Order of the Holy Lakes

The Order of the Holy Lakes is an old order of chivalry founded in Hurmu in 1514 by Prince Andelarion of Hurmu. The members of the Order, called Knights if men or Ladies if women, constituted the Electorate of Hurmu, a body of advisors to the Prince. In 1524, the Order and its Electorate merged to become the Senate of the Lakes (the Hurmu legislature), a body which in 1574 merged with the Elwynnese Senate. At that time, the Electorate of Hurmu was reestablished as an advisory body for Hurmu matters. When Hurmu received independence in 1600, the Electorate became the Senate of the Lakes once more, and governed Hurmu until the Jingdaoese invasion of 1602 and the Hurmu Genocide.

Membership was in the years 1612–1624 decided by the Prince (who inducted members by letters patent), and then it was simply an elected body, in that its members elected any new members. However, of note is that membership is also automatically extended to legal spouses and legitimate children of members, meaning that the size of the order has grown since 1514 exponentially, even as the Order has been dormant since 1603. Members of the order are allowed to title themselves a Knight of the Holy Lakes or a Lady of the Holy Lakes. If a member has held the title Prince of Hurmu or Queen of Hurmu, that member may keep the title Prince among the Lakes or Queen among the Lakes, as appropriate, as a title until death as a sign of gratitude for the services of that, after which that title, is inherited by absolute primogeniture to the most senior descendant.