Bog Wraiths
The Bog Wraiths are a mercenary company that operated out of Castle Wydmoor, a few miles southwest of Wydmoor Free City proper and active primarily in the western half of the mainland, before the sack. They are currently concentrated in Nia-Agliare. They were primarily responsible for defending the Wydmoor region, and maintained a number of defensive fortifications in the area for that purpose. The organization is currently run by the Lord Marshall, a position currently held by Naprid, although with some dispute and turmoil following Ralth Onorodil's death. Although relatively small in number, they have international renown as one of the Blessed Companies, and have a high degree of operational latitude due to their unique autonomy. Additionally, perhaps due to defending that selfsame autonomy, the Bog Wraiths are skilled defensive and structural engineers, often called upon to design or supervise such constructions, such as the Celstian Targe Wall.
The organization predates the Wydmoor City's autonomy by some time, and was originally nominally attached to the Ubrekti senate. Their affiliation with Wydmoor began in during the Third Interregnum, when the Wraiths allied with the heretics that occupied the city to break the siege of Odriss Rockheart. Rockheart eventually reconciled with the heretics, and the Wraiths became an instrumental supporter of Rockheart and helped to end the Interregnum. Following the Sack of Wydmoor, the association is effectively ended as the Bog Wraiths evacuated their force to Nia-Algiare, where they now reside.
When Rockheart assumed the Arch-Wardenship in 712 FI, the Wraiths became a part of his honor guard. Under the terms of the Rockheart Charter the city of Wydmoor was granted self-determination under rules and terms negotiated by all parties, later committed to the Stones of Law. It was at this point the relationship between the the Bog Wraiths, the Church, and Wydmoor city was codified. This document stipulated that the Bog Wraiths would provide 1/3rd of the manpower for the Sentinels of the Stand, the Arch-Warden's elite mercenary honor guard made up of men chosen from the Blessed Companies, and would receive an annual stipend from the church. Afterward, the Wraiths later played a key role in the Convention of Autonomy, which finalized and formalized the rules of governance for Wydmoor and carved them onto the Stones of Law for all to see.
The Bog Wraiths maintained a number of defensive fortifications, including the Wydmoor Rampart, Castle Wydmoor, and a number of lesser outposts. They were also rumored to maintain a magical non-tunnel system connecting Castle Wydmoor, the Cathedral of Origin, and the Keep of the City Magius, possibly in conjunction with the City Magius himself. Drawing on their defensive role and their history, they have become master engineers and siege breakers, expertise that nevertheless was not able to stop the Sack of Wydmoor and that they now apply to strengthening their position in Nia-Agliare.
Today, the Wraiths survival is inexorably tied to the Church and Wydmoor--a significant amount of their funding comes from the church and the mines of Iros Forge. Although their days of contributing to offensive campaigns virtually are no more, they do maintain some level of autonomy. From time to time, they are contracted by sovereign nations for medium scale and precision military engagements, such as rooting out dens of servitors or disbanding bandit camps. They have historically been the go-to Mercenary Corps of the ethnic Ubrekti aristocracy during peasant uprisings that the ethnic Hakni king cared little to suppress, as well as during the not infrequent Ubrekti civil wars. More recently the Bog Wraiths have been active in the Alexia under Odessan patronage, helping to control servitor encroachment and lawlessness around the nation's nominal capitol in the east and as well as working on projects to halt the growing blight known as the Valley of Dust.
