Reesguard Clan

The name Reesguard means "guard of royalty"--an effective summation of their role in the Kingdom of Crathlia. Part family and part protection squad, the Reesguard Clan has served the immediate royal family, particularly the monarchs and future monarchs, as their most loyal guards since the mid-700s.

Life and Duties

Early Life

Reesguards are born with the same midwives and Healers as the royal family themselves, unless they're busy with the Alderleys, in which case Seersbury's Healers are called in. They're raised by their own mothers until age 5, at which point they begin their training with the rest of the children. Physical prowess and stance are emphasized, along with languages. Power training starts when they surge, usually between 7 and 9 years of age, and continues for ten years or more before they're considered ready for active duty. They continue to push the limits of their abilities in training throughout their lives. Reesguards thus have a mastery of their Paragon abilities that few other humans possess.

Marriage and Childbearing

Historically, the Reesguards married within the Paragon nobility and were considered very high-status and desirable. This is no longer the case; today they typically marry lower-ranking palace guards.
Reesguards are required to marry Paragons to prevent their children from being Amalgams and thus only possessing telekinesis. They are highly encouraged to reproduce so as to keep the elite royal guards strong in both numbers and power. Today, if a female Reesguard is unable to find a husband to her liking, she can choose to use in-vitro fertilization with sperm from a Paragon donor.

Active Duty

Usually considered ready for active duty at age 20, Reesguards spend their adulthood protecting the monarchs and future monarchs (except while they're at Everdon Academy, which is considered safe enough on its own). Typically, four guards are assigned to each monarch or future monarch at any given time. They are taught to keep their distance and blend into the background. Usually they work in-uniform, their uniform marking them as formidable foes to any would-be attacker, but they can also work undercover, either in addition to or instead of the usual uniformed guard.
Mothers are exempt from their duties during the first five years of the child's life. They can be called to duty in extreme circumstances by order of one of the monarchs if there is an event for which more Reesguards than usual are required.

Retirement

Retired Reesguards are treated with honor and respect. They assist in the instruction of the younger members of their family. Retirement age varies based on the needs of the royal family and the preferences of the individual, but usually occurs between the ages of 60 and 70. Some retire early and instead spend their careers taking care of and training the children of the clan.

Power Composition

Drainer

Today, due to the propensity of the Draining ability to show itself, even when mixed with Class 3 abilities, Drainers make up a slight majority of Reesguards. These Drainers are exempt from Class 1 Code of Conduct, following the rules of their own order instead.

Class 3

The second most common power type, this type typically manifests as metal or fire manipulation.

Healer

Healers don't typically marry in, but they will occasionally will appear anyway. Healers and Drainers are believed to be genetically related.

History

The Reesguard Clan was founded during the reign of King Donovan Alderley and Queen Brigid Wavebreak by the king's best friend, known as Sean Reesguard for his stalwart protection of his king. He led a unit of elite fighters called the Knights of the Royal Order. At least one of his descendants has always been knighted into this order as a thing of honor.
After taking sides in King Hadrian Alderley the Usurper's coup, the clan was nearly wiped out by both King Hadrian's executions and those following King Percival Alderley's ascension thirteen years later. Brother and sister Ossian and Osythe Reesguard were the only survivors; after coming of age, they became Knights of the Royal Order as led by Prince Roland Jetworth Alderley. His family, particularly his niece Queen Catherine Alderley Scaleburn, came to trust their family highly. She was the one to appoint their clan as the sole guardians of the royal family, creating the beginnings of the Reesguard Clan we know today. She built Queen's Shield Hall next to the palace for the Reesguards as their training center and home.
As Crathlia modernized, the Knights of the Royal Order grew obselete, but the Reesguards remained as the royal family's protectors--particularly as the royals themselves stopped focusing on combat themselves. It is due to this reliance on the Reesguards that in 1113, when all Drainers were rounded up and sent to Culduff, the Reesguard Drainers were exempt.
Over time, the Reesguards grew less respected as noblility in their own right, being as consumed as they are by protecting the royal family, and were treated more as mere guards. Thus it became less respectable for a noble to marry into the Reesguard Clan, and their power carrier concentrations naturally decreased to non-noble levels.

Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook

Type

Security

Founding

836 SA

Numbers

20-25 active guards
40-50 other family members (too old or too young for service; some of these may rotate into active duty if need be)

Protectees

Hereditary Monarch of Crathlia
Chosen Monarch of Crathlia
Hereditary Crown Royal of Crathlia
Chosen Crown Royal of Crathlia

Training Level

Elite

Uniform Description

Reesguards wear Alderley (or, more properly, Crathlian) scarlet in a tunic and pants in similar style to traditional Dueling Attire. The uniform is fireproof. Their tunics bear silver embroidery, and they wear enforced leather armor. Metal-wielding Reesguards typically wear plate armor instead of leather.

Naming

Unlike other Paragons and more like their Drainer cousins, Reesguards only bear their one surname. This has been traditional for several centuries, with the name Reesguard being considered more important than any clan they marry into.