The Blackguard
History
The Blackguard clan is the oldest of the great clans. It began with a few settlers came to the Winter Land 8000 years before the fall of the gods. These first settlers would create the first empire of the Winter Lands. It was known as the Sunborn Empire since most settlers were Leonin. This Empire would stand for millennia but nothing lasts eternally.
1050 years before the fall of the gods the Sunborn Kingdom fell to a triumvirate of Frost Wights. Normally this would not have been a large threat but the empire had been rotting for several centuries as they had just come out of a civil war that destroyed most of their armies and so the Frost Wights came and for every battle, their armies strengthened and soon the Sunborn Empire crumbled. The Wights then disappeared from history. According to legend one of the Wights was called Anroc and that raises the question of why were the Tombs of Anroc named after a legendary Wight King.
The remnants of the Sunborn Empire were mostly Isildurian paladins that had sworn themselves to the god of justice. These remnants when the wights did not show themselves formed a kingdom known as Lightguard but it would not last long.
And so we come to the point where the gods fell and the world shattered. The Winter Land was split into the islands they are today. This in itself did not cause the downfall of Lightguard however their patron god became one of the fallen and so the clerics turned to dark magic to keep their power and paladins fell when they betrayed their oaths and those that did not become Death Knights and got lost in the mists. Lightguard had fallen.
For 2000 years the newly made Blackguard clan spread undead and misery across the Winter Land and beyond. This came to an end during the fall of the Elder Evils when the paladin how would be known as Sir Gawain came back to the Blackguard clan.
Gawain was a squire when he was first turned into a death knight and transported to the Shadowfell with his mentor. And after 2000 years he returned to claim his throne.
The Blackguard clan was caught completely off guard. All their forces were away fighting by the side of the Eldar with most of their paladins, undead and necromancers and could not stop Gawain as he formed the organization of paladins, the Black Riders.
It took Gawai thirteen years to claim the throne of the Blackguard clan and then he had to deal with the paladins, undead and necromancers loyal to the Elder Evils how tried to kill him and he had just managed to stabilise his clan when the demons invaded.
The Demonic Invasion did not hold much impact on Isildur as elsewhere in the mortal realm. This makes the rise and fall of the Cult of Death the only historical thing of note. The presence of the Cult of Death was small and secretive because of the hate which Sir Gawain shows the undead and manly lurked in the Tombs of Anroc where they created undead horrors.
The Blackguard clan did not partake in the final battle against them for the Black Riders had destroyed the Cathedral of the Dead in the Winter Land. This excluded them from fighting in the final battle since they were still licking their wounds. The Blackguard clan has been quite stable after that for Odera never dared to attack the Blackguard clan and it is rumoured that she feared Sir Gawain and that he is the only one she ever feared. Though Sir Gawain was reluctant to send the Black Riders after her armies until he had no other choice.
The Blackguard clan is one of the safest places to be in the Winter Land because of the lack of the undead however other threats remain such as disease, hags and other monsters, the Wild Hunt, starvation and the Coldfire crisis that grows ever desperate.
Fortress Blackblaze
Fortress Blackblaze is the capital of the Blackguard clan and where Sir Gawain resides still in his Death Knight form. Fortress Blackblaze is a huge structure located but for convenience sake, the city which is beneath it is referred to by the same name though it is called Whitefall because of the strange white trees that grow around the city. The City is divided into 8 wards, only information about the Outer City is here.
The outer city of Whitefall is like any filled with crime, murder and drugs. The outer city is controlled by an organization that calls itself the Guild and maintain their hold over the city through the trade-in Dream Leaves and other narcotics. The outer city is troubled by monsters in fact another name for the city is the City of Gargoyles since it was considered to be fashionable to have them on every building for they were said to ward of evil. And so the city is filled with them but now they are coming alive. Other creatures from the elemental plane of earth have been seen with more and more frequency. A gnoll war band is also in the area but have been killing by darkness this has left many citizens uneasy and no one travels after dark.
Other wards include the Trade Ward, The Path, The Castle Ward, The Garden Ward, The West Ward, The Grave Ward and the Sewers.
Outside of Fortress Blackblaze and Whitefall, there are seven settlements all of which belong to the Blackguard clan. These have waring problems though very little with the undead since all of them have been sent into the Tombs of Anroc by the Black Riders. Bellow, there are also to locations that are rumoured to be in the territory of the Blackguard clan or at least one it, the other is shrouded in mystery.
The Sunborn Vault
Legends tell that in the mountains lie doors that lead into an underground vault that houses all that remains of the Sunborn Empire. This vault is rumoured to contain the greatest treasures of the Sunborn Empire and many a treasure hunter has tried and failed to find it.
The Tombs of Anroc
In the middle of the island in which the Blackguard clan resides their lies a massive graveyard with mausoleum rising like houses. These are the Tombs of Anroc and leed into catacombs which hold tens of thousands of the dead and the undead. In this crypt, Bone Horrors were created and both corporeal and incorporeal undead lie buried and sealed away in these crypts.
The Tombs of Anroc are strange for they are seemingly constructed before settlers came to the Winter Land and it is named after one of the Frost Wight that destroyed the Sunborn Empire. This has led many to believe that the Frost Wights that destroyed the Sunborn Empire lie deep within the tomb.
