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The Regalian Guard, officially referred to as the Violet Order at present, is the rotating-duty organization that is responsible for law enforcement in the Regalian Capital City, and by extension the Crown Isle. It is an organisation consisting of soldiers and militiamen from across the Regalian Empire, most from the Regalian Military. The Regalian Guard is led by the Lord Commander, who both personally approves and ejects guards for either misbehavior or breaking the law, but also has authority over the rank structure of the organization. While the Regalian Guard has gone through many changes over the three centuries of its existence, it remains one of the most familiar sights within the City of Regalia, serving as both an ever vigilant force for protecting the citizens of the capital and a deterrent for any would-be criminals who would dare breach Regalian Law.
| Regalian Guard | |
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| Organization | |
| Leader | Viggo Sorenvik |
| Headquarters | Greygate Prison, City of Regalia |
The Regalian Guard was formally disbanded in 310 AC, when it replaced by the State Metropolitan.
History
In the aftermath of the Five Family Rebellion, it was abundantly clear that the new Imperial Capital would require a security force to ensure the safety of the citizens who resided within, as well as deter any future coups against the newly born Empire during the period of consolidation. The solution to both of these concerns was found in the Viridian Order, the recently established Knightly Order that was composed of the most elite warriors of the Rebellion, and therefore the Empire. With the blessing of Emperor Theomar, the Viridian Primae Julian de Montverrat began to organize a subunit of the Viridians to serve as the city guard, and within a few weeks the Knights were patrolling the streets of the capital, enforcing the laws of the city in the name of the Emperor.
For the next century, the Viridian Order continued to serve as the Regalian Guard with little issue. As time passed, however, many of their contemporaries grew uncomfortable with the Knights, observing that their control over the guard, military, and Royal Guard fostered great arrogance. This discomfort was ultimately shown to be justified; the Viridian Coup Attempt of 122 AC saw the Regalian Guard of the time moving Viridian conspirators through the city, only stopped by five former Viridian Knight conspirators, who alerted Emperor Henri III to their Order’s treachery, prompting the mobilisation of local Kade and Cadar armies to take control of the capital from the traitor Knights. Following the executions of the conspirators, the Emperor stripped positions of authority from the Viridians, believing that a single organization should never hold so much unchecked power. During these reforms, the Violet Order was established as the new Regalian Guard, and was soon filled with Imperial Loyalists from both the commoner and noble classes.
With the Violet Order’s creation, a sense of normalcy was reestablished in the capital, with few events rocking the Guard until after 300 AC. As the Blessed Reign continued, the opinion of the Violet Order grew to be distinct from its Viridian predecessors. Gone were the days of conspiracies, as a long list of Lord Commanders kept the guards in line, often working with other organizations such as the Azure Order and Crimson Inquisition when law enforcement had to deal with the arcane and vampiric arts respectively. Though for the most part, the Regalian Guard became a regular part of life in the capital, with the citizenry becoming familiar with the sound of armor and boots patrolling the busy streets.
The Regalian Guard under the Violet Order continued to operate in much the same way up until the Anahera Dictatorship, when it was overrun by supporters of the Lord Protector. While Loyalist forces ultimately regained control of the Violets, Emperor Alexander I decided that more specialised law enforcement would serve the capital well, with several charters created to police particular domains of Regalian Law. Although this initially served its purpose, the established Charters quickly succumbed to political intrigue, clashing in the streets outright or more subtly investigating each other for corruption. As the so-called “Charter Wars” reached a peak, Emperor Alexander determined that the experimental divisions had failed to live up to expectations, and a re-established Violet Order was set up to consolidate the Charters under a common banner.
Under this Reformed Violet Order, the various Charters were consolidated into various Chapters, with a Council set up to oversee the full operations. While it seemed like this Regalian Guard would solve the issues of the Charters, it would ultimately fall during the Deathling Crisis, when the Lo forces eradicated the Violets and sent the remnants into the Regalian wilderness to form resistance groups. Even though control of the capital was once again restored, the Reformed Violet Order could not be reborn. Under Emperor Cedromar, various armies of the Regalian Military were deployed to refill the ranks of the Regalian Guard, which became known as the Bluesteel Order during this time.
Following the Bluesteel Order’s inception, a short tenure of Lord Commanders eventually saw one of them rebrand the Regalian Guard into the Hightower Order, before it too was replaced by a reborn Violet Order. This became the norm in the capital for some time afterwards, with the Regalian Guard being rebranded under a new name, broken up in Charters or Chapters, and reconsolidated once more into the Violet Order to fit the ever changing needs of the capital. In recent times, Emperor Alexander has reformed the Violet Order once again to become more meritocratic in organization, with the Lord Commander now beholden to the ranks of guardsmen under him. Since this latest reform, the Regalian Guard has seemingly stabilized itself, but only time will tell if the Violet Order will remain the namesake of this ancient organization, or if future reforms will see new names take the mantle of the capital’s defenders.
Etymology
The Violet Order gets its name from the color of the original organization’s capes, as well as the banners which fly over Greygate Prison, the Regalian Guard’s primary headquarters. Less common names for the organization include the City Watch or simply “The Guard”.
