Kaiden is the homeland of the mercenaries we see mostly roaming through Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. And while we do not find even ruins of a settlement by that name, we shouldn’t expect to. Like barbarians down on Altus Plateau, the Kaiden appear to be a hardy warrior culture; their helmet even bears similarity to the “warrior” featured on the Axe Talisman in association with the brave savages revering Hoarah Loux. In that case, the tribe wouldn’t necessarily have a permanent settlement in Kaiden. Descriptions to their equipment alludes to the place existing in the Mountaintops of the Giants. We can also find one Kaiden warrior still remaining in the Consecrated Snowfields, along with the various snow wolves whose pelts they all wear to withstand the tundra. “Kaiden”, in other words, is most likely the proper name of the snowfield. It is their home, not some specific location marked by a stack of stones, like Ordina. This is because the tribe, like the Scythians of the Eurasian Steppe, had long lived across the wide-open wilds as nomads.
Chest armor that mercenaries of Kaiden use. Wearing snow wolf fur to protect against the cold.
It is said that the mercenaries who are big, brawny, and excel at horseback combat came from snowy northern mountaintops. Kaiden is the name of their homeland.
More than their similar adoption of scale armor, what makes the comparison stand out is the Kaiden’s particular love for horse riding. We see several ride black horses resembling the Friesian from the northern Netherlands, but the sellswords in general possess every raisin — picking the local rowa wherever they go to ensure their steed never goes hungry. They also developed the Dismounter, or “horse-slayer sword”; (斬馬刀) in legend, the zanbatou was designed to slay the horses warriors rode upon using its larger, weightier mass compared to a katana and superior sharpness compared to a nata hatchet. When the tribe ever needed to settle disputes, the warriors would fight it out amongst themselves on their steeds. Indeed, the large, relatively flat terrain was ideal for horses. It was a simple life constantly on the move shadowing their prey to hunt. Not all was hostile with nature either, as we do see the occasional Kaiden mercenary using wolves in the same capacity as dogs. But that rugged simplicity still made the warriors big and strong, an attractive option for “civilized” folk to hire.
Choice weapon of brawny Kaiden mercenaries. Curved greatsword that possesses the sharpness of a katana and the weight of a hatchet.
It is a difficult weapon that requires both strength and dexterity, but if a trained user, it can be swung as you please even on horseback.
How did such a remote people of the wintry north come to be sellswords for an equally far-flung lord of the temperate south? They had likely long been aware of the Erdtree kingdom. Aside from the unignorable sight of the golden tree itself, the royal capital had established a mining town in Kaiden. Yelough Anix all but guaranteed at least cursory contact between the residents and the native nomads. The warriors also seem to have coexisted peacefully with their neighbors. There are no signs of conflict between them and the mining town or the town of Ordina on the opposite end of the Snowfield, and their unique armor and swordcraft betrays the knowledge they received of the giants’ smithing arts. Clearly, the tribe didn’t mind sharing their swathing homeland or building relations with other peoples. So long as these foreigners didn’t get in the way of their interests, their way of life, they were welcome to stay.
But Leyndell eventually had a problem. A group of assassins rode into the plateau on strange steeds, only to leave them behind in their later scramble to escape hot pursuit by the kingdom. Those abandoned horses would inevitably be discovered by those search parties in the woods they had been hidden within, at which point their choice was either to kill them or reclaim them for the capital’s investigation into the conspiracy — they chose the latter. If we defeat Morgott at Stormveil, he warns us to fear the night when his “hands” will hound us. Sure enough, the Night’s Cavalry do appear to kill us should we cross paths, their pitch-black armor’s descriptions confirming that have followed the omen’s lead. And considering that they straddle the same funeral steeds as the Black Knife assassins with similar nighttime associations, the cavalry are most likely riding those same horses, given to them after Morgott became king. Therefore, the horses were most likely requisitioned by the kingdom.
… I shall remember you, Tarnished. One burning with the flame of ambition. Best fear. The dark of night. The hands of the Omen Demon shan’t let you get away…
Jet-black helmet fluttering black hair. Equipment of the Night’s Cavalry mounting funeral horses.
The cavalry wandering the highway at night are reapers of every warrior, knight, and hero who were once led by the Omen Demon.
This decision became especially relevant under the reign of King Morgott, who made it his mission to ensure the Night of the Black Knives never occurred again. It was thereby incumbent upon the third king of Leyndell to understand the steeds the assassins used to ride into Altus undetected. From this, the Night’s Cavalry were born as a unit under the omen’s direct command, allowing Morgott to counter any such shadowy riders by night with dark horsemen of his own. This was certainly impressive given the unique powers at work, such as the cavalry resurrecting their slain mounts with a weapon’s tap on the ground. But these are occult steeds who are in all likelihood picky about their riders. How was a king to go about taming these mysterious creatures and learn all their secrets? Hire an expert to help, of course.
