History of the Order

The Valley, The Dragon and the Temple

Early in recorded history, many people called the valley that would be Barovia their home,
but few of them were ‘civilized’. For centuries, mystical druids lived within its forests. The
druids worshiped nature and they arranged enormous standing stones in a circle as places
of worship. War-bands, comprised of brutes and savages, also lived in the valley. Led by
territorial and vicious warlords, the warring tribes battled each other over resources,
territory and pride.

Mankind was not the only danger in the valley. Beasts and animals hunted in the valley’s
forests, meadows and mountains. Thunderous storms frequented the region and the
untamed rivers raced through the landscape. While at times calm and idyllic, the valley has
always been a place of danger.

Before Strahd was born, Strahd’s homeland considered the valley as under its control. At
the same time, another nation, the Holy Empire of Valentia, believed the valley to fall
within their borders. Throughout their history, both nations had tried to establis h a larger
presence in the valley and faced heavy losses for their efforts. The harsh weather, wild
beasts and violent war-bands denied the invaders access to the valley. Since neither nation
had much of a foothold in the valley, the disagreement over who controlled it failed to
escalate to violence. Instead, the valley served as a neutral zone between the two nations.

Over time, civilization began to settle in the valley. A small fishing village along the shores
of the valley’s lake was the first. Others s prung up around other parts of the valley. Most
were overrun by the barbarian tribes, but a few managed to get by.

The increase of the valley’s population worried a silver dragon named Argynvost. Argynvost
knew that the valley hid a dangerous secret. A vau lt, built over a century before, lay hidden
somewhere among the peaks that flanked the valley. Called the Amber Temple, the vault
was filled with powerful artifacts capable of great violence and suffering as well as
imprisoned dark entities that whispered promises of power in exchange for servitude. The
evil within the temple yearned for freedom. It thrashed about inside its prison and called
out for help, hoping that somebody could hear its pleads. With the population of the valley
growing, Argynvost feared it was only a matter of time before somebody answered the call.

Conquest

Argynvost realized the best way to protect the valley from the evil inside the temple was to
stand guard over the region. Ever vigilant as he was, the silver dragon knew the task wo uld
be easier if backed by a nation. Using the form of a wealthy noble of the Holy Empire of
Valentia, Argynvost persuaded the king that the empire should properly bring the valley
under its protection.

The forces of the Holy Empire of Valentia marched wes tward into the valley. With Lord
Argynvost’s leadership and wealth, the conquest was quick. Several of the valley’s war -
bands fled westward and those that did not were easily dealt with.

The king of the Holy Empire of Valentia granted Lord Argynvost the co ntrol of a large
portion of the valley as an estate to protect and oversee. Lord Argnvost surveyed the estate
and chose a small hill that overlooked fertile fields to construct his manor. The manor was
named Argynvost and the village that worked the farmla nds to the south was called Berez.
Establishing the Order

As the region stabilized, more people moved into the valley. The population of the small
fishing village along the valley’s lake doubled. A winery was established on the western side
of the valley and travelling nomads began to appear in the clearing in the east. Knights and
brave warriors accompanied the new settlers, tasked with their protection and maintaining
order for the king.

Lord Argynvost began to gather followers to his side as well. He rec ruited warriors,
champions of good, and knights of valor. He rallied them all under his banner and called
them The Order of the Silver Dragon. Tasked with the preservation of good and the downfall
of evil, members of the Order took up residence throughout the valley. To the early settlers,
the presence of the Order brought safety, reassurance and aid to those in need. Word of the
Order’s deeds began to reach beyond the valley and the Order’s ranks swelled.

Argynvost hid the truth about his dragon form from his followers. Like others of his kind, he
enjoyed living among humanoids and enjoyed his role as Lord Argynvost. He was pleased
with his men and ultimately decided that they deserved to know the the truth. He gathered
his most trusted and asked them to sw ear an oath of loyalty to him, to fellow members of
the Order, and most importantly, to uphold the values and morals Argynvost bestowed upon
them. Those that swore the oath were granted the rank of Knight within the Order and
learned about the Temple and A rgynvost’s true nature.

Encounters With Evil

As the Order of the Silver Dragon grew, so did their influence. With the valley already well
protected, members of the Order sought out evil beyond the valley’s boundaries. Most
traveled east, deeper into the Ho ly Empire of Valentia. Others traveled west, into lands
governed by Prince Strahd von Zarovich.

Lord Strahd despised the Order and the Holy Empire of Valentia. For years, the eastern
borders of his family’s land were constantly and violently harassed by ba rbarians displaced
by the Empire's occupation of the valley. King Barov, Strahd’s father, had sent forces to
retake the region, but the war -bands and the territorial dusk elves made it difficult to
establish supply lines or proper communication. Strahd bor e witness as these savages
slaughtered his people and caused chaos in the land. Upon his father’s deathbed, Strahd
promised the dying king he would conquer the valley and retake the land that the Silver
Empire had stolen.

