The Greywatch

The Greywatch is a secret counter-intelligence organisation of the Commonwealth of Pem. The Greywatch answers directly to the Lord Protector and has historically been charged with 'protecting the interests of the office of the Lord Protector'. In the Great Era, they specialise in infiltration, disruption, and operations that utilise skillsets and methods not available to public facing organisations such the Imperial Guard, or more accountable institutions such as PIA.

The Greywatch was formed by Hargrum IV of the Greater Kingdom of Pem in circa 585BGE as his personal spies and bodyguards, a role they fulfilled for subsequent monarchs for the following two centuries. During the Pemblish Civil War, the Greywatch are credited with assisting in the deposition of Fabius VII.

The organisation's structure remained largely unchanged following the civil war, albeit now answering to the Lord Protector. As well as their duty to protect the Lord Protector, they were tasked with counter-intelligence against royalists and the Tall Kingdom in the aftermath of the Civil War and First Tall Kingdom War. Following the Second Tall Kingdom war, the Greywatch were tasked with disrupting royalist and anti-occupation operations in occupied Hansea. By this time, lingering royalist support in Pem had dissipated and the Greywatch were focused on counter-intelligence against foreign intelligence agents and criminals.

Following the formation of the Pemblish Intelligence Agency, the Greywatch's influence and scope has diminished as PIA took control over domestic and international intelligence operations. Their influence over the Lord Protector has also receded following the assassination of Lord Protector Aberfalla, after which the Lord Protector's security transitioned to PIA. Despite their diminished influence, the historical anachronisms of the Greywatch's structure afford them a great deal of independence in comparison to PIA, which is subject to the scrutiny of the Cabal and Undercourt as one of Pem's eleven Offices of State. The Greywatch's only direct report into the Undercourt is the Lord Protector himself, and it is commonly understood that this is tolerated in return for them performing additional missions or 'favours' for the Lord Protector.

The organisation continues to conduct operations on behalf of the Commonwealth that are too politically or ethically sensitive for PIA and they have been accused of exercising extra-judicial techniques such as torture and assassination to perform their activities. They also serve to counter organised crime on behalf of the wealthy elite of the Upper House and the Guilds, with their contributions being requisitioned where a swift execution is valued over the comparatively methodical and bureaucratic methods of the Imperial Guard and PIA. Notably, they are suspected to have infiltrated the Cult of Endric, the Royalist Front of Coltar, and the League of Pretty Individuals in Alueria.

## Under the Kingdom of Pem

The Greywatch were formed out of the retainers and agents of Lord Pythaes Hargrum after the Interregnum Civil War (588-585 BGE) which saw him ascend to the throne as Hargrum IV. He officially incorporated the organisation into the royal budget and gave the organisation its current name in 585 BGE.

During the following three centuries, the Greywatch served as the personal foreign and domestic spies for the monarchs of the Kingdom of Pem, as well as the monarchs' personal bodyguards for much of the period. It is alleged that they also performed offensive clandestine espionage and assassinations on the order of the monarch.

Although the ruling family would change two times before the end of the monarchy, this was due to a lack of an heir in both instances. As a result, the Greywatch are credited by some historians as having dutifully and effectively protected the monarchs under their watch from assassination attempts and attempts to overthrow them by claimants to the throne. However, the notable exception to this is their alleged part in the deposing of Fabius VII.

## Civil War

Foreword: Much of the information we have from this period comes from the uncovered 'secret journals' of alleged Greywatch agent Nigel Ham, written around 391 BGE. They were hidden in Pembleton Freehold Library and rediscovered in 9 GE. However, their veracity and factual reliability is highly debated.

In 400 BGE, before the Battle of Harryhausen's Fall, Lord Vermont Redvine, who is believed to have functioned as second-in-command of the Greywatch, met with Lord Sawdus to discuss contingencies should the First Tall Kingdom War be lost. By this time, anti-monarchy sentiment was rife within the kingdom, but Fabius VII still commanded the loyalty of the Imperial Guard. It is believed that they made a secret pact that, should the military's loyalties switch, which was likely if Pem lost any further ground in the war, then the Greywatch would either facilitate or fail to intervene in securing the king for trial and execution. In addition, it is expected that he gave Sawdus an offer of protection against arrest or assassination by the Greywatch.

Lord Albert Presterly, the commander of the Greywatch, was known to have been a staunch monarchist and fiercely loyal to Fabius VII, in contrast to the opportunistic Lord Redvine. Presterly's 'disappearance' on the night before the storming of Pembleton Castle is believed to have been instigated by the Greywatch.

Following the assassination of Lord Aloysius Sendforth in 137 BGE the Greywatch was officially reformed into a branch of the Office of the Lord Protector under then Lord Protector Arthur Canalman. Despite this, the Greywatch still retained a great deal of independence leading to speculation that the assassination had been sanctioned by Canalman.

## Legal Basis and Organisational Scope

In practice, they have the conventional dejure authority to act upon the request or advice of a member of the upper house, when it  pertains to an illegal activity impacting the interests of the Commonwealth or the non-personal interests of the house and its members, and where the Greywatch's actions will result in the cessation of said illegal activity. There is no restriction on how the Greywatch may act in this capacity so long as they maintain the good and proper lawful conduct of the realm.

## Controversies

### The Danfordley Incident

In 65GE, an Eastern Blue Line signalman named Alice Danfordley, accidentally stumbled upon a set of classified documents during her morning commute to Walden signalbox. Danfordley proceeded to collect the documents, which she assumed had fallen from the morning postal train. In actuality, the documents had been dead-dropped minutes earlier by a Greywatch agent. The agent saw her retrieval of the documents and panicked, following her into the signal box and pushing her in front of the next passing passenger train whilst retrieving the documents.

Following a brief investigation by the Railway Worker's Guild it was determined to be an accident and the matter was considered closed, despite two eyewitnesses on the train claiming to have witnessed an assailant pushing the signalman over the railings of the signalbox. However, Alice Danfordley's second cousin, Lord Horatio Danfordley, conducted his own investigation in private and lobbied for the Railway Worker's Guild to re-open the investigation, or for another independent investigation.

Lord Danfordley later withdrew his calls for an enquiry and, despite there being no evidence, many members of the Undercourt suspected this was due to pressure or threats from the Greywatch.