Skyguard

A skyguard soldier, proudly holding his standard issue 9mm automatic pistol

The Skyguard are the main military and police force of Ikaanos. They work closely together with the IC Milita to ward off cultists, bandits, and monsters, but they also patrol most of north and central Ikaanos City. Roughly 11,000 men strong, the Skyguard is commanded by the Mayor of Ikaanos, Philip Lancour.

History

The Skyguard was formed sometime around the year 2300, during the Great Chaos. House Cyker, then newly risen to prominence as well, was instrumental in providing the Skyguard with arms and armor. This new army provided much-needed stability and security to Ikaanos and the surrounding area. When the Great Chaos ended, the Skyguard continued on as a much needed military and police force to defend Ikaanos against outside attack as well as internal turmoil.

The Skyguard fought in the Borders Wars with the Kingdom of David in 2483 to 2488.

Duties

The Skyguard has a multitude of duties. The most important is patrolling the crime-ridden streets of Ikaanos City and the surrounding regions, but in wartime the Skyguard becomes the main military force of Ikaanos as well. This can cause problems, as any major war would lead to the Skyguard having to choose between stretching itself thin by policing Ikaanos and fighting, or abandoning policing duties altogether to focus on the war. The Ikaanos City Militia can supplement the Skyguard forces either by acting as an improvised police force or as a relatively untrained but numerous military force to put bodies on the front lines. Even still, the people will suffer as the Skyguard either leaves policing the city in the hands of poorly trained and overly enthusiastic militiamen, or else is distracted by the war allowing criminals to be much bolder.

The Skyguard patrols most of Ikaanos City, though they have not patrolled Watery Eyes in decades. Instead, the Mayor has delegated that duty to the Scandinavian tribes living in Westside. There seems to be a fair amount of corruption within the Skyguard, as there are many criminal enterprises that pay a "Freebooter's Hold" to local Skyguard officials in exchange for a significant amount of operational leeway. In addition, the Skyguard is not quite as effective at combating raider groups within the city as they'd like people to believe. At least one abandoned Skyguard fortress still stands in Westside as a monument to their failure to impose law on the slums.

Organization

At the top of the Skyguard's organization structure is the mayor of Ikaanos, whose formal title is High Commander of the Skyguard. Below him are two individuals; the Lord Commander of War and the Lord Commander of Law. While the High Commander has ultimate control, the Lord Commanders of War and Law are responsible for running the Skyguard in their respective areas. The High Commander cannot be expected to know every aspect of war and law, and neither can they be expected to act as mayor and rule Ikaanos while also commanding armies and the police force. As such, the High Commander delegates much of his responsibilities to the two Lord Commanders.

The Lord Commander of Law takes care of the day-to-day policing of the city. He makes decisions about when and where to deploy special teams for raids on value targets, how to respond to civil disturbances, and allocation of patrols to hotspots, among other things. The Mayor is much more involved with this side of things, as the Skyguard is most active within the capital. Mayor Lancour in particular seems to be quite hands-on in regards to policing, and has often taken control of things and issued standing orders himself rather than delegate them to the Lord Commander of Law.

The position of Lord Commander of Law is a highly sought after one. It is an appointed position, with the High Commander making the appointment. Although the High Commander can technically appoint anyone, the Lord Commander of Law has been appointed from the senior ranks of Nobility for as far back as anyone can remember. In this way, the sitting Mayor can curry favor with whichever Noble house he chooses to appoint a member from. The Lord Commander of Law has a number of subordinates who advise him on the best course of action, and so the position is considered a reasonably comfortable one. The Current Lord Commander of Law is Lord Horace Salmore, a middle-aged, balding man who is happy to let the Mayor take the reigns so he can spend more time enjoying the "perks" of holding such a high position.

The Lord Commander of War is another story entirely. Unlike the Lord Commander of Law, the Lord Commander of War is appointed from the ranks of the Skyguard via a vote held by the senior officers. It is done this way so as to ensure the military always has competent leadership. It is expressly forbidden for anyone to use financial or political means to influence the outcome of this election. The Lord Commander of War must be chosen based on merit. There have been several instances throughout history of members of the Nobility trying to nudge the election into the favor of someone from their house. Each time, the Nobles responsible were caught and stripped of all titles and holdings. Even as corrupt and screwed up as the Skyguard is now, some traditions are still treated extremely seriously.