Landskeeper

Overview

A landskeeper is anyone who uses magic to support the nation as a whole and Marcher traditions in particular. Landskeepers can use a variety of methods, from hearth magics to rituals, to do this. For example, many landskeepers use curses to deliver appropriate punishments to those who they think have transgressed against Marcher traditions. Even the Stewards are not above the judgement of the Landskeepers in this regard, and a few powerful households have been brought low by Landskeeper curses after they adopted foreign ways.

Some landskeepers technically lack any real magical ability at all, using traditional rituals and offering good advice and aid to the Marcher folk. Someone who advises on the effective order to rotate your crops, what herbs to use to bring a pregnant pig to term, or where to place a bushel of wheat to keep out evil spirits, is a landskeeper, whether or not they also employ magic.

Politics

The vast majority of Landskeepers keep a certain amount of distance from other Marcher folk. They view the Marches as their charge, and their ultimate responsibility is to the Marcher people and traditions rather than to any individual or Marcher household. At a few points in Marcher history, there have been so many landskeepers that they have formed three or four distinct circles, with each coven taking responsibility for a single territory. More usually everyone will join a single coven, regardless of whether or not they are able to use magic. When landskeepers do associate with households or market towns directly it is always in pursuit of their own agenda.

Part of their strength, and their ability to operate as they see fit, comes from their control of the magical dolmens that stand throughout the Marches. In addition to strengthening the Landskeepers, these great stones anchor powerful enchantments that enhance the fertility of Marcher soil. Households who oppose the Landskeepers risk losing their magical support and even their very prosperity. In turn Landskeepers who disrespect the households are striking against the fabric of Marcher society that they are generally assumed to be protecting

While they often claim to disdain politics, most Landskeepers support the status quo and take the long view of events.

These magical Marchers draw on a number of sources for inspiration. They are as much inspired by the cunning folk of European history as the obvious fantastic characters such as Pratchett's witches.

The Landskeepers support the Marcher armies in wartime, providing magical enchantments to protect and empower the soldiers of the Marches, as well as healing the injured. Landskeepers act as they will in the service of what they perceive as the greater good, and they have a great deal of freedom to take unpopular action.

The Landskeepers do not look well on the new fashion for market towns, a departure from the old ways that the majority have opposed at every turn. The Aldermen of the market towns tend to have little appreciation for the work of the Landskeepers, and their politically protected status makes them hard to influence. Some Landskeeper circles have reached an accommodation with the market towns, but these are usually cautious and shaky associations.

Finally, Landskeepers deal with the Eternals. Most have a deep suspicion of these creatures, which have complex and inscrutable agendas of their own. Most prefer to deal with the Heralds, the human-like servants of the Eternals with whom it is easier to reach a compromise or mutually beneficial accommodation. Places where Heralds appear are often marked with standing stones.