The Imperial Guard
Be quick about it, before we're seen.... aw sh-- no, sir, we weren't doing nothing. Just helping this poor lost soul find his way home. Of course you can help! Can't he, Cales? And remember, sir, we did the right thing!... phfft, well that was a wasted evening, now they'll be watching us for sure. Best call it a night and hope for better luck tomorrow.One of the implied promises of living inside the Empire, especially within a city, is to be protected against whatever evil lurks beyond (or even within) the city walls. As the Imperial Legion is simply not equipped or trained to deal with such, the Imperial Guard were created to take on the responsibility. Lightly armored, and given weapons without edges, their purpose is to enforce the rule of law within the major cities. They are trained to use cudgels (or staves) as well as stone-throwing crossbows in their duties, and to apprehend rather than kill troublemakers.
Structure
Each city has their own variants to the structure of the Guard, but there are a few consistent details set down by the initial laws which created it. Each city is assigned one 'Captain of the Guard', who oversees the whole of the Guard's operation within the city. They usually have a 'Captain's Adjutant' who helps ease some of the administrative pressures, and to filter things in an order of "how pressing is this, really?" so the Captain can lead effectively and efficiently. However, it is to be noted the Adjutant possesses no authority of their own and can only pass on orders from the Captain. Furthermore, should the position of Captain be given to another individual, they will be assigned a new Adjutant. The previous one will return to being a simple member of the Guard.
Directly under the Captain are the Lieutenants, each commanding a unit of Guard and responsible for particular regions within a city. The number of Lieutenants and Guards depends greatly on the size and population of a city. Cities which are less populated or smaller in area will have fewer divisions than those which are more heavily populated or more spread out. Lieutenants are usually promoted from within the Guard of one city, as opposed to a Captain being assigned from any other city - or even from outside the Guard entirely, in rare cases.
When looking for any authority above the Captain of the Guard, there realistically is exactly one person to appeal to: the mayor of the city, or whatever equivalent title is given to them. However, Imperial laws have strict guidelines on how such authority is to be used, and interfering with the duties of the Guard is one thing the mayor is not supposed to be doing. In practice, most cities tend to be within a day's travel of the nearest Legion fort - and acquiring their intervention is easier, not considered a breach outside their own duties, and usually will give a permanent solution to any problems inside the Guard. (As well as a few openings for new members to be recruited.) Nominally, the Master of the Guard is responsible for the Imperial Guard, but they are one of the High Lords, restricted to a presence in Eva Valoria. Seeking their intervention is untenable for most citizens, and unlikely to achieve anything even for those who do appeal directly to the top of the organization.
Directly under the Captain are the Lieutenants, each commanding a unit of Guard and responsible for particular regions within a city. The number of Lieutenants and Guards depends greatly on the size and population of a city. Cities which are less populated or smaller in area will have fewer divisions than those which are more heavily populated or more spread out. Lieutenants are usually promoted from within the Guard of one city, as opposed to a Captain being assigned from any other city - or even from outside the Guard entirely, in rare cases.
When looking for any authority above the Captain of the Guard, there realistically is exactly one person to appeal to: the mayor of the city, or whatever equivalent title is given to them. However, Imperial laws have strict guidelines on how such authority is to be used, and interfering with the duties of the Guard is one thing the mayor is not supposed to be doing. In practice, most cities tend to be within a day's travel of the nearest Legion fort - and acquiring their intervention is easier, not considered a breach outside their own duties, and usually will give a permanent solution to any problems inside the Guard. (As well as a few openings for new members to be recruited.) Nominally, the Master of the Guard is responsible for the Imperial Guard, but they are one of the High Lords, restricted to a presence in Eva Valoria. Seeking their intervention is untenable for most citizens, and unlikely to achieve anything even for those who do appeal directly to the top of the organization.
History
As the Rhyliss Empire grew larger, and started to expand beyond simply having a sparse number of cities, there were concerns about "who keeps the peace?" through the higher members of the Imperial Court. Until that point, local mayors and nobles had been responsible for recruiting, training, and arming their own guards for the cities. In some cases, this was a considerable success, while in others it led to organizations ripe with corruption. It became the desire of the Emperor and His councilors to build a system which would be more impartial than the system at the time, and would not require using members of the Imperial Legion. After all, the Legion was trained to brutally suppress enemies of the Empire - not to keep watch over civilians who were (mostly) law-abiding and innocent. And as happened so often during the earliest decades of the Empire, the Emperor simply gave one of the nobles he trusted the directive to "solve it", and named them 'Master of the Guard'.