Members of the Order had taken up residence in small towns and villages near the eastern
borders of Strahd’s empire. They worked to help ease the suffering caused by the savages
that still brought havoc to the region. When they heard about Strahd’s call to arms and his
plan to invade the valley, they sent word back to Argynvostholt.

Argynvost tasked Vladimir Horngaard, a promising young knight, to learn more about Lord
Strahd and his army. Horngaard led a dozen men west, out of the valley and into the late
King Barov’s domain. As they trave led, Horngaard and his men listened to all manner of
rumor and gossip about Lord Strahd. Some supported Strahd and his family’s rule. Like
Strahd, they blamed their current hardships on the Holy Empire of Valentia. Others, in quiet
whispers when no one is listening, spoke of harsh rulership, a lack of concern for the
peasant class and that the Order has done more for the region in the past year than the
royal family has done in decades.
The most concerning rumor came from a spy within Strahd’s retinue. The spy overheard
Strahd speak of the Amber Temple. Somehow, Strahd had learned of its existence and
intended to use its promised power to retake the valley and destroy anyone standing in the
way.

Horngaard and his fellow knights, along with other nearby membe rs of the Order, were
forced to intercede. If Strahd found the Amber Temple, he could release unknown horrors
onto the world. The Knight’s initial encounters against Strahd’s forces were victorious.
Strahd’s main army was still days away and the Order exce lled in the skirmishes against
their out-skilled opponents. As Strahd’s army began their advanced, they punished anyone
suspected of aiding the Order. Many fled to the Order, pleading for sanctuary.

Skirmishes quickly escalated to a war between the Order o f the Silver Dragon and the
armies of Lord Strahd. Despite early victories using hit and run tactics, the Order was
outmatched by Strahd’s armies and were forced to retreat time and again. When it became
clear that Strahd couldn't be stopped, the Order led hundreds of refugees to Argynvost's
valley. Most of the refugees settled in Berez or what is now known as Vallaki.

For his valor and leadership in the battles against Strahd, Argynvost made Horngaard a Field
Commander.

Pursuit

After the Holy Empire of Valentia had taken the valley, the king divided the territory into a
number of estates. The king granted control of th e central estate to Lord Argynvost. The
westernmost estate was given to the church of the Morninglord. As with Lord Argynvost,
control of the estate allowed the church to build on the land. The church begun
constructing a great abbey atop a large hill. It was there, outside the Abbey, where Strahd's
army made camp upon entering the valley.

Strahd and his army followed Horngaard and his fellow knights as they led the refugees in a
retreat into the valley. The army's approach was slower than the Order’s retre at, with time
spent establishing supply lines and organizing the large force. Strahd knew about the abbey
from previous recognizance and deemed that it would serve as an excellent foothold in the
region.

The holy men and women living in the abbey did not r esist Strahd’s occupation as long as no
harm was done to them or the people who lived in the immediate area. Strahd’s only
addition to this treaty was that all members of the Holy Empire of Valentia military
currently present at the abbey had to surrender themselves to Strahd. With little choice, all
agreed. A man of his word, Strahd kept that promise.

The Assault of Argynvostholt

When his troops rested and a strategy in hand, Strahd's army marched on Argynvostholt.
Lord Argynvost had hoped that Strahd's st ay at the western Abbey would be enough time
for reinforcements to arrive from the Holy Empire of Valentia. Little did he know that
reinforcements were sent but intercepted by a deployment of Strahd's forces.

Not the type to cower, the Order met Strahd’s w arriors on the field. The Knights of the
Order were more experienced and better fighters. But where Strahd’s men lacked in skill,
they made up in discipline and numbers.
Strahd himself led his men into the fray. Horngaard watched as Strahd cut down knight after
knight, including Horngaard’s beloved, Sir Godfrey Gwilym. Enraged, Horngaard charged at
the invading lord, but ultimately was dealt a fatal blow.

Argynvost also joined the battle. In his true form of a silver dragon, Argynvost soared across
the battlefield, breathing plumes of freezing cold atop his enemies. The dragon fought with
skill and valor until the very end.

After claiming victory, Strahd ordered his men to hack the dragon’s corpse to pieces and
strip the flesh from the bone. Others were orde red to ransack Argynvostholt, stronghold of
the Order. There were a few members of the Order still scattered across the valley, but
Strahd believed his enemy was defeated.

A Second Chance

Argynvost believed that living a moral life involved doing good deed s and ensuring that
one’s actions caused no underserved harm to others. Horngaard viewed Strahd as the
antithesis of this belief. In the eyes of Horngaard, Strahd deserved any imaginable harm and
then some. Still, it wasn’t until he witnessed Strahd killin g the man Horngaard loved that his
feelings about Strahd turned into hate.

