Wardens of the Tower
What is a Warden?
The Jade Tower is many things - fortress, government, nation, refuge. Bureaucrats, servants, layabouts, families, laborers and children all call the Imperium their home.
First and foremost, though, the Tower is a school. Arguably the most advanced center of learning in the world, the Tower is home to many scholarly groups, solitary researchers, apprentices, journeymen, masters, in crafts arcane and mundane. Experts in all fields of endeavor are available and willing to share their knowledge with all who come to learn. Archmages and Elementalists, Illusionists and Masters of Time and Space all call the Tower their own.
In short, the Tower houses many of the most intelligent, powerful, and wise mortals in the land of Crescent.
But none of them are Wardens.
To be a Warden is to pledge your skills, services, life, to the defense and wellbeing of the Jade Imperium. To be a Warden is to receive the best training, gear, and livelihood available. To be a Warden is to know that every sacrifice, every action, every decision, keeps safe the citizens of the realm. To be a Warden is to be truly alive.
Wardens are diverse, falling across all skill sets and classes, with only their pledge in common. They are trained to trust and rely on each other, working as an integrated team. There are no ranks in the Wardens - all Wardens are equal, and take their orders directly.
Warden training takes a page from the training available at the Chapel of the Mind in Haven - it concentrates on helping the student achieve their full potential, in whatever it is they are most suited to pursue, in the service of the Tower.
Warden training is not for the faint of heart - it's not an easy thing to push yourself to the limit, day after day, year after year.
Do you have what it takes?
This message brought to you by the Office for Recruitment, Jade Tower.
Once More, Without Propaganda
The Wardens are the organization within the Jade Imperium dedicated to its defense and safety. There are lots of sub-groups within it - some dedicated to simple military defense, others specializing in recruitment and occasionally containment of arcane potentials, one dedicated to the protection of key mages, one whose specialization is search and recover, etc. They are the military/law enforcement/espionage wing of the fledgling nation.
Being a Warden confers a certain status within the Jade Tower, even for non-arcanists. See the Jade Imperium page for more detail on rank, titles, and status.
What to Expect
Wardens live by a code - a specific set of bylaws and guidelines, laid down in the Warden Code. It is a living document, produced by the powers that be and subject to revision as needed. As a fledgling organization, with little practical experience, the Wardens have been revising it a lot in the last few years.
Example Revision
memorandum 14 Jewel 4429 E.J.T.
re: Warden Code, section 23c, Active Duty Warden Personal Armament
Effective immediately the personal armament policy for Wardens of the Tower on field duty is revised as follows:
All Wardens, be they spellcasters or mundanes, must carry with them at all times in the field one ranged weapon with sufficient ammunition for 1 minute of sustained firing, and one close-quarters weapon. Type of weapon is open to personal discretion. Standard weapons and ammunition will be provided for Wardens on active duty, as provided in section 23a, Active Duty Warden Equipment Allotment.
This revision supercedes all previous published, unpublished, and divination-generated versions of section 23c of the Warden Code.
Notable Wardens of the Tower
- Ambaeril Foxglove, Captain of the Wardens
- Chauncey Roothollow, Chief Clerk of the Wardens
- Division 7