Embershield Protectorate (Guild Page)

The Embershield Protectorate (Formerly United Baronies of Ronae'Danil), also known under the name of the Commonwealth of the Northern States of the Eastern Kingdoms, is a Council/Union of Barons brought together under Duchess Elizabeth Embershield, to form a neutral hub within the Northern areas of the Eastern Kingdoms. The Protectorate was formed shortly after the Convocation of Silvermoon (Reformed), was brought together and reformed.

History Abridged
Long before the Protectorate was formed, the Duchess Embershield had lead a neutral military unit known as the "Bulwark of the New Dawn", which had taken heavy casualties during a campaign in the Plaguelands. Without aid from the Everlast Accord, they were forced to contend with the oncoming onslaught of undead from the Legion of the Damned and seek aid elsewhere.

At first, they had looked to possible Horde military units, but, after being framed for "treason against the Alliance" before whilst under the banner of the Order of the Golden Rose, Elizabeth had looked to other groups.

The Court of Uther had allowed the Bulwark to join as a neutral embassy, and, at first, had garnered support for aid in the Plaguelands, but, with the dissolution of the Court, said support did not fall through. Ironically, it would be only a few weeks after their campaigning in the Plaguelands was done that Duchess Embershield would gain new support from the remnants of the Court, now renamed Light's Accord.

With no choice left, the Bulwark was dissolved, and Elizabeth had decided to return to her home, at the time being the County of Ronae'Danil. Under the Ranger-Lord, now Ranger-General Silverwood, the army had retained its numbers, and the County had gained new pledges from several other Baronies and Counties, formally naming themselves the Embershield Protectorate, and forming the Duchy of Quel'Anaris under the banner of the Embershield family.

Joining a new Accord
Under the Light's Accord, the Protectorate, and to that extent, the Duchy of Quel'Anaris, received more support from those in the Light's Accord than they had whilst part of Everlast. Primarily, the Argent Onslaught, Te Amun, and The Citrine Eagle had pledged support towards the Protectorate to remove the threat of the Legion of the Damned, yet, quickly pulled the support away when they had to tend to their own threats.

Months after joining the Light's Accord, the Protectorate had faced the issue of being called traitors, cowards, Horde loyalists, and Sin'dorei Sympathizers by those within the Accord, namely, the County of Goldcoast, and, the Silver Hand Chapter of Quel'Thalas. Namely, it was the last insult that had done it in for the Ranger-General, as she herself was a Sin'dorei who had worked under the Duchess for far longer than most of those in the Silver Hand Chapter had lived. After developing hostilities with them, Duchess Embershield decided to pull the group from the Light's Accord.

Even so, the group has once more gained allies in the form of several groups, including the Runefire Council, Perennial Armament, Daelin's Landing, Order of First Light, and the Aldari Federation. The newest generation of what seemed to be the Everlast Accord was finally brought together, the remnants, and new groups, are now preparing for the upcoming battle against who knows what.

The Legion of the Damned
Long, forgotten, and within the Plaguewoods, stirred by the once loyal Nysanaes Lunarsword, Ebonlady of the Knights of the Ebonblade, and the Ebon Veil, a group within the Blade that hunted down Scourge remnants, had been a turncoat the entire time, her will her own, but, never wavered, hatred for the living, and for the Ebon Blade, had driven her to rally a small group of remnants, and rogue Death Knights, along with a small group of renegade Forsaken, forming the group known as the Legion of the Damned.

It started with an attack on the Ruins of the Scarlet Enclave, in which it was repelled, but, without her own units, had to rely on support from House Ravenshield, and House Aronu, albeit, it was a rather costly battle, with atleast four Knights going down from the sheer number of forces presented. All had gone according to plan, and the Legion disappeared, but were kept in the Argent archives for future encounters.

Months later, called upon by the Forsaken to investigate a murder scene in which both Alliance & Horde soldiers were killed by a hail of arrows, the Protectorate had been ambushed, in which they managed to take a new form of Dark Ranger prisoner, who was killed mid-interrogation. Following this, they investigated a crypt, and stopped more from being resurrected, and burned the bodies to be safe. Only days later did they push forward, moving to a bridge in the Plaguelands, where they were ambushed, by a various amount of ghouls, abominations, and more rangers, one such being Lyestra Embershields body, who had shot three arrows at Telriah, which had seeped corruption into her, causing her to, temporarily, shift into a Dark Templar, utilizing shadow now in place of the Light.

