Order of the Holy Lakes

Orða helgo sjooa Order of the Holy Lakes
Awarded by Senate of the Lakes
Award of  Hurmu
Type	Hereditary sovereign order of chivalry
Motto	Toj mar be-Hurmu ("We are Hurmu")
Eligibility	Induction, Marriage to member, or descent from inductee
Sovereign	Senate of the Lakes
Chancellor	Rosamund
Principal Commander	Marcus Avon-El Myksos
Grades (w/ post-nominals)	King or Queen among the Lakes Prince or Princess among the Lakes Senator of the Lakes Knight, Companion or Lady of the Holy Lakes
Post-nominals	KamS/DamS FamS RHS/FHS
Statistics
Established	1502 AN
First induction	1502 AN
Last induction	1731 AN (Luca Zarrella)
Total inductees	93 total inductees (3 lines removed), 1601 living members as of VII.1731 AN.

The Order of the Holy Lakes (Hurmu Norse: Orða helgo sjooa), sometimes translated from the Hurmu Norse as the Order of the Sacred Lakes, is an old order of chivalry founded in Hurmu in 1502 AN by Harald, Baron of Hurmu (and later posthumously expelled from the Order). The Order holds sovereignty over the Realms held in right by the Order of the Holy Lakes (sometimes known simply as the Order of the Holy Lakes, and also informally known as Hurmu).

The Order of the Holy Lakes is headquartered in the Palace of the Elenaran, in Huyenkula – the capital of Hurmu.

The Order encompasses the imperial or royal families of Anahuaco, Çakaristan, Constancia, Craitland, the Imperial Federation, Kurum Ash-Sharqia, Lac Glacei, the Mondosphere, Nouvelle Alexandrie, and Shireroth.

Moreover, the Archon of Elwynn (Adam al-Osman), three out of four members of the High Presidium of the Benacian Union (Jeremiah Avon-El, Adam al-Osman, Ayesha al-Osman), the royal family of Batavia, and the the Prince and Princess of Whales are also members of the Order. Historically, the rulers or ruling families of Amokolia, Arbor, Arcadia, Arminy, Babkha, Chryse, Cranda, Drak-Modan, Firnerámnen, the Frankish Empire, the Franco-Batavian Empire, Gran Verionia, Helderbourgh, Landingberg, Minarboria, Natopia, New Britannia, Ransenar, Slobovia, Stormark, and Tyrenia have, at one time or another, been members of or associated with the Order.

Members of the Order of the Holy Lakes vote in Order-wide referendums on matters related to the Order or to the Constitution of Hurmu. Members of the Order constitute the nobility of Hurmu, given the privileges of membership. All members are automatically citizens of Hurmu.

The Senate of the Lakes is the collective sovereign of the Order. Prior to the Senate's reestablishment in 1690 AN, Salome, as Princess of Hurmu, Princess among the Lakes, was the ceremonial grand master of the Order, with the day to day activities and regulations of the Order maintained by a Board of Trustees (which, curiously, included no members of the Order). The last secretary of the Board of Trustees was Anskar Isamma.

Name

Language			Comment
Istvanistani	Order of the Holy Lakes
Hurmu Norse	Orða helgo sjooa
Hurmumol	Be-Bega-yun b'-u-Kwaj-ka w-wisy'el
Blue Lontinian	Qasïetti kölder odoni
White Lontinian	Ariun nuuruudyn odon
Corian	Орден Светих Језера	Orden Svetih Jezera
Crandish	Andreida ties heilayazens Zeivers
Slobovian	Ordn þen hailigen Lagen
Jing	聖湖勳章	Shènghú Xūnzhāng
Sangunese		Seiko Kunshō
Taesongan		Seongho Hunjang
	성호훈장
Phineaner	ڤرينته تسيق سوچي	Perintah Tasik Suci
Arboric
Agnesian
Army Crandish	Heliga sjöarnas orden
Amalandic	De hellige søers orden
Karnali
Lakkvian	Pühade järvede ordu
Alexandrian	Ordre des Lacs sacrés
Martino	Orden de los Lagos Sagrados

History

The members of the Order, called Knights if male, Companion if non-binary or pacifists, or Ladies if female, constituted the Electorate of Hurmu, a body of advisors to the Prince. In 1524 AN, the Order and its Electorate merged to become the Senate of the Lakes (the Hurmu legislature), a body which in 1574 AN 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 AN, the Electorate became the Senate of the Lakes once more, and governed Hurmu until the Jingdaoese invasion of 1602 AN and the Hurmu Genocide.

