Guardian of Giselle's Tomb
Overview
The Guardian of Giselle's Tomb is an Imperial title created by the Imperial Senate in Autumn 380YE. Work on the tomb was completed shortly before the Spring Equinox 381YE. The position of guardian is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a regular income of liao and funds drawn from pilgrims taking advantage of the unique opportunities available at Virtues's Respite
Responsibilities
The Guardian oversees the shrine in Temeschwar that houses the sarcophagus of Empress Giselle. If the tomb were to be threatened, it would be the responsibility of the Guardian to face those threats; likewise should any opportunity related to the shrine arise the Guardian would decide how to respond.
Powers
Virtue's Respite has been the recent target of attacks by the rats that plague Temeschwar. The Guardian's income is halved (shown below) until the matter is resolved. More information on the ongoing rat problem in Temschwar can be found on the Graveyard rats wind of fortune.
Portion of Liao
The sinecure provides four doses of liao to the Guardian each season, to be used as they see fit.
Memorable Income
The tomb of Empress Giselle draws pilgrims from across the League, though mostly from Sarvos. Some visitors who want to commemorate their pilgrimage pay a premium fee for one of the resident artists to draw a depiction of them near the sarcophagus - tattered gonfalon of the Brotherhood of Torn Banners in pride of place. The income from this, along with other amenities, nets the Guardian of Giselle's Tomb 34 rings each season.
Appointment
The Guardian is a League national title appointed by judgement of the League national assembly.
The Guardian has tenure and serves until they die or step down. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the League National Assembly, and the Assembly of the Nine.
| Summit | Elected |
|---|---|
| Spring Equinox 381YE | Casimir Marcelino di Sarvos |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Casimir Marcelino di Sarvos. This title has tenure, the occupant may hold the title until it is revoked, they die or they relinquish the position. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
Virtue's Respite
The tomb of Empress Giselle stands in the city of Temeschwar.
For decades after her death, Empress Giselle was interred in her family estates in Sarvos. Following the Grendel assault and the sacking of the city, which included an attempt to steal her body, her sarcophagus was moved to a safer location. After much debate the Senate chose to re inter Giselle in Temeschwar. A new tomb was constructed for her, under the supervision of Gant Archama (the Senator for Temeschwar).
Constructed in the city itself, near one of the two river gates, it takes the form of an open-air amphitheatre, decorated with the motif of the unbroken chain of Loyalty. At the entrance to the seats a statue of the Senator's father, Demitri Archama (who looks so like Gant that several wits have pointed out it could just as easily be a statue of the younger Archama as the elder). He is shown seated, swathed in fur with a stern visage.
The sarcophagus itself rests on a plinth before the raised stage, and the theatrical back drop consists of four large white granite panels carved with scenes depicting the recent joint ventures of the League. They show the raising of Caricomare; the liberation of Holberg; and the rebuilding of Sarvos after the Grendel attack. The final panel depicting the escorting of the body of Giselle from Highguard to Temeschwar by a company of soldiers bearing the tattered gonfalon of the Brotherhood of Torn Banners, with the Brotherhood's Colonel Iacob Genoshu clearly identifiable as the figure leading the procession.
Already there has been some wry commentary of the tomb - dubbed "Virtue's Respite" by Gant Archama - that it appears to be less a memorial to the dead Throne, and more a testament to the recent successes of the League and the Brotherhood of Torn Banners in particular.