Phoenix Infantry Guard Division
The Phoenix Infantry Guard is the unit that most who seek combat on the frontline will be placed. When the armies of the then County of Ronae'Danil were first formed, Lothin Embershield had made sure his men were equipped with the best gear one could afford, to offset the more numerous armies of most enemies at the time. Nowadays, whilst it is more numerous in number than years prior, the soldiery is still well equipped, oftentimes now with wheel-lock pistols alongside standard armaments such as longswords, shortswords, heater shields and tower shields. The Phoenix Infantry Guard is currently split into two divisions, which are outlined below.

217th Infantry Division
The 217th Infantry Division is the portion of the military headed by General Linaly, with Neo Starstrider as acting Captain of the 43rd 'Lynx' Company, made up primarily of necromancers, warlocks, and frontline soldiers. Lieutenant Venralat has been given command of the 62nd 'Crystal Braves' Platoon, primarily made up of Draenic Vindicators, Elven archers, and pyromancers from the Ember Circle.

107th Infantry Winter Brigade
Headed by Lord-General Ailos Lightsworn, Count of the Altamont Mountains, the Winter Brigade is a section of the army that makes up the bulk of the Northern Banner Military, in which the men are trained to withstand the cold, and use the environment to their advantage, as the mountains are perilous to any would-be invader. Not much is currently known, aside from it being a small, professional army.

Dawnspear Medical Brigade
Named after the maiden name of the Duchess' mother, Lyestra Dawnspear, who was a devout Paladin in life, the Medical Brigade seeks to ensure that the men and women enlisted in the service of the House of Embershield are always kept healthy, and well suited to go into battle. Composed of clerics, druids, shamans, mistweavers, and yes, actual field medics who only use traditional medicine and bandages, they are some of the finest trained doctors, physicians and surgeons around. The D.M.B. is currently headed by Commander Alainsya Addington, with Sergeant Kamarill Howard as her second in command.

War-Magi Corps of the Ember Circle
The War-Magi, and Magi within the Order of the Ember Circle train for years upon years to hone their magical ability, being about on par as those within the Kirin Tor, if not a bit weaker. However, they are trained in various areas, instead of just two, so, as such, a War-Magi in the Circle may be a master of several different schools, but be unable to cast spells from a certain one as well as a Kirin Tor Magi who has mastered one certain school. At the moment, nobody leads the War-Magi, or the Academy of the Circle.

Embershield Skyguard Legion
The ESGL, oftentimes shortened to just ESG, or Skyguard, is an entirely new unit within the Protectorate's military core. The ESG is a completely voluntary unit, which explains the lack of proper number for a aerial attack force. Not only are they trained to be an elite military group, but they're also used for S&R missions, reconnaissance, what's been referred to as 'Helldiving', the process in which the rider will remove themself from the saddle of their dragonhawk, gryphon, or other flying beast, and safely drops down via a parachute that allows for rapid deployment. 'Helldiving' is a fast, accurate way of deployment for hot dropzones, and as such, those who enlist within the Skyguard and reach the rank of 'Legionnaire' will attain the title of 'Helldiver'. They are within the protocol and command of the Phoenix Infantry Guard, and as such, fall under the command of General Linaly.

Embershield Foreign Legion
Within the military lies a sect known as the "Foreign Legion", composed entirely of Gnolls, Murlocs & Kobolds who've made themselves loyal to the Duchess. Rather than exterminate the pests, candles were offered to the Kobolds, food to the Murlocs, and just stuff to fight for the Gnolls. This lead to a increase in the armies size, with the Foreign Legion now providing a good defensive force against incursions into the Duchy.