Membership was in the years 1512 AN–1524 AN decided by the Baron or Prince (who inducted members by letters patent). From 1524 AN until 1558 AN, it was simply an elected body, in that its members elected any new members. However, of note is that membership was also automatically extended to legal spouses and legitimate children of members (defined as any child that is legally the child of a member – not necessarily born in wedlock), a rule that has been kept ever since. As such, the size of the order has grown since 1514 AN exponentially.

In Stormark, the Order was housed in the Temple of the Lakes, at Haraldsborg, the construction of which was funded by the Storish government. At the onset, it was felt that the funding reflected the generosity of the Storish government, but it became clear quite quickly that the Stormarkers preferred to lay claim to all heritage of the Hurmu people and infuse it with the main Storish ideologies. Laws were made, for example, to allow for the naked worship around Hurmu holy sites, in the Vanic tradition. As such, the Order became more and more dormant from 1603 AN and on, focusing mainly on historical tasks and orders of service in the Temple.

A Board of Trustees was established to guard the assets of the Order. Its members were largely taken from outside the membership of the Order to avoid politicising the Order while its assets were held in Stormark. In practice, the Order more or less co-existed with the Temple of the Lakes, and their activities were heavily linked and often confused.

Modern history

Once the complete collapse of the Storish state became evident in 1685 AN, the Board of Trustees attempted to salvage the artifacts and archives of the Order at the temple. With help from the Shirerithian imperial family, particularly from Prince Kir Azariah Vidar, the Order managed to evacuate most its people, artifacts and archives from Haraldsborg and temporarily house these in Talenore (Talenore having in the decade before suffered massive emigration had plenty of empty housing available).

The Board of Trustees, reinvigorated with a fervour to re-establish the glory of the Order, began from then to bring about its main objective of reorganizing the old Hurmu territories, now in the Green, under one government. At the same time, the Lontinian tribes, having also freed themselves from the Storish yoke, and having had a long history of alliance with the people of Hurmu, established the Restored Khanate of Lontinien. The Order and Khanate quickly agreed to joint efforts in reclaiming some of their old land in the Green. They established therefore the Hurmu Trust Territory, as a provisional government until Hurmu's Lakes could be reunited under one government.

In 1690 AN, the Hurmu Trust Territory and the hitherto Craitish territory of Lakkvia agreed to re-establish Hurmu as a re-united state. The Vesüha Accords set out a democratic government for Hurmu, led by a Prime Minister under an Assembly of Representatives. However, the Order of the Holy Lakes was vested in the sovereignty of the State, and its members would elect the re-formed Senate of the Lakes – an upper chamber of the legislature as well as a collective head of state and supreme court of Hurmu.

In 1692 AN, the new Senate passed legislation granting membership in the Order to the chairmen of the board of trustees of the Order of the Holy Lakes throughout the ages, as a gesture of gratitude for ensuring the survival of the Order through the dark ages of Storish occupation.

In 1694 AN, the Senate passed legislation granting membership in the Order to:

• Temüjin, the Khaghan of Lontinien, for his selfless services to the statehood and peoples of Hurmu
• Haratşar, Khan of the Blue Band of the Eastern Ulus of the Silver Yak Horde
• Chaghagan Khoga, Khan of the White Band of the Eastern Ulus of the Silver Yak Horde
• Đorđe Babić, Mayor of Mitrovska

In 1696 AN, the Sultan of Çakaristan sent a detailed genealogy proving his descent from former Woodstanic president and senator of the Lakes Scott Woodrow. The line of Woodrow had previously thought to be extinct, but with this extensive genealogical proof, the Order of the Holy Lakes increased its living membership by more than a hundred people.

Similarly, in the same year (1696 AN), it was discovered that after Hurmu and Elwynn had created a union in 1674, the new Senate was in fact a successor senate to the Hurmu senate, and, thus, all such persons that were senators of the Elwynnese–Hurmu senate were automatically members of the Order of the Holy Lakes.

