Order of the Hostarius

The Order of the Hostarius is tasked with the following roles:

• Ensuring the phsyical integrity and security of the high-value buildings and storage vaults belonging to the Valish throne and the Tower of Stars

• • For example, the Hostarii are responsible for enchantments that cause unauthorized personnel to perceive the corridors of a royal residence as an unnavigable labyrinth, causing building intruders to wander in circles until they are collected by knights or guards

• Searching for and unlocking precalamity storage vaults or related structures

• Maintaining the security of the extremely limited known extra-planar travel points that provides entrances to or exits from the pocket dimension where Eliomb is currently housed

• Functioning as the field personnel of the Tower of Stars in their search for Falazure and his partisans

Most valish citizens perceive the Hostarii only as a kind of glorified vaultmakers for the crown, and are dimly aware that Hostarii are somehow involved in keeping track of who is authorized to visit what parts of royal residences. There are occassionally some rumors that Hostarii also do some sort of safecracking or theivery, but this is generally regarded as a confused children's story which wrongly muddles the roles of the Hostarii and the Order of the Shades. Members of the Valish government are familiar with the Hostarii as the administrative body which tracks and authorizes access to government buildings. Very few personnel outside the king's privy council are even peripherally aware of the Hostarii's role as an arm of the Tower of Stars.
The organization is headed by the First Usher, who is a member of the privy council. The First Usher is also always the Chief of Shades. Members of the Order of the Hostarius are always formally addressed as Usher of the Realm.
The organization is also called the Hostarii or the Order of the Doorwardens.
Members are informally called Hostarii (singular or plural), Doorwardens, Wardens, or Warders.