Valkiri Royal Guard

The Valkiri Royal Guard
Emblem of the Valkiri Royal Guard
Founded	June 7th, 1741 (283 years, 5 months) As Prior Service: February 14th, 1088 (936 years, 9 months)
Country	Unified Sera
Type	Royal Guard
Role	Direct Action Royal Bodyguard Counter Terrorism Operations Unconventional Warfare Capturing or recovery of valuable persons of interest
Size	approx. 2,500 (2021 est.)
Part of	Office of the Monarchy
Headquarters	Palace of the Kings
Nickname(s)	"Valkyries", "Ghosts", "Spooks", "The Hidden Service"
Motto(s)	"Ancient and Forever Loyal"
Colors	Blue  and  White
Mascot(s)	Royal Lion
Anniversaries	June 7th
Commanders
King of Sera	Skolas Tu'Aruc ya Mbaku
Commander of the Valkiri	Marcus Trajan ya Latinius

The United States of Sera Valkiri Royal Guard, also called the Valkiri, Royal Guard, and His/Her Majesty's Guard is the Royal Bodyguard for the monarch and foreign dignitaries. Unlike the other branches of the Seran Armed Forces that operate beneath the Department of War and Board of Defense Ministers, the Valkiri answer only to the reigning monarch who exercises supreme command and control over the branch. It is one of the five total uniformed services in current operation. The Royal Guard is headed by the Commander of the Royal Guard - a military officer that is handpicked by the monarch - and the monarch themselves. Sera's Parliament or Prime Minister therefore has no control over the operation, structure, regulation, or deployment of the Valkiri. Parliament, the Prime Minister, or specific branches may suggest tactical deployments of Valkiri resources, however cannot exercise authority over a member or unit.

The Royal Guard was officially established on June 7th, 1741 by the ratification of the Articles of Federation which laid out the causes under which the Royal Guard was created and placed limitations upon their usage within and outside of Sera. An example being that the Valkiri cannot be deployed against Seran civilians or against another nation unless Sera is officially at war, another nation is undergoing a declared humanitarian crisis, or at the request of a foreign government displaying "exceptional need". Despite being "officially" established in 1741, the Valkiri actually draw their roots from the the Kogan Honor Guard which protected the Kogan chieftain during Sera's tribal days.

For this reason the Royal Guard officially celebrates its founding (or birthday) not on June 7th, 1741, but instead on February 14th, 1088.

The Official flag of the Valkiri Royal Guard.

The Guard is the oldest service branch of the Seran Armed Forces if using the unofficial founding of 1088, and the second oldest if using the official founding in 1741 and takes seniority over the other branches barring the Royal Army. Established after the unification of the Seran tribes, the Valkiri used to raise select children from birth to swear loyalty to the monarch and trained their entire lives to serve and protect the monarch. However, after 1809 the practice fell out of favor with subsequent monarchs and ceased entirely by 1893. The Royal Guard is the only branch of the military that serves the monarch directly and does not swear loyalty to the Articles of Federation like other services or even law enforcement. The Valkiri exist and operate at the discretion of the ruler.

The Royal Guard is Sera's premier special warfare force despite being the smallest by manpower. The members of the Valkiri are the best trained operatives Sera has to offer and follow the mindset "quality over quantity" above all else and strive to be masters in their craft. Due to their small size and high degree of training, the deployment of Valkiri operatives or teams is usually reserved for high profile missions considered either "too difficult" or dangerous for the special warfare divisions of the Army or Royal Marines. Unnecessary deployment could cause a loss in Valkiri assets that are difficult to replace.

Etymology

The word "Valkiri" is derived from the old Seran word that could be translated as being a variation of the phrase: "With Wings". The word is not used in common Seran anymore, however the name became synonymous with the Valkiri Royal Guard in 1100 when the group rose to prominence after rescuing the Koga Chief from the Mbaku tribe. Historians believe that the name was given to the Royal Guard due to their status as being "above" the rank and file so much so that they "flew above the rest with wings". Yet, the official mascot of the Valkiri is the image of the monarchy (that is, the Royal Lion), the Valkiri has an unofficial mascot depicting a Falcon and an unofficial motto that simply says: "With Wings we Fly Higher".

History

Early History

Before Sera was unified, the Valkiri served as the retinue of the Kogan Chieftain and protected the chief, his family, and his property from outsiders. Initially, this retinue was made up of the Koga's best warriors and often represented the only standing military for the tribe. However, as the Chief was not only responsible for the equipment, food, water, and housing of these soldiers but the training as well, the Kogan Chieftain never had a large number of these soldiers under their command. Anthropologists and historians suggest that the Chieftain usually held around 3 to 6 Valkiri honor guard in service at any given time.

