The Amyclaean Guard

Please visit our Art page to see a watercolor painting of the Amyclaean Guard, or click here.

Uncoiling out of the darkness behind you, the voice is like nothing you’ve ever heard. It croaks, gravelly and insistent: “Come with me… would you… please?”

As you twist in surprise, your eyes land first on the metal rods running through the woman’s neck (*). Only then do you notice the barely suppressed violence in her eyes, and it’s clear the question wasn’t really a question at all.  

Since Tamel’s break with the Eleven and their Offspring more than 1,500 years ago, the members of the Amyclaean Guard have been among the most respected and feared inhabitants of the supernatural world. Respected because they are assiduously neutral and fair in settling disputes and protecting the Sovereign Council in Istanbul; feared because their paramilitary skills and relium blades make them potentially lethal enforcers of the Covenant.

At any given time, there are 12 members of the Guard. One apiece in hereditary lines descended from each of the Eleven, and a 12th member representing the monks of Pro Lapsis Astra. The warrior monk is by tradition the first among equals. He is head of the Guard and organizes training and all missions outside the walls of the Council Chamber. The longest-serving member of the remaining 11 serves as deputy director. A third Guard, the most deserving among them in the combat arts, is appointed training master.

Collectively, the Amyclaean Guard shields the High Council Chamber, protects the Crimson Scribes and the members of the Sovereign Council and, when necessary, carries out orders from the Sovereign Council. In rare cases where violation of the Covenant is severe enough to warrant a death sentence, the Guard will carry out the order.

If there was to be a major schism in the supernatural world – after the death of the final member of the Eleven, for instance – the allegiance of the Guard would be of paramount interest to everyone involved.

* Their throats are pierced from the front to the back. There are two studs that run horizontally, very close (and press up against) the vocal cords/windpipe. A new initiate will only have the two stud ends protruding from their neck. When their initiation period is complete they receive a ornate ‘plate’ that connects the two piercings. Their voices are significantly altered by this mutilation.