On 10.V.1698 AN, the first renunciations of membership since 1558 occurred when to the surprise of the Order of the Holy Lakes as well as Hurmu media, Nathan II and Clara Sundara, renounced their membership in the Order. As they had children, spouses and grandchildren deriving their membership in the Order from Nathan II and Clara, these people, too, lost their membership automatically. In their missive to the Chancellor of the Order, they questioned the genealogical study into the descendants of Scott Woodrow (leading to the admission of the sultan family of Çakaristan into the Order) and saw it rather as a result of Vanic corruption of the Order. Moreover, they cited their religious obligation to disavow any organization associated with Vanicism (see the revelation On the Threat of Vanicism in the Tetrabiblios). Hurmu media also referred to Clara's refusal to consider the people currently named and acting as Elisabeth Asara, Karel Kyle, and Gustavus Nathan as her own children, holding instead that she brought her first two children with her from Batavia (and that they were never fathered by Arkadius IV; see instead Lisa, Carl, and Stav Starshade as the claimed children of Clara Sundara and Cledwyn Starshade), thus meaning that Karel and Elisabeth are imposters and illegitimate, even in Batavian law. Batavian and Arboric law clearly dispute these events, though the Order of the Holy Lakes has taken a neutral view on it. Media accused the Order for having not resolved this matter that now has caused a mass exodus of one of its more senior lines in the Order. They called for a review of Scott Woodrow's admission to the Order in the first place. If found faulty, it would mean all descendants of Scott Woodrow would have a faulty and erroneous claim to membership in the Order. In the end, the Senate did not review the matter as no formal application for so had been received by the Senate.

In the 1701 AN elections, the Order of the Holy Lakes underwent its first two referendums. The first question was whether Hurmu should adopt its own currency. The question was answered in the affirmative by 71% of the votes (or 66% of all eligible voters).

The second question referred to the question of whether Scott Woodrow's membership in the Order was actually in order. The Humanists in the Senate had put forward the question in light of the controversy of Woodrow's genealogy extending to the Imperial Family of Great Apollonia, and the perceived power of Jingdao (of which Great Apollonia is a successor state), perpetrator of Hurmu genocide, on the Order and the politics of Hurmu. In the end, however, the question failed to be answered, either in the negative or affirmative, as no option received a majority of electors. The question remains a divisive issue and it may be up for the Senate to solve the question once and for all.

In 1702 AN, following the Senate elections of the year before, the Chancellor created the position of Commander of the Order of the Holy Lakes to oversee the day-to-day activities of the Order. The position of Chancellor remained as a more ceremonial role, overseeing certain meetings, and so on. By dividing the responsibilities of the Chancellor and Commander, it was envisioned that the Secretariat of the Order may be more efficient in dealing with matters arising.

The greatest threat to the Order post-independence was the 1719–1720 Hurmu civil conflict, during which 4 senators were killed (Aliande of Laegel, Jamshid-e Osman, Milo Enujohanenion, and Yahyanah Jahanbani).

On 17.XIII.1720, the Senate of the Lakes adopted the Charter for the Order of the Holy Lakes, which became the governing constitution for both the Order and Hurmu, replacing the democratic constitution of Hurmu from 1690.

In late 1730, it was discovered that Karl Battenberg had fraudulently designed a lineage for his family to the Order, in particular with the line of Vali Ri af Silmahamnum. Upon discovery, the fraudulent line and its members in error were unceremoniously removed, as if they had never been part of the Order (which was also true).

