Post by sera on Apr 3, 2009 21:42:23 GMT -8
The Guard
Lier'don is well-known for its martial might; a fact linked to their rather complex guard system, divided into a number of groups. Each group is named after a gemstone. The origin of these names, and the reason behind each, has been lost to time.
Quartz Guard - Members wishing to enter the Lier'don military report first to the Quartz Guard. It is here that they are indoctrinated into the military lifestyle and taught the basics of fighting as a cohesive fighting force. One may enter the Quartz Guard as an individual, be the background noble, peasant, tradesman or farmer, but they will leave a soldier. Military bearing and discipline are instilled in the recruits. Basic martial skills are taught, and all will have a go at all the different parts of an army, from infantry to siege weaponry and cavalry. The weakest are weeded out, and the strongest are divided up according to their ability. The closest analog to the Quartz guard our world has is Boot Camp.
Topaz Guard - The Topaz Guard comprises the bulk of Lier'don's army. The days of the Quartz Guard are past and the soldier has received further specialized training in their area of expertise. Most will stand a stint in the infantry at the beginning, and must distinguish themselves before being sent to train for another unit type. It must usually be quite distinctive, or the soldier must have a good relationship with their superiors, because dedicated infantry is hard to come by.
Members of the Quartz or Topaz Guards might become aware of someone watching them, though most of the time, the watchers are too good to be noticed. Those who show great skill or the potential to be extremely useful will find themselves transferred to some new duty.
Emerald Guard - The Emerald Guard is diverse in both scope and personnel. The Emerald Guard is both a huge honor, and the hardest duty many will face for most of their career. Those that have shown themselves to be extremely skilled, or to show some other potential, will be assigned to the Emerald Guard for training. This Guard is not extremely well-known but is by no means restricted knowledge, and if one were assigned to the Emerald Guard, it wouldn't be difficult to find someone with some knowledge concerning it.
Aside from training, the Emerald Guard takes missions that are more difficult or specialized than what the Topaz guard would usually take. This may be something simple, like holding a narrow pass using superior tactics and skill, or holding out during a siege, rather than out and out warfare on the more open areas as the Topaz Guard specializes in.
An Emerald Guard unit has gone through many tests and trials to get to where it is. The members have been selected from a larger group from which the chaff has been culled. Their training and hardship forges them into an effective and elite group that will stay together from the time they are formed in perpetuity, barring losses from death or retirement. Any single member in an Emerald Guard unit is a formidable opponent, and it would spell almost certain death to challenge one.
The Emerald Guard is usually temporary, however. Either its members will be judged as too weak or ineffective to stay, or they have been brought in for preliminary training before being sent to either the Ruby or Sapphire Guard. Some are exceptional individuals, but not quite good enough to move on to the Sapphire or Ruby Guards. These individuals will stay in the Emerald Guard as instructors or squad leaders.
Note about the Ruby and Sapphire Guards - You haven't heard of them, and neither has your character. Not even a rumor. Not even as the janitor to the highest ranking military official or noble who stumbles upon a scrap of paper that has the words Ruby Guard or whatever on them. The only people that know those names are the members. Some select members of each Guard will have heard of the other Guard, but those are rare. You will know if your character is one of those members that has heard of the other Guard. Other than the monarch or, in the case of the senility or something like that of the monarch, the highest adviser, no other outsider is privy to this information. The closest anyone will come is the rumors among the Topaz troupes of demi-godlike soldiers who swipe through the enemy like demons. No names are known, and this includes the names Sapphire Guard or Ruby Guard.
That said.
Emerald Guard is a stopping point on the path for the truly gifted soldier to be trained and evaluated for either the Sapphire Guard or the Ruby Guard. Think of these two guards as the cream of the crop in the Emerald Guard, branching down one of two more specialized roles.
Sapphire Guard - Specializes in spying and intelligence gathering. They are given multiple identities and trained in disguises, codes, and anything and everything else related to espionage. They are taught to seamlessly integrate with a culture so that they can gather information without drawing suspicion.
After getting the advanced combat training from the Emerald Guard, they are taught to adapt and improvise with whatever is at hand. A member of the Sapphire guard will often be sent into their operation area without any weapons or other gear. No weapons or gear from their place of origin means they can't be traced if captured. However, in the event that they need to defend themselves, they are trained to be able to pick up any weapon, nay, nearly any object whatsoever, and use it to disable or kill an opponent so that they might get a more suitable weapon.
Ruby Guard - The problem fixers. The most common task for the Ruby Guard is to bring death, whether their task is to silently kill a single target or to wipe out a village of rebels. They are peerless fighters among the Guards of Lier'don. While not quite as adaptive as the Sapphire Guard, they are trained to be able to pick up anything even resembling a conventional weapon and use it to deadly effect, should they drop their weapon in a heated combat situation. (killing with a quill pen, while useful, is outside their mission statement)
Diamond Guard - Palace Guard. While at the bottom of this list, they are not the most adept fighters in the Guard. They are a cut above the regular Topaz Guard members, and will receive some limited training with the Emerald Guard. After this advanced combat training, they receive additional drill training and conditioning to throw themselves in the way of harm intended for the Royal Family.
The main thing that sets them apart is that the members of each unit of the Diamond Guard have extremely similar hair color, build, and height.
However, while effective fighters, the Diamond Guard is used in a primarily ceremonial duty as an honor guard. They are quite the popular attraction at parades, as well.
