Iron Guard

The Steward of Caelester's personal army, made up of an assortment of mercenary companies. Their mission is to protect the Steward, carry out his orders, and keep the peace in Caelester, in that order. Most of their "peacekeeping" efforts are directed toward policing the city itself, rather than maintaining links to the city's outlying territories.
While most believe they are merely mercenaries employed by the Steward, they are significantly more loyal than that relationship often implies. Each company of the Iron Guard has served the Steward for years, benefitting from his funding and his strategic insights. They are, however, still mercenaries, motivated by greed and a lust for battle rather than patriotism. Most will accept bribes in exchange for looking the other way, some are even confrontational and abusive, hoping to prompt a bribe (or just for the fun of it). Over the last few years, some Caelestrans have signed up as well, and those tend to be far more dedicated to keeping the peace than their mercenary comrades.

Companies

The Iron Guard is made up of eight mercenary companies, each with their own specialty:

• The Knights of the Masked Deer - a cavalry regiment known for their antlered helms and black masks.
• The Vagabond Pikes - an infantry formation trained in the use of polearms.
• The Steel Tigresses - a ferocious heavy infantry unit primarily wielding greatswords. Preferentially hires women.
• The Impossible Badgers - a unit of specialists, trained in scouting, infiltration and assassination.
• The Ice Bears - a unit of heavy infantry who use shield-and-shortsword tactics inspired by the Asurian Empire.
• The Bloody Bees - a unit of archers, slingers and crossbowmen.
• The Order of the Ashen Staff - a small group of mages who provide heavy fire support.
• The Tipsy Moles - a ragtag group of sappers and engineers, once specialized in a variety of siege tactics, but now reknowned as experts in the use of the Cannon.