Knights of Velyshaa

The Knights of Velyshaa were the primary military force of the planet Velyshaa. Members of the order encountered the Doctor and helped fight against the Daleks.

History
In the 36th century, the Knights conquered a significant portion of the Milky Way Galaxy as the Velyshaan Empire, under the leadership of First Knight Sancroff. They eventually came into conflict with the Earth Alliance, who fought and defeated them around 3562. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)

After their defeat, the Knights were isolated on their planet, where they slowly recovered.

In 4162, First Knight Praylaron sensed the coming threat of the Daleks, and surreptitiously worked to negotiate a new alliance with the Earth Alliance, sending Kalendorf to Vega VI as an envoy. Unfortunately, the invasion of the Daleks from the neighbouring Seriphia Galaxy halted the proceedings before arrangements could be made. After the Daleks had established their own Dalek Empire, Kalendorf worked with Susan Mendes and Daleks of a parallel universe to defeat the Daleks of their own universe. (PROSE: Kalendorf, AUDIO: Dalek Empire)

Velyshaa's fate during the resulting Dalek War is unknown, but likely was one of the thousands of planets ruined by the Great Catastrophe. Kalendorf retired there and lived a life of seclusion until his death.

Twenty-five hundred years later, archaeologist Saloran Haredew investigated a series of "psychic recordings" made by Kalendorf on Velyshaa. She handed off the information to Siy Tarkov, who used the information to warn the Galactic Union about another Dalek Invasion. (AUDIO: Dalek Empire III)

Alternate timeline
In an alternate timeline created by the Sirens of Time, the Knights were not defeated in 3562 due to the Earth Alliance never developing. They rescued Sancroff from exile and proceeded to build the Second Velyshaan Empire. They captured the Temperon and used the temperon particles it generated to gain time travel. However, prolonged exposure to temperon particles caused the Knights' bodies to slowly waste away. They conquered whole galaxies and extracted their life forces to sustain their decaying bodies. Their greatest triumph was the conquest of Gallifrey and the subjugation of all Time Lords to their life force extractors.

This timeline was destroyed when the Temperon locked the Sirens of Time in eternal combat, undoing the nexus points that allowed the rise of the Second Empire. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)

Skills
Knights of Velyshaa were skilled in "all the ancient arts. Telepathy, espionage, mortal combat..." (AUDIO: Invasion of the Daleks)

Most notable of their skills was the ability to telepathically connect with others through touch, allowing private communication and channelling of psychic energy. They could also imprint psychic images onto artefacts in a manner that could be sensed by sentients thousands of years later. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter Four)

Legends
Kalendorf told a legend that all of Sancroff's lieutenants took a vow of "Victory or Death" and remained fiercely loyal to him, except for one lieutenant named Satiricius, who plotted to overthrow him. When Sancroff learned of her impending betrayal, he met with her in private. Immediately after that meeting, Satiricius returned to her castle and killed all of her fellow conspirators, then herself. It was rumoured that this was a psychic compulsion impressed on Satiricius by Sancroff during her vow. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter Four)

Notable individuals

 * Sancroff, the legendary First Knight of Velyshaa. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)
 * Satiricius, one of Sancroff's lieutenants who supposedly was going to overthrow him.
 * Praylaron, another of Sancroff's lieutenants, cloned to be First Knight some six hundred years later. (PROSE: Kalendorf)
 * Kalendorf, a Knight of Velyshaa who assisted Susan Mendes in a rebellion against the Daleks. (AUDIO: Dalek Empire)
 * Knight Commander Lyena, garrison commander of Gallifrey in the alternate timeline. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)
 * Sub-Commander Solanec, Lyena's second-in-command.