Legio Custodes
The Legio Custodes. They came into being out of a dire need in the year 50750 FOE. It was then that chosen warriors of the gods banded together, united the whole of Arelia and stopped the tide of evil that spewed forth from those cursed portals. Nine portals in all, four leading from the Abyss, four from Avernus and one constantly in shift from one to the other. From the infinite layers of the Abyss came the hordes of demons with their Demon Lord masters. From the Avernus gates of the Nine Hells came the army of devils with fiendish weapons and machinery lead by their Pit Fiends. Disregarding the defenders of our realm they quickly clashed with one another. Long enemies of one another seeking to deny their opponent the prize they deemed only for themselves. The mortals caught in between fell in the thousands. Yet a mere few moments after the initial onslaught came the chosen warriors of the gods themselves. Each one, a devout follower of a god or goddess of the world of Arelia. Quickly, these heroes of legend assessed the battlefield and set about rescuing the innocents mortals caught within it and others sought to remove key targets to ensure the two sides of evil were solely focused on one another and no mortals yet ever careful to ensure one side did not gain a foothold over the other. The rest set about gathering the kings of the Barbarian Hordes in order to present them a "worthy opponent", as they would call it, while establishing a line of defense and granting the kings a target to exact their vengeance upon for daring to invade their homelands.
Once the mighty heroes accomplished their initial task, it became all to easy to tell that the Barbarian Hordes, even united, would do little to staunch the tide of evil pouring into the Arelia. For this grave threat, they needed the whole of Arelia and all her peoples to unite as one in order to have the smallest chance of even achieving a stalemate let alone a victory. One of the heroes stayed behind to organize the Barbarian Hordes and their kings with a solemn vow to hold the line no matter the cost. The others made quick haste to speak with all the rulers of the kingdoms of Arelia to bring all they could muster to this fight by decree of the gods themselves.
The Aarakocran warrior known as Rukad the Fierce traveled to the sacred temple monasteries of Arelia telling the ancient monks of the great tide of evil and the mandate of the god Varen who commanded their commitment to this great battle. The ancient monks were wise to answer the call and sent all capable warriors to the lands of the Barbarian Hordes, novice and master alike. Through ancient magics, the 5 monasteries opened portals of their own onto the lands of the Barbarian Hordes and an army of monastic warriors marched through.
The deadliest assassin of Arelia, a Drow woman named Pellanistra the Reaper of Souls, traveled to a hidden place within the Tiefling Cabals , one she was quite familiar with, the headquarters of none other but The Black Hand while their leaders were in council and revealed herself. Before they could react, each was disarmed and paralyzed and their protectors, unconscious. In fear for their own lives they listened intently as Pellanistra explained the current events and delivered an ultimatum from the goddess of death herself Ameriel "Join us against them, or die here and now." With little in the way of choice and knowing of the skill of their new guest as well as fearing the wrath of the goddess of death herself, the Black Hand agreed. With a wave of her hand all recovered from their paralysis and they gave orders to every agent they had to send aid to the Barbarian Horde. She then travelled to the Underdark to the Drow Republic and spoke to the Senate there again with another appearance from the goddess Ameriel and the Senate unanimously voted to send it's Drow and Duergar military to aid it what is still known to this day as the fastest decision made by the senate since.
One who may be considered a mad man by some and a genius by others, known as Toser the Explosive, a Gnome, made way to his homeland in the Iron Consortium to summon all Warforged, Copper Dragonborn, Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings to aid in the battle against the demons and devils. Upon arrival, he was celebrated and feared as he didn't get his nick name without a reason. After speaking with the leaders, he brought forth the decree of the goddess Nyxa and the Iron Consortium made way to war with all it's technological marvels it can bring to bear against the unending horde of it's enemies.
Into the depths of the oceans the one known as Volana Waverunner, a Sea Elf, dived deep seeking to speak to the rulers of her kinfolk the King of the Sea Elves. After gaining an audience with him, the King of the Sea Elves called a meeting of all sea-folk. The leaders of the Sharkaan Clans , Great Tribe Of The Sea Elves , Merfolk Kingdom , Clawfane Kingdom and The Sea Bold Tribe listened as Volana spoke her words of warning and her call to war. Upon finishing, all assembled saw the form of the god king Yosren himself summon them all to war and all took heed and answered the call sending the might of the world's oceans to the Eastern shores of the Barbarian Hordes to ensure the Devils and Demons had no means of leaving alive.
The Firbolg known as Morfir the Beast Slayer went to the deep woods held by the Emerald Guard to speak with the Rangers of Arelia and issue their summons to war. Upon arrival, it seems he was expected. The Emerald Guard have eyes everywhere and expected his arrival and summons to war and were already in the process of gathering their forces to set forth. After speaking with them, the god of hunters Oni appeared to them all with a smile and gave his blessing before their departure to the Barbarian Hordes.
