In gratitude for saving his life, the new Emperor rewarded Oleandas with a position at Court, and gave him an important assignment: create an elite force of skilled heralds who would be the eyes and ears of the Empire, working directly under the Imperial Chamberlain (then Boeran Dosiere).
Initially, their main role would be to identify potential threats and dangers to the Emperor, his family and his vassal Regents. The Emperor wisely recognized the truth of the axiom, "knowledge is power". If he were to rule well, he needed to be well-informed of events, factions and social trends throught the Empire's vast dominion. This would enable him to deal fairly and justly with all his diverse subjects --- as well as alert him to any rising enemies to the Iron Throne. Thus the Heralds' job would be to gather information, with the ultimate aim of insuring the personal protection of the Emperor, his vassals, and the Realm itself. They would do so by serving as ambassadors, advisors, messengers, special investigators and court heralds throughout the Empire, providing an unprecedented network of information and communication.
Oleandas knew that in order to carry out this ambitious mission the Heralds needed to be intelligent, wordly, tactful, resourceful and wise. He immediately set about establishing a training program, and a year later his school was officially christened the Royal Heraldic Academy. A broad curriculum was developed for the school, including the scholarly arts (history, language, literature, music, philosophy, etc.), political science, diplomacy, court etiquette, personal combat and stealth, and magery. A hierarchy of rank was put in place. At the top was the Chamberlain, who oversaw the overall operation of the Heralds and was their liason to the Emperor. The Academy itself was governed by a council of Elder Heralds, led by Oleandas, who were based in the Imperial City and reported directly to the Chamberlain. Beneath the Elders were the Master Heralds, each with their own jurisdiction within the Empire. Each Master Herald had a staff of Senior Heralds, who supervised the main force of field operatives known simply as Heralds. These ranks were largely a matter of internal distinction, as any member could be referred to by the generic term "Imperial Herald".
For a guiding philosophy to unify his people, Oleandas borrowed a musical metaphor: if all the individuals who made up the Imperial Heralds could be seen as "tones", then their unification of purpose was a "chord". Thus, each individual was seen as working in harmony with the whole, forever bound together in joint service to a single cause. In Heraldic parlance, one's actions were considered "harmonious" if they served the overall mission, and "discordant" if they did not. Around this basic principle, Oleandas developed the "Covenant of the Chord", a body of sacred oaths and traditions which still stands today as one of the world's finest political treatises. First, all Heralds were required to swear unswerving, eternal loyalty to the Iron Throne and the honor of the Empire. In addition, because of the potential power the Heralds possessed, all were required to swear that they would never seek political office or the regency of any domains or holdings for themselves, on pain of death. Nor were they permitted to influence a domain for purposes of personal gain. This assured that they would never abuse their power in the service of greed or selfish ambition, and never be corrupted to act against the Throne. The Covenant of the Chord remains the cornerstone of the Imperial Heralds' reputation for personal integrity, honesty and neutrality, even giving rise to the colloquial expression, "a herald's promise", to signify a true and binding oath or agreement.
As time passed, Roele's line became more secure and the Empire grew in strength. The Imperial Heralds flourished as well, and their role expanded accordingly. Although they continued their original mission of protecting the Emperor, they found themselves more and more serving in the roles of arbiter, advisor, translator, chronicler, newsbringer, entertainer and teacher. They were widely sought by regents of all types for their knowledge and wisdom, but also for their charm, talent and wit. By accumulating vast stores of information, they soon became the valued keepers of the Empire's cultural heritage -- its history, art, literature, music, and more. Their work helped to unify the Anuirean society, creating a lasting sense of cultural identity for a vast and disparate populace.
During the Empire's heyday, the Royal Academy expanded its mission as well, opening its doors to a broader student body and becoming a respected university. Almost all of the teachers were Senior or Master level Heralds. All citizens of the Imperium who could pay the tuition fees and pass an initial entry examination were admitted. At its core, the school for those destined to become Imperial Heralds remained, but the Academy now also served the people of Anuire directly, as a center of learning and culture. The Imperial Library and Museum, the repository of all the knowledge compiled by the Heralds, became the largest such facility in all of Cerilia, and its resources were made equally available to all citizens. It was truly a golden age.
After Michael Roele's untimely death and the bloody dissolution of the Empire, the Heralds' influence waned. Many were unjustly imprisoned and executed as spies by selfish regents in their mad grab for power. Oleandas' carefully built network collapsed amid the chaos of civil strife. Retreating to the relative safety of the Imperial City, the Heralds continued to serve the Imperial Chamberlains in a desperate attempt to keep alive the culture and glory of the Empire. With the truce that ended the bloody civil wars 70 years after Michael Roele's death, the Heralds slowly began to rebuild what they had lost, but the devastation to their organization wrought by generations of war had been almost total.
Today, the Imperial Heralds' information and communication network is but a shadow of what it once was. Nonetheless, the Royal Academy still trains Heralds for Imperial service, and Heralds are once again a sign of prestige in the courts of Anuirean regents. And they still serve the current Imperial Chamberlain as gatherers of knowledge and stewards of Anuire's heritage, with fervent hopes that the Empire might one day be reborn.
By Kevin Moss
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