History of membership

• 1502 AN
  • Harald, Baron of Hurmu (founder, posthumously expelled from the Order in 1712)
  • Conglacio Swefhert, Baron of Elwynn and Lac Glacei (appointed)
• 1503 AN
  • Carol Umm Hypatia (appointed)
• 1512 AN
  • Richard Andelarion (accession to throne)
• 1514 AN
  • Aoife the Celt (appointed)
• 1515 AN
  • Tahmaseb Shah Abakhtari (appointed)
• 1517 AN
  • Emperor R. Tyler-Alexander Aaron Asher-Jones of Landingberg (appointed)
  • Orion I (appointed)
• 1519 AN
  • Asa Bloodhelm (appointed)
  • Birla Mortensdottir expelled due to waging war against Hurmu and refusing to apologise
• 1521 AN
  • Archetype XXIII (appointed posthumously)
  • Caesar Augustus (appointed posthumously)
  • Jeremy of New Brittania (appointed)
  • Johanns fonn Klosso (appointed)
  • Joshua Aradoika (appointed posthumously)
  • Hallgrím Aðalgeirsson (appointed posthumously)
  • Thoenen Helios (appointed posthumously)
  • Troy Tomsohnd (appointed)
  • Mors Nerrolar (appointed)
  • Ari Kaukainen (appointed)
• 1523 AN
  • Vali Ri av Silmahamnum (elected)
• 1525 AN
  • Polten of Yperpen (elected)
• 1542 AN
  • Vilhelm Estridson Knytling (elected)
  • Scott Woodrow (elected, did not take up his seat)
• 1548 AN
  • Ionel Constantinescu (elected)
  • Talsin Baarrnan (elected)
• 1551 AN
  • Aldin Isammaður (elected; later known as Arviður)
• 1553 AN
  • Iain de Vembria (elected)
• 1558 AN
  • Polten of Yperpen resigned his membership, the first member of the Order ever to have resigned membership
• 1560 AN
  • Leto Ozymandias Win'Eth (appointed ex officio as sovereign in charge of Hurmu)
• 1562 AN
  • Malarbor (appointed ex officio as sovereign in charge of Hurmu)
  • Kaiser Mors VI (appointed ex officio as sovereign in charge of Hurmu)
• 1574 AN
  • Jacobus Kahunamea Loki (appointed)
• 1582 AN
  • Jacob Kalir (appointed)
  • Oroigawa Ōtori (appointed)
  • Jean Beaumont (appointed)
  • Jess Heymer (appointed)
  • Peter Kelly (appointed)
  • Steka of Anun (appointed)
  • Chris Guilfoyle of Anun (appointed)
• 1583 AN
  • Aiomide Octavius (appointed)
• 1584 AN
  • Kaspar Soleymân Ermo-ra-Araezelion (appointed)
• 1585 AN
  • Ludwig Drakire (elected) 1587 AN
  • Malliki Tosha (appointed)
• 1589 AN
  • Aaden Allot (elected)
  • Gregor Brasky-Cutting of Dentarg (elected)
  • Patrick Montiaceae (Prometheus) (elected)
• 1590 AN
  • Zand Gozâr (elected)
• 1592 AN
  • Llîriel Aureqoir (elected)
• 1593 AN
  • Malachi Ra-Alban
  • Jorgen Jonas Windsor (elected)
• 1594 AN
  • Giles Melang (elected)
• 1595 AN
  • Tarjei Einhornsson (appointed)
• 1598 AN
  • Alfhildson Erling (elected)
  • Jack Lewis (elected)
  • Áþamé Issèla Mari Vāstra (elected)
  • Vilhelm Benkern (elected)
• 1599 AN
  • Sindre Nemnai (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Vilhjalm Kormak (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Eðvarð Danjalsson (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Haakon Bjarnarson (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Kaare Stenbooð (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Katja Aareshem (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Marcus Lucius Praetor (accession as Co-Head of State of Tyrenia)
  • Netba u-Germask (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Liv Mildedottar (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Oolav Haraldsnai (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Royston Merrick (accession through independence of Hurmu, and as Co-Head of State of Tyrenia)
  • Silja Kambandaar (accession through independence of Hurmu)
  • Yngvar av Helgahusinom (accession through independence of Hurmu)
• 1689 AN
  • Temüjin, Khan of Lontinien (accession as co-head of state of the Hurmu Trust Territory)
  • Craitman VII, King of Craitland, appointed as King among the Lakes
• 1692 AN
  • Mina Soval (elected)
  • Kristina Akkare (elected)
  • Milena Karenina (elected)
  • Kartan Saajar (elected)
  • Malik u-War (elected)
  • Anskar Isamma (elected)
• 1694 AN
  • Haratşar, Khan of the Blue Band of the Eastern Ulus of the Silver Yak Horde (elected)
  • Chaghagan Khoga, Khan of the White Band of the Eastern Ulus of the Silver Yak Horde (elected)
  • Đorđe Babić, Mayor of Mitrovska (elected)
• 1698 AN
  • Nathan II, citing the en masse admission of the Çakari Sultan's family line as a Vanic corruption of the Order, renounced membership for himself and his adult children, who all accepted the renunciation for themselves.
  • Clara Sundara, citing the en masse admission of the Çakari Sultan's family line as a Vanic corruption of the Order, renounced membership for herself and her adult children, who all accepted the renunciation for themselves.
• 1703 AN
  • Mustafa Asada, President of Barikalus, is expelled from the Order for treason following the Barikalus-led attack on Ghawlama.
• 1712 AN
  • Harald Thorstein, Asa Bloodhelm, Chloe Davis, Hallbjörn Haraldsson, and Æsileif Haraldsdóttir are posthumously expelled from the Order of the Holy Lakes. This includes also any of their spouses and descendants that otherwise cannot derive membership from any other line. This meant, however, that the number of members in the Order remained intact, given the next admissions:
  • Mahmud bin Alsalam (posthumously admitted by Senate following Referendum)
  • Hendrik Leopold des Vinandy (admitted by Senate following Referendum)
• 1716 AN
  • Senate rules that concubines may derive membership from their "spouse" or "household master/mistress", if the person they derive membership from is a member of the Order by blood, adoption or induction.
• 1727 AN
  • Muhammad Furkorn Mat Jeen and Ahmad Abdullah Inzun Shah
• 1730 AN
  • Senate expels, for treason and waging war against the Order of the Holy Lakes:
    • Temüjin Tokaray Erdenechuluun al-Osman (his wife, Gulrae Batima, consequently lost her membership)
    • Mantric, son of Dunric
    • Knotaric (posthumously) (and his three children consequently lost their memberships)
• 1731 AN
  • Luca Zarrella

