This is my idea for an Ostland based Templar. I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from the Teutonic Knights (Ostland’s color scheme and style reminds me of East Prussia [the old Teutonic Ordenstaat mixed with later Royal Prussia]), so here is my history of the Templars of Ostland, also known as the Ostlandic Order. Enjoy! (There will be a story based around the Order’s last stand at Tannendorf coming soon for the Library)
The Templars of Ostland were founded in the dark days of the Vampire Wars, when Mannfred Von Carstein overran the Ostermark with his undead hordes and threatened to destroy the Empire. It was in this time that a young noble of Ostland, Leopold Von Fleischauer gathered about him a group of knights at the Battle of Hel Fenn and led a devastating charge into the heart of the undead army, the very moment that Von Carstein was slain, and helped to rout the Sylvanian menace once and for all.
Upon returning to Wolfenburg, Leopold and his knights swore an oath to protect Ostland and the northern Empire from the dire threats that circled it. These knights became known as the Templars of Ostland, or the Ostlandic Order. In time the Order mushroomed in size as young Ostlandic nobles joined the Order and chapter houses sprang up all over the province. After the Battle on the Urskoy, where an Orc Waagh was routed, the Hochmeister accepted a unit of Greatswords into the Order as Halbruden (or Half-Bretheren) for their valorous services to the Order. Since that time, each chapter house has tried to maintain a regiment of Halbruden alongside the Ritterbruden (or Knight-Bretheren).
In the year 2401, work was begun on the Ordenschloss (Castle of the Order) in the heart of Wolfenburg. It would not be completed until 2453. It is a magnificent fortress, towering above the merchant shops round about it. The Order’s battle cry was “For Ostland and the Ordenschloss!” for half a century until the disastrous Battle of Tannendorf. It was here that the main strength (nearly 3000 Ritterbruden and a further 2500 Halbruden) of the Order was destroyed by a Chaos warband under one Grendel Scar-Eye. Hochmeister Wolfram Esse sent a single, lone knight to warn the Elector Count of Ostland of the approaching hosts, while the Templars would hold them at bay. They were outnumbered nigh three to one. When the main army of Ostland arrived to rout the now broken force of Grendel Scar-Eye, the lone knight, Rudolf Weber, surveyed the corpse-strewn battlefield and found the tattered, bloodsoaked banner of the Order, along with the fallen body of Hochmeister Wolfram beside it.
Since that day the Ostlandic knights have shouted “Tannendorf!” on the battlefields of the Empire and seek to avenge their fallen bretheren. The Order’s banner is black with a white Imperial Cross upon it (different chapter houses have different stylizations of the cross, but it is always white on black) with a white diagonal stripe across the midsection of the banner with letters in bold reading “TANNENDORF”. The Order’s armor is black with white trim and black and white plumes are common. The Hochmeister’s helmet depicts two bull's horns bearing a black disc upon which is a white Imperial Cross. The Order’s Halbruden are similarly attired. The current Hochmeister is one Arminius Schubert who currently resides in the now half deserted Ordenschloss and is attempting to rebuild it after the ravages of Archaon the Everchosen on Wolfenburg.
The Hochmeister also maintains a regular guard for the Ordenschloss composed of crossbowmen and halberdiers. They maintain the black and white colors of the Order and the regimental banner is quartered black and white with contrasting Imperial crosses in each quarter. Also particular to the Ordenschloss garrison is the Ordnance Train, currently composed of three great cannons and one mortar. The current Hochmeister Schubert is in the process of raising funds to add more artillery to the Ordnance Train.
