Lion Guard

Within the borders of the Sirdabi Caliphate, it is the Lion Guard that serves to safeguard the people from crime, banditry, and attack by the caliphate's enemies. Rather than being local in scope like the Omrazir Customs Authority, the Lion Guard provides policing and soldiery for the entire province of Raziya. In fact each province has its own Lion Guard, its ranks drawn entirely from outside the province it serves. This is to ensure loyalty to the caliphate rather than to the population which they police, which in turn is thought to ensure even-handed justice. There is likely much truth in this ideal, but at the same time the Lion Guard is often seen by the local provincials as insensitive to their needs and oblivious to their unique circumstances, more adamant on enforcing the letter of the law than providing true justice.

Members of the Lion Guard may serve in cities like Omrazir as the local police force, or they may be sent out across the province to root out banditry and fight off border incursions. Most guards do not serve exclusively in one capacity or the other, but are assigned to police duty or soldiering duty according to the needs of the day, their individual performance, and the whims of their commanding officers. Most Lion Guards would prefer to be out doing soldiers' work, which holds out a promise for adventure and heroism largely lacking in city policing work. Being recruited from other lands, Lion Guards can sometimes be impatient in dealing with locals and their messy local lives, which can contribute to their often very strict methods for enforcing the law of the land. Many Lion Guards are well meaning and believe in the law they so strictly enforce, but others simply find their policing duties a tedious irritation (perhaps not entirely without justification).

While each Sirdabi province has its own Lion Guard, their duties and experiences can vary greatly from one province to another. Raziya, being largely peaceful, is viewed as a safe but dull posting where bandit patrols are the greatest excitement one can normally expect. Irzal, in contrast, sees frequent fighting along the eastern border where nomadic marauders cross to pillage towns and farmland, and the guards there may also be called on to put down the occasional local insurrection. Saramat, considered a depressing backwater by most Sirdabi administrators, is another prime posting for Lion Guards hoping for frequent raids on bandit camps and even the occasional border skirmish with the Kalentoi.

The Lion Guard in Omrazir

The Omrazi Lion Guard perform a combination of patrol work and investigative duties. Their strongest presence is in the Palace Precinct, where they operate as the main law enforcement unit. They also make regular patrols of the main thoroughfares of Omrazir, as well as the Academy District and Hospital District, and they serve as guards at each of the city gates. At their discretion, they may apprehend anybody whom they feel is exhibiting suspicious or disruptive behavior or otherwise threatening the public interest. The crimes they investigate tend to be large in scale or related to Omrazir's relatively more privileged residents. They respond more swiftly to crimes affecting wealthy merchants and prominent citizens, and dedicate more of their time to matters affecting the middle and upper classes of the city. This is not necessarily the choice or the preference of individual Lion Guards, but it does tend to be the approach favored by most commanders in the Guard.

There is a great deal of friction between the Lion Guard and the Customs Authority, and each is expected to keep to their side of the line marking out their individual jurisdictions. In reality, this line is extremely fuzzy, so petty conflict between the two organizations is common. Generally pettier, messier, duller crimes are relegated to Customs, particularly those involving the lower classes of the city. More serious crimes, such as arson or assaults upon members of the provincial government, are investigated by the Lion Guard. On the other hand, if a wealthy or influential person simply must be accused of a crime, or involved in its investigation, the Lion Guard is often instructed to hand off this duty to Customs so that the provincial government can save face.

Location

The Lion Guard of Raziya are headquartered in the capital city of Omrazir, where the main barracks, officers' quarters, administrative offices, armory, and other key parts of the provincial military garrison are housed in the Kasbah al-Jurf off al-Rumiyyah Square. There is also a prison located in the kasbah, reached via underground passages, where those convicted of heinous crimes reside miserably awaiting their fate. Small guardhouses are scattered throughout the city, with their own temporary holding cells.

Public Perception

The Lion Guard does tend to be very conscientious of its duties, however arbitrarily those duties may be defined, and to carry them out efficiently. They are good at maintaining peace and order in the parts of town for which they are chiefly responsible, and at addressing crimes which affect the middling run of people. As a result they tend to be viewed relatively positively by the better-off, and the wealthy generally perceive the Guard as being favorable to their interests. Many young people aspire to join the Lion Guard, whether out of ambition, the simple desire for decently paid and respected work, a wish to serve the caliphate, or to satisfy a desire for adventure. Since each provincial unit of the Guard only accepts recruits from outside that province, this guarantees travel to different lands if not necessarily excitement.

Not all people are so fond of the Lion Guard, however. The Guard are often resented for being outsiders with little understanding of local affairs and livelihoods, and for dealing heavy-handedly with minor crimes while ignoring any mitigating customs or circumstances. The poorer folk feel that the Guard does little but meddle destructively in their affairs, while ignoring the crimes that actually harm them. Individuals of lesser means and poorer reputations sometimes become scapegoats, accused of and punished for crimes they did not actually commit simply because they are easy targets.