The Knights of the Nine

Pelinal Whitestrake and the Crusader’s Relics

The Knightly Order

I will start here since there isn’t much to tell, but they are the main focus of the titular Knights of the Nine (KOTN) DLC for Oblivion.

The Knights of the Nine were formed in 3E 111 by Sir Amiel Lannus, a hero of Cyrodiil making his fame during the War of the Isle, the final attempt by the Maormer to take over the Summerset Isles. After the war, Sir Amiel formed the Knights of the Nine, born out of the optimism and ambition of the first century of the Third Era. Sir Lannus and his Knights’ goal was the recovery of the ancient Relics of Saint Pelinal Whitestrake, the Divine Crusader, one of the heroes that helped found the first empire.

The Knights and their exploits grew famous throughout Cyrodiil and the entire Empire (Which covered all of Tamriel at the time), attracting recruits from royal families throughout all of Cyrodiil. The Order reached their height after recovering four of the eight lost relics of the divine crusader, the Cuirass, Gauntlets, Greaves, and Sword. However, their fall came soon after.

The war of Red of the Diamond would spell the Knightly order’s end. The Wolf Queen Potema of Solitude made an attempt to take the Imperial throne from empress Kintyra II, and install her son Uriel as emperor. This war shattered the unity of the empire, as noble families across Cyrodiil took sides in the war. This was no different for the Noble sons within the Knights of the Nine. Knights broke away, taking the recovered artifacts with them to join the bloody war on differing sides. The first knight to leave was Sir Berich, who took the Crusader’s Sword and slew Sir Caius on the steps of the Priory of the Nine. By the war’s end, the surviving knight’s brotherhood had been shattered. The few remaining members will fall on their quests to recover the remaining relics. The order was officially dissolved by the Empire in 3E 131, which was little more than a formality.

TES IV: OBLIVION

302 years later, The Divine Crusader’s ancient enemy, the half-Ayleic-half-daedric Demi-Prince, King of Garlas Malatar, Umaril the Unfeathered returned from Oblivion and began sending Meridia’s Daedric servants, the aurorans, to slaughter and desecrate the temples of the divines throughout cyrodiil in an attempt to cast the gods themselves down in revenge. After the massacre of the temple of Dibella in Anvil, a street prophet came across a *hero, who took the pilgrimage of the Nine and was recognized as the Divine Crusader reborn and named Lord Crusader of the Knights. The Lord Crusader reformed the Knights of the Nine, recovered the relics, redeemed the fallen knights of the original order. The Lord Crusader, empowered by the Eight divines and the new god, Talos, slew Umaril’s physical form in Nirn and his spirit on the waters of Oblivion, finally killing him permanently.

*This is the player Character! However, this is a tricky subject in canon. The Lord Crusader may have been the Champion of Cyrodiil, he may have been Sheogorath himself, or he may have been an entirely different person altogether! The player character is kept vague in the lore so no player’s story is overwritten, and it is commonly accepted that a different person fulfilled the different questlines.

After KOTN / What Happened?
WARNING: SPECULATION

There is no canon information as to what happened to the Knights of the Nine after the Crusader’s relics were recovered and Umaril slain. However, by the time of Skyrim, it looks bleak. The Priory of the Nine was south of Cheydinhal, close to the border of Valenwood and Elsweyr, both countries under the Aldmeri Dominion and the Thalmor. The Knights of the NINE would be an obvious target of Thalmor persecution, not only worshiping the human god Tiber Septim, but also being dedicated to the infamous genocidal maniac, Pelinal Whitestrake. With this in mind, they were probably utterly destroyed during the Great War between the Empire and Aldmeri Dominion. What may have happened is entirely up to speculation.

My theories include:

• They’re dead. They fell defending their priory from the elves, their relics and bones scattered.
• They went into hiding. The order dissolved once again in a bid to defend their relics.
• They dissolved long before the war. Less likely, but their quest was accomplished. However, they still had the relics to defend.

MISC. Info

The ranks of the order in oblivion:

Knight Errant
The average knight. Being Errant Knights, they probably traveled much searching for Relics or going on other chivalrous adventures.

Knight Commander
Just a commander. Possibly the highest rank besides the Divine Crusader himself.

Divine Crusader
Exclusively for the Divine Crusader reborn. Likely obsolete after the Lord Crusader’s death or disappearance.

Armor:

The Knight Errant’s armor in Oblivion.
Just typical Chainmail armor with a unique shield tabard.

• Surprisingly, the “modern” incarnation of the knights allowed elves in their ranks, despite Pelinal’s SEETHING hatred for anything vaguely elven.

THE RELICS
The Relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, their gods, powers, and history.