Joining
Joining the Regalian Guard is a fairly straightforward process. Any citizen may simply contact the Lord Commander to be admitted into the guard force, though the Commander may also decline an application for any reason whatsoever. There is one exception to this application process; title-holding nobles may join the Regalian Guard without approval from the Lord Commander, and be granted the special rank of Honor Guard, which grants the noble special privileges separate from the commoner Guards. Titleless nobility must be approved by the Lord Commander, but also become Honor Guards upon approval.
- Note: In order to play a Regalian Guard character, you must first apply for the Regalia City Guard Permission Application on the forums. Once approved, you may then contact the Lord Commander in-character to join the Regalian Guard. Players without this permission cannot make Regalian Guards.
Organization
Rankings
The Lord Commander
The Lord Commander is the head of the Regalian Guard. Elected by majority vote of the entire guardforce, the Commander is in charge of the daily functions of the Guard, applications of new guard recruits, assignments of Guard ranks, and the appointment of Requisition Officers.
Requisition Officers
Requisition Officers are positions within the Regalian Guard that handle matters outside the regular law-enforcement of the capital. In fact, Requisition Officers do not have to be Guards themselves, as the only requirement is that they be approved by the Lord Commander. Two notable Officers are the Medical Officer, who is responsible for maintaining the Guard Medic Corps, and the Crafts Officer, who is responsible for managing the businesses and logistics of the Guard.
Guards
The Guards are the bulk of the Regalian Guard, responsible for carrying out the duties of the Order. Below is a list of honorary rankings within the Regalian Guard, which are awarded for both seniority and prestige within the guard and given more respect by the membership, even though on paper all guards retain identical rights.
- Honor Guards are noble-exclusive, and fall outside the regular hierarchy (which means Honor Guards cannot be any other ranks). It is equal in prestige to the identically named Prestige Guard.
- Prestige Guards are the highest rank any commoner Guard can achieve.
- Higher Guard
- Ranks Guard
- Commons Guard
- Recruit Guards are the starting rank for all Guards.
Armaments
While the exact armor a Regalian Guard has varied over the years, most iterations of it generally agree on using the "Old Standard" of armor presentation for the majority of their ranks. The Regalian Guards, when in the Old Standard style, are armed in so-called semi-mail, a combination of half plates (usually localized to the chest, forearms, lower legs, and waist), supported with a scale armor shirt and coat. Helmets are not always mandatory, while the armor often uses some sort of colorful cloth to decorate it and make the guards visible in the street. The weapons and armor of the Regalian Guard don't belong to the individual soldiers, but are owned by the Regalian Guard itself, and are, as such, returned to barracks if a Guard ceases duty. Guards can, in certain situations, also make use of a variety of military hardware when the Lord Commander approves of it. This includes siege crossbows for the removal of dangerous creatures, handheld battering rams for doors and gates, anti-magical weapons and tools, and in some extreme cases, the Regalian Guards operate the siege engines that are on top of the city walls to defend the city. Currently, the Violet Order uses a refined version of the Old Standard armor, though has discarded the use of most plates in favor of lamellar scale armor.
Practices
The Regalian Guard’s primary duty is to enforce Regalian Law within the City of Regalia. As it would be difficult to list every single duty the guard engages in, the Regalian City Guard Permission Applications thread on the forums lists most of the rights and duties.
Headquarters
The Regalian Guard’s primary headquarters is the Greygate Prison, a constantly renovated castle located in the heart of the City of Regalia. Featuring several layers of security, the Prison houses the offices of the Lord Commander and Requisition Officers, lodgings for the Guards, and other facilities necessary for the organization, such as the medical ward. In recent times, the prisoner holding areas feature the usage of Purestone, a mysterious Holy Stone which has made containing occult criminals such as Vampires and Cahal easier for the Guards. While Greygate has been assaulted and occupied several times throughout its history (mostly within the past decade), it has proven difficult for these criminal forces to hold onto, as most underestimate the tenacity of Regalians to re-establish their city guard’s lawful authority.
Present Day
Today the Regalian Guard is seen as the prime example of a city’s guard force, and many regions outside the Crown Isle have copied the “Violet Standard” of the Regalian capital. The constant patrols of Regalian Guards are commonplace in the city, to the point where citizens are more alarmed when they don’t hear the sounds of armor and boots marching the many streets. Although instances of corruption in its ranks are widely known, it is generally accepted by the populace that the long-term benefits of the institution far outweigh the short-term detriments of ambitious individuals seeking power.
Trivia
- Due to the many changes within the Regalian Guard in recent times, it has become practically impossible to list every single law enforcement organization that walked the streets of the capital. The sheer amount of reforms, rebrands, and charters have led to the bureaucracy to keep the records to a certain area of the Imperial Archives, only bringing out information if enough details are given far in advance to give time to locate the proper papers.
- While initially the Viridian Order was held with suspicion every time they engaged with the Violet Order, years of reforms and redemption have seen a mutual relationship between Knightly Orders and the Regalian Guard, with Knights often volunteering to aid in training and advising the Guards when they have time to do so.
- There is a little-known tradition within the Regalian Guard, where previous Lord Commanders write small words of wisdom in a common codex for future Commanders to read when in need of guidance from the past. This has led to a constant improvement in the competencies of Lord Commanders over the years, as each successor borrows from the key experiences written down by their predecessors.
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