First used in the earlier days of the Great Crusade, the Imperial Knights are the smallest Titan class that exists. With a crew of only one pilot and a size of thirty to forty foot, it is considerably small. In the 41st millennium, the Knights are divided up into so called Houses. Neither bound to the Mechanicum nor the Imperium, the Houses usually live on their own world, which is dependent on the services of the House. The House members are usually filled with pride, for the independence from the Imperium is a sign of uncommon wealth and stability among the Imperial star systems. Despite that independence, a certain triangle was soon to be developed in the earliest days of the Houses, for the supply that the Adeptus Mechanicus could distribute was extremely rare and perfectionised craftsmanship to a lower price than as if it was created by the houses themselves. Nowadays, there are several hundred houses, distributed over the entire galaxy. However, some houses initially followed the Adeptus Mechanicus, which is shown by forces of the Mechanicus having their very own Knight force at their disposal. Another aspect of the Knight culture is the being as a so called "freeblade". The freeblades are mercenaries who cut their boundaries to their initial house. Despite the expectations, there are rules for such an event, and a knight who decides to leave the house will be supported with the utmost amount of honor, for he is going out in the galaxy on his own to seek pride and glory in battle. The isolation that the freeblades have to confront is immense, which leads them often to ally themselves with forces of the Imperium, where they soon gain a legendary reputation.
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