There is also another question that has everything to do with the Tombs of Anroc. You see before the invasion of demons Isildur was mostly free of the undead but after the demons were pushed back the continent swarmed with them. Now the Cult of Death is given the credit in this however those that studying history see that the undead were many even before their time and so what changed. The Tombs of Anroc changed. For during the demon a Sibiex managed to open the tombs for the first time in over 12000 years and the wave of necromantic energy that surged across the world damaged many Ley Lines and caused every corpse on Isildur to rise from their grave and many other outside Isildur. For the Energy was sent across the Ley Lines causing them to overload and spill magical radiation into the world and allowing the necromantic energy to travel further. The Tombs of Anroc were again used by a sect of the Cult of Death that specialised in creating powerful undead monsters such as Skeletal Wartitans and Bone Horrors. But with the Cults defeated these monsters were never used and so they remained in the darkness to this day.
Nowadays very few people enter the Tombs of Anroc other than the Black Riders how to go there to put the undead in there and enter through a permanent teleportation circle into the tombs. And since the under are places in boxes they can not be released until they come into the Tombs of Anroc where they are set loose to discourage visitors (intelligent undead are immobilised or killed). The Paladins then exit the tomb.
There is also a second faction in the Tombs of Anroc that is without Sir Gawain's Knowledge. They are known as The Grey Order. They are a group of necromancers from the city of Kopelenvory. They have set up a base of operations in the Tombs of Anroc and are slowly gathering the undead inside of it.
Demography and Population
The Races of Isildur and the Winter land can all be found in this city which has the following distribution. Human 43% Halflings 4% Elves 12 % Half-Orcs 10% Shifters 10% Goliaths 4% Dragonborn 5% Dwarves 10%
Territories
The Blackguard territory is divided into 7, with 6 smaller settlements that were once independent clans but during the Fall of the Gods were destroyed by the Blackguard clan. There has recently been a lot of talk about giving these settlements their own council or giving more say in the matter of state. The 6 other clans do not have it as good as the people in Blackblaze and often starve, they must also pay large fees to Blackblaze.
The borders of the Blackguard clan are quite simple, anyone how steps on the island in which the city of Blackblaze resides has to obey the rules and laws set by the Blackguard.
Military
The Military of the Blackguard clan is one of the most elite groups of soldiers in the Winter Land however it is not very large. They only have about 2000 soldiers to something like the Frost Shields 8000. They also have 800 Black Riders. Which are legendary for never losing a battle.
Technological Level
The Blackguard clan are old fashioned and so do not use Blackpowder of Thunderstones refills or other modern equipment.
Religion
The Blackguard clan have no religious buildings. Worshipping gods is not illegal it is discouraged. probably because Sir Gawain feels that the gods betrayed them. However, there are sometimes Shrines in the homes of people.
Foreign Relations
The Blackguard clan does not engage in much diplomacy. Most often when they do they wish for the Black Riders to hunt the undead.
The White Dragons are the closest clan to the Blackguard clan and so the White Dragons have one of the lowest population of the undead however they are not allies since the Blackguard clan supports the Frost Shields and only Black Riders are allowed to come into the White Dragons territory.
The Frost Shields is an interesting alliance for they only tolerate each other. The reason for this is the use of magic in which the Blackguard clan is accepting of while the Frost Shields crusade against it. Their unlikely liking for each other steams from the Black Riders how to hunt the undead with a fury only rivalled by the crusade against magic which drives the Frost Shields. However, since Sir Gawain likes the Rising ones they can never be allies even if the Blackguard clan stops using magic.
The Rising Ones have a good relationship with the Blackguard clan the only thing preventing it from being a partnership is the fact that the Blackguard clan helps the Frost Shields. The Frostwalkers clan feel the same though the fact that the Blackguard clan hunts the undead does gain points with the Frostwalker clan.
Finally, both the Fanged ones and the Eidar are neutral towards the Blackguard Clan.
Agriculture & Industry
As in all the clans in the Winter Land farming is impossible. So most clans mine or fish and while the Blackguard clans citizens fish there is not a large mining industry in a place like Netherville. Their main export however is Timber which they cut from the Forrest of Ice and Winter.
Trade & Transport
Like all those in the Winter, Land food is a priority and many must hunt in The Blackguard clan and almost all food is bought from the Spring Land but many of those in the Blackguard clan must regularly starve because of the lack of silver to buy food.
Education
The Education of the Blackguard clan is simple. In the smaller towns, you are homeschooled or not at all. In Fortress Blackblaze all children must go to school for nine years before choosing jobs starting 6 years of age. Most often than not this is all you need (plus the skill of the trade). If they join the Military it is quite a different story. It requires 10 more years of millatary study plus millatary training and to join the Black Riders you must graduate with top marks and be ready to and willing to live forever. This is also an extra 7 years of study.
Infrastructure
The Blackguard have built much and here are just a few mentioned. Sewers and burial places. A network of rods that lead to all villages. What were ones keeps that have now fallen to ruin. Court Halls, prisons, schools, libraries, walls, docks and a lot more.
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Capital
Head of State
Head of Government
Currency
Currency The following currency is used all over Isildur.
1 Copper eagle
1 Silver lion= 10 copper eagles
1 Gold dragon= 10 Silver lions
1 Platinum god= 10 Gold dragons
Major Exports
The Blackguard have very little to export other than mercenary work and do so only reluctantly. There isn't even a large mining industry on the island that is only large enough to support the populace and when accidents happen in the mines they are often followed by starvation. Their main export is timber.
Major Imports
Their main import is food and since they are so close to the Spring Land only about a weeks journey through the generally less dangerous Sea of Swords this makes them buy food from them, how have not realised that they can impose much higher prices on the Blackguard clan. Another thing is clothing though this can be gotten from other clans how regard the mercenary ability of the Blackguard clan that it alone is enough payment.
Legislative Body
The Black Riders and Sir Gawain make the laws.
Judicial Body
The Black Rider carry out the Law.
Related Ranks & Titles
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
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