The Keepers

Tasked with maintaining a united empire the Keepers were originally created to serve as a deterrent to rebellion, its founding members chosen for their raw power and daunting reputations earned during the Great Siege. The modern Keepers are an elite law enforcement organization using force when necessary but favoring diplomatic solutions when possible. Settling disputes between kingdoms, imperial scale criminal activity, creatures of significant threat, planar incursions and anything else that could threaten the integrity of the empire. The Keepers also maintain strict control of new magical & technological advancements, sponsoring some projects while shutting down others. Mages who dream of having their name on a spell often bristle at the Keepers' strict NDA policies. The number of official Keepers is relatively small only about fifty members across the 6 formal ranks though the support and ancillary staff within their headquarters round out a decent sized organization.

Structure

Recruit/initiate (Brass badge of clasped hands no chains)
Keeper (Lead badge of clasped hands with Gold Chains)
Candidate Keeper (Gold Badge with Platinum Chains)
Field Keeper ( Platinum Badge with Mithral Chains)
True Keeper (Mithral Badge with Adamantine Chains)
Grandmasters (Adamantine Badge with Adamantine Chains)

Public Agenda

As an organization the Keepers consider themselves "Lawful Good", that their purpose is noble and just, that the peace and unity of the empire is the upmost good serving what they believe are the “best interests” of the empire: keeping it strong, intact and at peace by any means necessary. In practice that can vary from Keeper to Keeper, they are given considerable autonomy to fulfill their vows in their own way and with each generation influencing the next there's been an ebb and flow to the prevailing attitudes and approaches of Keepers. The current leading policy is diplomacy first, force if need be but there are still those Keepers who consider force to be diplomacy. The reputation established by the founders serving as the iron glove that affords modern Keepers the luxury of negotiation and peaceful resolutions. The Keepers are loyal to the lineage of emperors but cooperate with the Council in service to their vows.

Assets

The organization is extremely well funded, a considerable amount of wealth acquired through technological and magical advancements they've developed and eventually declassified for public use has been invested wisely throughout the empire. In real estate the Keepers have their main complex in Marcelheim adjacent to the Emperor's estate. Field Keepers often maintain personal residences within a Kingdom they have close ties to, as they're costs are subsidized by the organization these can serve as a type of unofficial 'outpost', a rally point for Keepers on missions but to avoid the public perception of the Keepers amassing strength within a kingdom they do not have official structures outside of Marcelheim.

History

In the wake of the Great Siege and the push for more conquest Elias' brother Olevern founded an organization meant to maintain control of the expanding Empire, The Keepers. The Keepers purpose was/is to maintain peace, order & control within the existing empire to that end Olevern chose 7 of the most elite military assets as the founders, beings who had the sheer destructive force to act as a “deterrent” to rebellion. Those early days of the Keepers are blood-soaked as they violently maintained peace through fear, in the present they are are a small elite organization that practices diplomacy with the "iron in the glove" of that merciless reputation. A dark mark in Keepers history: The betrayal of True Keeper Ghelun the Anguished. It was discovered she had misrepresented her Patron's identity and intentions, the mysterious patron who provided her powers sought to undermine the Empire at odds with the Keepers sole purpose. Since then warlocks have had something of a 'glass ceiling', their loyalty always slightly doubted.