The Knights of the Burning Claw

[Shyriath]

The worship of the Cedrist Gods has been the primary expression of religion on the Isle of Benacia ever since Cedrism was first introduced to the island, during the early days of Khaz Modanian rule. But by far the most popular of the Gods there is, and has been, B'caw, God of Spicy Chicken.

The reasons for this are unclear. Some believe that it is ely due to the identification with the famous callamenni of their island, or to a resemblance to an older, pre-Cedrist God. But the consensus is that there was a defining moment in which B'caw, and the principle of fiery belief that some believe he represents, became fully ingrained in the local culture. This was the Battle of the Bridge.

In the harbor of Port Benacia, near where the wide, modern bridge spanning the water now stands, there was once a narrow wooden footbridge. According to legend, it was here that a brave and passionate Benacian knight, Pendura, who nearly single-handedly held the bridge against the overpowering might of the Khaz Modanians, come to crush the Benacian rebellion. A devout follower of B'caw, his fateful and heroic stand became a sort of national legend, and an inspiration to those who believed in the power of a great cause burning in the heart.

It was a collection of comrades and family members of Pendura, so it is said, who decided to form the Order of the Burning Claw to honor his memory and spread the message of B'caw. In the latter days of the Khaz Modanians and the years thereafter, the Knights succeeded in their mission to bring B'caw closer to the people of the Isle, but with the slow decline of the clans among which they were counted, they too began to wane in influence.

So it was that with the rise of Shireroth and its expansion in the area, the Knights proved too weak to repel them. But though this failure proved a shameful lesson, it also spurred a great resurgence in their original spirit. Interpreting certain signs as omens indicative of the Shirerithians' right to rule, the Knights reinvented themselves as not merely guardians of the Isle, but servants of the Kaiser, ready to spread the ideals of Pendura and the word of B'caw by thought, deed, and example throughout Shireroth.