Knights Justiciars of the Eternal Kingdom

The Men of Justice of the Eternal Kingdom of the Raven Queen, commonly known as the Knights Jusiticiars, or simply the Justiciars, is a religious military order in service of the Raven Queen and the Kingdom of Matrona. The Justiciars were formed in 902 by King Tudinus III of Matrona in collaboration with the Church of the Raven Queen to protect Matrona from Das Vampyr and their mortal agents. Justiciars were given the authority to act as judges and deliver divine justice at their discretion, with the right to execute even the King himself if he were deemed an agent of Das Vampyr.

In 960, King Nero fully separated the Justiciars from the Church and moved their headquarters from Alzeiza to Theodonanda, the Matronian capital, in order to be closer to the throne. Since then, the duties of the Justiciars have been primarily relegated to being glorified bodyguards of the royal family.

At their peak, there were thousands of Justiciars traveling throughout Matrona, weeding out the seed of evil. Today, their numbers have dwindled to around 200, and most rarely stray far from their headquarters.

Hierarchy
The leaders of the Justiciars are known as The Four Justices and hold the rank of Chief Justiciar. The Four Justices consist of the four senior-most ranking members of the order, and a new Chief Justiciar is introduced to replace one that has died on average once a year, due to the advanced ages of those who typically hold this position.

The Four Justices hold secret conclaves amongst themselves once a ride to discuss matters related to the Justiciars.

Members
Members of the Justiciars consist of highly skilled paladins in service of the Raven Queen and tend to be Matronian. They wear full-plate armor with a plumed hounskull bascinet, a cloak of black feathers held with a silver clasp in the shape of the Raven Queen's holy symbol, and a red-and-black shield with the Justiciar's symbol on it: the Matronian knot combined with the holy symbol of the Raven Queen.

In order to join the Justiciars, prospects must be put forth by an existing Justiciar and approved by three Chief Justiciars.

Politics
Given their privileged status as being above-the-law and the brusqueness with which they conduct their investigations, the Justiciars have made more enemies than allies over the years.

The Justiciars hold a reputation of elitism, and many knights dislike them on account of the number of capable knights that have been rejected from joining the order. A smaller number of knights, however, hold them as benchmark to aspire to.

While the Justiciars are widely regarded as exceptional warriors, in recent years, their reputation has come under scrutiny with regards to how effective they actually are at protecting Matrona. The Iron Vanguard, in particular, hold open disdain towards the Justiciars.

Headquarters
Since 960, the headquarters of the Justiciars has been Nightmoor Stronghold on the outskirts of Theodonanda. Due to the vow of poverty that the Justiciars take, the Stronghold is sparse and ill-maintained, with necessary repairs delayed for years at a time. It is, however, well-guarded by the Justiciars, as it is the location in which they hold the Codex Mortem, The Black Manuscripts of Alom, and The Asarcanian Fragments, all texts of religious importance.