HISTORY:
When colonists first arrived on Mardrun, the Order spent immense resources building a full settlement and began production on a keep. This attracted a number of settlers to join them and help their efforts; the benefit of having the disciplined leadership and military might of the Order in charge of the settlement was amicable to some that were lost and in need of a new home. Starkhaven is one of the most most defensive settlements on the continent and resides where the Yurnai river meets the Great Wolf’s Hackles.
Yearly Update – 260 (2011)
The leadership tended to the needs of the people and to expanding supplies for the Order. A few Lions had been sent to investigate what was happening in the rest of the colonies.
Yearly Update – 261 (2012)
Word reached the Order that an undead, a lich, was spotted on Mardrun, Lions were dispatched to track down and kill it. Several groups of Lions and squads of Starkhaven militia were killed trying to defeat this foe, until finally the Coalition helped track it down the northern coast and into Grimward territory. With the help and guidance of the Lions, the lich was cornered and destroyed.
Yearly Update – 262 (2013)
As the Ulven Civil War gains momentum, the Order of Arnath’s Fist is caught in the thick of it. Lions are sent out on patrol, Starkhaven militia protect the roads near their settlement and Daven’s Reach, and the battle barges of the Order sail and patrol the Yurnai river that separates the Grimward and Nightriver lands. Conflict after conflict takes its toll on the Order as the highly skilled and equipped warriors fall one by one, difficult and costly to replace. Months of attrition force the Lions to retreat from the main bulk of the conflict to reinforce and a sneak attack on the Yurnai river by Clan Grimward warriors led to the destruction of the Order’s battle barges and the death of their crews. As winter sets in at the end of the year, the Order is in dire need of supplies and support; their ambitious goals to help the Civil War resulting in a terrible cost for both the Order and the settlement of Starkhaven.
Yearly Update – 263 (2014)
Following the political fallout between the Order of Arnath’s Fist and Baron Richards of Newhope, Starkhaven’s construction ground to a halt and its walls slowly began to fall into disrepair. The already famously xenophobic clerics retreated deeper into their cloistered stronghold, pulling their troops out of the war save for a handful of Lions who were sent to hold the Pass through the Great Wolf’s Hackles.
More and more over the year, Starkhaven patrols stop going out on the roads and the Lions remain stationed at home.
Frustration began to build as signs of corruption and foul play were discovered inside Starkhaven itself while the Lions in the Pass, expecting and awaiting reinforcements, seemed to have been forgotten by their allies. The year culminates in a decision made on behalf of Starkhaven, to be revealed early in the following year.
Yearly Update – 264 (2015)
Beginning on a sour note, the Order of Arnath’s Fist started the year by informing the Coalition of their decision to pull their troops out of the pass through the Great Wolf’s Hackles in order to return home and help tend their fields. Feeling betrayed and ignored by those who called them allies, Starkhaven had been hoping for some form of aid or support in the pass, but received none. Although weakened, a handful of Lions and Starkhaven militia flew their banners and marched alongside Coalition and Clan Nightriver allies… although none of them survived to return home. It is unknown if the Order will continue to remain reclusive after the Civil War had taken such a heavy toll on them.
Yearly Update – 265 (2016)
After years of decay and financial distress, the once great settlement of Starkhaven had descended into near ruin. Many settlers fled to other colonies. Although the military might of the Order of Arnath has never recovered from the initial conflict with the Ulven and the recent Ulven civil war, a handful of the Fist chapter members maintain control of Starkhaven and can be seen periodically. They have become more reclusive now, choosing to stay inside their crumbling keep and keep to their ideals and themselves instead of getting involved in the world at large. This had concerned members of the Order and also some of the people of Starkhaven, and a Griffin stepped forward to push for a reform. A new direction was presented and the Hand of Arnath listened; although the Order of Arnath’s Fist would remain the primary chapter of the Order on Mardrun, a new settlement and some of the existing military units were re-purposed with aiding the efforts of this new chapter.
The Order of Arnath’s Light is a brand new chapter of the Order of Arnath. Led by the new Chapter Master, this group within Starkhaven is pushing for more diplomacy and progressive ideals on the world. This was originally met with resistance as the surviving chapter of the Order of Arnath was the Fist, the most militant chapter of all of the Order of Arnath. The new chapter resides in a part of Starkhaven. This has caused tension between the two Chapters, and in the settlement itself.
The first action was the Inquisition of Fire. Bos Meszar, the militant wing of the settlement of Serai, was found to be experimenting with Undead. Recalling the fate of Faedrun, both Chapters mobilized, but the Light was in the lead. The Chapter of the Light and Bos Mezsar came to blows, but their militia was no match for the highly trained Order militia. Unlike the Fist, however, the Chapter of the Light dealt a soft hand to the settlement. Most were captured and given aid. However, a rampaging Mordok horde pressed both Chapters hard. With Serai no longer having a military force, the town swore fealty to the Order. The Fist currently patrols and safeguards the settlement.
At the end of the year, the Chapter of the Light overstepped their bounds and welcomed corrupted Ulven into the settlement. The people of Starkhaven complained, but dealt with it. Crisis was closely averted by the help of the Prince of Aldoria, and the Phoenix.