Organization and Leadership

The Sovereign of the Order is the Senate, represented by the Chancellor (ex officio the Senate's presiding officer). The Chancellor is aided by a Commander, ex officio the chair of the Senatorial Committee on the Order of the Holy Lakes.

There is a Chancellery, sometimes also translated to Istvanistani as Secretariat, housed in the Palace of the Elenaran, that deals with the day-to-day matters of the Order under the direct supervision of the Commander.

Sovereign

Since 1690 AN, the Senate is the collective head, or sovereign, of the Order of the Holy Lakes.

• Harald, 1505 AN–1512 AN
• Andelarion, 1512 AN–1524 AN
• Senate (collective), 1524 AN–1558 AN
• Dormant, 1558 AN–1563 AN
• Daniel Kalirion, 1561 AN–1586 AN
• Nathan Dariolin, 1586 AN–1589 AN
• Elijah Ayreon, 1589 AN–1592 AN
• Aaden Allot, 1592 AN–1594 AN
• Luix Rakira, 1594 AN–1595 AN (acting)
• Elijah Ayreon, 1595 AN–1597 AN
• Tarjei Einhornsson, 1597 AN–1599 AN
• Senate (collective), 1599 AN–1603 AN
• Dormant, 1603 AN–1690 AN (see Board of Trustees)
• Senate (collective), 1690 AN–

Chancellor (1690– )

See Chancellor of the Order of the Holy Lakes

Portrait	Name	Birth	Death	Tenure	Length	Faction	Comment
	Pador u-Germask	1599 AN Huyenkula	1696 AN (aged 97 AN years)	1690 AN–1696 AN	6 AN years	Ayreonist
	Li Naomiai Avon-El	1627 AN Michaelion	1722 AN Huyenkula (aged 95 AN years)	1696 AN–1722 AN	36 AN years–1722 AN	United Ayreonist–Traditionalist
	Rosamund al-Osman Primo de Aguilar	1673 AN		1722 AN–	9 AN years	Humanist

Commander (1702– )