This figure began to change around 1100 when the Valkiri successfully rescued the Kogan Chieftain after being taken captive by a Mbaku warband that was ransacking the Koga's eastern villages. The Chieftain at the time only had a contingent of 4 Valkiri royal Guardsmen, however the 4 quickly recruited other skilled warriors to grow their group to 15 strong in order to undertake a daring rescue mission. These 15 Valkiri who would become known as the "First Fifteen", adorned their bodies with black paint and unique patterns, their hands with old-Seran symbols of "true death", and decorated their faces with the image of skulls with ash.

The intent was to make themselves look as terrifying as possible while the stripes and patterns across their body broke up their outline against the brush and darkness provided by the new moon. The Valkiri snuck into the Mbaku war camp on the Koga east border managed to free their chief and routing the enemy through a unique use of psychological warfare, terror, and superstition.  

The Koga Chieftain Teton Vallu awarded the efforts of these brave men by granting them and their descendants the option to permanently become members of the Valkiri royal guard. Chieftain Vallu also saw to the growth of the Royal Guard and made arrangements to support a larger number of the royal guard.

The original 15 Valkiri, after the commitment made by Chieftain Vallu, indoctrinated their children into blind submissive loyalty to the chieftain and raised them to put not the tribe first, but the safety and wellbeing of the chief above all things. These children were raised, trained, and indoctrinated from birth until their eventual conscription into the royal guard on their 16th birthday through ritualistic scarification.

Union of Seran Tribes

When the separate tribes became one under the Quadrumvirate in 1384, the Valkiri remained solely dedicated to the Koga chieftain. This initially caused some contention among the other three members of the Quadrumvirate as they believed the presence and existence of the Valkiri, and their blind commitment to the Koga Chief threatened the delicate balance of power held between them.

However, the Koga was unwilling to disband the Valkiri and instead stood directly against the Quadrumvirate's wishes. Although this won no favors in the council, it did serve to further instill a sense of loyalty amongst the Valkiri as they believed that the Chief was willing to stand up for them. Even though this was not the intention (as later evidenced by the preserved writings of the leader found in 1913), the Valkiri nonetheless remained staunchly loyal.

The Quadrumvirate (or rather the three other chiefs) took the Koga's unwillingness to disband the royal guard as an excuse to establish their own forms of the group. The Latinius created the "Praesidio Capitulum", the Sakhile established the "Dura-Dura", and the Mbaku created the "Dahomey Milaje". However, through corruption, unintentional growth of power, and assassinations, the three other honor guard units would fall out of favor with their respective tribes. The Quadrumvirate established the Valkiri as the only royal guard to be used in the Union of Seran Tribes and supported their growth and training through taxes collected by the confederacy.

This had the unintentional side effect of granting the Koga tribe unseen (and unchecked) diplomatic power as it was no secret that the Valkiri remained completely loyal to the Koga. Historians believe that this one act put the Koga tribe on track to dominate political discourse between the tribes despite being the weakest economically and militarily.

18th and 19th Centuries

After the Union of Seran tribes became the United States of Sera, the new monarch Kwame Tu'Aruc asserted that the Valkiri should not be disbanded and the oath made by his forefathers honored even in this new country. Yet, now that the United States of Sera had a standing and capable military, the Valkiri saw it pointless to be required to participate in normal military operations. The commander at the time made their case to King Kwame, and after some convincing, secured the King as the sole supreme commander over the Valkiri in the Articles of Federation which remains true to this day.

In the early 19th century, the practice of indoctrinating children to be blindly loyal to the monarch, training from birth, and scarification began to fall out of favor. By 1893, the Valkiri entirely abandoned the practices and instead began selecting either adult or teen soldiers that displayed exceptional ability. The direct descendants of the "First Fifteen" however, were exempt and could continue to train their children from birth to become Valkiri.

Structure and Mission

As established in the Articles of Federation, the purpose of the Royal Guard is described as:

• Maintaining the health and security of the Monarch
• Providing for the defense of the monarch, their family, friends, foreign dignitaries, and possessions as directed by the monarch,
• Combating any hostile power, organization, or nation that would do harm to the monarch.

The Royal Guard's primary competencies are asymmetrical warfare, sabotage, assassination, capture, rescue, and infiltration operations.

Equipment

The Valkiri draw a lot of inspiration in their uniform and structure from their first real combat mission where they adorned themselves with black paint and the visage of skulls. They mirror this by predominately wearing black uniforms where appropriate and by donning face coverings with skulls.