The Chain Keepers are one of the only government organizations in the Zyclester Empire which have retained near complete autonomy from The Table. This is a two part affair, one of the early organization’s years involving much politicking and most importantly The Table recognizing early on that the nearly religious martial system that underpinned the organization was best left to its own devices; nudged along as a peace keeping device and rarely managed.
More like an ancient Chembet than a law keeping force the Chain Keepers are the revitalization of small series of writings known to most as The Letters of Worth. They detail a string of rites and philosophies which purport to assert control over mundane items when followed to excruciating exactness. This was taken and modified in the specifics of the chain motif by Andor Chainkeeper in To Bind the Soul and Chain the Will. Andor was so enamored by his own idea he changed his surname which he later claimed in life gave him such immense control over the sets of chains he kept on his body at all times. It was from his work that the organization found its source even though he was long dead before even the Zyclester Coalition came into existence.
The long term goal of any Chain Keeper is the mastery and deep connection to their Chain. It is made up of 60 links each roughly 1.5 Deihass^[~2 inches] and is the target of a Chain Keepers obsessive attention every Prak of the day. The Chain can be Meyda-marked for the usage of a number of different Workings, an intricate process which involves much memorization and practice in the holding of and manipulating of the Chain. With time a dedicated Chain Keeper will begin to gain an uncanny control over their Chain, the penultimate example said to be full control as though manipulating a fifth and sixth limb with nothing but a thought. This is the result of the Contract of Focus made possibly by the specific nature and ritualistic behavior which the Chain Keepers abide by.
Hierarchy
Interestingly the level of control a Chan Keeper has over their Chain has little to do with their place in the hierarchy. That is subject to each individual’s efforts. Instead here is where the government ties make themselves most apparent. Seniority by time and by notoriety still reign supreme, which many within the Chain Keepers believe to be for the better as it might taint the deeper ideals they subscribe to in To Bind the Soul and Chain the Will should progressing with the Chain become a grotesque means to wealth.
Initiate
Initiates have just been accepted into the office of Chain Keeper and continue to train heavily in the fundamental use of their imbued chain. They are used most often to address general disputes and complaints around the city, learning as they go with a Link to guide them
Link
After one year of successfully operating as an Initiate and having no blemishes on their record, an Initiate becomes a Link in a short but official ceremony. They are now allowed on much more dangerous operations, and will also lead one ore more Initiate’s on operations they themselves lead. Occasionally Links who do not find great success in the field will become managerial or desk workers who provide aid to Shackle’s conducting investigations, and run payroll, and bookkeeping. Some of the most enlightened of the Chain Keepers are among the Links, forever tied to the Chain in an admirable show of dedication devoid of unnecessary cravings for power or validation.
Temporary Links
It is possible under the right circumstances for a Chain to appoint Temporary Links in the case that adequate manpower cannot be pulled from directly within the organization itself.
Shackle
Moving from Link to shackle is not as simple as time spent operating with a clean record. Shackle’s lead dangerous operations, and are often chosen for their ability to conduct more specialized detective work after they have proven themselves for several years at a high capacity.
Chain
There is only one Chain per Chain Keeper operation in a given city. Everyone reports to their Chain and he oversees the full scale movement of the organization as a whole. He functions as the face of the organization in his city and will also be on the front lines when conducting extremely dangerous operations like raids. Shackle’s and Link’s cannot begin anything more involved than patrols and dispute management without the Chain signing off on it.
Chain Symbolism and Historical Misnomers
The layperson’s perspective of the Chain Keepers is almost solely as the peace keeping force of glorified guards within the many cities in the Zyclester Empire. This resulted in the common understanding of the chain’s imagery being associated with the tight leash of the law, the iron strength of its enforcement and the interconnected nature of its components. This is cause for a great amount of internal frustration for the Chain Keepers, as the Chain’s intended symbolism was put down by Andor Chainkeeper as such:
The Mental Conjurations of the Chain - To Bind the Soul and Chain the WIil
I sat wrapped in the precious links for two weeks time requesting of them the purpose of their construction. Their form’s advice. Their forging’s lesson. Firstly the Chain is like a body: Each piece as an individual is undeserving of glorification, consideration, praise and holds no strength which might surprise. The solidarity of the Chain’s body holds only so long as each link is sound in its own wholeness. Let your own body find soundness in its parts to build a strong and safe whole*.
Second the Chain is simple in its ingenuity. To question this simplicity is to think frivolously and this way of thinking should pervade the entirety of life. When energy is expended to complicate then that energy is lost†.
Finally the Chain cannot keep itself from harm. Active attention is required of something or someone it does not possess. Should I leave my Chain out in the summer rains it should rust and grow brittle within the year. Only by the attention and care of myself will the Chain remain an ancient or strong thing. It is by this notion that I determine to live among peers and fellows of my kind. The mind requires a care it cannot self sustain and should it go lacking it too becomes brittle‡.
* This has been extended to by the Chain Keepers to include the organization, each member must be sound and strong for its whole to remain operational and useful.
† The Chain Keepers organizational systems and typical practices have not been altered for many decades thanks to this concept, known to most as the “Simple Ideal.”
‡ Impressed upon each individual within the organization is the importance of socialization, love and support systems.