The Duchess' Royal Ranger Corps
"'An archer practices until they get it right. A ranger practices until they never get it wrong.'"Originally headed by Ranger-Lady Allerenya Embershield, the Ranger Corps is the intelligence division for the Protectorate, operating outside of military influence, they ensure that the P.M.F. is well informed of any and all going-ons in, and outside of the borders of the Commonwealth of Ronae'Danil. Acting as scouts, assassins, long range support, and even couriers at some occasions, they are the elite of the ranged unit core. The Ranger Corps is headed by Ranger-Lady Achaena Embershield, and, her second in command is Captain Eridan Silverwood, with Lieutenants Trisana Nightveil and Lyra Everton directly under her.

Pioneers of Quel'Anaris
"'Pioneers, ready for anything!' --A Pioneer detachment moving through the Altamont Mountains"Originally founded as a sect within the Order of the Golden Rose, after the initial disbanding of the Order, those within the sect were transferred to the Ranger Corps. Now, even though they are still a part of the Corps, they are those more skilled with foraging, scouting, and settling new areas of the Duchy. The first of which was Stenvar, with his second being Karsaris. An unfortunate turn of events ended up with Stenvar's death, and Karsaris going M.I.A. However, they are seen as heroes within the eyes of new Pioneers, and the current leader of this group is Lyra Everton, a Lieutenant in the Ranger Corps.

Militia of the Northern Commonwealth
Although not exactly the best to take on fighting and combat maneuvers, the MNC, also known as the Commonwealth Militia Brigade, is a trained paramilitary unit, being called into battle if needed in an emergency situation, such as the start of the Ember Rebellion of March, 36 L.C., when the City of Ravensden had been used as refuge for then Ranger-Genearl Silverwood's party, after having been heavily wounded via an explosive device. The Militia had a garrison set up within the city already, and was reinforced with members of the 217th Infantry Division, ready to defend a combined onslaught of the Legion of the Damned & Ember Rebels. Suffice to say, the Militia is overseen by Captain Silverwood, and is kept ready for defensive purposes.

Embershield Echelon
Those within the Echelon are those within the leadership roles of the Protectorate's military, citizenry, and other subsects. Most are publicly well known, whilst others are usually unknown to the outer world, one such example being Eridan Silverwood, legendary Ranger within the Protectorate's boundaries, but, unknown to the outer world.

(This section is a constant work in progress. As such, not all roles are presented here)

High Autarch
Telriah Embershield is the current reigning monarch of the Duchy of Quel'Anaris, and as such, holds the title of High Autarch, a title equivalent to the human title of 'Duke' or 'Duchess'. A well renowned War-Cleric, and original Grandmaster of the Golden Rose, and High General of the 217th prior to the appointment of Ailos Lightsworn and General Linaly respectively, she sticks to paperwork and ensuring Quel'Anaris stays safe. Easy to befriend, hard to anger, and a very bad person to piss off.

Dark Magic Sanctions, Laws & Restriction Acts.
Necromancy has been sanctioned under the Ebon-Ember Act, put into effect as of January 21st, 36 LC, in which Knights of the Ebon Blade under both the original order, and of the Embershield Protectorate, regularly perform checks and searches on known necromancers in the Protectorate to ensure that such uses of this class of magic is not used for evil or harmful means.

Void Magic has been sanctioned within the Protectorate under the Elbertian Protocol Act, in which any dangerous magical arts are allowed to be used for research and combat purposes, within the guidelines presented below.

Necromancy

 * When used in combat, any skeletons, ghouls, or zombies raised are to immediately be put to the blade once combat has ended and the risen has no use any further.
 * If being used for research, the above applies the same way. You may only use necromancy for research so long as the risen are put to the blade once the experiment is over.

Voidmancy

 * Void Magic, if being used for research, is to be done in a safe, closed, contained and heavily monitored environment.
 * Void Magic, if being used for combat, is to be kept under complete control at all times, and is not allowed to be used on allies, nor used for torture.

Hemomancy

 * Blood Magic, if being used for research, is allowed to be used on volunteering patients, so long as it does not result in permanent injury, death, and is kept closely watched, in a heavily monitored environment.
 * Blood Magic, when used in a combat situation, is allowed to be used on a wounded patient, so long as said blood is not contaminated, and will not result in injury, death, or sickness.