Chapter 441
Quetin Travers was meeting with Orlando and Bethany. They were representatives from the Knights of Byzantium and the Order of Taraka, respectively. Each group had a piece of the Chalice, neither had great relations with the Watcher's council. According to the legends the Knights of Byantium were formed during the crusades. Knights that were inspired by the legendary code of chivalry, "the song of Roland." Few knights lived up to this code. Many were drunken rapists who slaughtered peasants. The Knights of Byzantium were true believers who abandoned the holy war against Islam and turned their energy to fighting demons. The Order of Taraka was an order of assasins ating back to Solomon. Their legends say the Order was formed during a terrible war. They began as a group of refugees, peasants who lost everything, runaway slaves, deserters from both sides. Desperate people with little to lose. This group started as bandits, stealing what they needed just to survive. Then a great general, whose son had been killed for falling in love with a woman from the other side, became their leader. The general gave them a code of honor. Although they killed for money this code prohibited them from killing innocents, or each other. Only other killers not in the Order of Taraka. Quentin highly doubted that after so many centuries, either group really lived up to their respective codes of honor. But they had pieces of the Chalice. Hopefully they still believed in survival.