#There's also Blemishine's Don Quixote

[raisengen]

Something I remember being struck by during Near Light’s first run is that the root of many of the knights’ disquiet is that none of them can answer the question of what it truly means to be a knight.

The Candle Knight, Viviana. A flawless competition knight who funnels her winnings to charities abroad. She fights, and she does good, but the two are entirely fungible. Any high-paid job could produce the funds, and her do-gooding is as simple as signing a cheque. There’s no external resistance, no struggle in the moment. Knighthood isn’t Effective Altruism, there has to be a personal battle.

Nightmare Knight Tola. He thinks he knows. Prove yourself on the battlefield, fight great opponents head-on and emerge victorious. Only, he has no cause to fight for. No khagan, no quest. He’s just seeking violence for its own sake. Knighthood isn’t just fighting, there has to be a higher cause.

I’ll also mention the Silverlances as our “historical” knights. Disciplined, proud, devastatingly effective, yes. But soldiers, moved by the political will of their masters, not their own convictions. The ideal of chivalric knighthood is not embodied by the actual knights of yore.

The Blood Knight, Dikaiopolis. He has a higher cause, and his struggles have directly paid off in real terms. But it’s only so much, and achieved through compromise or working the system. Is this the limit? Can he achieve no more? Is realpolitik and achievable ambition the way of knighthood?

Our headline act, The Radiant Knight, Margaret Nearl. Throughout Near Light, what struck me was how vague her plan was. She was to become a beacon, to lead by example, but… how? Is knighthood a state of being, or of doing? Can you set out with the goal of being an ideal knight, or is the pinnacle of knighthood only attained in pursuit of some other goal? Will she amount to anything at all?

(I admit, after seeing footballers in the UK do a better job of opposing the government than the actual opposition does, and the particular parallels of the Gary Lineker case, I have more patience for Nearl’s idea.)

Perhaps Pinus Sylvestris are the closest, though they’re too busy to notice. They fight to carve out their survival, and do all they can to support the other Infected. An all-consuming, noble and personal struggle. And yet… the cynic in me wonders, are they only able to do this because they have no choice? Was The Blood Knight once like them? The strong may choose their methods, while the weak must take whichever path they can. Is knighthood only able to exist against such stark and uncaring odds?

All these questions, and yet no clear answer. Perhaps it is for each of us to decide what knighthood should mean.

Finally, let’s not forget our Blemishine. She very openly says she has no idea what knighthood is (though it’s definitely not corporate sponsorship). She just fought for the sake of her family, in the way she thought was right. And she held no illusions of glory, bowing out as she realised the life of a “knight” was not for her. Yet, or perhaps therefore, I can’t help but feel she might find her own form of knighthood anyway.

[thefrostyknight]

I'm having a lot of fun with Erato in IS3. Those flying bois you need to stun also fall when asleep and her trait prioritizes them. You can sleeplock highmore with Erato's range and SP station. I keep trying to bring her and Blemishine to take down Don Quixote, but I keep missing the event.