The Nightwards
"We die in the eyes of our brothers so we can fight without fear. It offers redemption for the greatest sacrifice.”The Nightwards are an independent branch of the Dwarven military. It is considered to be the most intimidating and elite force in the dwarven military and many attribute this to the fact that the Nightwards consider themselves to be already dead for they guard the paths to the frozen wastes and to the abyssal creatures that lay both above and below the ground.
History
The Nightward is a military organization that accepts anyone from any level of society. Many join its ranks to avoid punishment for various crimes or to regain their honor. The bankrupted join so their debts might be forgiven. A very few join for a last chance at glory. But one thing is certain for all of them, they will never return home for their task is an eternal one.
Before they permanently leave their home citadel and enter The Deep Roads, the Nightwards undergo a symbolic funeral where last goodbyes are spoken to friends and relatives and all ties to their former lives are cut. It begins with chanting and toasts, then the dwarves bid farewell to their friends and loved ones. This funeral clears the dwarf's name and restores their family's lost honor. They are recorded as dead in the archives, viewed as having found glorious and redemptive death in battling the dwarves' eternal nemesis, the ones that crumbled their empire. The Nightward must then work to make this a fact through a courageous and honorable death.
When a Nightward dies, there is a second funeral to return them to the stone and mark their duties fulfilled. If it is possible to do so, the remaining Nightwards bury their fallen brethren. The bodies of the dead are placed in sarcophagi which are sealed in order to protect them from being defiled.
The nature of the Nightwards, however, means that as their numbers dwindle the very last of them will not be buried but left to rot...
Non-dwarves may also join the Nightwards, but this is very rare. More common, however, is the awarding of the title of Nightward to those who assist them either in the Deep Roads or in the slaying of an abyssal creature, wherever they may be found.
Before they permanently leave their home citadel and enter The Deep Roads, the Nightwards undergo a symbolic funeral where last goodbyes are spoken to friends and relatives and all ties to their former lives are cut. It begins with chanting and toasts, then the dwarves bid farewell to their friends and loved ones. This funeral clears the dwarf's name and restores their family's lost honor. They are recorded as dead in the archives, viewed as having found glorious and redemptive death in battling the dwarves' eternal nemesis, the ones that crumbled their empire. The Nightward must then work to make this a fact through a courageous and honorable death.
When a Nightward dies, there is a second funeral to return them to the stone and mark their duties fulfilled. If it is possible to do so, the remaining Nightwards bury their fallen brethren. The bodies of the dead are placed in sarcophagi which are sealed in order to protect them from being defiled.
The nature of the Nightwards, however, means that as their numbers dwindle the very last of them will not be buried but left to rot...
Non-dwarves may also join the Nightwards, but this is very rare. More common, however, is the awarding of the title of Nightward to those who assist them either in the Deep Roads or in the slaying of an abyssal creature, wherever they may be found.
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