand Master). In the present day, the Order is divided into two national chapters, each run by a Landmeister: the original Dolchland chapter and the Rhodellia chapter. Though its knights can be found all over the Wurld, they mainly operate in the Empire of Dolchland and the Kingdom of Rhodellia. In Rhodellia, the Order of the Dagger continues to thrive one of the kingdom's largest, oldest, and most prestigious chivalric orders and warrior fraternities. In Dolchland, its members are less numerous but are mostly concentrated the Perle Islands and Panedonia. The Order's current seat of power is in Perlehafen.

Dolchorden knights, half-brothers, and servant-brothers have not abandoned their historical duties as religious warriors, even into the modern day. The continue to play active roles in the militaries of Panedonia and Rhodellia. They serve as high-quality and highly-motivated officers, soldiers, and sailors. In mainland Dolchland, their reach and influence has greatly fallen the Middle Ages. In the Dolchordenstaat, the Order is the Perle Islands' national military, fielding a small but highly trained and technologically advanced army, navy, and air force. The Dolchordenstaat's military frequently cooperates with the Panedonian military in defending Dolchland's southeastern coastline from foreign threats such as Seylos and the growing North Adlantic Union.

Outside of the military matters, Order continues to play an active role in the Perle Islands' regional and national politics as well as Dolchland's economy. Its knights runs many state-of-the-art clinics, hospices, hospitals, ambulance services, pharmaceutical companies, and medical research institutions across Dolchland. They also perform a lot of charity work for Dolchland's poor. This is because the Order originally began as a religious order dedicated to treating sick and wounded pilgrims. Meanwhile, in the Perle Islands, the Order maintains a mixed economy with many services being nationalised. In mainland Dolchland, the Order operates its own competitive businesses diversified across many sectors, with its distinctive red cross pattée and dagger being a very recognisable brand.

The Dolchordenstaat also shares a close historic relationship with the Kingdom of Panedonia, having been close allies since the 13th century. The Order of the Dagger was founded in Panedonia. Most of its knights (or at least their families) originated in Panedonia. The Dolchordenstaat, whose original territories were located in eastern Velaheria, could only exist in the first place because of extensive Panedonian support. Over the centuries, the Order has frequently invoking its old alliance to come to Panedonia's aid in times of war, such as during the War of the Habstrian Succession.

In the present day, the Dolchordenstaat is one of Dolchland's more democratic, developed, and modernised states. It has a constitutional elective monarchy, a modern constitution, and bicameral parliament. Power is shared between the Order's members and the Perle Islands' ordinary citizens, with both groups maintaining representatives in their own houses in the parliament. The Head of State is the Grand Master of the Order of the Dagger, a position currently occupied by Dietrich von Krieger. The Head of Government, the Chancellor, is the leader of the largest political party represented in the Parliament's lower house. That position is currently occupied by Henry von Ulbrecht of the Social Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the Dolchordenstaat has a strong and diversified mixed economy and its own independent international trade links. The state's main industries are logistics (maritime shipping and air freight), shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, agriculture, electronics, electricity generation, mining, and salt production. Its citizens typically enjoy a good 21st-century standard of living.

History

The Legend of Adalhelm von Gottesberg

The Order of the Dagger traces its origins to mid-11th century, to a legendary Panedonian knight called Adalhelm von Gottesberg. According to Dolchic folk legend, Gottesberg was a knight who lived a long life of violence. He fought in countless battles as his lord's champion and greatest warrior. He put many of the lord's enemies to the sword and many opposing villages to the torch. One day, Gottesberg and his retinue were tasked with looting and burning a village. As the men began setting rooftops on fire and slaughtering villagers, a lone knight rode in on a white horse, telling the looters to go away or be punished. Gottesberg and his men engaged the knight. In response, the knight cut down all of Gottesberg's in quick succession, sparing only Gottesberg. The knight offered Gottesberg one final offer to look around and change his ways.

The knight lowered his sword and stepped back. Rather than bolt away at the first opportunity, Gottesberg sat down and took the time to observe his surroundings. He looked closely at all the death and destruction he caused. Gottesberg argued that none of this was his fault, and that it was his lord that ordered the attack, that he didn't have a choice in the matter, and therefore his lord was to blame. The knight responded that Gottesberg himself knew the act was wrong, consciously chose to commit evil on behalf of his master anyway, and acted out the command in the end. Therefore, Gottesberg was responsible for everything he and his men did on behalf of their lord.

