Hartwatch

Hartwatch, one of the 4 Societies

Throughout time countless villages, mills, crossroads, and market towns had fallen beyond the attention of kings. The great powers guarded capitals and fortresses, while smaller communities often found themselves left to weather raids, monsters, and lawlessness alone.

From these forgotten places arose the first Hartwatch.

Bound not to any throne but to one another, they formed an order of wardens, magistrates, and soldiers who offered protection wherever it was welcomed. They carried no king's banner and answered only to their own ancient Code, the Stag served under elected Captains and councils rather than hereditary rulers.

Their bargain was a simple one.

Those who accepted the Hartwatch surrendered a measure of their freedom. Laws were enforced. Disputes were judged. Roads were patrolled. Weapons were regulated. In return, fields prospered, merchants traveled safely, and families slept without fear.

Many found the exchange worthwhile.

The Wardens tolerated the Hartwatch because they posed no threat to the great kingdoms. They defended only what the mighty deemed too insignificant to govern themselves.

Everything changed after the Great Siege.

The death of many Wardens and countless soldiers left vast stretches of civilization exposed. Into that vacuum stepped the Hartwatch. Their banners spread farther than ever before, becoming the trusted guardians of the roads, villages, and frontier towns that no kingdom could spare the strength to protect.

Though they claimed no empire of their own, few institutions became more essential to the survival of ordinary people.