Caelester Guard
Caelestran Guard? Poppycock. They're just armed bullies, serving no one but themselves.
The Caelestran Guard, once in service of the Grand Duchess of Caelester, still patrols the streets of the city, operating with complete independence since the earthquake that brought the city to its knees eight years ago. They claim to be the last bulwhark standing between a city on its knees and the chaos of total anarchy. However, due to their increasingly harsh methods, more and more Caelestrans have come to regard the Guard as no different than the violent thugs they claim to offer protection from.
History
The Caelestran Guard were once a military unit, tasked with securing Caelester against all threats. Most guarded the frontiers, patrolling the borders of Caeleastran holdings, standing watch over the city gates, and garissoning the forts that guard the Silent Sea. The rest patrolled internally, rooting out bandits who attacked traders going in and out of the city, with only a handful on the streets of the city itself. However, over the last century, this slowly changed. With an ever greater focus on trade by sea, few even considered the possibility of attacking the city directly, knowing all too well what the consequence for their own trading ships would be in turn. At the same time, the increased trade meant more brigands on the roads and more criminality in the city itself. Thus, troops were shifted away from their frontier posts and the Caelestran guard became more and more focused on enforcing the law.
Current Status
After the earthquake, command fell to a senior officer, Lord Ambercrest, as the highest ranked surviving member of the guard. With the Guard owing fealty directly to the now-vacant position of Grand Duke, Lord Ambercrest opted to take sole command of the Guard, and claims to have diligently followed his orders for the last eight years: protect the people of Caelester from the depredations of criminals and bandits.
In practice, with the Grand Duchess dead and her magistrates gone, the Guard has taken on the role of not only law enforcement, but also that of judge and executioner. Punishments for crime have grown increasingly varied and harsh, with many being kept imprisoned for months or years longer than a typical sentence. Worse still, prisoners still can go for days without food, occasionally due to genuine lack of funds for the Guards to buy food, but much more often simply due to jailors "forgetting" to provide it.
Conversely, merchants and the nobility are regularly found not guilty despite the fact that many no longer even bother to hide their crimes. In turn, all they need to do is make a substantial contribution "to provide for continued law and order" in the city. Some of this money is used to pay Guardsmen and fund the Guard's activites, but most winds up in the pockets of Lord Ambercrest and those of other senior Guardsmen
With the Guard's corruption growing increasingly obvious, it is no wonder that the people of Caelester are growing ever more incensed by their continued actions. Of late, more than one Guardsman has been found dead in an alley with a knife in the back, and nobody in the area willing to admit they heard or saw anything of note.
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