Hesan Knight: Oath and Initiation

(Relevant to the Hesan Knights: @Sir Alaric Rochefort , @Sir Lorenz Rochefort , @Sir Otto Rochefort , @Marshal Erwin Stahlbrand )

A Hesan Knight is almost always noble in birth, as young men of nobility are incentivized to become a knight. If the knight to be is of common birth (rare), they must be officiated by a knight of noble baring. The Hesa’s mythic worldview is one born from violence: the gods are soldiers, and creation itself is a battlefield. The knighting ceremony is solemn and sacrificial in tone. It does not celebrate honor or chivalry in the romantic sense, but rather consecrate the knight as a weapon forged in memory of divine warfare.

Ceremony of the Bladewake

Held at dusk beneath a torn banner representing the sky’s first wound. The ceremony takes place on scorched stone or blackened earth—symbolizing the battlefield that birthed the world.

Ritual Elements

• Ash Anointing: The knight is marked with ash across the brow and chest, signifying the breath of dying stars and the burden of memory.

• Blade Offering: The knight presents their blade to the officiant (often their own father), who inspects it not for beauty, but for wear—proof that it has tasted struggle. An imperial mage inscribes the blade with a runic devotion, usually words picked from the Oath of the Hesan Knights or the Hesan story of Creation. The runic inscription might say, "To bleed without glory" or "By the ash of the stars and the silence of gods", etc. Examples of these runic blades are @Zweihander of the Sky's Wound, @Sword of Star Ash, and @Sword of War's Memory.

• Blood Echo: A shallow cut is made on the knight’s palm, and the blood is smeared on the hilt. This binds the knight to the wound of creation.

• Witnesses: Silent. They do not cheer or applaud. Their presence is a reminder that war is never truly over.

Oath of the Hesan Knights

I was not born. I was broken into being.
I swear by the ash of stars and the silence of gods:
To stand where the world splits.
To bleed without glory.
To wield my blade not for self-pride, but for memory.
Let my breath be smoke. Let my soul be steel.
I am the wound that walks.

Hesan Creation Myth

The sky tore open.
Light spilled like blood.
The first gods were not lovers.
They were soldiers.
They split the mountains with their blades.
They burned the oceans to smoke.
The stars are the sparks of their dying breath.
The world is a battlefield that forgot its war.