It was at that moment that Gottesberg got up and away. The knight did not pursue him. At his manor, Gottesberg would be haunted by nightmares of his life's actions for many nights in a row. He took this as a sign of God's anger for being a murderer. Crushed by guilt, he renounced the sword, left his lord's service, and joined a monastery in repentance. He thought that God would only forgive him if he dedicated the rest of his life to saving as many other lives as he could at the monastery's hospice.

Gottesberg adapted to the ascetic life of a monk fairly quickly. His new brothers taught him to read and write, giving him a passion for learning he never knew he had. He spent his days reading books and educating himself on a variety of subjects, like mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. In working at the hospice, he also became a highly skilled physician and apothecary.

In the late 11th century, a wave of banditry swept across the land. Many travelers (including many pilgrims) were attacked on the roads around Gottesberg's monastery. The hospice was overwhelmed with more patients than he and his brothers could treat. He was horrified by the sheer number of victims flooding into the hospice, the stories they would tell of abuse and torture at the hands of bandits, and the grievous wounds the bandits inflicted (which were not unlike those he used to inflict in his youth). He was also enraged at the inaction (and in some cases, even complicity) of many local lords, cursing them for abandoning their feudal duties to the people living under their rules. Gottesberg watched as wounded pilgrims kept praying to God for salvation from the bandits, for divine punishment to come down smite the evil-doers, to no avail. He often wondered how many dead pilgrims must have said the same as bandits murdered them just beyond the cloisters of his monastery.

That was when Gottesberg decided that enough was enough. The suffering of the people under robber-barons and bandits drove Gottesberg to take up his sword and armour again. He would embark on a wrathful one-man crusade to eliminate banditry in his region. He decided that he would become God's divine punishment against the evil-doers. All the while, his abbot and fellow monks tried to dissuade him from returning to his old ways, telling him that it was not his place to pass down God's judgement or carry out extrajudicial punishments. Gottesberg did not care; he felt that lords and the rule of law had failed all the innocent people who fell victim to this new wave of crime. Someone had to do something.

Over the following years, Gottesberg would often leave his monastery to find and kill any bandit he could find. Gottesberg often traveled around in his monk robes or disguised as an ordinary pilgrim. He often fought with a set of daggers because they were easy to conceal within his usual disguises. And in many cases he wouldn't be able to wear his old sword and armour without attracting unwanted attention. Despite often being heavily outnumbered, he would use his weapon mastery; combat experience; tactical expertise; and knowledge of the sciences, engineering, and herblore to his advantage. Banditry across the region would drop like the bodies of its perpetrators. The roads would once again become safe for travelers.

Dead bandits littered the roads of Panedonia. The main piece of evidence connecting these extrajudicial killings together was a dagger lodged into the skulls of bandit leaders. Pilgrims and other travelers would spread tales of an 'Angel of Death' combing over the land, bringing justice to all the evil-doers plaguing it. Though only a few knew of his real identity, Gottesberg would become a hero among local commoners. His daggers would become symbols of protection, bravery, and hope among the downtrodden peasantry.

Many powerful figures would not stand for Gottesberg's vigilante justice. Robber-barons were enraged by the loss of revenue they received from their bandit cronies. They would set countless traps for the unknown vigilante. Meanwhile, legitimate lords felt that their own authorities were being challenged, and stepped up patrols to catch the unknown vigilante. Favour from their own subjects was wavering, as they considered a fantastical 'Daggerman' to be their protectors rather then their own lords.

Gottesberg handled the authorities in various ways. For the robber-barons, he either outwitted them, aided their subjects in appealing to higher authorities, or — in extreme cases — helped commoners to successfully revolt against their abusive overlords. For the legitimate and lawful authorities trying to catch him, Gottesberg generally left their lands alone or helped them tackle crime under different aliases. Sometimes, Gottesberg even managed to reform (or at least earn the support and cooperation of) previously hostile authority figures.

