The Vanguard of the Coalition (A Dragon's Tooth Article)

From an issue of “A Dragon’s Tooth,” the collected works of Garavel Norixior, Scholar of the Realms: 
One would hope that what I am about to impart is mostly for those of you across the Prime. Anyone living under the Coalition’s banner should ideally know this.
However, I am not a hatchling, and am WELL aware that Mortals are not known for their…robust educational systems. So consider this a well-researched refresher!
If the Coalition of Greater Order is the governing body for the Mortal States, then the Vanguard is its sword-wielding right hand
As a concept, it pre-dates the Coalition itself. It began ages ago as the paramilitary force of an ancient Calanthus and has since grown into the dominant military force, not just in the Coalition, but generally across the Prime as a whole.
Seeing themselves as the force which allows the Mortal States to compete at the same level as the Elvhenan, the Vanguard is divided into three major groups:
- The Knight-Vanguard: your standard, highly trained elite soldier seen leading all Coalition cohorts during vigilance or wartime
- The Solarborne: Sunbound super-soldiers dispatched to ensure victory, provoke fear, or simply purge something from the map
- The Inquisitors of the Dawn: the arcane secret police with motives and methods shadier than the rituals used to train them
All of these groups are overseen and directed by the High-Vanguard, commander in chief for all Vanguard operations across the Mortal States. The Vanguard motto is “Progressus per Potentiam” or Progress Through Power! None embody that more than their current leader, High-Vanguard Beatrix Avalon, known to the Elves as Fæna’shevaar, the Wolf-Among-Sheep. She has served not only as the Vanguard’s leader, but the head of the whole Coalition for the last 15 years. The longest term in any Mortal’s recent memory!
Whether Avalon will act on the wishes of her people and make a decisive first strike against the Elvhenan, only time will tell. But until then, spare a copper for the Dragon and read well!
– G. Norixior, A Dragon’s Tooth
Category:A Dragon's Tooth