See also: Commander of the Order of the Holy Lakes

Portrait	Name	Birth	Death	Tenure	Length	Faction	Comment
	Patrik Djupvik	1643 AN Shirekeep	1729 AN Huyenkula (aged 86 AN years)	1702 AN–1713 AN	11 AN years	United Ayreonist–Traditionalist
	Ichirō	1693 AN Kigazeki	1730 AN Benacian Union (aged 38)	1713 AN–1727 AN	18 AN years	United Ayreonist–Traditionalist
	Marcus Avon-El Myksos	1702 AN Kezan (aged 29)		1728 AN–	3 AN years	Unaffiliated

Chairs of the Board of Trustees (1603–1690)

Name	Tenure	Title	Comment
Vilhjalm Kormak	1603 AN–1652 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Mina Soval	1652 AN–1657 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Kristina Akkare	1657 AN–1662 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Milena Karenina	1662 AN–1670 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Kartan Saajar	1670 AN–1675 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Malik u-War	1675 AN–1680 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Anskar Isamma	1680 AN–1690 AN	Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Properties owned by the Order

This is a list of properties that the Order owns directly as a private entity. This is different from ownership of the Order from a sovereign point of view (which in effect would mean the entirety of the Realms held in right by the Order of the Holy Lakes).

Hurmu

Lake District

• Palace of the Elenaran, Huyenkula
• Cashma House, Cashma Island, Lake Cashma
• MTO Headquarters, Huyenkula

Benacian Union

• Matrimonial Palace, Ardashirshahr
• Villa Hurmu, Barrow Island, Warring Islands

Moorland

• Eisenwald Castle, Burwood

Nouvelle Alexandrie

• Temple of the Lakes, Lausanne, South Lyrica

Insignia

Members of the Order of the Holy Lakes have the right to wear the robes, collar and other insignia of the Order. Members of the princely and royal classes are allowed to wear a laurel.

Robes

Roya al-Osman in a veil, covering the dolman of the Order, wearing it over her head as a veil

Julian Einhorn, late Prince among the Lakes, in the cape of the Order, before he had been found guilty of killing his father and grandmother to ascend to the role of Prince

The robes of the order are used rarely. They are mainly seen at the opening ceremony of the Senate, but may be used as formal wear of members of the Order in other ceremonies, for example state banquets, funerals, weddings, and so on.

The robes include a woolly dolman for use indoors in a deep blue dye, with additional cloths available for making veil, turban, scarf, etc., while a cape of thicker wool, in a slightly darker shade of dye, is for use outdoors. The cape includes also a hood that may be used in rainy, snowy or cold weather.

Collar

Similar to the robes, the collar of the order is also used rarely. No new collars have been produced since the late 1590s. As such, they are rare and there are not enough collars for all members. Instead, the collar is usually displayed in the Senate, and is carried into the Senate chamber during the annual inauguration.

The collar is made of gold and adorned with painted stones displaying the traditional coat of arms of Hurmu (Argent, six hurts)

Otherwise, the collar may also be displayed upon the coat of arms of an individual member of the Order, as is the case with the coat of arms of Prince-Viscount Yukio of Varmland.

Medallion

A medallion, made of gold, which may be fastened on a uniform or other clothing is the most common form of display signifying membership of the Order.

The medallion includes a relief of the the traditional coat of arms of Hurmu (Argent, six hurts), though without any colours displayed.

Laurel

The laurel was originally not declared official, but its continued use over the years have made it traditional. It is used only by the members of the royal and princely classes. There have been calls for the Senators to also be allowed to use it, signifying their collective status as head of state of Hurmu.

The laurel was originally woven from leaves from the ash and elm interlinked into a laurel, but overtime, it was replaced by a laurel of golden leaves of a similar look as the botanical ones.

Membership

See also Almanac of the Holy Lakes

Classes

There are four classes of membership, royal, princely, senatorial, and knightly. The classes are informally named, as there are technically no classes in the Order. However, the Order has recognized the titles Prince among the Lakes, Princess among the Lakes, King among the Lakes, Queen among the Lakes, and Senator of the Lakes to be worthy of honour within the Order. See below for more information.

Members above the age of 18 are also Electors to the Senate of the Lake.

With membership comes the recognition of Hurmu nationality (whether or not it is exercised) and the unconditional right to reside in Hurmu.