Eventually, Gottesberg would start feeling his advanced age catching up to him. Fighting was becoming more dangerous, and wounds were taking longer to heal from. He was forced to spend more of his time treating patients at the hospice and performing charity work. To his horror, banditry would shoot up again in his absence. He observed that no matter how many criminals he slew in the past, more would just rise to take their place.

That was when he realised that he was merely fighting the symptoms rather than treating the underlying disease. The reason behind all the evils he fought, and even why he was a killer in the first place, was not entirely because of the moral failings of human beings. It was more because people having to live within a heavily flawed system that incentivised crime, corruption, and other acts of evil.

At the very least, Gottesberg did not think that his work was all for nothing, as he had undoubtedly saved many lives and inspired many people. Over the years, his actions had inspired many copy-cats and attracted a small legion of followers to his cause. His followers came from a diverse array of backgrounds, ranging from serfs, to peasants, to landholders, to other knights and nobles. Whenever he was not working at the hospice, performing charity work, or engaged in prayer, he would often go out to meet with his followers. Gottesberg had dedicated years of his life to fighting injustice, and failed in stopping it for good. He at least hoped that the next generation of humanity would fix the errors of their predecessors.

Gottesberg instructed even the lowliest commoner to defend himself and resist against those who would seek to oppress them. He taught people to confront evil and injustice wherever they saw it. In doing so, he lectured them on systemic issues. He taught people to respect and listen to others regardless of their station in life, that their duty is to serve all people rather than the other way round. Whenever 'the system' failed humanity, he taught that it was people's duty to correct it. In cases where words failed, Gottesberg personally instructed his students in combat skills. He vehemently disagreed with the 'non-violent, non-action' Christian pacifist interpretations of 'Live by the sword, die by the sword' and 'Turn the other cheek'.

Eventually, Gottesberg and his radical teachings would be marked as threat to the feudal status quo. He was becoming too popular among the masses, and many people began openly expressing disatisfication and even contempt towards their overlords. Many powerful authority figures, include people that once supported Gottesberg, conspired to put a stop to him.

One day, Gottesberg was traveling to meet with his followers when he was stopped by a band of heavily armed and armoured knights and mercenaries. Gottesberg was alone and outnumbered. He was wearing only his monk robes, and was warmed with only his longsword and a set of daggers. Even worse, by that point he was already very old and well past his physical peak. Nevertheless, instead of surrendering against superior odds, he stood his ground and fought bravely until the very end. Legend says that he cut down all of his attackers before going down himself.

A Panedonian Knight (left) next to a Knight of the Dagger (right).

A New Order

The Order of the Dagger officially claims to have been founded by Adalhelm von Gottesberg's students. The title of its first Grand Master was posthumously granted to Gottesberg himself. The second Grand Master and actual founder of the Order as a distinct organisation was a Panedonian knight named Ansell von Friedrichstadt. The Order began in 1147 in Panedonia as a Catholic religious order dedicated to supporting pilgrims across the Empire of Dolchland. The Pope at the time awarded the knights of the newfound Order the honour of wearing red cross pattées on white surcoats. Its combatant members usually traveled around escorting pilgrims to holy sites. Meanwhile, its early non-combatant members mostly ran hostels, hospices, and hospitals.

Pilgrims only spoke of the Order's knights and their combat prowess in the highest of terms. Travelers spread stories of being mugged by bandits before knights, with surcoats emblazoned with blood-red crosses and daggers, swooped in to save them. The Order's reputation grew across Dolchland. Soon enough, many lords and monasteries of other religious orders began paying the Order's knights handsomely to help maintain security and the rule of law in their lands. The Emperors of Dolchland and Kings in Panedonia even donated tracts of lands to help the Order maintain its knights. Friedrichstadt made a point of investing its funds into purchasing and developing productive enterprises, establishing new chapters in towns and cities across the empire, and branching out into various industries.

The Order of the Dagger's original coat of arms before its seat of power was moved to the Perle Islands, Dolchland.

The Order practised an early form of capitalism, and earning the growing organisation a lot of income from its various operations. The Order bought out and operated farms, pastures, lumbermills, mills, bakeries, horse breeders, tanneries, breweries, wine presses, ironworks, oil presses, weaveries, dyeworks, fisheries, and many other businesses across Dolchland. It also bought ships, engaged in international trade, and rented out their own surplus ships to merchants. Its knights also made money by offering their services as mercenaries, safely transporting clients' money and goods across long distances, and actively hunting down bandits with bounties on their heads.

