Grand Master's Royal Guard

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The Grand Master's Royal Guard was a society formed by Lord Khyron shortly after an altercation with a rebel Clan known as Ar'Kell. Khyron felt it was necessary to form an elite corps of body guards, in the same vain as Palpatine's Imperial Royal Guards, to protect the Council from devious plots and assassination attempts. The Guard served in this capacity under many different leaders, with many different concepts of protection, until the society was closed in 26 ABY by Grand Master Sarin.

History of the Guard

Under the influence of the former Grand Master known as "the Other", Clan Ar'kell staged a massive revolt in an attempt to overthrow the Dark Council. Their first attempt was to strike out at individual Council members. Fortunately, Ar'kell was driven back and fled to the Core to form their own splinter organization. It was their assassination attempts that led Khyron to form the Grand Master's Royal Guard. An elite sect of Dark Jedi soldiers, trained and conditioned to be peerless protectors of the reigning Dark Lord and his Council. Initial training was conducted under the supervision of Master Blazer, a loyal servant of the Brotherhood and a powerful warrior.

More to come...

Guard Training

Training in the Royal Guard was divided into tiered combat levels known as Circles. Each circle was comprised of six members, with the most experienced member called a Preceptor. The Preceptor was tasked with overseeing the training of the other five members, known as Neophytes. Neophytes would cycle through different circles once they had learned all they could from a Preceptor.

Guardsman were taught several disciplines, but their focus was mainly on personal combat. As the last line of defense for the Grand Master, each member was expected to perform beyond excellent and so they trained themselves, physically and mentally, every day. Lightsaber combat featured predominately over the other disciplines, and all training was conducted with live weaponry.

Eventually, higher-ranked members of the Guard were able to learn the ancient martial art of Echani from the Commander of the Guard. However, because the style required so much effort to learn, few ever spent the time to fully master the style. This, coupled with the fact that very few outside the Guard were privy to such training, has made Echani knowledge rare in the Brotherhood and the Galaxy as a whole.

Rank System

Over the years, the Guard has had many different ranks, but the original (or very close to them) are the following:

Initiate - Initiate was the trial rank of all Royal Guard hopefuls. During this period, the recruit had to prove their capabilities in single combat. When the Commander deemed a recruit worthy, he would have them choose upon a style to focus on and promote them to Crusader.

Crusader - The youngest, fully-fledged members of the Guard, Crusaders worked on advancing their skills by focusing their training into either ranged or melee combat.

Sentinel - Having mastered their chosen form of combat, a Crusader was elevated to the rank of Sentinel. The Sentinels began to develop skills in the arts of espionage, counter-espionage, and interrogation. At this stage of their training, the Guardsmen were expected to serve as intelligence officers for the Guard, using their unique training to ferret out plots to overthrow the Grand Master.

Gladiator - Most every Royal Guardsman was expected to obtain the rank of Gladiator. It was at this rank that they were finally entrusted with the protection of members of the Dark Council. Gladiators were known to be great warriors, cunning and ruthless, and unquestionably loyal to the Brotherhood and capable of undertaking the most impossible of missions.

Sovereign Protector - Only the top Gladiators ever achieved the rank of Sovereign Protector. The Protectors served only the Grand Master and acted as his personal guards. Impeccable warriors, the Sovereign Protectors were bonded to the reigning Grand Master and lived only to keep him from harm.

Gladiator Prime - The Gladiator Prime was an honorary rank held by only one guardsman at a time. Any member of the Guard ranked Gladiator and above had the change to earn the title by challenging and defeating the current title holder, or in a sanctioned tournament run by the Commander. There was a great deal of prestige associated with the title of Gladiator Prime and only the best, most well-rounded warriors ever won this rank.

Known Gladiator Primes:

• Macron Sadow

Commander of the Guard - The Commander was selected from the most skilled of warriors by the Grand Master himself.

Known Commanders of the Guard:

• Khobai

Future

The future of the Guard is difficult to see. In time, perhaps, the Grand Master will see it as a viable organization, once more dedicated to the protection of the Dark Council. Though the Vong, and the great loss suffered at their hands during the Battle of Antei, have united the Clans against a common foe, many still believe the resurrection of the Grand Master's Royal Guard is all but inevitable. In time the Clans will turn on one another and the Council again, and with the Brotherhood already in disarray, the Royal Guard may be needed to prevent further disaster.