Knights Hospitaller

Bioluminescence
I hadn't really thought that far, I was just brainstorming ideas for possible things to attach to the light effect.

Code
Okay, going point-by-point:
◾To serve the liege lord in valour and faith
We could change this to serving their commanders or superiors, easily enough.

◾To live by honour and for glory
I think it could be practiced as 'for the glory of the knights' not personal glory. So, while hunting down a bandit leader might earn you glory, failing your charges would dishonor the knights as a whole.

◾To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit
I think it refers to deceit on the personal level, which ties into the 'always speak the truth' thing.

◾To respect the honour of women
This one kind of depends on how you define 'honor' in this context.

◾Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
This one should probably go.

◾Never to turn the back upon a foe
Hmm... But fleeing to preserve one's self rather than one's charges would be in direct conflict with the purpose the knights.

I think 'the Sovereign Knights of St. John of Jerusalem' would probably still be the official title, yes. The order has many pseudonyms, but they would likely have kept the official title.

Query; Would these oaths be magically or mundanely enforced? Some sort of ritual gaes/quest?


Format Location
Here's something that occurred to me: We don't yet have anywhere in the main posts to put all this stuff about the knights. I'm thinking they could be counted either as one of the 'independent groups' for that post I'm workin' on, or I could add a 'organizations' tab under each empire to represent groups found in that area.

Hisatsinom

Silk Trade
I think they would have adopted the use of horses for long-distance travel and trade, though they likely wouldn't have many, considering how much of their lives would be spent up on cliffsides.

Disease
This is true. However, firstly, any one of the plagues would have been enough to warrant such a measure, each being highly fatal. Second, the first few waves would likely originate in the fusang settlements, and by the time the europeans arrived, the first one or two medicine plagues and the news about them, would likely have already reached that coast, and given them a rough idea of how to create ones to counteract new European plagues.

I think the idea of having the hisatsinom be the first inventors of it works pretty well, though the idea, once out, could well be done by any group with a sizable number of healers.

Heal
Right, I shall go make a note of the change... somewhere. I have to figure that part out.