The Order also made a point of maintaining good public relations. It used its wealth to sponsor church-building and public projects. Its members performed charity works, gave jobs to the poor, and represented poor commoners in courts of law against abusive lords. It also spread the legend of Adalhelm von Gottesberg and emphasised the claim that such a folk hero was their founder. The Order wanted to advertise itself as a force for good in Dolchland.

By the early 13th century, the Order of the Dagger would transition into a fully-fledged military order. Its red cross pattée had become a recognisable brand, attracting a lot of further business. Its growing wealth and prestige attracted even more people to its banner.

The Knights of the Dagger, along with the considerable troops they could muster, would comprise a considerable force in Dolchland's northward crusades into other parts of Argis. The Order was often called upon by the Emperors of Dolchland and the Kings in Panedonia, Bessen, and Katzenelm to assist in wars against their pagan and non-Dolchic neighbours. In return for their remarkable service, the Order would be granted substantial amounts of land in conquered territories. While it continued operating its forts and chapters in Dolchland's core states, a lot of the Order's upper leadership shifted their focus further north. Most of the Order's available manpower would be redeployed to colonise, Christianise, develop, and hold the new Dolchic frontier.

A medieval castle-city in present-day Velaheria.

The Dolchordenstaat

In 1224, the Seventh Grand Master Dedrick von Schwarzwald, consolidated the Order of the Dagger's frontier holdings into the Monastic State of the Order of the Dagger. Most of these new territories are located in what is now eastern Velaheria. Local Velhar nobles were placated with membership within the Order and promises of intensive land development subsidised by Order funding. Velhar commoners were placated with promises that their cultures would be respected; so long as they converted to Catholicism, compromises could be made. The Order could then invest great swathes of its wealth into planning, building, and developing its new lands into a strong powerbase. In the meantime, the Order moved its main headquarters to what is now present-day Koinsburg.

The ancient Velhars had already done much of the legwork for their new colonisers, as many ancient Velhar city-states had amenities such as paved roads, sewage systems, and aqueducts. However, they were over a thousand years-old, and were in much need of updating. Dolchic and local Velhar engineers cooperated in upgrading ancient Velhar infrastructure according to contemporary Dolchic needs and standards. They expanded the paved road network, founded new pre-planned walled towns and cities, and built great castles and fortresses. The Order also enticed waves of Dolchic settlers with promises of plentiful land, with which they could cultivate new farmsteads. The Dolchordenstaat would develop into a fairly developed and prosperous country in its own right.

The Order ensured that the frontier was very secure. It constructed many forts, castles, and fortresses across the land, many of which were direct upgrades from earlier Velhar fortifications. The Dolchs and their Velhar vassals were extremely difficult for hostile neighbours to displace. If enemies besieged one fortification, knights and men-at-arms stationed in other fortifications were to quick to respond. Supply lines were actively and aggressively raided by local Velhar insurgents. Dolchic town burghers and rural landowners were also extremely fierce in defending their lands. With this level of security, the territories were marketed to the Kings in Panedonia and Emperors of Dolchland as ideal springboards for further northward expansion, courting even more investment. A minor industry also popped up, where border towns would host Dolchic nobles who wanted to travel to the northern frontier for the sole purpose of hunting pagans just beyond the border.

The Dolchordenstaat usually distanced itself from Imperial politics. The Order's upper leadership was more focused on building up its own lands, defending its new borders, and helping to conquer new lands to the north. However, it did maintain friendly relations with the Order's home country of Panedonia. When the Order did participate in wars between Dolchic states, it was usually to help the Kingdom of Panedonia. One major example would be the War of the Habstrian Succession, where it sided with Panedonia. These wars caused the Order's chapters in hostile states to close down and its associated business enterprises to be sequestrated or confiscated, but they were losses the Order could stomach in the short-term. But over time this gradual loss of income, influence, and local connections would lead to the Order's overall decline in mainland Argis.

