Adwani Guards

The **Adwani Guards** were elite slave soldiers of the ancient Adwani empire. They were established by King Akhal Qahabar in 560BC to be the personal retinue of the King, to have utterly unquestionable loyalty and devotion, to be well-educated in the ways of war and to be physically superior to any other mortal foe. The Adwani Guards consisted of two sections; the White Guards, who were more specialised for open combat on the battlefield, and the Black Guards, who were still mighty on the battlefield but were more specialised for covert operations and domestic security. They were responsible for eliminating Adwan's most pernicious mortal foes, but they are more famously remembered as being Kalzuranur's elite anti-demon task force.

The Guards recruited orphaned, often homeless young Human boys between eight and eleven years of age, and put them through a rigorous program of physical training, psychological conditioning and religious indoctrination to make them perfectly obedient, never questioning even the most savage of orders. They were also fed with steroids which unnaturally boosted their growth - it is said that they grew to be as large as an adult man by the age of fourteen, and could beat the strongest ordinary men in an arm wrestle by sixteen - but always left them utterly infertile. Many children died or were crippled in this training process, and they were all intentionally mentally scarred by their thorough dehumanisation, leaving them emotionally stunted. However, any children who failed the training but still survived were given a lifetime pension by the Crown, as were any Guards who were crippled in the course of their duty and could no longer serve.

The Kings of Adwan also sought for their Guards the finest arms and armour the world could offer. They imported Elvish blacksmiths from Saveria to make use of their unparalleled metallurgy and craftsmanship, and by the turn of the 1st century AD they were enclosed in sophisticated plate armour equal in quality with the most elite soldiery of Saveria, technologically over a millennia ahead of armour-smithing developments in Europe. The Guards protected their metal armour from the searing heat of the Kalzuranuri sun with the liberal application of Frost Ointment, which had regularly been purchased in massive quantities by the Crown ever since the 2nd century BC.

## White Guards

> "*I serve my God through my King. I am his spear and his shield. I am the sword of righteousness and the fist of vengeance. I am a slave to my duty.*"
> ― Mantra of the White Guards
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The White Guards were often considered the more "chivalrous" of the Guards, typically riding into battle on horseback and taking up a traditional battlefield role as elite soldiers. They had a distinct military code of honour drilled into them, refusing to attack civilians nor execute prisoners (unless ordered to), and they were renowned for the respect they showed to their enemies. They were largely beloved by the common people, but were sometimes seen as arrogant glory-seekers who let their notions of nobility go to their heads. Though they were nominally slaves, they had an irritating tendency to see themselves as morally superior to others they encountered, particularly the Black Guards.

The White Guards wore white armour and cream clothing, using brass for aesthetic highlights when they adopted plate armour. Their officers wore plumes on their sleek helmets and sported brass rampant tigers on their breast-plates.

## Black Guards

> "*I serve my God through my King. I am the bane of his foes and the anguish of the treacherous. I am the nightmare of the wicked and the woe of the Enemy. I am a slave to my duty.*"
> ― Mantra of the Black Guards
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In contrast to the noble White Guards, the Black Guards did the dirty work of the King, caring little for honour in their pursuit of fulfilling their orders. On the battlefield, they typically took up stealth roles, undertaking ambushes and the like - and when they did take up arms in pitched battles, they fought on foot and often with two-handed axes, swords and hammers. They were also utilised extensively off the battlefield, performing assassinations and sabotage. They were taught to take no prisoners and leave no survivors, and that all collateral damage was acceptable in pursuit of the goal. They were largely reviled by society, particularly the White Guards (and the feeling was most certainly mutual), but they were just as instrumental - if not more so - in securing the rise of Adwan and maintaining its dominance.

Though the White Guards were far more conspicuous in their operations against the creatures from the Dreadlands, the records show that the Black Guards were far more prolific in fighting demons and Dreadfolk than their White counterparts, particularly those which had infiltrated this world and needed to be hunted and rooted out, as opposed to those which could be simply battled in plain sight.

The Black Guards wore black armour and clothing, using bare steel for aesthetic highlights when they adopted plate armour. Their helmets sported menacing and grotesque designs, and two short horns atop the forehead. Their plate armour was also more angular in shape, giving them a bristling look.

Perhaps the most famous of the Black Guards, whose story only became widely known several centuries after his death, was Brother Akkem. The subsequent popularity of his dark tale highlighted the psychological trauma inflicted upon the Black Guards by their upbringing and their duties and caused the incumbent King of Adwan to issue a public apology for the deeds of his ancestors.