The Ember Vanguard

The Ember Vanguard—originally made up of an official unit, the Orlais Vanguard—operates behind enemy lines in the realm of the Rasa.

Evolving Their Mission

Originally sent in to recover and protect a mage doing reconnaissance and to send back information to the armies at home, as the unit pressed north with their charge, they picked up human refugees, exiles, and escaped prisoners from the Rasa work camps. Together they forged a new organization, toughened by their experiences and more flexible than a traditional military unit calling themselves the Ember Vanguard.
After enduring much hardship on the march through the harsh realm, they settled in an old ruin in the realm which they renamed the Haven of the Flame and which their mage charge using his knowledge to hide them arcanely. With that, the Ember Vanguard established a base of operations for their covert campaign of disruption and security for those taken and kidnapped.
The most important targets of theirs were those of high rank or highly skilled workers that were taken by the Rasa. They've also tasked themselves with recovering and guarding those kidnapped and forced to work in the mines and cities. Now, they guard the one conduit they have back to their home: the Battle mage known as the "Ember's Blade" who refuses to leave this land and has changed their mission from one of straight reconnaissance to one of a guerilla tactics, often trying to disrupt or find a way to close portals as well as rescue those taken and find them a way home.

The Members of the Vanguard

The Ember Vanguard is filled with some of the former members of the Orlais Vanguard who stayed behind to continue the fight against the Rasa and the defense of their people. They chose the name due to enlisting other members than those of the Orlais Vanguard that made up its core, often finding that some of refugees and other captives they rescued wished to join their ranks and fight back.
Unlike the Orlais Vanguard the Ember Vanguard is independent of the Queen of the Alliance. Though they are led by Captain Trestin, who was assigned leadership by the Queen herself, the group holds no official flag or allegiance to the homeland of some. Of the many that have led expeditions, the vanguard is the one that has pushed further than any other people into the strange and hazardous realm of the Rasa.
Currently, they are held up within the Haven of the Flame where they plot their next attacks and are occasionally assaulted by native beasts and the Rasa themselves.