When it comes to tall tales and legend, no mercenary company can compete with the Silver Swords. They have garnered a particular reputation regarding the special weaponry granted to every member. No matter your favored weapon or style of fighting, when you become an official member you are given a slivered weapon, either a dagger, shortsword, or greatsword, to be both an instrument of work, and a token of acceptance. When a mercenary dies or becomes disavowed, their Silver Sword will be retrieved (if not returned) at all costs. This is where the legends are born. No Silver Sword in the history of the organization has gone without retrieval. Entire towns have been razed to the ground in search of the weapons. There is no limit to the resources the company will expend to ensure their tradition is maintained.
History
In the Age of Nations on the 1st of Othui in the year 340 during the first emperor’s rule of Ornsiire a group of elderly warriors got together to form the Silver Head School of War. It was to be a prestigious house of militaristic learning. The school went on to function for a little over a century before becoming obsolete as the Ornsiire government became more adept at training their military without the need for an expensive third party. After closing in 452 the school fell into obscurity until a group of skilled mercenaries co-opted the name for their own organization in 1234. Since that time the Silver Swords name has grown as one of the most reputable and powerful ways to hire an army or mercenary squad. They have their own Quill Master who ensure contracts of fairness and secrecy are upheld, doubling down on the legitimacy of the company.
Hierarchy
Due to the Silver Sword’s academic origin their structure is similar to that of a large university. There is a Headmaster who oversees the organization as a whole, and Masters beneath him who are in charge of Chapters. Beneath Masters are Assistants and everyone else is organized into a student mass of small or large squads. Internally students are often referred to according to the number of Academic Terms they have served under the Silver Swords. These terms serve to create a faux hierarchy within squads and chapters that is mostly a psychological pecking order that carries no real weight in the organization.
Current Headmaster
Eustace the Wise is the current standing Headmaster of the Silver Swords. A Rugadhian of great renown. He fought as a Silver Sword in The Magic War on the side of Ornsiire. A force to be reckoned with on the battlefield he is said to have defeated whole battalions alone during this time with nothing but a warhammer and shield. These accolades netted him significant sway in the organization and it was not long before he took the Headmaster spot from the previous leader Thomas Octavius Godwin.
Structure and Practice
Chapters
Each Chapter is given a relative level of freedom in its procedure but the following consistencies remain.
Enrollment Hall
The building dedicated to evaluating any potential recruits. General combat ability is tested here, interviews are often conducted, and in almost every chapter a final test of some sort is conducted in the Enrollment Hall or provided there. The format of this test is entirely subject to what the Master of the Chapter has deemed fitting, often taking into account cultural and geographically relevant elements of the Chapter’s location.
Administration
The only included housing for Silver Sword members is for Master’s and Assistants. They live and work from the Administration building, a strange building usually including a number of apartment like living quarters opening into a common work area. Work is generally sought out and turned in here. Their is a communication Meyda-circle in an adjoining room to the common work area which receives updates from relevant outposts.
Outposts
Generally manned by 3-5 Silver Swords who work an Outpost for a consistent salary, taking jobs brought to the outpost that they are capable of, and relaying all others to their assigned Chapter. Every Outpost has a communication Meyda-circle they use for sending out requests and updates.
Rules
- Jobs of an illegal nature must be charged at least a 2x of the current rate.
- Extermination Jobs must first be confirmed by a fellow Silver Sword’s first hand account. No wild goose chases.
- Extermination can however be a more open secondary portion of a job (i.e. please escort me past this dangerous part of the trail and kill all the goblins that may or may not be there accosting travelers.)
- If no nearby outpost is capable of verifying the job, a verification job can be made that offers a reward for verification and a smaller reward for disproval. This is to encourage thorough examination.
- Community oriented jobs involving escort, deliver, or patrol are charged a flat upfront rate, and an additional daily rate to be paid upon completion.
Notable Locations
Brightridge
A city just off the border of Claskaria and the Twilight Desert.
Harrow Field
A town at the edge of the Zyclest-Grask Forest border.
Aear Gwing
A port town in Beleg gúl.
Zyclest City
Capital of Zyclest
Waterhelm
Capital of Helva
Frihet City
A beautiful lakeside city in the Shen Dynasty