Lifeguard Decree - 02/02/309

[Northern_Ireland]

From the office of Lifeguard Commissioner Duke Cillian Mac Conall

I - Introduction
II - Concerning House-guards
III - Concerning Palests
IV - Concerning Reports and Breaches
V - Conclusion

​

I - Introduction​

I am honoured to accept such a position being offered to me by Lord Chancellor Bancroft and strive to innovate and perform with competence. Before I deliberate on new policy concerning house guards I will inform the peerage of my approach to this office. I am a firm believer in a noble's privilege to house-guards and thus will for the most part have a hands-off approach as to who nobles decide to select for house-guards and Palests. Beware, this is a luxury that will be restricted should nobles be found to be incompetent in correctly training or maintaining their house-guard retinues.

With that being said, a series of rewards will be offered out to Houses and individual house-guards who display excellence in their fields, with the aforementioned punishments for those who neglect their duties to a detrimental degree. Thus, on to the new politics that will be in place henceforth.​

II - Concerning House-Guards​

These policies will be adhered to henceforth by all noble houses from the moment of this publication. Aristocratic families are not permitted to recruit or possess house-guards and are encouraged to inspect mercenary legislation if they require private security. New policy is as follows:​

• Houses will; send a letter listing current house-guards under a given family's retinue to Duke Cillian Mac Conall. This letter will detail the head of the retinue (be it a designated commander or member of said House's family) and if any of it's house-guards possess a criminal record in breach of Regalian Low law or higher. These letters are purely for the purposes of record-keeping and no approval is required by the Lifeguard Commissioner. The sole exception to this being house-guards with a criminal record, who will be due a meeting with the Lifeguard Commissioner to ensure they have been properly rehabilitated. This is to ensure the safety to the general public and other noble families as House-Guards operate in proximity of not only their own family, but other Houses of the peerage too. As mentioned, while approval is not required for a house-guard to be recruited, a letter of notification must be sent before they are eligible for house-guard rights.

• Houses will; be responsible for ensuring their house-guards are properly informed of Regalian Law concerning Noble Houseguards and Servants and will be liable if it is proven they were negligent in properly informing those under their service should an incident arise.
  
  
• Houses will; ensure a uniform is provided and worn by their house-guards during their duties. It is heavily encouraged that these uniforms incorporate their house-colours into its design, though this is not required.
  
  
• Houses are encouraged; to appoint a designated commander of their personal retinues, host training sessions and be actively seen making use of their house-guards in noble and domestic settings.
  
  
• Houses are encouraged; to independently vet and interview aspirants before recruitment for their own safety, though this is not required.

III - Concerning Palests​

Palests are in many ways similar to House-Guards, yet are also so much more. A Palest's obligations are intended to be for life and it should therefore be a fairly rare occasion in which a Palest's oath becomes voidable. There is also no restriction on who a noble can select as a Palest and no official application process- even if they have a criminal history. With that being said, Nobles are expected to be careful of whom they select as Palests- as misbehavior on their Palest's part will reflect poorly on their host-family. New policy is as follows:​

• Houses are encouraged to; send a letter listing current Palests under a given family's House (and to whom each Palest is assigned) to Duke Cillian Mac Conall. This is similarly for the purposes of record-keeping, though this is not required. But please

• Houses are encouraged to; publicly announce the taking on of new Palests to ensure other members of the peerage are informed, though this is not required.
  
  
• Houses are discouraged; from removing Palests from their service except for the most exceptional of circumstances. While they may indeed remove Palest's from their service without any communication to myself- it should be done rarely and only in cases of great betrayal or serious misconduct.
  
  
• Houses will; be internally examined by the Commissioner if they are seen to disproportionately fire Palests in comparison to other noble families.
  
  
• Houses are encouraged to; internally vet and interview aspiring Palests to ensure both superior marshal abilities and sufficient trust before accepting a Palest's oath, though this is not required.

IV - Concerning Reports and Breaches

As with all things, there will inevitably be those who do not correctly follow the above policy. Incidents are bound to occur in which Houseguards are seen to act unprofessionally or in a down right illegal manner. Should a member of the public, guardforce or member of the peerage witness the misconduct of a Houseguard they are encouraged to pen a letter to Duke Cillian Mac Conall detailing the situation, so it may be internally reviewed. Depending on the severity of the situation, responses can range from a simple letter regarding the incident to setting restrictions for future hiring of house-guards for the House in question. New policy is as follows;​

• Houses are encouraged to; deal misconduct and perform punishments internally and to a sufficient degree pending the seriousness of the transgression.
  
  
• Houses may; receive a range of punishments if they are seen to make use of their House-Guards or Palests in a way that contradicts Regalian Law, or are negligent in informing their retinues or Palests of the corresponding Regalian Law. These punishments will range from private letters requesting alterations to their retinues, public posts of condemnation to restrictions being set in place as to the make-up of their retinues and who may join their retinues in the future- such as an imposed mandatory approval system for the most egregious offences.
  
  
• All residents of the city are encouraged to; pen a letter to Duke Cillian Mac Conall if they witness the misuse of Palests and House-Guards or are seen to acting in an illicit or incompetent manner.

V - Conclusions

While this decree is lengthy, it contains all the policy changes I believe are currently necessary to revitalise the house-guard community. It should also be worth mentioning that Houses and individual house-guards will be proportionally rewarded if they are seen to possess an active and competent retinue. These rewards range from public commendation, medals of recognition for heroic acts and other such luxuries. I maintain a focus of respecting the nobility's right to freely choose the theme and make-up of their personal retinues and try to enable them to sort disputes themselves.

My office exists only to ensure the safety of the peerage and public when it comes to House-Guards, with this duty certain restrictions and safe-guards must be put in place. It should also be worth noting that Lifeguard Clerk Lady Morgaine Slumberwood will be hosting the occasional event to allow Houses to show off the competence and marshalry of their retinues in comparison to that of other Houses, more details will follow in upcoming event announcements and future decrees.​

Signed:

His Grace Cillian Mac Conall
Duke of Wickthur
Lifeguard Commissioner
Officer of Records to the Violet Order

His Grace Alastair Mac Conall
Duke of Dundarn
Patriarch of House Mac Conall
Assistant to the Lifeguard Commissioner

Lady Morgaine Slumberwood
Clerk to the Lifeguard Commissioner​