You have my word. This is what I seek. My glory for the freehold, and my name in all the tales.
For as long as they’ve been around, the fae of the Sacred Band of the Golden Standard have been warrior-poets and glory-hounds, hungry for recognition by their own kind and all the changelings of the freehold. To have stories told about them makes them timeless ― it enters their name into the invisible annals of history.
On the surface, what they do is protect the freehold. They serve whatever Court is currently in power, regardless of whatever Mantle or Court Goodwill its members have earned over the years. The changelings of this order are noble warriors serving the military needs of the reigning powers and the personal safety of every individual changeling within the freehold. It all sounds very dignified and righteous.
What these warriors do is noble, but they don’t do it for the sake of nobility. They do it for the fame and praise, for the vainglorious pleasure brought on by being the focus of tales and myths. It’s ultimately all about the legends, and being in them. The changelings of the Sacred Band love to hear their own names and stories recounted back to them. An Aspirant is not immune to corruption, either. While many wouldn’t dare besmirch their own honor, others would do it gladly ― as long as they don’t get caught. A rare few turn to outright barbarism, realizing that if they can’t earn a place in the stories as heroes, then perhaps they can earn it as monsters, instead.
Mien
Changelings of the Sacred Band like to appear impressive. They wear whatever clothes will earn them attention. They train to physical perfection ― or, at least, groom themselves to grant that illusion. Even those Darklings or Wizened who join the ranks take care of themselves as best they can, standing tall and wearing whatever finery will draw others’ gazes. Local styles are not lost on them ― a cadre of urban Aspirants might wear the newest sneakers, white suits and gold or platinum medallions. Those with a more medieval predilection might wear a breastplate burnished to mirrored bronze. Many, too, present their weapons of choice in an almost fetishistic manner. It is unsurprising to see an Aspirant with an expensive rosewood-handled dagger (inscribed with poetry or symbols of glory such as crowns, scepters or heraldry) or a gleaming nickel-plated six-shooter used by some famous Wild West showman. Their weapons are often nearly as impressive as they are, as much symbols as tools of war.
An Aspirant’s seeming reflects some of his gilded glory, as well. Blemishes and scars fade away (unless they were a part of his seeming before). Teeth grow whiter, and the color or cast of his eyes deepens to a lustrous hue. The changeling’s head or body also becomes wreathed in a halo of colored light ― often a warm color such as saffron, crimson or the blaze of a righteous fire. Some, though, find that other colors frame them ― auras of holy white, flashes of sky blue or the glinting nimbus of sun-splashed steel. An Aspirant with a particularly high Wyrd finds that he has an easier time impressing people, as they can almost sense the aura of a champion as he enters the room. This has a downside. Those of the Sacred Band who possess higher than normal Wyrd rarely go unnoticed, no matter when they might want to.
The Strength of One's Presence (Privilege)
The Gilded Aspirants generally represent a powerful physical presence ― strong, tough, quick. This makes them impressive to most, and allows them greater social leeway than others may possess.
Once per scene, an Aspirant can spend a point of Glamour to add her highest Physical Attribute (whether Strength, Dexterity or Stamina) to any Presence roll she makes. This doesn’t work, however, against those who have more cumulative Physical Attribute dots than the warrior herself possesses. For instance, if a target has Strength 3, Dexterity 3 and Stamina 3, that counts as nine Attribute dots total. If the Aspirant has only eight Attribute dots total (Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2), then this ability cannot be used on any Presence rolls invoked to affect that target. The only exception to this is if the Presence roll is meant to affect a crowd; then this fails to be a concern.
Joining
A changeling joins the Sacred Band of the Golden Standard in one of two ways. The first way is that he does something worthy of talk and awe among the other fae. Anything that gets the grapevine talking ― saving an infant, delving deep into the Hedge, executing his fetch in a bloody rooftop duel ― thus draws the attention of other Gilded Aspirants. This order of legend-hungry warriors doesn’t see this changeling as competition, but as kin. In this case, the fae of the Sacred Band are the ones who extend the invite... and they fully expect all changelings to want to belong to their order. When a fae turns down the invitation to join such a “gilded legacy,” it’s an insult of the highest order. Some Aspirants let such a slight slide, but many engage in bitter reprisals, spreading slander (or digging up nasty truths and spreading them, instead) and ensuring that the changeling won’t be a part of any lasting legends. The Aspirants hate it when other changelings outside the order gain glory, and do what they must to stop that from happening.
The second way a changeling joins the ranks of the Sacred Band is by pleading to be a part of the order ― and most Gilded Aspirants really do demand that a changeling begs. If they find that such entreaties are humble enough and appropriately self deprecating, they ask the changeling to go out into the world and impress them. Some make this as ambiguous as possible, setting no single challenge beyond that vague charge. Others ask for a specific task to be performed: defeat a beast from the Hedge, steal an earring from a known loyalist or challenge another fae’s fetch to a duel and win. Most are honorable enough about this, and completing the task as asked is usually enough to warrant entrance into the order. A few Aspirants play a changeling’s eagerness or sycophancy, continuing to demand new tasks (usually ones that serve the Aspirant’s own selfish interests), making the puppet dance while the strings are still connected.
It’s worth mentioning that, out of the two ways to join, changelings of the first type are generally better regarded within the order than fae of the second. Those who begged to join must work to remove the reputation of being toadies and brown-nosers, even though that’s what the order demanded of them to join in the first place.
