Oxo Guard
Several of the terms used in this article are undefined at present, owing in part to the fact that they relate to the Matrioska Multiverse and adjacent settings beyond the Manifold Sky. Some definitions may be found in the Oxo article. Beware - spoilers abound!
The Oxo Guard are an elite task force organized to provide operational security the hidden world of Oxo that shadows the world of the Manifold Sky. Derived primarily from faithful former residents of the Manifold, including extinct peoples like the Lepidosians, the Oxo Guard derive their commission from Creator in his aspect as The White-Haired Gentleman and the 'celestial bureaucracy' under his authority, including the real House of the Unexpected.Culture
Unlike the ranks of elder, choir, or construct blanks, the members of the Oxo Guard are all drawn from the blanks of deceased Manifold residents who are both chosen by the administration to escape the cycle due to good behavior and demonstrate the appropriate aptitude for military service. Service in the Oxo Guard is voluntary, as such blanks are given a variety of choices for where they want to go once released from the prison that is the Manifold. The grounded, more humane perspective of Oxo Guard members makes them a welcome foil to the weary and stoic perspectives of the ancient elder and choir blanks, not to mention the alien personalities of construct blanks involved with the maintenance of the Manifold's physical systems.
Public Agenda
Once in service, members of the Oxo Guard spend much of their time practicing for a threat which (they hope) will never come: an incursion into Oxo or the Manifold - or, less likely, an attempt by some outside force to break in. It has been demonstrated that the power of the Word has been discovered by other populations within the Matrioshka Multiverse, especially its ability to grant transportation between instances and the Unallocated Space which lies between them. Efforts to contain these illicit incursions are ongoing, but not fully preventable - indeed, the entire purpose of the Manifold is to reform those who use the power of the Word without appropriate consideration for the physical and metaphysical ramifications. The millenarianist Broken Moebius organization remains only barely known about, even to the White-Haired Gentleman - but the risk has been considered, and the Oxo Guard is part of the answer to this risk.
Demography and Population
The members of the Oxo Guard can be anyone who demonstrates the appropriate combination of responsibility, adaptibility, physical fitness, and a steel will. The Oxo Guard is entirely concerned with merit, casting aside any considerations of race, gender, or place of origin within the Manifold. Nevertheless, some populations seem to show an interest in joining the Oxo Guard after 'death' more often than their peers, and this can be chalked up to prior cultural influences. The New Cobalt Protectorate, Free Faces League, and ancient Lepidosian city-states are the most common cultures of origin for Oxo Guard Members, followed by the Manifold Conservation Society, Voxelia, and Petalcap Vale. As the Oxo Guard exists beyond the Cycle, temporal conflicts - such as the ongoing War of Reunification - are gladly set aside in favor of the grand duty to protect the very fabric of reality itself from foreign incursions.
Territories
While members of the Oxo Guard can be found throughout Oxo on patrols, many of them are located in Foldburg for training and operational security purposes. Occasionally, a veteran member of the Oxo Guard will be sent into the Manifold as an agent of the White-Haired Man's purposes or as support for a choir or elder agent on special assignment. These Guardsmen and Guardswomen are subjected to more intensive training in Foldburg to ensure that they can work without exposing the existence of Oxo and its associated entities to the Manifold populace. Large concentrations of Oxo Guard units may be found in and around the structures housing The Waiting Room, where they wait to intercept anyone who somehow manages to escape the non-Euclidean geometry of that place or the incredible powers of Ms. Anubet.
Technological Level
While by no means large in comparison to the varous standing armes of the Manifold, the Oxo Guard can rely on overwhelming technological and metaphysical advantages in comparison to their still-embodied counterparts. Oxo Guard members have access to advanced microelectronics, laser weapons, and powered armor fuelled by atomic batteries; a single trio of Oxo Guard in power armor can take on an entire Grand Army of Voxelia Auto-Armor squad and all their support elements. Oxo Guard are well-acquainted with crew-served weapons and make judicious use of them for area denial against invaders.
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