The Sanguine Guard: Our Protectors…
(or are they?)
The Sanguine Guard. What do we really know about them? Ok, I know long ago they formed from the ranks of former soldiers to help protect us, the common folk, from the excesses of the Nobility – but what have they done for us lately? Did you know that for the past 85 years they’ve been the paid lackeys of those very same Nobles? They’ll tell you that they’re neutral and unbiased about everyone and everything except the common people, but can you really trust an organization that requires an oath of secrecy just to be a member?
…and what about working for the very same people that they were supposed to protect us against? It is said that, after the Nations war, Duca Leonetti (who was known for his benevolence toward the common folk) was under attack from elements inside Omar Nadine. He contacted and contracted with the Sanguine Guard to help defend his holdings and people against the consortium headed by Conte Oristano. The Sanguine Guard successfully protected Duca Leonetti, even though they were significantly outnumbered. Since the end of the Nations war, and the establishment of an alternate way of resolving disputes, all the nations involved slashed the size of their ranks of professional soldiers, as they were for the most part no longer needed. The Sanguine Guard took advantage of the inexperience of Conte Oristano’s troops and were able to defeat them in detail.
This would have been an isolated incident if not for the vanity of the nobility of Arbory. Marquise Eritania, always a bellweather for Arborian high society, heard of the problems of Duca Leonetti and thought that the deep red sashes worn by the Sanguine Guard would go very well with her familial colors of black and gold, and immediately contracted for the Sanguine Guard to protect her assets as well. Predictably, it became “fashionable” to have at least a few members of the Sanguine Guard attached to your household in Arbory – especially if your house colors went well with deep red. Many other nobles, realizing that they were at a disadvantage if fellow nobles had the use of the experienced soldiers of the Sanguine Guard and they didn’t, contracted with the Sanguine Guard defensively. Thus, the defenders of the common people became the defenders of the nobility.
Thankfully, they still refuse to allow us common folk to be unnecessarily hurt in their skirmishes with each other. I still wish, however, that they had been content with protecting us, rather than becoming the elite spies and soldiers of the nobility.
