Guardsmen Militia
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The Guardsmen Militia (abbr. Grd) are a peasant militia active in the borderlands of Yew. They have acted as the in-character authority of the province for some time now, especially since the collapse of the Crossroads of Yew.
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About the Militia
In the dawning of the Europa shard, a number of veteran players decided to make a guild of roleplayed roughneck guardsmen. They were tired of the classical guilds that existed, who were almost exclusively either Knights, Paladins or plain Murderers. They wanted something different, with another feel to it, another atmosphere. Thus, the concept of the Guardsman Militia sprang to life. The founders nabbed a few ideas from here and there; medieval and fantasy town guards were used as raw-models, Shadowclan of Catskills admittedly, and real-life militaries provided great resources.
The guild's concept proved a great success and within two years of its founding it could count more than 275 members on its roster, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by any other roleplay guild to date. Now, seven years after its establishment, the Guardsmen Militia remains one of the largest guilds on the shard.
Brief History
The Guardsmen Militia was founded by one Damien Lumberton, in the lands now known as Felucca. Their primary role was to protect the travellers of the Kings' Highway, and guard the realm of Yew to the best of their abilities. The Militia's ranks swelled rapidly, and eventually merged with several smaller groups, such as the Yewish Templari and the Naval Garrison. In time they would become a driving force in Yew, with Ducal power directly appointed by the Officers, and eventually coming to wield supreme martial and political authority in the form of the Protectorate.
When the lands divided, the Guardsmen moved to Trammel to aid in the subjugation of the new territory. This proved a golden age, as the Militia's power and influence grew. The new territory brought with it new enemies, however - the Militia finding itself in almost constant conflict with the the Crimson Rogues and the cultists of Liberi Fatali.
It seemed that as one foe fell, more would rise to take their place. The Guardsmen soon found themselves pitted against Undead hordes, Orcish warbands, wicked Elves, wandering Easterners, and many more. Given their countless enemies, and the many challenges put before them, it is something of a cruel twist of fate that Yew's darkest hour would come from an external, and outwardly neutral force. The Meer. This catlike and demonic race cast a cataclysmic spell upon the ancient forest town, warping the once beautiful terrain into a vast and troubled fenland, infested with vicious beasts, and haunted by plague.
This crisis saw much change in Yew, political as well economic. In a bid to control the troubled town the Great Council sent a man of their own to govern the province; Guy D'Mirio. D'Mirio took the rank of Major within the Milita, per the Council's demands, and soon announced his plans to disolve the long serving guard force. Displeased with these turn of events, the Militia assumed power in a junta and ousted the unwelcome Major. D'Mirio fled back to Britain, and seemingly vanished from the political scene. This state of stratocracy would stretch on for some weeks, until after much deliberation and private exchanges with Britain the Guardsmen's officer elite were elevated to aristocratic station; Sergeant Klion D'Gar foremost amongst them taking on the newly created rank and title of Lord Protector.
Guided by this latest regime, the Militia would prevail against the very elements. Now able to not only defeat it's internal enemies, and drive out it's alien foes - but to take on the accursed swamp itself, digging canals to drain the fettid waters and restore the city to its former glory.
Yew has emerged from the war-torn and troubled isolation of its past, but found only bloodshed in the land outside it's borders. Its position within the Kingdom shaky, it's loyalties disputed, and its allies few.
Due to it's absence from the Kingdom's wider political stage, Yew and the Militia had been in a possition of de facto neutrallity in the rebel-loyalist conflict that had ravaged Britannia in recent decades. Under the Protectorate, however, Yew had emerged as a significant force in the King's service, throwing it's weight fully into the loyalist camp - hitherto dominated by the Duchy of Trinsic. In the beginning the Militia and Duchy were keen allies, forming a united front against the Republic of Vesper and an emergent Cove. However, philosophical, cultural, and religious differences soon tore their bond assunder, plunging the two greater loyalist cities into a war of their own. Even after a controversial stalemate, relations continued to sour. The Guardsmen Militia and people of Yew found themselves at odds with one and all - setting the tone for years to come.
The grey-kilts found themselves on Crusade against drow-harbouring Trinsic, fending off a Vesper-sponsored peasant uprising, fighting a war of betrayals with Cove, and ultimately attempting to reclaim the long occupied and ever embattled Minoc beside their (often sole) ally, the Britannia Guards.
