The Shard

The Shard agency is the supreme intelligence agency on the planet Vastire. It was created in the year 216 ARI by King Warles as a military force intended to protect the Virin-leen, the Clergy, and the people of Vastire. The Shard act under the direction of a Commander, nominated by the King and confirmed by the Virin-leen lords. Shard Headquarters can be found in southwest Ziphyr.

The Commander
The Commander is the leader of the Shard and is generally responsible for the execution of the mission. Missions can be assigned by either the Virin-leen or the Clergy as required, but the Commander is given freedom to select specific missions as needed in order to protect Vastire.

The Commander is nominated by the King, and then confirmed by the Virin-leen lords. A Commander may be removed at any time by the Virin-leen lords.

The current Commander is Carox Aseus.

The Admirals
Just below rank of Commander are the three Admirals. Each Admiral represents a specific branch of responsibility: protecting the Virin-leen, protecting the Clergy, and protecting the people. The Admiral responsible for working with the Virin-leen must maintain a close relationship with the Militia Generals. The Admiral protecting the Clergy must work closely with the Master Templar. The Admiral responsible for the general populace is expected to be the most creative and accessible to the people.

The current Admirals are Admiral Losaz, Admiral X, and Admiral Y.

History
The Shard was created in 216 ARI by King Warles in response to the growing Erodian threat and the expanding influence of the P.A. on Vastire. The individual Militias maintained by each Lord represented a viable fighting force, however frequent conflict, distrust, and matters of jurisiction greatly limited their capabilities beyond their regions. Therefore, King Warles created the Shards outside of the Virin-leen or regional structure, though the Commander was still selected by the King and the Virin-leen. Further, Virin-leen lords can assign missions to the Shard as needed.

The Shard faced its first test only four years later with the beginning of the Second Erodian Conflict. Though new, the Shard were an elite force of the best warriors on Vastire, and they led Vastire to many victories in the war.

After the Second Erodian Conflict, the Shard started to invest in weapon technologies, frequently so far under wraps that even the Virin-leen lords were unaware of the projects.

The Third Erodian Conflict started in 420 ARI, and the Shard were absolutely critical to Vastirian victory. The two best Shard agents, Graze Aseus and Gallant Mark, managed to infiltrate Erodia and turn their greatest weapon against them. In doing so, a decisive victory was won for Vastire in 425 ARI. Further, the dominance of the Shard as the supreme military agency on Vastire was cemented.

The Shard shined again in the Mondoon Conflict, when a young Shard named Zilpohn Mark (son of Gallant Mark) defeated the Mondoon leader and effectively ended the war.

Responsibilities
The first charge of the Shard is to use any means necessary to gather intelligence on Vastire's Erodian neighbors and other races of Galactic Sector 2.2. Their primary focus is on matters outside of the Western Continent, though they may also settle disputes between Virin-leen lords, for example.

Individual Shard agents' actions are governed by the Code of the Shard. The Code guides Agents to eliminate threats and maintain peace and justice with honor.