My blood for victory. My blade for vengeance. My life for peace.
The Squires spread into freeholds that are facing major threats, or those plagued by corruption and pain. A freehold that faces only political or social threats is one that the Squires have no interest in, and a peaceful freehold, by definition, has no purpose for them. They recruit from those who have lost everything that they cared about — usually to the Others but sometimes due to other causes — and who have no reason left to live, and they give them something worth dying for. Their purpose is simple and straightforward: they will fight so that others can rest, and die so that others will live. Their lives have no other purpose, and every drop of blood shed will be accompanied by rivers of blood from their enemies.
Mien
Whatever their natures, the Squires’ miens always change gradually and unstoppably. They grow worn-down, their clothing showing signs of frequent and partial repair, their skin growing rough and calloused, their hair faintly uneven, and their eyes shadowed. No amount of careful grooming can undo this wearing, and as the character’s Wyrd grows, she appears more as though she is working herself to the bone.
The second sign of the Squires is their scars; the hands of a Squire always bear the twin scars of their initiation, scars that flush red as the Squires do battle and become subtly more pronounced as her Wyrd score grows. These scars never impede a Squire’s movements or cause pain, but they sometimes appear as though they should. The final symbol, and the one that most Squires point to, is the blade that each of them carries; no Squire would be caught without her weapon if she can avoid it, and when forced to leave t h e m behind, they tend to be ill-at-ease and jumpy.
The Broken Blade (Priviledge)
Beneath the Mask, the weapon is cracked and seems as though it could break at any strike, and tiny beads of blood dot its sides. The weapon can be wielded normally, in which case it behaves as a mundane item of its type.
Activating the token is simple. When activated, the beads of blood along the sword start to flow, running down the hilt to the wielder’s hand and along the blade, giving it a viciously sharp edge. Upon a successful activation, the character may boost the weapon’s damage bonus by up to her Wyrd rating for the duration of the scene.
- Drawback: The damage bonus granted by the Broken Blade is not free; it draws on the life and power of its wielder in order to focus that power into killing force. At the end of the scene in which the Broken Blade is used, the character takes bashing damage equal to the amount that she increased the weapon’s damage bonus by. This damage cannot be healed with magic. If the character took enough damage, this is fully capable of killing her.
- Catch: A character can forgo the usual cost of activation and draw on the Blade’s hunger directly. If she does this, half of the damage she receives at the end of the scene (rounded up) is lethal, instead of bashing.
The Broken Blade is a physical manifestation of a Squire’s oath. If one of the Squires forsakes the Entitlement, or dies of natural causes, his blade promptly shatters. Interestingly, such blades are not destroyed if their wielder falls in the course of his duties, and can potentially be recovered and used. Persistent rumors that anyone who makes constant use of a Broken Blade will suffer the loss of his loved ones, and eventually join the Squires himself, have never been proven.
Joining
It is a flat rule in every domain inhabited by the Squires that the apprenticeship period must last a minimum of three months, and existing Squires may not directly attempt to recruit their charges; the recruit must approach the Squires to join himself. During those three months, the Squire tests the new recruit, training her to defend herself and pushing her to see reasons to stay alive. Many recruits find this philosophy a strange one, as the Squires seem to try to discourage others from joining them regardless of their qualifications, but the Squires are more interested in recruiting those of a particular mindset than with padding their numbers. At the end of the season’s training, all existing Squires within the freehold gather and secretly voice their opinion, beginning with the prospective recruit’s primary trainer. Anyone that the majority feel are too suicidal, or too attached to life, is denied entrance to the Squires. Only those whose actions reveal a willingness to die for a cause are allowed entrance.
If the Squire is accepted, she is brought before her new companions, and told to bring a bladed weapon of her choice. As she swears the oath of allegiance to the duties and principles of the Broken Bough, she grasps the blade of the weapon with her hands until blood runs down its surface, and lets her fervency empower it. At the conclusion of her oath, she is left with faint scars that will never fade, and the blade of the Broken Bough.