Lier'don is well-known for its martial might; a fact linked to their rather complex guard system, divided into a number of groups. Each group is named after a gemstone. The origin of these names, and the reason behind each, has been lost to time.
Quartz Guard - Members wishing to enter the Lier'don military report first to the Quartz Guard. It is here that they are indoctrinated into the military lifestyle and taught the basics of fighting as a cohesive fighting force. One may enter the Quartz Guard as an individual, be the background noble, peasant, tradesman or farmer, but they will leave a soldier. Military bearing and discipline are instilled in the recruits. Basic martial skills are taught, and all will have a go at all the different parts of an army, from infantry to siege weaponry and cavalry. The weakest are weeded out, and the strongest are divided up according to their ability. The closest analog to the Quartz guard our world has is Boot Camp.
Topaz Guard - The Topaz Guard comprises the bulk of Lier'don's army. The days of the Quartz Guard are past and the soldier has received further specialized training in their area of expertise. Most will stand a stint in the infantry at the beginning, and must distinguish themselves before being sent to train for another unit type. It must usually be quite distinctive, or the soldier must have a good relationship with their superiors, because dedicated infantry is hard to come by.
Members of the Quartz or Topaz Guards might become aware of someone watching them, though most of the time, the watchers are too good to be noticed. Those who show great skill or the potential to be extremely useful will find themselves transferred to some new duty.
Emerald Guard - The Emerald Guard is diverse in both scope and personnel. The Emerald Guard is both a huge honor, and the hardest duty many will face for most of their career. Those that have shown themselves to be extremely skilled, or to show some other potential, will be assigned to the Emerald Guard for training. This Guard is not extremely well-known but is by no means restricted knowledge, and if one were assigned to the Emerald Guard, it wouldn't be difficult to find someone with some knowledge concerning it.
Aside from training, the Emerald Guard takes missions that are more difficult or specialized than what the Topaz guard would usually take. This may be something simple, like holding a narrow pass using superior tactics and skill, or holding out during a siege, rather than out and out warfare on the more open areas as the Topaz Guard specializes in.
An Emerald Guard unit has gone through many tests and trials to get to where it is. The members have been selected from a larger group from which the chaff has been culled. Their training and hardship forges them into an effective and elite group that will stay together from the time they are formed in perpetuity, barring losses from death or retirement. Any single member in an Emerald Guard unit is a formidable opponent, and it would spell almost certain death to challenge one.
The Emerald Guard is usually temporary, however. Either its members will be judged as too weak or ineffective to stay, or they have been brought in for preliminary training before being sent to either the Ruby or Sapphire Guard. Some are exceptional individuals, but not quite good enough to move on to the Sapphire or Ruby Guards. These individuals will stay in the Emerald Guard as instructors or squad leaders.
Note about the Ruby and Sapphire Guards - You haven't heard of them, and neither has your character. Not even a rumor. Not even as the janitor to the highest ranking military official or noble who stumbles upon a scrap of paper that has the words Ruby Guard or whatever on them. The only people that know those names are the members. Some select members of each Guard will have heard of the other Guard, but those are rare. You will know if your character is one of those members that has heard of the other Guard. Other than the monarch or, in the case of the senility or something like that of the monarch, the highest adviser, no other outsider is privy to this information. The closest anyone will come is the rumors among the Topaz troupes of demi-godlike soldiers who swipe through the enemy like demons. No names are known, and this includes the names Sapphire Guard or Ruby Guard.
That said.
Emerald Guard is a stopping point on the path for the truly gifted soldier to be trained and evaluated for either the Sapphire Guard or the Ruby Guard. Think of these two guards as the cream of the crop in the Emerald Guard, branching down one of two more specialized roles.
Sapphire Guard - Specializes in spying and intelligence gathering. They are given multiple identities and trained in disguises, codes, and anything and everything else related to espionage. They are taught to seamlessly integrate with a culture so that they can gather information without drawing suspicion.
After getting the advanced combat training from the Emerald Guard, they are taught to adapt and improvise with whatever is at hand. A member of the Sapphire guard will often be sent into their operation area without any weapons or other gear. No weapons or gear from their place of origin means they can't be traced if captured. However, in the event that they need to defend themselves, they are trained to be able to pick up any weapon, nay, nearly any object whatsoever, and use it to disable or kill an opponent so that they might get a more suitable weapon.
Ruby Guard - The problem fixers. The most common task for the Ruby Guard is to bring death, whether their task is to silently kill a single target or to wipe out a village of rebels. They are peerless fighters among the Guards of Lier'don. While not quite as adaptive as the Sapphire Guard, they are trained to be able to pick up anything even resembling a conventional weapon and use it to deadly effect, should they drop their weapon in a heated combat situation. (killing with a quill pen, while useful, is outside their mission statement)
Diamond Guard - Palace Guard. While at the bottom of this list, they are not the most adept fighters in the Guard. They are a cut above the regular Topaz Guard members, and will receive some limited training with the Emerald Guard. After this advanced combat training, they receive additional drill training and conditioning to throw themselves in the way of harm intended for the Royal Family.
The main thing that sets them apart is that the members of each unit of the Diamond Guard have extremely similar hair color, build, and height.
However, while effective fighters, the Diamond Guard is used in a primarily ceremonial duty as an honor guard. They are quite the popular attraction at parades, as well.