Vanguards

"*Do what they want you to do. You’re the figurine on their war map. Make sure you seem like the type that can be manipulated. Be the bendable, movable doll they want. Be (or seem) poseable. The opposite is disposable."*

*-Advice given to Vanguards*

The Autocracy turns to its citizens to help fight the Cursed, internal disorder, and the increasing aberrant events.

Vanguards are given grueling loyalty tests and a limited amount of training before receiving an Imbuement or coerced to sign a contract. Those that survive the process are utilized as ‘fixers’ for the government and turned loose on the myriad problems created by the bizarre.

Paid upon the completion of their missions, these brave men and women are expendable; used as a bludgeon for an increasingly fearful government. Even as they prove their worth, many officials consider them a liability. The secrets and initiative they gain through their work feels threatening to the organizations that utilize them.

Vanguards are still bound by law and expected to keep a low profile. Their “boon” is considered enough of an advantage by the same government that asks for their talents.

It is unknown exactly what ‘qualifies’ an individual aside from being above average. Prospective Vanguards could be anything from a talented thief to a promising medical student.

A Vanguard may have proven resourceful enough to escape an aberrant event as their neighborhood was engulfed, were unlucky enough to witness a Cursed free itself, or were offered an exciting new opportunity by a friendly stranger.

No Vanguard’s story begins the same way. Some eagerly join up when offered while others are ‘persuaded’ after bearing witness to something the ASH would rather keep out of the public eye. Their only commonality is a midnight knock at the door. There are two types of Vanguards, Imbued and Contractors. The process of determining whether a prospective Vanguard will become an Imbued or a Contractor is unknown.

## Imbued

After passing loyalty screenings and indoctrination lasting for weeks, the prospective Imbued finally earns their name. A shard of a Cursed brain stem, Deviant bone, or aberrant keystone is surgically implanted under the skin in the prospective Imbued. After implantation, the shard is designed to wrap itself in the nervous system of the prospect, subjecting the prospect to days of warping flesh and extreme hallucinations interspersed with seizures. Those that do not die (either due to the process itself or having to be disposed of after twisting into an abomination) are finally ready to start their ‘career’.

## Contractor

A prospective Contractor will be given an oath of loyalty and inducted as quickly as possible. The Vanguard Initiative is so wrapped up in secrecy that even the ‘recruiters’ who offer the contract lack basic information on the organization as a whole.

Contractors are blessed by chance. After signing the contract, they seem to be more able to pull success from what would seem to be certain failure.

## A Vanguard’s duty

Another battery of punishing tests and indoctrination await neophyte Vanguards in secret locations scattered throughout the ASH. They are taught the cypher signs of various Autocratic institutions to find calls for assistance. The newly minted Vanguards are introduced to the commonly used clandestine symbols from the State Security Bureau, Inquisition, the Society of Inquisitive Minds, and any other organization “in the know” requesting support that more regular forces cannot or will not answer. These calls for aid can be embedded in local papers as “printing errors” or carved into travel signs.

Vanguards were above average people even before being given their commission by the ASH. Teams will be given any assignments that organizations within the ASH are unable or unwilling to tackle directly. Whether it’s because of a lack of available manpower, unwillingness to commit valuable resources, or plausible deniability will depend on the job itself.

Vanguards are then assigned to a handler who has contacts in most areas of the ASH, a clandestine guide to give them guidance to their first assignments. They are given a stipend of Gold to be used for equipment and assurances they will be watched. Handlers have an uncanny ability to find their charges. Vanguards are given a starting job, shuffled into a team of other Vanguards and sent on their way with an escort.

If they survive their first job, the team is paid for their work and left to continue their new ‘careers’. From the Autocracy’s perspective, the completion of their first assignment has already paid for the relatively rudimentary resources granted to the Vanguards. The Imbued are fortunate byproducts of a government driven to ever greater ambitions in the face of desperation while Contractors are talented people that require little overhead.

Vanguards are expected to deal with anything from secessionist cells (throwing teams at them is easier than a crackdown) to aberrant events (it is cheaper to maintain a quarantine and send in small groups) with little foreknowledge aside from a briefing by whoever is requesting support.