The Armor in its place, in the undercroft of the Priory of the Nine.
The Crusader’s relics were powerful enchanted relics crafted by the Eight Divines themselves (Keep in mind, Talos or Tiber Septim wouldn’t exist for hundreds of years). Each of the eight pieces were crafted by a different divine and blessed with their power. Each piece of armor also increases the power of restoration and other magical abilities.

The Helm – Dibella

The Helms gives it’s wearer a serene beauty- allowing its wearer to calm those they touch.
After Pelinal’s death at the White-Gold Tower, his helmet was placed within a shrine to the Divine Crusader within the Ayleid city of Vanua on the shores of lake Rumare. The city was later engulfed by the lake, taking the helm with it. Sir Amiel, seeking to restore the honor of the Knights, died within the cursed city while trying to reclaim the artifact. With the assistance of the spirit of Amiel, the hero reclaimed this relic.

The Cuirass – Mara or Akatosh (I’d guess Mara)

Offers magical protection to its wearer.
The first artifact recovered by the original Knights, recovered after they slew the Dragon of the ruined Ayleid city of Elynglenn. was the only item left in the priory after the dissolution of the original knights, where it was guarded against adventurers by the ghosts of knights for hundreds of years until the hero reclaimed it.

The Boots – Kynareth

The wearer would not be attacked by the creatures of the forest unprovoked.
Sir Juncan of the original knights died while searching for this relic. They were later found by the Hero in the grove of trials, allowing a giant bear to attack them without fighting back, thus passing the trial.

The Mace of Zenithar

Burns those it strikes with holy flames and turns the undead.
When Pelinal was slain a messenger brought his mace to Leyawiin. Centuries later, Saint Kaladas constructed the temple of Zenithar there and was entombed beneath it. Praying upon his grave will give visions of the mace across a void. Wearing the boots of Kynareth, the hero crossed the void, retrieving the mace.

The Shield – Julianos

Shaped like the symbol of the Imperial Pantheon and the Empire itself, the Red Diamond, Chim-El Adabal, the shield reflected enemy spells back to their caster.
Retrieved by Sir Henrik of the original knights. After going off on his own, he sealed the shield away within fort Bulwark, passing away before the completion of his defenses. It was later retrieved by the hero alongside the ghost of Sir Henrik and fellow knight, Sir Thedret before a coven of conjurers could reach it.

Gauntlets of the Crusader – Stendaar

Grant their wearer resistance to disease.
Recovered by the original knight Sir Casimir, he later took the gauntlets when he left the order and went to war. He returned from the war of the Red Diamond a changed and bitter man. He stayed at the Great Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol until one day, he struck a beggar dead within the temple of the god of mercy. Disgusted by the act, Stendaar cursed the gauntlets, making them extremely heavy, falling off Casimir’s hands, staying where they landed for years. Casimir’s bloodline was also cursed with debilitating fatigue that plagued them their entire life. The Hero would meet a descendent of Casimir residing in the church, Kellen. The Hero took the curse upon themself, redeeming the gauntlets and Casimir’s bloodline. Kellen would join the reformed knights soon after.

Greaves of the Crusader – Mara or Akatosh (Likey Akatosh)

Increases the wearer’s ability at destruction magic, as well as allowing them to bless others with magical protection.
Retrieved by the original knight Berich Vlindrel, who would later take them into the War of the Red Diamond. He was buried with them within his family tomb in Underpall Cave. Underpall Cave would later become inhabited by Necromancers and the wraith of Lord Vlindrel. Sir Roderic of Wayrest and his squire Lathon attempted to retrieve the artifact, Roderic losing his life in the process. The hero would later destroy the wraith and Lathon would join the reformed knights.

Sword of the Crusader – Arkay

Burns those struck with holy flames and depletes their magicka.
Another artifact taken by lord Vlindrel and wielded by his wraith as it murdered travelers on the Orange Road. Vlindrel’s evil cursed the sword itself, draining the magicka of any righteous wielder. After being reclaimed by the hero, the sword was taken to the temple of Arkay in Cheydinhal, which was being defiled by Umaril’s Aurorans. After the daedra were destroyed, the sword was reconsecrated.

Where are they now?

Unknown.

If Creation Club Content is accepted as canon (Personally, I do as long as they don’t conflict with other sources), Bandits have stolen the artifacts and taken them to Four Skull Lookout in Skyrim, where they are reclaimed by… someone.

This Creation Club version also includes a light version of the armor:

PELINAL WHITESTRAKE, THE DIVINE CRUSADER
GLORIOUS KNIGHT, STAR-MADE KNIGHT, THE INSURGENT, THE BLOODY, THE BLAMER, THE THIRD, 
THE WHITE SNAKE, YSMIR, HARRALD HAIRY BREEKS, HANS THE FOX.

And this pretty cool song:

Blogger/Lore Researcher: Rusty Shackleford
Editor: Rana
Coverart: D.D.