The Templars of Hammerfall

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The Templars of Hammerfall is a knightly body that was formed in the Kingdom of Hammerguild in the Westerlands. The current Grand Master of the Templars of Hammerfall is Gocelinus the Dragonslayer, a templar of the town of Fernsworth.

Creation of the Order
The Templars of Hammerfall was founded by a sheperd by the name of Hamen Goatbeard, who lived in the settlement of Dangarnon. Dangarnon was a town in Hammerguild, along the border with the mountainous kingdom of Telgaras. Dangarnon was attacked by a dragon, by the name of Valstrath the Sheep Killer.

Valstrath's power was so great that he was able to destroy the town. Only a handful of survivors remained, who were led by Hamen to the capital of Hammerfall. Hamen was greeted by a handful of templars, and met with the ruler of the province he hailed from- Salaman Bartelot, often known as Salaman the Mighty. Salaman was the leader of a knightly order from the province, and thus Hamen was out of luck when it came to creating a knightly order. Salaman cast Hamen out of his chambers upon hearing of his strife with Valstrath.

However, the second son of the King of Hammerguild- Alain the Daring, heard of Hamen's troubles. Alain the Daring was the Royal Knightmaster, and was in charge of bestowing champions the blessings of the King and giving all knightly titles. Hamen spoke with Alain the Daring about the creation of a knightly chapter for Hammerfall, which was represented as a city-state. Alain agreed after hearing of Hamen's strife, and gave Hamen the title, "Hamen the Sheperd." His followers, who was mostly male sheperds who were working in the fields when the dragon attacked, took up arms and joined Hamen's branch of knights. Hamen gave themselves the name, "The Templars of Hammerfall," with the motto: "Protectors of the flock." Thus, Hamen Goatbeard became Hamen the Sheperd, and Alain the Daring allowed him to return to Dangarnon, with a group of one hundred knights, as many had been recruited towards Hamen's cause.

Upon returning to Dangarnon, the knights found that Salaman was in league with Valstrath. The original plan of Salaman was to have Valstrath attack small, rural communities like Dangarnon. Thus, Salaman could ask the king for more gold to purchase better armor for his knights, but in fact pocket the money and give a handful of it to his advisors to keep the operation quiet. On the other hand, Valstrath would be able to kill as many beings as he would like, and be well-fed. Hamen the Sheperd along with his group of knights attacked and slew Valstrath. His knights captured Salaman, and Hamen sent the non-native knights back to Hammerfall to escort Salaman to the Royal Courts. Hamen and the other natives to Dangarnon would stay and rebuild the town, so that they could return to their lives as sheepherders.

However, Salaman was able to escape on the way back while the knights made a stop during the night. Salaman escaped into the Telgaran Mountains, and hid in there with his followers, whom he had told to meet with him in the mountains at an earlier date. Salaman's escape into the Telgaran Mountains was revealed by one of his followers- Yvonnet the Redeemed, who promised to aid in the capture of Salaman, so long as his family was protected from Salaman's knights- the Order of the Spear.

Hamen the Sheperd and his fellow Templars of Hammerfall took up arms, alongside many other orders to march into the Telgaran Mountains. This campaign was known as the Telgaran War, as it began with the capture of Salaman, but extended into the taming of the entire region from natives, wild beasts, and other hostile creatures.

Hamen the Sheperd was allowed an estate in the Telgaran Mountains, which he named the Goatbeard Estate. The Goatbeard Estate was used by many of the sheperds that were in Dangarnon. Hamen perished due to old age at the age of sixty-two. He gave up claims to the Knightly order, and handed control over to his trusted advisor- Kester the Vigilant. Many of the sheperds agreed with Hamen and took down their arms and lived a solitary life as sheperds in the newly conquested territory.

Early History and Interventions (+1000 to +1300)
The Templars of Hammerfall were a largely involved knightly chapter in their first three hundred years. Kester the Vigilant was the Grand Master for several years until he was poisoned by an assassin. He was succeeded by a knight of the Telgaran Mountains- Guibert of the Winter. Guibert of the Winter was a strong warrior, and the son of a native and a knight of the templars.

In +1002, Guibert began the construction of a knightly headquarters in the highlands surrounding Hammerfall. The knightly headquarters was to serve as a center of operations, and a living place for the high-ranking knights. The area became known as "Flocksville," due to the history between sheep and the knights. Flocksville was home to three castles- Marseden Citadel, named after Guibert's father, Brancheley Fortress, named after Talebot Brancheley, known as Talebot the Mammoth, and Waernell Citadel, named after Jamys Waernell, another high-ranking knight. These three castles dominated the area of Flocksville, which soon became a thriving commmunity.

The First Telgaran War soon became the Telgaran Crusades, after the natives were able to fight back. The king of Hammerguild at the time- King Ascelyn I, issued a decree requiring all knightly orders to become involved in this new conflict. The Telgaran Crusades marked the beginning of recognition for the Templars of Hammerfall, who had yet to prove themselves in large scale battle.

Guibert marched with fifty knights to the Knightly Grounds of Plympford Fortress, named after Hewet Plympford, the first governor of the Telgaras province. Guibert was accompanied by his two highest ranking knights- Talebot the Mammoth and Jamys Waernell. Jamys had brought along his young son, Wymund. Wymund was nineteen years old at this time, while Jamys was the age of forty. Guibert marched his forces in with the Brotherhood of the Free Swords towards the region around the abandoned castle of Daroonga Hold, named for the Daroonga native tribe. The Daroonga land had been stolen, however the Daroongas had travelled to the Uncharted lands in the south many years ago when the First Telgaran War occurred. The Grand master of the Brotherhood of the Free Swords, Tancard the Devoted, became good friends with Guibert during the march. Tancard and Guibert shared many drinks, stories, and battles, as they were ambushed frequently by the natives. Upon reaching Daroonga Hold, Tancard perished in a native attack, which resulted in the deaths of many of the knights of both groups. In a desperate attempt to hold out, Guibert marched the knights inside the castle and closed the gates. The natives wandered out and started to besiege the forces inside the castle. Guibert had assumed the castle would have large stocks of supplies, however most of the supplies had been taken by highwaymen, natives, and the previous occupants when they had fled. Thus, Guibert's move had been a bad move. The Templars of Hammerfall remained besieged until the siege was lifted by a separate group of loyalist natives. These loyalist natives were led by an individual who identified himself as Tancock the Tracker. During the siege, Guibert, Jamys, and Talebot had been killed while attempting to gather supplies outside of the fortress. Thus, leadership of the knightly order had gone down to Wymund. Wymund and Tancock agreed well, and Tancock's loyalist natives sided with the Templars of Hammerfall. The Templars of Hammerfall gained the trust of the Tancock tribe, and stayed with them inside their hovels in the mountains as they prepared for battle once more. Tancock was given the title, Tancock the Tracker, and Wymund the title, Wymund of the Snow, as the two remained in one of the snowiest parts of the Telgaran Mountain Range.

Wymund of the Snow and Tancock the Tracker worked together after the army was prepared after several weeks of rest. The knights went back to work on attacking the major enemy in the mountains- the Tyqaris. The Tyqaris were largely anti-Hammerfall, and were so against the humans from the Kingdom of Hammerguild that they would attack tribes that traded with them. These included the Tancock Tribe. The Tancock tribe hovels were attacked en masse after the templars left with Tancock of the Snow, and the Tancock tribe was forced to migrate out of the mountains.

Wymund and Tancock met in hundreds of battles and skirmishes against the natives in the years that would be the Telgaran Crusades.

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