The Vigilants of Stendarr III

The Jarl sat feebly and at the same time, proudly on her unadorned throne. She was pale – too pale to be healthy for a human and her spindly limbs reminded Falrielle of gnarled branches. She was about maybe fifty years of age but it was hard to tell. The lines in her face were deep yet her hair was still raven-kissed. She also had an odd smell about her though exactly what, Falrielle could not put her finger on.

To the Jarl's left stood a large, powerfully built man clad in proud Nord steel. He brandished a menacing great axe and an equally menacing scowl on his face. He was the Huskarl, the Jarl's chief bodyguard. To her right was a modestly dressed man though his clothes were still of noble fashion. This was Aslfur, the steward.

'Vigilants of Stendarr,' he announced. 'You stand in the presence of Idgrod Ravencrone of Clan Ravencrone, of the lines of Ilma the Seer, Gala the Wise, and Morgrim the Brave, and Jarl of Hjaalmarch. Kneel and pay homage to her grace.'

The Vigilants knelt and bowed their heads.

'Hail, Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone,' Falrielle began. 'I, Falrielle, Senior-Vigilant of Stendarr who speaks on behalf of my companions; Gideon of Wayrest and Sven, son of Sig, humbly thank you for granting us an audience.'

The Jarl gestured for the Vigilants to rise.

'Hail, Vigilants of Stendarr,' the Jarl said, voice gravely and weak. 'On behalf of the people of the city of Morthal and of the Hold of Hjaalmarch, I, Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone, bid thee welcome in my hall and in my hearth. Know that I welcome thee not as sellswords but as my guests.' The Jarl waved her hand and a servant girl approached the Vigilants with a tray bearing bread and salt.

Falrielle tore a piece of the bread, dipped it the salt, and then ate it. Gideon and Sven followed suit and then finally, the Jarl.

'Now that you have eaten my bread, I can now speak to you as an equal, with brevity without the Jarl speech,' she continued, her tone more casual. 'It does grow ever so tiresome after a while, don't you agree? Come closer so that we don't have to keep shouting.'

The Vigilants approached.

'O Vigilants, do you need to keep your hoods up?' the Jarl said, smiling cheekily. 'I like look upon my speaking partner in the face when I talk. Please, indulge an old woman this one request.'

Gideon and Sven pulled down their hoods without a fuss though Falrielle hesitated. She felt the Huskarl's gaze intensified and could hear the grip on his axe tightening.

There was an audible gasp from the courtiers followed by murmurs of 'ghosts', 'Snow Elves', 'Mutant', and 'Cursed.' The Jarl raised her hand and rubbed her chin in deep thought. 'Most… engaging,' she finally said.

Falrielle's features wasn't too different from the ordinary Wood Elf. Her ears were long and knife-shaped though her left had been notched at the tip but beyond that, perfectly ordinary. Her nose was small and her chin pointed; perfectly ordinary. Her almondine eyes, darkened with kohl like the Redguard nomads of the Alik'r Desert, while larger than a human's, was an ordinary shape for a Wood Elf. The shape was ordinary but their colour, they were blue. Not just any blue but a blue that was as cold as chips of ice. Her hair and her skin also carried the essence of Skyrim's winters; they were as white as snow.

'In my maiden years as I wandered around Skyrim,' the Jarl said. 'I have only met one other like you. Not an elf but an albino. He was an Imperial and my friend. I tell you this so you know I care not for the superstitions and while I rule, none shall harm you on that fact alone.'

'Thank you, my Jarl.'

'I shall speak concisely. Tell me of your experiences. Tell me what you, Senior-Vigilant Falrielle have hunted in service to your order?'

'Is this an interview?'

'Yes.'

'Plenty of monsters. I've slain Durzogs, Draugrs, Giants, and Gargoyles. I've hunted Trolls, Bears, Wolves, and Sabrecats. On the Daedra, I've banished scores of Dremora, Daedroths, Atronachs, and Crows – If its name has been scribed in the Codex Vigilas, chances are, I've already slain one or two.'

'How about werewolves?'

'My very first gave me this scar on my lip. The third, the scars on my back.'

'And what would say was your most difficult hunt?'

'It wasn't a monster but a man. The closest I've been to death.'

'I'm sure there is a tale there,' the Jarl said, smiling. 'One that I'll summon the skalds to bear witness and to write songs that will liven my hall.'

'My Jarl,' the steward interrupted. 'Time is short, so let us return to the problem at hand.'

'Sourpuss,' the Jarl said, pouting. 'Though Aslfur is right, as he usually is on these things. Now Vigilants, is there anything you wish to ask?'

'The mage,' Falrielle answered. 'The steward made mention of it yesterday.'

'Ah, Falion!' Falrielle could hear Gideon twitch at that name. 'We've left him alone in a hovel not too far from here. My guards tell me that his windows were lit from dusk till dawn.' She rose. 'Come, I'll take you there.'

'My Jarl!' the Huskarl protested. 'You are not well, please rest.'

'Gorm speaks true,' the steward added. 'The visions have been returning, haven't they? I see you tossing and turning in the dead of night. Please, stay here. I'll guide the-'

The Jarl raised a hand and both men immediately bowed their heads in silence.

'I am Jarl,' she said with power in her voice. 'And I have spoken. Gorm, ready my palanquin if you think me weak to even thread upon the lands I rule. Aslfur, my love. Your intentions mean well and I adore you for it but I refuse to allow some bad dream frighten me as if I was some small child. Vigilants, let us be off.'

When adventurer or mercenary parties become large enough, typically when they grow to at least ten standing members, these parties by legal definition are classed as free companies. So, what is a free company? Are they a mercenary army? This is a complicated answer which this Chapter shall delve into but to make a long story short, free companies are legally, not an and cannot be an army.

All of this can be traced back to the great Potentate, Versidue-Shaie, our predecessors, the Syffim, and the very founding of the Fighter's Guild.

In 1E 2920, Potentate Versidue-Shaie, seeking to dissolve volatile elements of the empire such as the private armies of merchant or feudal lords, ratified the Cervant Truce, which detailing that any standing army that is not the Imperial Legion will be declared renegades and as such, subjected to termination. However, the Potentate was a clever steward as he realised that the citizens of Tamriel will always have a need for protective services that the Legion could not provide and that former soldiers, if deprived of work often turned to banditry. Initially, these soldiers would be recruited in the all-Tsaesci unit known as the Syffim, who primarily serve as gendarmeries, providing support for law enforcement, and this was to be for the first three centuries of the 2nd Era until Potentate Versidue-Shaie decreed the Guild Act of 2E 321.

The Guild Act codified the practice of guilds all over Tamriel, one of which was the Fighter's Guild. The Fighter's Guild (Whose full details may be gleamed in the History of the Fighters Guild), who were descendants of the Syffim with the expressed purpose to quote our charter:

'The Guild of Fighters provides employment to free-swords and mercenaries and contracts to local citizens. Citizens may contract with the Guild for the removal of creatures and pests, the delivery of goods on dangerous routes, the collection of beasts for the arenas, and other duties defined by the Guild Stewards.'

This means that though while our numbers may at its largest be comparable to a single Legion, free companies such as we are not allowed to fight in wars. We are, as per our charter, protectors of the peace. And yes, sometimes to protect that peace, we may be hired to serve as auxiliaries to the Legion but we are fundamentally and legally speaking, not an army and may never serve as an army.

~ Excerpt from On Soldiers of Fortune: A Beginner's Guide to Mercenaries, Chapter III: Introduction to Free Companies, by Miles Soldator, Loremaster of the Fighter's Guild