Filasom Guards

The royal bodyguard of Thallasus. The guard is made up of four companies, the Inner Guard, Outer Guard, Battle Guard, and Travel Guard, alternatively known as the Foot Guard, Palace Guard, Horse Guard and Pachyderm Guard.

Origins

The Viceroyalty of Thallasus lacked a dedicated bodyguard unit for the viceroy, protection being provided by rotating detachments of the viceroy's regular troops. When the Viceroyalty of Thallasus became the Kingdom of Thallasus, this arrangement was initially kept, though the second king would establish a bodyguard made up of knights drawn from all the nobles in the realm. This would prove to be a poor decision when King Baraxis was murder at the start of the Gillthalis Uprising by bodyguards loyal to the rebels.
Baraxis' daughter Melanday declared that she would not be guarded by any native Thallasians, and hired a unit of Irikeenans to protect her. When she defeated the uprising and became queen she standardized the system into the Filasom Guards.
The Inner Guard was the first unit formed, with the Battle Guard joining it within a generation. It would take nearly two centuries for the Outer Guard to officially become the third company of the Filasom Guards. A thousand years after the Guard's founding the Travel Guard became the fourth company after King Malthas developed a fascination with elven war elephants and paid an exorbitant amount to import a breeding population.

Composition and Role

Recruits to the guard must be skilled warriors who are not from Thallasus. They generally serve five year terms with options to serve multiple terms. Officers are almost always drawn from existing guardsmen. Both males and females are allowed to join the Guards, though the vast majority are men.

Inner Guard

The Inner Guard is the smallest and most trusted company in the Filasom Guards. It is responsible for close personal protection of the monarch. It contains sixty-four members. The leader is the Captain of the Guard and his second in command is a lieutenant. They each has an assistant. The remaining sixty guards are divided into three watches of twenty. Each watch has a Watch Commander, a Watch Sub-commander, and eighteen guardsmen. The Inner Guard is also known as the Foot Guard, because most of the time they will be on foot, though when the monarch travels or goes into battle, the on duty watch will mount horses or ride in the monarch howdah. This company can be drawn from a wide variety of nations, but dwarves are especially prized and usually make of the majority of members.

Battle Guard

The Battle Guard is the largest of the companies and as the name implies join the monarch in battle. They number between one thousand and twelve hundred guardsmen and are equipped as heavy cavalry. Though this is the largest company it actually has the least diversity, due to the equestrian and martial requirements. Most guardsmen are Emiratis, but any nation with a heavy cavalry tradition could field members. Though this company mainly joins the monarch during wartime, a small number usually travels with the monarch on journeys, supplementing the travel guard.

Outer Guard

When the Filasom Guards were formed, securing the royal residences, outside of the person of the monarch, was still handled by regular Thillasan soldiers. Over time it was decided that minimizing a threat on the perimeter of a palace was much better than neutralizing it closer to the monarch, so the Outer Guard was formally brought into the Filasom Guards. The Outer Guard consists of four hundred guardsmen plus officers divided into four platoons who are responsible for the two royal palaces. One platoon guards the unoccupied residence while the remaining three hundred are at the palace with the monarch in residence. When the monarch moves from the Summer Palace to the Winter Palace and vis versa two platoons travel with him. The Outer Guard are the most diverse company, as infantry fighting skills are fairly common and they don't require the trust needed of the Inner Guard.

Travel Guard

The final company in the Filasom Guards escorts the monarch during travels. It consists of war elephants, their drivers, and howdah crews. It totals about one hundred fifty people and fifteen elephants. Twelve of the elephants are for guard duty (although most times only six are used) and the other three are for the monarch's use. While the Travel Guard will escort the monarch in wartime, in battle they fight as a separate unit apart from the monarch due to war elephants limitations in combat. Howdah warriors can be from a variety of nations, but mahouts have to be from cultures who use war elephants. This is the only company that has a noticeable elven component.

Type

Escort