And so, it was probably Morgott who first hired the warriors of Kaiden as sellswords. Their collection of raisins includes the sweet kind, confirming that they at one point had free access to golden rowa. And for them to end up in Limgrave, they must have initially descended the mountaintops to Altus. Then there is the incentive. What pay would bring warriors away from their ancestral homeland? Even if they could use the currency for trade, they weren’t merchants by trade like the Great Caravan and long resisted the calls to join those urbanites. But what if they were originally asked to take a look at a never-before-seen breed of the horses they so love? The chance to witness such a majestic creature and master it might be enticing to a horse-riding people. Since Morgott had no way of knowing how many it would take to figure out these funeral steeds, it would be safest to simply hire all of them. Even in the worst-case scenario, it couldn’t hurt to beef up the plateau’s security during these uncertain times with outsiders who couldn’t possibly be involved in the conspiracy.
As we can see, only one seems to have refused to leave home under any circumstances. The rest did agree to come down as mercenaries, resulting in the creation of the Night’s Cavalry. Each cavalryman was taught their weapons and armor by the first, a teacher whom they still fondly remember; killing one member even rewards Phantom Slash, which leaves the illusory master to guide them in their charge with their signature glaive. This begs the question of where this mysterious teacher came from, not to mention his students. After all, few soldiers in Leyndell would knowingly follow an omen like Morgott. And yet, both item descriptions and the leader in question openly align them with his Fell Omen persona. But his cursed status would be meaningless to an outsider with zero adherence to Erdtree religion. If the Kaiden sellswords were responsible for taming the Night Cavalry’s steeds, why not for filling its ranks?
Nostalgic battle art of Night’s Cavalry. Creates a phantom of their former teacher and charges together to slash up. Can be chained to follow-up attack with additional input.
Jet-black glaive possessing blade with the weight of a hammer. Choice weapon of Night’s Cavalry mounting funeral horses.
Excels in heavy, crashing-like slashes and has high might for attacks from horseback.
In short, the teacher was probably the first warrior of Kaiden to master the funeral horse. Once the beast’s secrets had been unlocked, Morgott could proceed with creating his cavalry unit. And who better to help form it than this mercenary? A king would reward such a breakthrough, and this reward seems to have taken the form of conferring knighthood. The black helmet embodying the darkness of night he learned bears similarity to the “knight” featured on the Hammer Talisman, and the cavalry are certainly “knight-killers” as described in its text. The foreign-born warrior was also undeniably enthralled with the occult beast. Might that not inspire loyalty to the one offering him the chance to continue straddling it as his personal knight? If his drive is what led him to be the first to mount the horse, then it is no surprise that he would abandon his homeland and its traditional horse-slayer for new weapons and fighting styles suitable to a king’s general agent. Therefore, becoming Morgott’s knight was likely a first step in the barbarian of the north getting to train his kin with equal fascination in riding these horses.
Possessing the superior strength and dexterity to wield the weapons with which he would instruct others, the Night Cavalry’s teacher drilled them until they all surpassed the limits of their beloved Dismounter. Those favoring strength adopted the powerful but weighty glaive, while those favoring dexterity adopted the lacerating but unwieldy flail. Eventually, they too earned the right to wear their teacher’s armor and ride the funeral horses like grim reapers. This may have been a protracted process depending on when exactly the first member was conferred. They must already exist as a full company by the time of the Second Defense of Leyndell, given that it is the only known conflict in which the “Fell Omen” was present to lead any soldiers in reaping heroes. At the very least, training was probably already underway by the time of the First Defense of Leyndell.
Jet-black flail that has three strike parts. Choice weapon of Night’s Cavalry mounting funeral horses.
The spikes of the strike parts are large and have a high bleeding effect but require dexterity to use.
With Godefroy breaking the shardbearer alliance and failing miserably, Morgott had a new lead on the conspiracy and needed to purge the traitors in league with him down in Limgrave. But who was he taking with him? Leyndell’s forces needed to stay behind to protect the capital, especially after they were just attacked by a rogue in the alliance; Morgott couldn’t well trust the others to be left to their own devices. And so, he brought with the Kaiden sellswords, people who hold no loyalty to fellow countrymen with which they might hesitate killing traitors to the state. They made for the perfect enforcers during Morgott’s initial occupation and crackdown. Of course, the Grace-veiled Monarch soon secured fealty from many in Godefroy’s former faction. Oleg and the others agreed to help purge the frontier of the Grafted’s remaining sympathizers on the promise that he would bring them back “home” to Altus. And in their place, he left the Kaiden mercenaries to stay vigilant.