Claim to membership

One becomes a member of the Order by appointment (no more appointments since the rule of Prince Andelarion, since the sovereign of Hurmu has passed from Prince to the Members of the Order, acting collectively), election to the Senate of the Lakes (no elections have occurred since 1603), or being the child of a member (i.e. membership is hereditary) or married to a member or being a concubine to a member. Since 1690, the Senate may induct members into the Order of the Holy Lakes once more by Act of Senate.

Exception: If having become a member of the Order through marriage, membership is discontinued upon divorce or, after widowhood, upon remarriage. Children from another relationship will not be covered by the membership.

Loss of membership

Membership can be renounced. Renunciation then carries to all people who derive their membership from the renouncing member, unless they are adult children who inform the Order that they wish to remain members of the Order.

In exceptional circumstances, membership can be revoked by the Order's legislative body (dormant 1603 AN–1690 AN). Only serious crimes against Hurmu (such as waging war against Hurmu, treason, sabotage, etc.) would be necessary to provoke an exclusion from the Order. The first time the Senate used this right occurred on 23.VIII.1703 AN, when the Senate expelled Mustafa Asada from the Order after deeming him ultimately responsible for the military attack on Ghawlama during the Arboric Civil War on 10.VIII.1703 AN. In 1712, following the decision of the Electors of the Holy Lakes, the membership of the founder of the Order, Harald, and his line was posthumously revoked, after historians in the past century had begun to see Harald and his ilk in different light, with crimes against the Hurmu nation throughout the so-called Conquest of the Heartland, cultural genocides in Hurmu and Elwynn (and other places), and crimes of sexual nature (particularly against women and children).

Membership is also lost for members, who derive their membership from marriage with a member by descent or induction, if the marriage is dissolved (divorce, annulment). If the spouse, who is a member by descent or induction, dies, the widowed member remains a member until such time they re-marry. If they, during their time of widowhood, have a child, that child will not be a member of the Order unless it is the child of the deceased spouse, or the child's other parent is a member by descent or induction in the Order.

Restoration of membership

Any person who, by any type of claim, has been a member of the Order, but no longer is a member of the Order, has the right to petition the Senate for induction into the Order. This has, so far, never occurred.

Technically, if it were to occur, the petitioner would have to have the consent of their spouse and all persons (including spouses) in their line of descent, before the petition could be considered by the Senate.

Royal class

The royal class is defined as any person having been a royal monarch over Hurmu or, if he or she is dead, his or her most senior legitimate descendant. There has only been one Queen of Hurmu, Aoife the Celt, and she has therefore the only member of this class until her legal death in 1689 AN. She was titled Queen among the Lakes.

In the same year (1689 AN), the Order of the Holy Lakes bestowed upon King Craitman of Craitland the title King among the Lakes, signifying his rule over the majority of the Lakes as King of Craitland through its territory in Lakkvia. As the title is wholly individual, Anika, the Queen of Craitland became merely a Lady of the Holy Lakes.

Princely class

The princely class is defined as any person having been a prince over Hurmu, or, if he or she is dead, his or her most senior legitimate descendant under absolute primogeniture (adoptees included). A member of this class is titled Prince among the Lakes or Princess among the Lakes.

The current members of this class are:

• Marcus Avon-El Myksos (b. 1702 AN), Prince among the Lakes (1715 AN– ), most senior legitimate descendant of Prince Andelarion (Prince, 1512 AN–1524 AN).
• Aurangzeb Hakimi bin Alsalam (b. 1711 AN), Prince among the Lakes (1727 AN– ), most senior legitimate descendant of Daniel Kalirion (Prince, 1563 AN–1586 AN)
• Kaiseress Salome (b. 1665 AN), Princess among the Lakes, Princess of Hurmu (1671 AN– ), most senior legitimate descendant of Nathan Dariolin (Prince, 1586 AN–1589 AN) and Elijah Ayreon (prince, 1590 AN–1592 AN, 1595 AN–1597 AN).
• Valde Einhorn (b. 1703 AN), Prince among the Lakes (1717– ), most senior legitimate descendant of Tarjei Einhornsson (Prince, 1597 AN–1598 AN).

