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Purpose
TO PROTECT THE KING and the royal family to the utmost of their ability, and, when that duty has been fulfilled, to protect the people of the land.
Eligibility
Any able-bodied man in the land can serve on the king’s guard, even if he is a family man. If he is a family man, he must understand that the king’s decrees come first, even if they negatively affect his family.
Hierarchy
The king’s guard is comprised of any number of men. The current king of Fairendale has 210 men, including an honorable captain and a second-in-command. The king appoints both of these positions, on recommendation from officers or simply on his own whim.
Sir Greyson is the current captain of the king’s guard in Fairendale. Sir Merrick is his second-in-command.
Benefits
A member of the king’s guard will be given all the food, drink, clothes, housing, medicine, and other necessary living supplies that his family might require, for as long as he serves the king.
If a member of the king’s guard is discharged honorably (which can happen if he has grown too old for service, as deemed by the king), he will continue to glean those benefits until he dies. If he is discharged dishonorably (which is subject to the king’s interpretation) or dies in an inappropriate way (which is also subject to the king’s interpretation), his family will no longer receive the benefits of service.
The kingdom will pay for all travel costs and food and shelter requirements during the travel of a member of the king’s guard, while in the service to the king.
If a member of the king’s guard defies the king by disobeying, betraying, or dishonoring his king, he will be dishonorably discharged from the king’s guard and slain in whatever fashion the king requires. The king is also given leave to slay the member’s entire family, including grandmothers, grandfathers, mother, father, sisters, brothers, spouse, children, and even aunts, uncles, and cousins, if he so desires.
Requirements
A member of the king’s guard must conduct his business in an honorable way at all times, knowing that he is carrying both the reputation and the fate of the kingdom of his shoulders.
A member of the king’s guard will faithfully serve his king, even when the king is apparently and obviously wrong. He must never question his king’s ways, only follow them faithfully.
A member of the king’s guard must never hesitate—a word that is here defined as pausing for more than three seconds—to follow through on an order.
A member of the king’s guard must uphold all the laws of the king, even those that have not yet been signed into law.
A member of the king’s guard will not live in the castle but in tents on the castle lawn, when he is not traveling.
A member of the king’s guard agrees, upon knighthood, to leave his family for such a time as the king requires his service. He is only given leave when the king permits. If he permits.
A member of the king’s guard will not dishonor his king by speaking ill of him, especially when outside the king’s presence.
A member of the king’s guard must always keep his wits about him, his sword sharp, and his armor and dress impeccably clean.
Initiation
A member of the king’s guard is inducted into the guard by way of knighthood. The probational member must kneel before the king, bow his head, and agree upon all the requirements, after which the captain of the king’s guard will knight him and present to him a sword procured from the ancient sword room of Fairendale castle.
The member’s family can be present at the time of initiation, after which they are invited to enjoy a sweet roll and a glass or two of lemon water.