Once birthed, this hatred clutched Horngaard’s heart. It consumed his soul. Along with
Horngaard’s refusal to accept defeat against such an evil man, this hatred denied his spirit
it’s eternal rest. Less than a day after his death, his soul returned to his body. He became a
revenant.

Slowly, Horngaard stood from where he had fallen. As he looked across the quiet battlefield,
he saw his brethren return from the grave as well. Horngaar d’s spirit, angry, hateful and
determined to defeat Strahd drew the souls of his companions back to their bodies as well.

Their first task was to retake Argynvostholt. The men that Strahd ordered to search the
manor were caught by surprise and easily defea ted. Only upon interrogating one of the
soldiers did the Knights learn of the Silver dragon's fate.

If there was any doubt about their renewed existence, it did not last long. The undead
knights no longer felt hunger or thirst. Pain was more bearable and e ach Knight had an
instinctual knowledge of where Strahd was at all times.

Their desire for immediate retaliation was intense, but even in death they were members of
the Order of the Silver Dragon. Each knight had sworn an oath to protect and honor their
brethren. After retaking the manor the risen knights waited for any more of them to find
new life. When they felt certain that the dead would stay still, they buried their fallen and
performed last rights.

A mass grave was dug for the bodies of their enemies and no ceremony accompanied their
burial.

The Living Join the Dead

During the assault on the manor, Sir Jarin and Sir Ellyn, Knights in the Order, were searching
for the Amber Temple in the mountains to the north. On their return, the two knights
encountered a squad of Strahd's men and were captured. While transporting the captive
knights to the camp at the Abbey, Strahd's men taunted their captives with tales
Argynvost’s death and the collapse of the Order.
On the second day of their captive transport to the Abbey, the calm morning suddenly
erupted into chaos. Sir Jarin and Sir Ellyn witnessed their brethren of the Order ambush
Strahd's men with skill and precision. Relief and hope quickly replaced the despair that the
captive knights felt after hearing th e tales of the Order’s defeat and their Lord’s demise.
From the dents and the punctures in his fellow's armor, Sir Jarin could tell the assault must
have been harsh, but Strahd's men must have been lying when they spoke of Strahd's
victory.

But then, approaching the captives to cut their binds, Sir Godfrey removed his helm.

From a distance, you probably wouldn’t notice a difference in Sir Godfrey’s appearance. His
blonde hair fell across his shoulders, his confident gait and a welcoming smile as he untied
his friends. But his skin was pale and taught, as if dehydrated. Sir Jarin noticed that Godfrey
wasn’t panting or even breathing unless he spoke. But most unnerving were his eyes. No
longer bright blue, his eyes had become a pool of darkness, an infinite vo id but still
possessing that spark of life and intelligence.

When Sir Ellyn noticed, she clutched the emblem around her neck and began to pray. Sir
Godfrey turned as if expecting a new threat until realizing her prayer was meant for him. Sir
Ellyn’s prayer had no effect on the undead knights. Trusting that her rescu ers were her
allies, Sir Ellyn joined Sir Jarin and the rest and headed for Argynvostholt.

During the first two months after Strahd’s assault on Argynvostholt, the number of living
members of the Order grew to nine. Before the Lord Argynvost’s death, six o f them had
achieved the rank of Knight, the remaining three ranked as Champions. However, upon their
return to the manor, each Champion swore the Knight’s Oath and received the promotion in
rank. The nine living members referred to the revenant knights as their Eternal Brethren.

Investigative Pathology

The Order of the Silver Dragon did their best to thwart Strahd’s occupation of the valley.
Initial ambushes and encounters with Strahd’s forces were successful. The Eternal Brethren
could remain motionless for hours, waiting for a patrol to passby. Without the need to
breathe, they could lie in wait, submerged in the rivers near a crossing, only to spring up for
an attack. It did not matter if the knights were outnumbered and lost some of their own
during the melee, within a day they would return again and be ready for the next
encounter.

Initially, Strahd believes these attacks are the machinations of the few surviving Knights.
Believing their Order in its last throes of life, he dismisses them as unimportant . However,
the reports become more insistent that the knights responsible for the attacks are the same
that were killed in the previous attack, and the one from a week prior and so on.

Curious, Strahd tells his men to bring him the bodies of any knights th ey kill.

Shortly thereafter, a body is delivered. Strahd’s physician examines the corpse without any
intrusive procedures. The doctor fails to come to any solid conclusions beyond that the
body appears to have been killed at least a few days ago, but some elements suggest a few
weeks. The uncertainty of the corpse’s nature vanishes when the body convulses the
following day before struggling against its restraints to sit up.

