Blind Guard

"You've never seen someone shut a mage down as quick as those blokes. Saw a mage try to cast a fireball at one of them once. Kept waving his hands around and muttering nonsense while the Guard walked up and just... bopped him on the head with his cudgel."

- local merchant, explaining to tourists

The Blind Guard is a security force that polices the Whitehall mages against themselves. When an experiment with the Weave, the very fabric that magic is created from, goes awry, more than death can be created. It has become a particularly repetitive issue in Whitehall; arcane horrors, aberrations, and beings of pure magic may slip into the Material Plane through one of these catastrophic failures. Whitehall has never gone Rogue, but the settlement has been purged multiple times. Before the Guard was created, these trespassing beings would simply overpower the mages that created them. Silently, disastrously, or in a calamity seen only in nightmares, these beasts would run through the town killing everyone before escaping into the Wandering Fields. It was only after the Annaer were discovered that these cyclical slaughters ceased.
Only when an Annaer successfully bonds with a humanoid can that person join the Guard. The symbiotic relationship between arcane carrion feeder and person gives the Guardsman the unique ability to make magic simply not exist. This power may be symbiotic but it is not entirely beneficial to the person. They will never be able to cast a spell, hold an enchantment, or be targeted by beneficial magics. They've been severed from the Weave irrevocably. In the eyes of the mages that created the Guardsmen, they've been blinded to the true beauties of this world.

Composition

Manpower

It is lucky that few are need to protect the mages from the meddling for Guardsmen are rare. Typically, only one is ever needed to preside over an experiment and stop the study should things go too far. Whenever the font within Whitehall is tapped directly, rather than through one of the sluices that go into individual labs, the entire garrison are on duty. This ranges from 20 to 40 Guardsmen, depending on how friendly the Annaer are feeling.

Equipment

In a city known for it's splendid garments and exceptional craftsmanship, the Blind Guard are rather obvious. Their armor bears no enchantments, can hold no spell. Dull steel may be polished but it will never approach the armor the Order of Knowledge wear. Simple plate cover leather jerkins. Guards in other settlements carry weapons as well, which are mysteriously absent from these supposed monster slayers. Annaer shift themselves to form any weapon the Guard needs at that moment then vanish whenever they aren't needed.

Structure

Technically, the Blind Guard reports directly to the Significance. However, they are largely autonomous. No one needs to ask them to appear when an experiment might require their aid. They seem to know when a dangerous spell is being created, and come in numbers appropriate for the level of danger.

Tactics

Many of the monsters that are created by terrible miscalculations are of pure magic, knots in the thread of the Weave. Nullifying the area is typically enough to scour these pests from the Material Plane. However, some monsters are in the lab before the experiment ever began. If the mage is consumed by their experiment or possessed by some entity greater than themselves, the guard can effectively remove most of the abilities a creature of that origin would possess. When left to only their martial abilities, these creatures quickly fall to the skilled Guardsman and their fantastic blade.

Training

The Blind Guard train as many ordinary town guardsman would train. They learn to fight with various weapons, how to spot danger before it happens, and when it's necessary to intervene and de-escalate the situation. The means may vary but when the Annaer and the font and the maniacal mages are dealt with, the job is little more than a security guard.

Logistics

Recruitment

There is no formal recruitment. It's not clear under what circumstances an Annaer bonds with a person. When a bond is successful, the person volunteers to be a member of the Guard. Always. In the short history of Annaer forming their connections to humanoids, not a single person has failed to show up for duty. It's a quiet thing. There's a solemnity around the decision that explains why without saying a word. It's just right. It's what you do when given this talent. It's how you handle power responsibly.

Type

Security

Overall training Level

Professional

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced