Lore:Order of the Hour

Knight of the Hour (Legends)

The Order of the Hour (also called the Hour Order) is one of the oldest knightly orders in the Empire of Cyrodiil, serving as the militant arm of the Akatosh Chantry. Their sole purpose is to enact the will of Akatosh the Great Dragon, as well as preserve the stability and permanence the God of Time represents. The Order has scattered and re-organized on several occasions throughout history, but their purpose had remained the same each time.

Further Information

The Order of the Hour has proved to have stationed themselves in the region of the Gold Coast, and spread across the provinces to carry out their sacred mission. Their first headquarter has now become known as Knightsgrave. It is located on the hills around the Brena River, west of Fort Sutch. The Enclave of the Hourglass is found more inland, directly south of Kvatch and the Gold Road. The knightly order's code of conduct was formed during its second iteration, formed by Cavor Merula and his followers, Amminus Entius and Justia Desticus. Desticus was the original First Sword of Merula's order, standing as his right-hand and forming the "Rigors of Akatosh," which are eight traits that the knights must aspire to. All the while, Entius, the order's first quartermaster, created an infrastructure that provided the proper benefits for the knights in Kvatch such as proper equipment and training.

The highest rank in the order is the Paladin, whose armor is made from ebony. Much like any other knightly order, the Order of the Hour focuses on several skills, which determine a knight's ranking in the order. Some of these include archery, proper etiquette, the long blade, and medical knowledge. They even focus on languages such as Dragonish and Giantish. The weapons and arms of the Order are designed to embody the virtues of the old Empire of Cyrodiil. Aspects of their armor are inspired by the Imperial Legion of the Second Empire, like their chest pieces and helmets. Their bows are made from the ash and yew trees, courtesy of the Colovian West.

In order to honor the memory of the founder, members of the order wear magically protective suits. Those suits were used for centuries.

History

Ennon Decan's Iteration

The Order of the Hour traces its origins to the early years of the Second Empire, when it was founded by Ennon Decan. It remained active throughout the First Era up until the dawn of the Second Era when it fell into obscurity. Decan built his headquarters on the hills of the Gold Coast, in an ancient cave where Akatosh worship was once prevalent, possibly from the Alessian Order. The site was converted into a stronghold for the Order, a place to train and even pray on the words of Akatosh. When Decan passed away, the Order built statues honoring the fallen and expanded the fort even more. But eventually, this first phase of the Order had disbanded and fallen into obscurity at the coming of a new era. The fort was locked away and given to the Chantry for safekeeping.

Cavor Merula's Iteration

The second phase of the Order of the Hour was created in 2E 432 by the warrior-priest, Cavor Merula in response to the fall of the Second Empire. Merula formed the order from Kvatch, out of fear for the safety of the Akatosh Chantry and its many historic and religious memorabilia. He gathered a group of warrior-priests to defend the cathedral, and thus the Order of the Hour was reborn. One of Cavor's first acts was to dedicate the old fort to the previous incarnation of the Order and to bless the dead that haunted the ruins. These ruins became Knightsgrave and Merula built the new headquarters, the Enclave of the Hourglass found south of Kvatch. Although, the Divine retribution that Merula feared never came to fruition, and the Order of the Hour expanded to an elite militia sworn to protect the Cathedral, more ceremonial than militaristic, only called at the direst situation.

There have been several stories regarding the Order of the Hour and their protection of Kvatch in the span of a little over a century. In 2E 437, the Order of the Black Worm infested the city of Kvatch, but they were swiftly dispatched by the warrior-priest, Rusio Olo, who killed eight cultists and the leader of the enclave single-handedly. In 2E 467, the Kvatch Bread Riots raged across the county-seat and the fearful common-folk were enraged by the Chantry, believing that they were doing nothing to fix the situation. An angry mob, with the intent to inflict damage on the chantry, formed at the steps of the cathedral, only to be encountered by the Order of the Hour. Sister Severa slaughtered half of the crowd before any damage appeared on the cathedral. The Primate prayed for the end of the red wheat blight, and by the end of the season, the blight died out. By 2E 480, the Primate of Akatosh created a writ that authorized the Order to form an army and protect the city in cases of religious emergencies. Once the situation was dealt with, the Order returned to their regular duties. One such occasion was a siege from an Orcish horde led by Baz Swordbreaker.

Primate Artorius & the Dark Brotherhood

Primate Artorius Ponticus (ESO)

The Order of the Hour grew greatly in the Second Era when Duke Varen Aquilarios of Colovia built the eponymous Varen's Wall, a stone wall that separated the Gold Coast from the rest of the Empire of Cyrodiil. Because of this, the Gold Coast's government became more centralized to the region and the Akatosh Chantry sought to expand the Order of the Hour into a military force to be reckoned with. Primate Artorius Ponticus ordered the Hour Commander Marcus Scipio to bolster his ranks beyond the Kvatch city limits. It had got to the point where the Akatosh Chantry became part of a triad of political powers in the Gold Coast, along with the Court of Kvatch and the Court of Anvil. But things changed when the Dark Brotherhood emerged in 2E 582, the Brotherhood waged an underground war with the Order of the Hour as they assassinated several key figures (i.e., Lord Quintus Jarol, Commander Marcus Scipio, and Grand Sermonizer Fithia at-Himah). All the while, the Order's First Sword, The Black Dragon hunted down members of the Brotherhood's chapter. Ultimately, everything came to an end when the remaining Dark Brotherhood members stormed the Cathedral of Akatosh and slew Primate Artorius.

Third & Fourth Era

The Order of the Hour had been present as far as 3E 405, serving the Akatosh Chantry in their chapters in the Iliac Bay. At that time, a member of the Order had killed one of the Dragons from the Chantry's sacred grove, in a failed attempt to free them from their clutches. Forced to go into hiding, the Chantry sent one of their own to assassinate the dragonslayer. The order continued their service in the Iliac Bay, specifically the Kingdom of Wayrest. In 4E 188, the head of the Order was Markam Hawksmire, who was known for being corrupt. He was assassinated by an associate of the Dark Brotherhood. This event was followed by an invasion of Wayrest by corsairs of the Iliac Bay.

Gallery

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  Knightsgrave (ESO)

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  The Statue of Akatosh in Knightsgrave

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  Enclave of the Hourglass (ESO)

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  Armor style

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  Barracks (Legends)

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  Concept art

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  Order of the Hour ruined banner

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  Order of the Hour banner

Notes

• ^	The book Order of the Hour claims that Merula's order started in response to the Longhouse Emperors. However, the Longhouse Emperors did not conquer Cyrodliil until 2E 533.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Daggerfall and Elder Scrolls Online articles.

Books

• Crafting Motif 40: Order Hour Style by Amminus Entius, First Quartermaster of the Order — A guide to crafting armor and weapons in the Order of the Hour style
• Knightsgrave: Legend or Legacy by Chanter Wobolan, Cathedral Historian — An essay on the ruins of Knightsgrave
• Order of the Hour by Exordor Vasidius, Sermonizer, Priest of Akatosh — A history of an ancient order of knights