Priests from the abbey are fetched and asked to examine the undead knight. The holy
woman determines that the knight has become a revenant. She explains to Strahd that such
an event is rare but it is known to happen. Often fueled by a thirst for revenge or duty, a
soul refuses to leave the body upon death. ‘Killing’ the body again will on ly temporarily
subdue the individual. The destruction of the body does not resolve the situation either.
Instead, the soul finds another adequate corpse to occupy. At most, the condition normally
lasts about a year, maybe a little longer, before the soul l oses the strength to possess a
vessel.

The Priestess continues with a caution to Strahd. The strength of duty or revenge that a soul
must possess in order to remain with its body is enormous. In all her study, she has never
heard of an instance where more than an individual revenant is formed. However, if the
tales of his men are true, this condition has affected a dozen or so men. She suggests the
knights, or the slain dragon might have had access to source of power that gave their souls
the resolve to reanimate their bodies. Regardless, if the scale of revenants created is so
large, do not be surprised if other aspects of their condition are inflated as well.

After hearing the priestess’ remarks, Strahd fears that the knights have discovered the
Amber Temple and are using its power to deny death. Interrogations on the matter with the
captive revenant prove unhelpful and ultimately results in the knight’s soul finding a new
vessel.

The End of the War

The Order of the Silver Dragon’s luck had turned against t hem. During encounters with
passing patrols, Strahd’s men had begun to carry off any corpses of fallen knights. Instead
of awakening from death and returning to the manor, the knights found themselves bound
and imprisoned in Strahd’s camp.

As their numbers began to dwindle, news of the Holy Empire of Valentia’s King’s
assassination reached the manor. His first action once crowned, the King’s successor
withdrew the Empire’s claim to the valley and recognized Strahd as it’s true ruler. All
members of the Holy Empire of Valentia’s military were to return to the capital within the
month. Anyone found in the valley after that time would not be protected by the King’s
authority. Upon hearing this, Sir Horngaard gave each living Knight the choice to stay or to
be released of their oath and return to their homeland. All but one knight chose to stay.

In honor of his victory, Strahd announced plans to build a great castle and move his
country’s capital to the valley.

The Second Assault

A man of his word, Strahd waited for the thirty days to pass before attacking Argynvostholt
for the second time. The knights discovered a plan for a small unit of Strahd's army to
transport valuable goods back to their homeland. Undeterred by the peace treaty, the
knights saw this as another opportunity to strike at Strahd. This discovery was a
manipulation by Strahd designed to lure knights away from Argynvostholt, and it worked.

After several members of the Order headed to the valley’s eastern border, a skilled
contingent of Strahd's men encircled the manor like hungry wolves. A trio of large stones,
hurled by trebuchets, bombarded the manor’s northern tower as the opening strike.

All eight of the living members of the Order were killed in the battle. Many of the undead
knights’ corpses were collected and imprisoned. The manor itself was thoroughly ransacked
for any clues about the location of the Amber Temple or the source of the knight’s
immortality. When nothing of much interest was found, Strahd commanded the building be
burnt to the ground.

Note: if inclined, you could decide that after ordering the manor torched, Strahd and his
bodyguards leave. On the way back, they run into Knights returning from decoy. Small
battle. Everyone is killed but Strahd and Vladimir who got separated. Vlad imir super injures
Strahd and then dies. Strahd is almost dead but then rescued by Vistani.

A Fate Worse Than Death

A year passed since the first assault on Argynvost and Horngaard’s undead knights
continued to disrupt and impeded Strahd’ plans for the val ley. As time went on, it became
clear that the one year time -limit normally associated with revenants could not be relied
upon. Over the next four years, Strahd continued to capture and detain any Knights his men
encountered, but the Eternal Brethren would either escape, or die trying - eventually giving
them a new vessel to inhabit. The vengeful revenants killed many of Strahd's soldiers, and
whenever the undead knights were cut down, their spirits found new corpses to inhabit.
Though the knights were grossly outnumbered, they waged war for months and slew
hundreds of foes.

The Knights of the Order of the Silver Dragon knew something was amiss on the night of
Lord Sergei’s wedding. For a brief moment, that unexplainable knowledge of Strahd’s
location was quiet. The desire for vengeance and violence faded and the knights knew that
they would finally have their rest. But, just as quickly, that pulsing beacon in their minds
returned. Strahd had died, but was not dead.

Angry and confused, the knights marched to Castle Ravenloft seeking answers or vengeance.
Along the way, they were confronted by a Vistani seer who offered insight into the recent
events. Strahd was being punished, severely. At first the knights didn’t understand. They
were still intent to storm the castle. The Vistana took Horngaard’s hand, looked into his
eyes and suddenly he understood. He commanded the knights to return to the manor.