Snow Guard
Winter's Watchful
The Snow Guard are made up almost exclusively of humans, and date their origins back tot the first fighters who defended Bleda's original settlements from the Vvulfjr tribes. This history lingers in the attitudes each group holds towards one another. For many of the Vvulfjr hate the Snow Guard for their history of violence, and the continued discrimination they face. While many of the Snow Guard still view the Vvulfjr as barbaric, dangerous, and untrust worthy. With that said this perception is an antiquated view, and many of the younger Snow Guard do not ascribe to these views, and with the recent allowance of Vvulfjr to join the Snow Guard these views have been challenged further. This recent change to allow the Vvulfjr to join the Snow Guard was one that had been long pushed for by the late Lord Kvyn and would be part of his legacy as a friend of the Vvulfjr.
The Snow Guard also hold a rivalry with the Knights of Bleda, which are the second largest standing detachment of Bleda's military. The Knights are of the noble class, while the Guard are nearly exclusively commoners. Many of the Knights look down on the guard for their low born status and an assumed lack of skill. Now the assumed lack of skill may hold true for a number of the guard, a great number have faced such hardship and developed such skill that they out stripe many of the Knightly class. It is the harsh reality of the duties of the Snow Guard which force them into dicipline and strength.
Structure
The organization of the Snow Guard is largely dependent on the size of the community in which they are stationed; however the rank structure does not change. In smaller communities the ranking memeber of the guard may be only a Watch Captain, were as in large towns or cities, the Guard are under the oversight of a Watch Master. While the Guard is over seen by the High Warden which reports directly to the Prince.
History
The Snow Guard were born out of the first who took up arms to defend the early human settlements of Whitehelm. The legacey of these first militias would be reflected in the organizaiton that would follow. With memebers of the Snow Guard being selected form within their own communities, and usually from the common class rather than nobility.
Founding
As the human communities of Whitehelm began to centralize around the Lord in the small fortified town of Bleda, the Lord looked to standardize and formalize the forces under his authority. His first move was to transition the militias into to a formal martial organziation. Taking the few knights he had under his rule, the Lord had them train the various militias to a high standard. These militia were organzied into the first order Guard. Still a predecesor organization to the Snow Guard this Guard was still less formalized than the Snow Guard.
The first real test of this new guard was a war against a coalition of Vvulfjr tribes. At this time the Guard made up the vast majority of the forces that the Lord had at their disposal, with only a few Knights and no real military. This left the guard to face the Vvulfjr without much support. The initial battles of the conflict saw the guard on the defensive, as they protected their communities from ever increasing Vvulfjr attacks. The efforts of the Lord to organize and train these militia into a semi-professional fighting force now baring fruit. For on an individual level the guard were at a disadvantage in strength and skill, it was through there organization and discipline that the guard found unexpected success. As the guard across the country held, the lord prepared the garrison at Bleda for a counter attack against the War Chiefs of the Vvulfjr. Even accompanied by all the Knights and levied men of Bleda, the guard still made up the bulk of this force and would bare the brunt of the fighting. With their dependable strength, the Bledan forces made steady progress against the Vvulfjr, driving them back into the wilds. When victory finally came, there were many inflated stories of the heroics and triumphs of the Bledan Knights, but the people knew that it had been by the strength of the guard which their safety was won.
It was after this conflict which the Snow Guard in their current form were born. With a strengthening of the court around the Lord, many of the organizations created during the war were formalized. As such the Snow Guard were split from the military, although facing an initial reduction in their numbers the subsequent reduction in their duties led to little difference being felt in their effectiveness.
The Bloody Quiet
The period after the first Vvulfjr War was a busy one for the fledgling Snow Guard and when they would cement their stalwart reputation. Although a time of technical peace, many of the Vvulfjr tribes did not accept the terms which ended the war. For the Snow Guard this marked a period of constant vigilence as raids were common place on the edges of settlements. The numbers of the Snow Guard would steadily increase to meet this new demand however. Trained by the veterns of the Vvulfjr War, the Snow Guard developed their own doctrins and style. This strength the Snow Guard held greatly detered the Vvulfjr's aggression, and seeing the futility in further attacks the conflict slowly wound down.
The Eastern Invasion
The conflict between the last few hold out tribes and Bleda came to an abrupt end, as a large army of the Eastern invaded southern Whitehelm. A massive force of the newly organized Eastern advanced into the southern edges of Whitehelm, and engaging the Vvulfjr and Bledan settlers. Although brought on by Vvulfjr attacks against Eastern Settlers in the region, the Prince of Bleda agreed to join the Vvulfjr in the defense of the region and deny the Eastern claims. It was again the Snow Guard which were the first to meet this new threat. In delaying actions against the Eastern, the Snow Guard alongside the Vvulfjr engaged in a guerrilla war while Bleda mustered its army and sent riders to Pelliny.
These actions slowwed the advance but did not deter the large Eastern armies. As the Bledan's again mustered their forces it would be the Snow Guard which would fill out the bulk of their ranks. Making the armies final preperations the combined Bledan and Vvulfjr army was enough to finally give the Eastern pause.
Organizing actions between the Bledan military and the Vvulfjr tribes proved to be a significant challenge, however it was the Snow Guards familiarity with Vvulfjr tactics which proved critical in the cohesion of the two forces. The Snow Guard would often end up as field commanders, and directing their own superiors on how to fight along side their Vvulfjr allies.
It was with the arrival of Pelliny's forces which began to turn the tide. No longer holding the Eastern advance, this combined force was able to retake much of Southern Whitehelm. The involvement of Pelliny in this conflict drew the attention of Athera, who had been long term trade partners with the Eastern. With their political and economic leverage, Athera was able to brooker peace. With the signing of the Treaty of Red Snow, Bleda would become independent from Pelliny, and establishing Bleda as the protectorate and representative of Whitehelm. This treaty would establish the northern border of the Eastern.
Vvulfjr Revolt
After the end of the Eastern invasion, many Vvulfjr would began to intergrate slowly into formerly human only settlements. Although a largely peaceful transition tensions were high between the Vvulfjr and humans as predjudace was prevenlent on both sides. To further strain the already tense relationships, many of the outland tribes saw the intergration into Bleda's human communities as an abhorrent loss of their culture and way of life. Seeing this as a sign of the death of their identy many of these tribes fled further into the wild mountians of the north. Here they organized, calling delagates from other tribes to meet with them. Many of these tribes agreed with these radicals, they sought to take action. A general call went out for the tribes to choose their side, the Bledans or the Tribes.
Many of the tribes sided with the Bledans, as they saw the strengths of cooperation between the peoples, or saw futility in resisting change. Others sided with the old ways, choosing the tribes and the wilds over the alliances with the Bledans. The revolt started suddenly, with coordinated attacks across Bleda. The Snow Guard rushing to meet this aggression while the Prince martialled his forces to meet the threat of the rebels. The conflict lasted only a few a years, with skirmishing being prevelent but as intergration continued the rebelion lost much of its strength.
Current Era
After the end of the Vvulfjr Revolt, tensions remained high but a series of reforms came through to help the Vvulfjr intergrate into the human settlements. It would again fall to the Snow Guard to maintain the secutirty and stability during this transitional period. Although a largely easy and peaceful transition, there were minor local conflicts spurred on by predjadice and fear. As the decades passed the region moved into a period of normalcy. This would last until the start of the Atheran Raider War. Although Bleda would officially remain neutral in the war, the The White Company would be formed. The bulk of the volunteers of the White Company, were memebers of the Snow Guard.
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