Morgott is no fool. He wouldn’t just assume that they had rooted out all the traitors. There were sure to be some who had kept their true intentions under wraps, especially when the conspiracy had yet to be fully unraveled. This presented the king of Leyndell with a new problem. Even with Godrick installed as a replacement in Stormveil, how was the omen to guarantee the peace? The ones who proved their loyalty were returning home with him. Who was going to keep watch of the new lord and anyone else who might secretly harbor treasonous thoughts? Morgott simply couldn’t depart Limgrave with less forces he could rely on than when he arrived. So, to fill the gap, the omen left his sellswords behind. With their indifference to the political infighting, the Kaiden warriors were the best option to replace Banished Knights. Choosing to keep them in Limgrave also explains how the barbarians of the remote, forbidden north became acquainted with Godrick. They were thus probably ordered to remain in Limgrave for the time being when the Grace-Veiled Monarch returned home with his new forces.
If Kaiden mercenaries were being left behind, then those who would become Night’s Calvalry must have already begun their training beforehand. Whether they were left to continue receiving instruction at Leyndell or got to test their hand at purging traitors for their new king, they had by and large become loyal to Morgott. Meanwhile, the Kaiden mercs had gotten more than they bargained for when they originally descended the mountaintops. Now they were doing basic guard duty in a foreign land far from home as possible, for possibly indefinitely — that one warrior choosing to stay home must have been looking real wise about then. The problem with mercenaries is that though may hold no loyalty to your enemy, neither are they loyal to you. Since they weren’t chosen to become Night’s Cavalry, there was no more incentive to stay off the mountains following orders.
Morgott miscalculated. Godrick had the same psychological profile as Godefroy, and the mercenaries didn’t have the integrity to keep him in check. Instead, he bought them off, the robust warriors subbing in for Godrick’s lack of knights; patrolling the highways, defending Stormgate, watching over the digging nobles. Presumably, he won them over with promises of letting them return to Kaiden once he had taken over Leyndell. What did the sellswords have to lose? Things go south, they are still stuck in Limgrave, as we see play out. Maybe they took part in the Second Defense of Leyndell, or maybe they just looked the other way when Godrick raised his army for the assault. In the end, they refused to fight and die in a foreign land for foreigners’ interests — if they must, let it be for the brethren who survive them to make it back home. And either way, the Night’s Cavalry were the Kaiden who fought on the winning side, the mercenaries stuck as Godrick’s mooks on the frontier ever since.
The battle in the Capital Outskirts may have seen the end of the cavalry’s teacher, however. The fact that one of the Night’s Cavalry possesses an ash of war manifesting an apparition of his old instructor holds ominous implications for Morgott’s first knight. Even if not spirit ashes, whose would manifest at least the illusory form of a person? Either a student whose memory of his teacher is simply that great, or the dearly missed teacher in question. It is possible for these to be ashes of the cavalryman encountered in the Forbidden Lands, his remains looted after his death. Alternatively, he is simply holding the ashes of another, ready to deliver them as he patrols so close to home. In whichever scenario, it isn’t obvious that we ever encounter the original knight alive. And if he is dead, then he most likely died in the battle against Godrick and Radahn’s armies. It would be fitting that the commander place himself at the most risk to protect his king or men as a commander should.
Regardless of the teacher’s exact fate, the Night’s Cavalry largely stood victorious. Public perception in Leyndell may have deemed them as bizarre and mysterious as Margit, but these ominous grim reapers proved their mettle against warriors, knights, and heroes. And after the Tarnished get themselves booted from the royal capital later on, Morgott stations his bloodstained hands along the highways to the capital — plus the path to the mountaintop forge — to stop any more from bringing harm to his precious Erdtree. But just as with the Kaiden sellswords before, two knights seem to have similarly tired of their long duty away from home and deserted, returning to the Consecrated Snowfield. But as that name highlights, they found their homeland claimed as the Haligtree’s territory. This seems to have induced them to join up with Miquella, both escorting the convoy transporting his dead followers. They wouldn’t be the first, as we do see the lingering Kaiden warrior currently accompanying some nobles in the Empyrean’s faction as they dig through the snow for power. At least this way, can enjoy home in peace.
With the Shattering all but at a formal stalemate, the sellswords still in Limgrave have understandably gotten antsy as their new master occupies himself with grafting. Many seem to have simply deserted. One camps out all by his lonesome on the western shore beneath Stormhill. Another stationed at the Weeping Peninsula chooses to live out in the woods with nothing but wolves for company. An entire camp of mercs with their pet wolves has set up east of the Gatefront Ruins, uniquely opting neither to raise Godrick’s banner or pitch tents with the Golden lineage’s crest. Another collection of Kaiden warriors took shelter in the High Road’s Cave, only to be killed as they explored deeper into the ruin-strewn cavern by the pack of wolves and consortium of octopuses calling it home. Two more possible deserters can be found having just pillaged a noble’s cart heading for Stormveil. Based on these numbers, over half of Godrick’s sellswords have abandoned him along with any hope of returning to their wintry mountaintop. What few remain in the Grafted’s employ keep holding onto their shared dream of home.
Lokey Lore 