The first Master of the Guard spent time traveling to the few cities which were part of the Empire at that time, taking notes on how things were being done and not explaining exactly what they were doing. When the time came for the Imperial Guard to be created, it was done quietly until each city had their full contingent trained and ready. The first duty of the new Guard was to 'relieve' the existing guards from their posts, and arrest any who refused to comply. For several months there was a considerable amount of chaotic upheaval, and nobles who had been enjoying their latitude within the law chose to beseech the Emperor for this to stop. Instead they were hung on a rope outside their respective domains, and the vacant position was filled with someone who didn't argue the point. This helped to make it clear the Imperial Guard were to stay, and furthermore the Master of the Guard had the complete confidence of the Emperor to make these major changes.
Since that time, the Guard has undergone revisions largely in reaction to crises which arose in individual cases. When a squad of Guards overstepped their authority and killed a prisoner outright in public, the policies were changed to forbid lethal force without the written consent of the local leaders. During that time the 'Guards' stonebow and cudgel' were made to be their signature equipment. After an incident where the Guard stood by and watched a tiefling arcanist to be stoned until they left town, they were made public examples by being replaced and then punished. Reports reached the Master of the Guard of an entire district's Guard having become corrupt and accepted bribes from local merchants to look the other way from competitors. The implicated city's entire contingent of Guards were replaced within the space of one moon, and steps were taken to bring in the Order of Walls to establish independent observation to make it clear the Emperor's faith was no longer quite so forgiving. And more recently, when Guards in a rural city left the city to arrest an elven woman who was decidedly not a citizen of the Empire (and influential with the local elven community), steps were taken to restrict Guards' authority to be within the city walls and instead leave these matters for the Legion to handle.
Today, the Guard retains much of the same central appearance and duties as when they were created. While there are occasional individual Guards who exercise their authority with more vigor or involving broad interpretations of Imperial law, the Order of Walls usually is quick to report it and discuss such matters with the Captain in charge.
The first Master of the Guard spent time traveling to the few cities which were part of the Empire at that time, taking notes on how things were being done and not explaining exactly what they were doing. When the time came for the Imperial Guard to be created, it was done quietly until each city had their full contingent trained and ready. The first duty of the new Guard was to 'relieve' the existing guards from their posts, and arrest any who refused to comply. For several months there was a considerable amount of chaotic upheaval, and nobles who had been enjoying their latitude within the law chose to beseech the Emperor for this to stop. Instead they were hung on a rope outside their respective domains, and the vacant position was filled with someone who didn't argue the point. This helped to make it clear the Imperial Guard were to stay, and furthermore the Master of the Guard had the complete confidence of the Emperor to make these major changes.
Since that time, the Guard has undergone revisions largely in reaction to crises which arose in individual cases. When a squad of Guards overstepped their authority and killed a prisoner outright in public, the policies were changed to forbid lethal force without the written consent of the local leaders. During that time the 'Guards' stonebow and cudgel' were made to be their signature equipment. After an incident where the Guard stood by and watched a tiefling arcanist to be stoned until they left town, they were made public examples by being replaced and then punished. Reports reached the Master of the Guard of an entire district's Guard having become corrupt and accepted bribes from local merchants to look the other way from competitors. The implicated city's entire contingent of Guards were replaced within the space of one moon, and steps were taken to bring in the Order of Walls to establish independent observation to make it clear the Emperor's faith was no longer quite so forgiving. And more recently, when Guards in a rural city left the city to arrest an elven woman who was decidedly not a citizen of the Empire (and influential with the local elven community), steps were taken to restrict Guards' authority to be within the city walls and instead leave these matters for the Legion to handle.
Today, the Guard retains much of the same central appearance and duties as when they were created. While there are occasional individual Guards who exercise their authority with more vigor or involving broad interpretations of Imperial law, the Order of Walls usually is quick to report it and discuss such matters with the Captain in charge.
Type
Government, Law Enforcement
Alternative Names
Hounds of Rhyliss
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