The Wildwatch

The Watchmen (or Wildwatch) are a force within the Imperial Military, that operates within the region of Volodaria. They are tasked with keeping imperial citizens safe from the wild creatures of the Untamed Hills and the Alari Desert. As of 408 IF, the Watch's roster lists six hundred active members, most of whom are local volunteers, or veterans from the Yethisian Invasion.
The northern reaches of the Volodaria are considered by many to be the last vestiges of true wilderness remaining on the continent. Ancient, primordial creatures roam the Untamed Hills and the Drakkenpeaks, which have always defied attempts to bring order to the land. The most common of these are the Giants of the Untamed Hills, the Dragons of the Peaks and the Kobolds of the Desert, however many other strange and fell creatures find their homes in the wilderness - direct creations of the Demiurge, who pre-exist the gods themselves.
So long as these creatures exist, there is need for some defence - guardians to protect civilisation from the forces of the wilds. The ancient Aeldrin employed druids and warriors to protect the heart of the Aelder Wood from the denizens of the wilderness. The Bludi Dwarves have fought tooth and nail against these forces since their arrival to the southern mountains, even turning their own power against them in their crusade. Later, the Yngarians fought their own campaign against these creatures, which culminated in the rise of Maknor Wildfyr, and the extinction of the Forest Giants.
When the Empire of Nara Tok established its first colonies in the south, it too was forced to deal with the monsters of the wilds. Early colonies in the region employed small volunteer militias, however these proved poor protection, and many imperial pioneers were lost in raids from the north.
It was during the early years of the Aeldrin-Imperial Frontier Battles that the Watch was officially formed. General Inali Anganeux had been advised of the dangers of the wilderness, and so established a force designed to guard his northern flanks while he continued his campaign against the Aeldrin. The first Sentinel-Lieutenant, nominal leader of the Watch, was one of Inali's highest ranking officers, a Sucrian man by the name of Leonacus Caida. He established the Wary Eye as the Watch's headquarters, and organised the construction of similar watchtowers across the northern border. As the war with the wood elves raged on, the Watch guarded the north, keeping the army safe from ranging hill giants and dragons.
The Watch's reputation had not yet been earned among the wider military, however. Long stretches of quiet on the northern frontier contrasted with the unending attrition in the south, and many common soldiers began to doubt the necessity of the Watchmen. It became popular to call Watchmen 'walkers', in reference to their scouting missions among the northern mountains, derided as pleasure strolls. This all changed in 186 IF, however, when news arrived of a disaster in the far-flung town of Hayden's Brook. The settlement had been raided by a young red dragon, and its population burned alive. Worse, the dragon seemed to be on course to assault one of the largest Redcloak garrisons in the region - Fort Annis, which housed over a thousand soldiers.
The Watchmen were called to arms with minimal resources and little time to prepare for such a threat, yet their response was fast and sure. Caida moved to set up an ambush, in a valley a few hours from the fortress. He employed a dozen carefully picked men - siege engineers - to set up ballistae on the surrounding hilltops, while he himself led a group of fifty who pretended to guard a herd of cattle. A dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensued, during which thirty-nine of these fifty met their end, in the dragon's fiery breath or at the end of its talons. Another four men died when the site of one of the ballistae was assaulted. Caida himself was caught by the dragon and dropped to the ground, dying near instantaneously. But ultimately, the Watch emerged victorious. The dragon took seven ballistae bolts before falling from the sky and dying just a few miles short of Fort Annis. Caida's Stand earned the Watch a huge amount of respect, and even today it is a popular tale in taverns across the northern borderlands.
The numbers of the Watchmen continued to rise over the course of the Empire's Golden Age,reaching a height of seven hundred and fifty-three members. Until, that is, the disaster that was Dragonreign, a series of events which mark the blackest chapter in the Watch's history, when the Watch were nearly wiped out. Indeed, it took another four decades before the Watch had properly recouped their losses. This catastrophe directly resulted in the creation of the Dragonspeaker position - a Divination wizard contracted directly by the military, and employed to watch over the dragons of the Drakkenpeaks, and provide information on their movements, so that the Watch would never again fall victim to their machinations.
During Thaerseimai (known more commonly as Ilar-Thai in the region), the Wildwatch continued to operate despite attempts by the Selucian Exarch to conscript them in defence of Selucia, during the Yethisian Invasion. The Watch earned a reputation for charity, providing homes to refugees from Amara and the towns south of the Alari desert. Indeed, the Wary Eye oversaw construction of many buildings outside of its outermost walls, to house the homeless.
Since the success of the Vengeance Campaign, and the subsequent reconsolidation of the Empire, the Watch has continued to serve the people of Volodaria. However, their job has only grown more complicated. In the aftermath of the doomed Siege of Amara, many fae creatures unseen since the Warring Times were released into the wilderness. The primordial forces of the wilderness and the cunning denizens of Seaid harry their northern and eastern flanks. Resources have become stretched, and volunteers grown rarer and rare. But still the guardians of civilisation remain steadfast, for they know that above all else, the Watch must go on.