The Viridian janissaries are an elite group within the Viridian military. Janissaries are all recruited from among young orcs of the Druzda Khanate, and given years of training to drill them into being deadly and extremely loyal soldiers.
Location
The janissaries can always be found in close proximity to the Viridian king or queen. In practice, this means that most remain within the city of Ilirnas, the Dominion's capital. When required to complete their missions janissaries travel both within Viridia and abroad, though generally attempting to maintain a low profile when doing so.
The headquarters, living areas, and training grounds of the janissaries are within Fort Solen. Located on the north side of Ilirnas, this two millennia-old star fort has been continually upgraded and maintained by the janissaries since they adopted it as their base. It is rumored that tunnels connect Fort Solen to various sites across the city, and that the janissaries use these to travel undetected.
History
For much of their mutual history, the Dominion and the Druzda Khanate were in a low state of war. The Druzdan orcs raided the towns of the eastern Viridian provinces, and the Dominion attempted to repel incursions and strike back when possible. After years of unsuccessful attempts at diplomacy, in Y6285 Viridian administrators finally negotiated a treaty with the Khan at the time, Grivkam Khur. In exchange for a hefty yearly "tribute", the Khan agreed to cease raids and allow the recruitment of young orcs into the Viridian military. Though this agreement has wavered occasionally in the centuries since, these orcish recruits have been molded into the janissaries, one of the best trained and most prestigious branches of Viridia's military.
Though initially used as shock troops, by Y300 the janissaries had entirely shifted into their present role as bodyguards of the monarch. They acquired Fort Solen to use as their base of operations in Y3220.
Recruitment and training
Interests and activities
Ensuring the safety of the Viridian monarchs is the central duty of the janissaries. While they undertake other missions on occasion, protecting the king or queen and their close family always comes first. A small detachment of janissaries usually remains near the monarch at all times, while the rest work to gather information, scout locations where the monarch will visit, and neutralize potential threats before they pose a problem. As the janissaries are all orcs, and mostly operate in areas where orcs are a small minority, they maintain a large network of spies and informants to assist in intelligence operations.
The janissaries are known to maintain extensive plans to ensure the monarch can be moved to safety should a danger arise. As part of this, they also keep a watchful eye on critical infrastructure around Ilirnas, including the Anchor Site in the city and the bridges that connect Ilirnas to Felasan.
The janissaries are beholden only to the monarch; they are outside the normal military chain of command. They are given a wide latitude to accomplish their goals as they see fit. While the janissaries generally attempt to avoid unnecessary force, they have nonetheless gained something of a reputation for favoring direct solutions that may inconvenience or injure bystanders.
At times, the janissaries work alongside the rest of the Viridian military in cases where their training and expertise is required. This is a highly infrequent occurrence, however.
Membership
The janissaries are few in number, perhaps a few hundred at most at any given time. The role carries with it a great deal of prestige and respect, as only those deemed most skilled and loyal are rewarded with the position.
Janissaries can be recognized by their red uniforms with ornate gold trim, usually worn alongside a leopard, bear, or lion pelt used as a sash.
While all janissaries are martially trained, many also improve their combat prowess with the use of magic. A large proportion of the janissaries are magi, with many others trained as fighters, rogues, or investigators.
Conclusion of service
Upon reaching the age of 35, all janissaries are entitled to enter civilian life as a reward for their loyal service. Many, however, choose to remain in the force until well into their 40s - while there is no official maximum age, aging individuals are eventually pressured into retirement.
Viridia has long maintained a practice of granting large land grants in the Silverwood Hills as estates to retired janissaries and their families. While there have never been large numbers of janissaries at any given time, through the generations and over the centuries the orcish population of the province of Vitheoda has grown markedly. Some families that now inhabit the region are the descendants of janissaries many generations removed. Under Viridian law, the retired janissaries and their descendants are given political autonomy within the Silverwood Hills, exempted from taxation, conscription, and Viridian law.
Unrest in Vitheoda has slowly grown among this orcish population, as they noticed Viridian administrators seemed to ignore their concerns once the retired janissaries and their families were no longer useful. The self-styled khanate of Hkarzda was declared in Y6932 as the culmination of these beliefs, a situation the Dominion still has yet to resolve.
Notable individuals
The leader of the janissaries is given the title of Right Hand, reflecting their responsibility to directly serve the Viridian monarchs. The current Right Hand is Modun Salar. A staunch traditionalist, Salar has exacerbated tensions with the breakaway orcs of Hkarzda by repeatedly advising the current Viridian king, Santus V, to intervene and put down the rebellion forcefully.