However, where the Order of the Dagger declined in Dolchland, it could compensate with gains overseas. Dolchland began its overseas colonisation drive in the 16th century, in which the Order was a key player early on. The Order's knights were particularly instrumental in the Dolchic colonisation of what is now present-day Rhodellia. The Order was responsible for funding Martell Waldseemüller's (accidental) expedition to the Gulf of Auriel. It funded the establishment of the first Rhodellian colonies, particularly the colonies of Gottesberg and Friedrichstadt. The Order's knights played important roles in defending the budding Gulf of Auriel colonies against Native Aurelian attacks. Many Knights of the Dagger were also responsible for training the new Rhodellian populace to form community militias and protect themselves, founding many martial arts schools across the Aurelian frontier. The Order also created a new Landmeister position to lead the Order's new national chapter in central Aurelia. This position would first be occupied by a Panedonian Komtur named Friedrich von Rödel, whose descendants would go on to become the monarchs of Rhodellia. The Order of the Dagger still maintains very sizable and active chapters in Rhodellia, though they operate very differently from their brethren in Dolchland.

The Order's overseas influence would begin wane starting from the early 17th century. Aside from the gradual loss of the Order's productive enterprises and business monopolies, the biggest contributor to this was the rise of the Ostalharun Kompanie. The Ostalharun Kompanie practically outcompeted the Order in matters of global trade. By the 18th century, most of the Order's net income came from managing its lands in Velaheria and Rhodellia. However, this too would not last.

The Order would continue to govern its Velaherian territories until the mid-19th century. Throughout the decades prior, the Velaherian people were rising in popular revolution against their Dolchic overlords. The war was long, bloody, and destructive. By the 1940s, the Order's wealth and manpower was all but exhausted. Meanwhile, the (Habstrian) Emperor of Dolchland was 'too predisposed' with other matters to send much reinforcements. In reality, the Emperor saw the Order's losing war as a convenient opportunity to knock out one of Panedonia's main allies, shifting the balance of power more towards Habstria.

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Rhodellia, the Red Deluge happened from 1914 to 1921. When Rhodellia was invaded by a Grand Alliance of Native Aurelian nations, the Order of the Dagger's Rhodellia chapter wholeheartedly joined the defence of their nation. Many knights joined the Rhodellian Army, Army Air Force, and Navy both as enlisted men and commissioned officers. Those in frontline combat roles fought courageously and admirably. Many knights would go on to perform heroics in battle, holding many positions against near-impossible odds, slaying many enemies, and earning many medals along the way. Yet despite the kingdom's best efforts, it was a war it would lose.

Rhodellia would sign an Armistice with its victorious enemies, who would then go on to force the kingdom to sign the 'Black Treaty'. Before the Black Treaty, farmers and prospective landowners were free to buy plenty of cheap land on the edge of the Rhodellia's northern frontier. But the Black Treaty forced Rhodellia to concede all but its 'core' provinces to its vengeful neighbours. Most of the Order's Rhodellian lands happened to be concentrated within the core provinces.

Many displaced farmers who lost their families' lands in the war eyed the Order's lands as replacements. When the November Revolution happened in 1921, these same farmers formed a major component of the Rhodellian Socialist Party and Rhodellian Communist Party's Red Guards and voterbase. The Order's Rhodellia chapter panicked when a left-wing coalition won a landslide victory in the 1921 Snap Election.

The Order rightly predicted that the forceful redistribution of land was likely going to be one of the new government's first acts. So it immediately went about dividing and 'selling' its agricultural estates to private citizens. It was no coincidence that almost all of these buyers were the Order's own knights, their retainers, and their families and relatives. On 'formerly' Order-owned land, newly displaced farmers would have to be satisfied just being wage labourers rather than landowners themselves. However, many would eventually join the Order's Rhodellian chapter itself and rise within its ranks.

The Order of the Dagger's new coat of arms after moving its seat of power to the Perlehafen, Großsalzaland, in the Perle Islands.

By the mid-19th century, the Dolchordenstaat as a country had practically ceased to exist. The Order's 48th Grand Master, Henrik von Steinburg, appealed to the King of Panedonia for land with which they could reform the Dolchordenstaat and restore the Order to its former glory. The Order of the Dagger were longstanding and exceptionally useful historical allies of the Kings in Panedonia, so the King granted the Order governorship of the Perle Islands. From there, with considerable support from their Rhodellian chapter, the Order's knights would prove successful in developing the islands of Bassenheim and Großsalzaland into a modernised state.