Kirkwall City Guard

It may surprise many to know that Kirkwall has not had an official armed body protecting it for much of its history. During Imperial times the city of Emerius (as it was known then) was guarded by the Fourteenth Cadre—more commonly called “the Black Cadre” and considered one of the worst postings within the Imperium, the sort that a soldier would get appointed to if he were convicted of a crime or otherwise became persona non grata within the capital. After the slave rebellion the city was left in anarchy, with order finally only restored by subsequent invaders and then the Templar Order when they assumed control of the fortress known as the Gallows and made Kirkwall their permanent center of power in eastern Thedas.

The Orlesian Empire was the last of these invaders, bringing an army of chevaliers to guard the city led by Sir Lumile du Marais. When he became its first ruling viscount he saw the need for an armed force of Kirkwallers that did more than simply patrol the streets. A force was needed, he said, to match the power of the templars and place the right to rule the city back in the hands of those who lived there. Thus the Kirkwall City Guard was formed in 7:60 Storm, an army that maintained order both inside the city as well as its environs and saw to the city’s defense in times of war. The fact that the City Guard still pales in comparison to the templars in Kirkwall, and something that became all too apparent when Viscount Perrin Threnhold unsuccessfully attempted to eject the templars from the city in 9:20 Dragon, is a fact that few choose to speak of.