Aleksei turns back from looking at a particularly exotic-looking piece of woodwork. "Duty is the foundation of my Order, Herald Owyn, and much rests upon it. I think the Zenith Order is more martial than most represented here; we are expected to give our superiors near-complete obedience, in a hierarchy extending all the way to Tyr himself. Tyr speaks to all to give his special tasks, but the general deployment of our paladins has always been regulated very strictly by the Order's leaders. Indeed, the only reason I am here is that Tyr himself spoke to me; normally, I'd be patrolling the South Downs looking for rogue mountain-beasts.

For all our adherence to our duty and structure, though, we must all keep our own moral compasses. One of the tests for promotion in the Order is in fact a false command from a trusted superior, an order to commit some wrong. A paladin, heart and soul, would not comply with the task even if pressed, and would report it to others in the Order. The candidate is closely watched, of course, and there are many who are refused promotion or even fall from grace...they are to be pitied, but if they cannot refuse to follow an unrighteous command in the safety of our own Order's halls, we cannot permit them to the various fiefs, where the law of the land and the law of Tyr often diverge. Truth to tell, I nearly failed that test myself...it took me three days of wrestling with the prospect that my master and friend had somehow Fallen before I reported him. A harsh choice, between a friend and your heart, but such things may well happen in the outside world."