The Wardens Of Tempest

The governing body of the Wardens Of Tempest is the High Council. It's currently composed of the five founding members of the order.   The Stormwarden, Castelan and the Sentinels form the second highest level of hierarchy in the order. The first is the best fighter of the order and serves as beacon of hope and perseverance in the face of dire situations. Who gets the honor of this position is determined either by duel or in case of the death of the former Stormwarden, during a tournament.   Sentinels are honorifics for battle-hardened and accomplished warriors of the order. Getting this title bestowed upon oneself needs not only the approval of the high council but also the support of the warband one commandeers. Thus, being a sentinel is a sign of loyalty from his or her war party as well as an award. Besides the reputation that comes with this title, a Sentinel must be knowledgeable about universal laws of the territories the orders operates in.   A castelan, however, is an almost entirely administrative rank created to assist the high council in its day to day business. When it comes to his duty his word is almost as strong as that of a council member.   The second lowest level consists of the Wardens themselves. They are the bulk of the fighting force and everyone gets a squire from the ranks of the Guards, who are not fully initiated members of the order yet. The latter are trained by the former in sword skill, marksmanship, maintaining armor and weapons as well as studying the Code Chivelaric which is necessary to be even considered for the promotion to the rank of a warden.

Honor and protecting the weak are the cornerstones of the military order. The seven principles stated in the Code Chivelaric lays out how members have to conduct themselves.   Martial prowess is highly regarded and thus duels and tournaments are common ways to settle differences or determine promotions of guards, officers and wardens alike. But they are also popular recreational activities practiced by men and women of this organization.

The powerful only to often abuse and exploit those who can't defend themselves. Protecting the weak, especially the farmers and fisher in Middland from local bandits are only one of their duties. But sometimes they march out to participate in battles and wars that threaten to destroy large swathes of land.

Once the founding members were part of a mercenary clan called Haus Folkesson (engl. House Folkesson). They were elite warriors of the clan and started to get disillusioned about how it was lead and abandoned it traveling into the south.   Although despising it, they sold their swords to the highest bidder, plundering all around Middland. Over the time their group grew into a whole mercenary company that had build a reputation on the continent. They had seen a lot of wars and fought for many lords.   During one of these wars, mercenaries took castle Falkenklamm from a corrupt lord who betrayed them in hopes of acquiring more power. Hialbjorn der Gebrochene claimed the it as their new base.   This angered his former employer, so he sent Aaryd v. Eisenstein alongside a small force to capture the castle. The following Siege lasted for several months causing severe casualties on both sides. To destroy the siege engines that had inflicted heavy damage to the walls and killed many, the defenders sallied out. After seeing his trebuchets ablaze, Aaryd von Eisenstein stormed the gates and breached them forcing the defenders to capitulate.   Hialbjorn der Gebrochene, Vandil de Sade and Asmond were put in chains and readied for execution. But his liege demanded that they are brought to the nearest city to be judged by trial. The prisoner convoy was ambushed on its way, however. Being convinced by Vandil de Sade Aaryd lets the prisoners out the cages and they fought of the north men side by side.   Instead of fleeing after the battle or killing Aaryd v. Eisenstein, the three of them accompanied him because they saw the errors in their way and were willing to receive punishment. Arriving at the city, they found it under siege by the same north men they were ambushed by. Attacking the besiegers from the rear and causing mayhem in their camp as well as destroying their food supplies they considerably contributed to the cities defense against the raiders and they scattered into all directions.   For saving von Eisenstein's live and helping the city instead of fleeing made the knight put in a good word for the trio and they were spared, because they showed remorse for their actions and behaved honorably. And they entered into regular service of the benevolent lord and help hunt down the scattered bands of north men and rebuild the fiefdoms. The time for lords, peasants and city folk were good and people were happy.   After a few years, renewed attacks on cities and villages devastated the fiefdoms. Countless skirmishes, sieges and battles killed the majority of the population and caused several famines. At the end the city was destroyed and the Hialbjorn der Gebrochene's liege lord was killed defending her.   Together with some of the surviving veterans Hialbjorn der Gebrochene, Vandil de Sade, Aaryd v. Eisenstein, Raymund de Sade and Asmond returned to castle Falkenklamm and started to rebuild it.   The five elite warriors decided to found the The Wardens Of Tempest and rename the castle to Oculum Tempestas. From there they patrol the region and fight everyone who pillages, plunders or extorts the weak.