Senatorial class

The senatorial class refers to the members of the Order of the Holy Lakes elected to and currently serving on the Senate of the Lakes. Upon relinquishing or losing one's seat in the Senate, one reverts to one's other class.

Knightly class

The Senate has the right to induct new Knights and Ladies (always including their descendants) into the Order by simple majority.

Unlike most other orders of chivalry, the knights and ladies in this Order are not "Knights/Ladies of the Order of the Holy Lakes", but rather, "Knights of the Holy Lakes" or Ladies of the Holy Lakes, as appropriate. Non-gendered or non-binary members of the Order may use the gender-neutral Companion of the Holy Lakes (also applicable for pacifist members).

Members who are knights generally do not use the prefix Sir or "Lady" (unless derived from elsewhere). Usually, the membership of the Order is affixed after the name, for example, "NN, Knight of the Holy Lakes" or "NN, Lady of the Holy Lakes". Most members in the Andelarion line are all Lords/Ladies of the Babkho–Shirerithian nobility (if being a legitimate descendant). For hereditary membership in the Order, however, one does not need to be a legitimate descendant of an original member.

Privileges of membership

Nationality

Membership in the Order brings irrevocable citizenship of Hurmu. As Hurmu nationals, members of the Order may travel on Hurmu passports, have free movement into other Xäiville Convention countries, and can access Hurmu consular services in countries with which Hurmu has relations.

Health care

Members of the Order have the right to receive free-of-charge health care in Hurmu, including the coveted longevity serum for extension of lifespan.

Hurmu gates

Membership in the Order comes with the right of travel through the Hurmu Gate Network.

Lodging

• Members of the Order who are habitually resident outside Huyenkula have the right to free lodging when visiting Huyenkula. This includes luxury rooms in the Palace of the Elenaran, and if these rooms are fully booked, the Order will pay for hotel rooms. Lodging rights include services from the Retinue for Comfort, Ease, and Safety.
• Members of the Order who reside in a realm of the Order of the Holy Lakes, or seek to reside in a realm of the Order of the Holy Lakes, are given the right of subsidised permanent living accommodations. See more belkow under the Retinue for Comfort, Ease, and Safety.

Retinue for Comfort, Ease, and Safety

Every adult member of the Holy Order is, whilst present in the realms held by right of the order, be entitled to the services of eight retainers, called Esquires of the Holy Lakes, paid for at the public expense, for their own comfort, ease, and safety. As such, the esquires are pejorative nicknamed "bodyguards butlers" by Hurmu media.

These retainers are taken from the Corps of the Guard of the Hurmu Fyrð. If members of the Order seek to expand the number of Esquires in their service, they may petition the Senate to do so at public expense, but may, alternatively, pay the costs for the service themselves (such costs are not subject to VAT). With the permission of the Order leadership, retinue may be brought abroad (provided the foreign country agrees, and under such conditions the foreign country makes).

Moreover, all members resident in a realm of the Order of the Holy Lakes, have the right to have subsidised accommodation costs. As each adult member of the Order is allowed eight esquires, costs to accommodate these in one's household can become quite expensive. A nine-bedroom apartment for a single household can become prohibitively expensive. For that reason, the costs to house and feed the esquires is paid for by public expense. The Order ensures that each member can enjoy their rights.

Following the deplorable slaughter inflicted upon members of the Holy Order during the 1719–1720 Hurmu civil conflict and the Wars of the Disinherited, the Prime Minister of Hurmu directed that all members of the Order would be entitled to armaments provided by the Hurmu Fyrð for their own personal defence. These include

• 1x Carbine (SAI SM5A), for home defence and vehicular travel;
• 1x Machine-Pistol (M1690 machine pistol (9x19mm)), for concealed carry in public places;
• 1x Sabre (type TBC), for use on ceremonial public occasions;
• 1x Sword Cane (engraved ivory handle), for use on formal occasions;
• 1x Cudgel, lead-tipped and engraved;
• 2x Stiletto type knife, for concealed carry.

All members of the Holy Order to be entitled to the necessary permits for the aforementioned armaments upon application.

See also

• Almanac of the Holy Lakes
• Hurmu nationality and residency law
• Rulers of Hurmu
• Sacred Lakes Lodge