The Centaur called Zarlariah Oakenwanderer, called Nature's Vengeance by others, went to the druidic island of Malumalu to speak with the Oak-Kin there. None know what was spoken between them but what is known is that afterwards, the Oak-kin summoned all warriors of nature and druids of all facets of nature in the Emerald Enclave to war. It is rumored the goddess, Aisling herself spoke with the two and as such, the full might of nature herself was brought to the frontlines of the war that ravaged the Barbarian Horde Lands.
The Elf known to many as Vazeiros the Faithful, was called by none other than the queen of the gods Naki herself to summon all the Eleven empires of the world. Through her divine powers he appeared in the Kalahari Empire before the Pharos, the Empire Of Kekal Kerajaan before it's king, Hijau Kekal Kingdom and it's royal family, White Spire Kingdom and Kingdom of the Frozen Citadel all at once, at the same time and gave her call to war to them all. With the goddess herself there beside her, none dared argue. All kingdoms sent everything they had to the front line to aid the Barbarian King and his clansmen.
The Goblin known as Vanrigu the Terrible, went to her home country of the Sano Confederation, homes to Goblins, Kenku and Kobolds, to speak with the leader of the country of small folk. What happened, well, even she didn't see coming. As she spoke to the elders of the ruling body of her people, the god of beasts himself Zendai appeared and summoned all of them to war. Now unlike the other nations, the little folk were surprised the gods wanted them there at all as they did not see themselves capable of such great deeds. Zendai would not accept such a reply and gave them all the ability to commune with all beasts and not only that but created several species of dangerous creatures all to live in their country. Stunned into silence he ordered them to bring every beast and ride into battle and so they did with a fanatic madness and thirst to prove themselves in battle.
The Yuan-Ti known as Zolshu the Cunning, went to the lands of the Ten-Thousand Deaths to speak with the clan elders there. Upon doing so, Kiran appeared and reinforced the seriousness of the battle unfolding and summoned them to war. So it was that the Clans of the Ten-Thousand Deaths joined the fray sending all they could along with their best warriors, hunters and shamans.
The Cathar, Kareena the Spell Weaver, went to the Cathar Concord to send the calls to war. As she spoke to the Cathar Council, Welfel appeared in the chamber to lend credence to her words. The Council bowed upon the the appearance of him and vowed to send all they could to keep the fires of hell and the darkness of the abyss at bay. Immediately sending all the fiercest of warriors, spell crafters, and healers to the front lines of the great war.
The Minotaur known as Kinrus the Thunderous, traveled to the Gong Dynasty to speak with the great Emperor of the great war and the need of noble warriors to aid the others in battle against the darkness and fire. As he finished his request for aid, before the Emperor could reply, the god Sethris appeared before them to issue a mandate to war. The Emperor bowed to the god and summoned his generals to lead the full might of the Gong Dynasty against the evil seeking to claim the world.
The Orc woman known as Rhovie Battleborn, spoke with the chieftains of the Orc Hordes. Initially after being told of the great war, the chieftain declined to aid the other races claiming the enemy not worthy of his blade. It was then the goddess, Daryn spoke into her mind and gifted her with a cunning mind. Rhovie spoke again saying "The Barbarian King thought you'd be too afraid to fight anyway and promised to keep you safe from harm." The Orc Chieftain was furious at her words instantly. She quickly added "I came believing my great chieftain would wish to prove him not only wrong but incapable of slaying more demons and devils than any one of us!" The chieftain quickly said he would not only do this but win the war single handedly and summoned the great Orc Horde to battle.
In the city of Protos Naos the priests spoke with the two kings of Ameriel Kingdom regarding visions. As the Kings listened, the goddess, Arelia appeared and declared a holy crusade against the invading demons and devils. The two kings quickly sent word that all of Ameriel Kingdom was going to war.
Since then, the battle was fought to a stalemate and the Legio Custodes continues to hold the line. The Ordo Malleus, Ordo Palladium and Ordo Gladius were formed shortly to aid in the prolonged battle. Together, all three protect all the souls of Arelia today.
History
The Legio Custodes was founded by the chosen champions of the gods and goddesses of Arelia to stop the demonic and devil forces of the Abys and the Nine Hells from pouring into the mortal realm to lay claim to all the souls within. After uniting the people of Arelia, the Legion pushed back the tide of demons and devils flowing into Arelia in a monumental battle of legendary proportions. Demon Lords and Pit Fiends were slain along side hundreds of thousands of their kind. Bringing the devil and demonic attack to a standstill. This was bought at a great cost however as the chosen champions of the gods were all slain in battle. Their bodies souls snatched from the claws of their killers to be interred as saints who would rise again in times of great need. Their souls ascended into the great heavens among their gods they so faithfully served. As the last of the great holy champions lay dying, they placed the Legion in the care of the current Lord Protector of the realm.
No Evil Shall Pass
Founding Date
50750 FOE
Type
Military Order
Alternative Names
The Holy Legion, The Legion, The Last Line
Training Level
Elite
Veterancy Level
Decorated/Honored
Demonym
Legionnaire, Legionnaires
Leader
Leader Title
Location
Related Ethnicities
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