Sanctus Guard

The Sanctus Guard are an order of elite bodyguards that directly serve the Archbishop of the Church of Ignis. They are (in)famous throughout Estoria for their immense talent with the blade and their unrelenting dedication to the Church. They are men and women selected from every nation in Estoria, and the only true requirement to undergo their training is to have a staunch faith in Ignis. Possible members of the Sanctus Guard are put through several months of grueling training simply to see who might make a suitable candidate. After that, their numbers are thinned more by testing their resistance to mental adversity. Once the process is finished, perhaps one in every two hundred will officially be dubbed members of the Sanctus Guard. This assures them eternal salvation, though they may never return to their former lives and serve until death. Upon their induction they forsake their former names, instead being referred to be a certain virtue. 'Crusader Valiant' or 'Crusader Vigilant', for example.

Members of the Sanctus Guard don black armor with hints of gold and sanguine, intricately inscribed and made of the highest quality materials available. Their blades are made from a mysterious mineral indigenous only to the Isle of Ignis, and this allows their swords to be struck aflame with little damage to the weapon and wielder. They use these weapons to great effect, and few if any are their equal in single combat. Though most remain stationed in the inner sanctums of the Isle of Ignis, it is not unheard of for members of the Sanctus Guard to be deployed elsewhere on especially important missions. A single member of the Sanctus Guard is generally considered enough to lead an entire military effort, and they respond only to the Archbishop and Ignis Himself. Currently there are three members of the Sanctus Guard operating within the lands of the Kretingan Order, leading church efforts to uproot pagans there.