The Doom Guard

For generations, the survivors from Precht lived a meager existence in the mountains and hills. A lucky few were able to work for a better life in the wathi mines. Luckier still were those who knew the comfort of serving the wathi at their tables. Most lived on scraps while huddling together for warmth on the skin of the world.

As the sun returned, surfacers were able to spread northward again, once more working the land for their own needs. But their fealty to the wathi remained.

Then came the War of the Deeps.

Bending the earth to his will, the Demon Prince of Szorvachia tunneled beneath the city of Kulgarak and conducted a surprise raid. The outrage of this sparked a conflict that would last for more than a century.

The people of Precht were conscripted to fight for the wathi, going deep into the earth for days, months, years at a time to battle with the endless menagerie of abominations that served the night lords.

The Helm of Helya surfaced once more in this time, held as a holy relic by an elite force in the Prechtish army, a unit known as The Doom Guard. The guard was unorthodox in its methods, taking time to study the infernal creatures that assailed them, and when possible, using the monsters' own powers against them.

The Doom Guard became legendary among Prechtish and Kulgarak forces for their abilities to perform unthinkable feats and survive through impossible battles. Over time, the doctrines and teachings of the guard spread through the other ranks, including their prayers to Helya and the invocation of her undying strength. What started as something of an esoteric cult, became a martial religion.

After decade upon decade of sporadic conflict, with countless lives lost in the winding depths, and countless more lost to madness, the forces of Szorvachia withdrew back south to war amongst themselves. The lords of Kulgarak saw this as an opportunity to strike deep into enemy territory and inflict a grievous wound. But seeing a chance to end the horrors of war, the Prechtish armies decided they had had enough. Donning the helmet of the demigoddess, the high chaplain declared that they had given enough blood to the wathi. The debts of their people had been paid.

Wathi forces tried to press them back to the front, but the Prechtish were unified and strong. The wathi were forced to stand down, at least at first. After regrouping, the lords of Kulgarak demanded the resubjugation of Precht, leading to another year of warfare. At the end of this time, the people of Precht finally won, regaining their independence for the first time in nearly a millennium.

Since that time, Precht has struggled to gain its footing in the world. They have rebuilt some of their greater cities, but a scattered populace and disorganized economy has made them nothing more than a minor player in the trade guilds.

As for the Doom Guard, they have remained a key institution in the care and governance of the people, keeping to their militant roots, but creating a Volkskirche for the guidance and benefit of commoners. They have maintained their fascination with powers that others would consider unclean, but always with the intent of overcoming a greater evil. It is inevitable, they say, that darker powers will rise up to threaten the world again. But the end will not come. Not as long as there is one guardsman to stand against it.