Broken Shield Guardian
Overview
The Broken Shield Guardian is an Imperial title created by the Civilian Commissioner of the Imperial Orcs in Winter 380YE. The position is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a regular income of herbs to the title holder.
Responsibilities
As a sinecure, the Broken Shield Guardian has few responsibilities. If the Home of the Broken Shield were threatened, it would be the responsibility of the Guardian to deal with that threat - but also to deal with any opportunity to expand the Home, or to make any decisions about its operation.
Powers
The Broken Shield Guardian is an Imperial title that grants custodianship of a sinecure.
Herbs
The residents of the Home of the Broken Shield maintain several herb gardens. The Guardian receives a share of those herbs, which amounts to 6 doses of Imperial Roseweald, 5 doses each of Marrowort and Bladeroot, and 2 doses of Cerulean Mazzarine each season.
Selection
The Broken Shield Guardian is an Imperial Orc national position appointed by the Senate. Under normal circumstances it will be appointed by unanimous vote of the Imperial Orc senators.
This is a national title and can only be held by an Imperial Orc citizen.
Removal
The Broken Shield Guardian has tenure and serves until they die, step down or are revoked.
The Guardian can be revoked by a lesser majority of the General Assembly, the Imperial Orc National Assembly or the Assembly of the Nine.
House of the Broken Shield
The House is the home of a banner of Imperial Orcs who are too "broken" to fight on the front line, but are still driven to serve the Empire. It accepts orcs from other warbands who wish to "retire" but still work in support of their people and their Empire. Several residents are civil servants, while others serve as scribes, teachers, and preachers, all over Skarsind. Among their prominent members are Broken Shield Talik, who served at one time as Speaker for the Senate. Their symbol is a white circle marred with black cracks.
The structure itself stands in Solvihill, and incorporates parts of the old Irontongue Hall. The Hall itself was significantly damaged by the Thule but has been rebuilt and repurposed. It now has a central courtyard where herbs are tended, and the many items of worth collected by the residents during their battles are hung on the walls. A small memorial to General Dustan Irontongue, and to Empress Britta, and the soldiers who fell alongside her (orc and human alike) is maintained in a quiet wing of the House.
The residents are primarily ex-soldiers who can no longer fight due to age or injury. Some stay at the House temporarily, but most are permanent residents. They maintain good relations with the Fellowship of the Red Blade, who visit regularly. Many of the residents also serve as teachers, offering their hard-won expertise to the next generation of Imperial Orc warriors.
Those with more limited mobility, or who are done with traveling, tend the gardens here. The House produces a bounty of healing herbs, and is already making a name for itself for Broken Shield Tea - a particular blend of Imperial Roseweald and other herbs that "warms the blood" of orc drinkers in a pleasantly narcotic fashion. There are even a few carefully cultivated patches of Cerulean Mazzarine, grown indoors to protect them from the poor climate of the northern Empire - sadly the herb grows very poorly in the north - it is better suited to the warmer climes around the Bay of Catazaar. The only herb not grown at the House is True Vervain. The only comment on this comes from one of the first Orcs to take residence, Bloodblade Tikkat, who snorted and said that True Vervain "is too easy to grow - there is no fight to it and without a fight, no challenge!" Original text contributed by Matthew Dawes-Woods