A bulky tome bound with new rothe-hide leather is added to the library shelves.

The Reckoning of Law A History of the Sanctuary Watch composed and scribed by Erhurd Grendshur

Table of Contents Introduction by Sepherius Laesion Chapter One: I Shall Watch This Night Chapter Two: Frontiersmen Chapter Three: The Incomparable Awakening Chapter Four: The New Dominion? Chapter Five: The Road to Rebellion Chapter Six: The Council's Decree Conclusion and Advice

Introduction by Sepherius Laesion

The prime purpose of history is to impose Order upon the past. Without informed historical accounts, the past is naught but a vague cloud of disparate memories left in the path of lost narratives and untold tales, blown asunder and unleashed upon the present by wild rhetoric and unchecked passion. Without informed historical accounts, we would be better off without our memories at all, for an untempered flailing of the past may lead our future astray as well.

It is thus a singular experience to research the history of Order itself. The Sanctuary Watch has imposed Order and Law upon the town since it was founded more than a century ago. It has done so through times of peace and times of war, through times of concord and times of strife. While the individuals who have led the Watch have changed, its ideals have remained constant: to protect this Sanctuary that is our home and to serve all who live within it. They are the right hand of the Council and make up the arm and strength of our Government and our Society.

Whether one reads the legends of the early Watch and rejoices at tales of ancient heroes, or studies with precision the behavior of our protectors for signs of sinister corruption, we ought never forget that these men are no different from ourselves: to lay judgement upon the Watch is to lay judgement upon our society itself, the root and core of our foundation and the crux of our Order. It is in the spirit of informed debate that this historical account follows, of the founding and development and rise and fall of the Watch over the decades that it has protected our Sanctuary.

Chapter One "I Shall Watch This Night..."

It is commonly held that the Watch was informally founded on the first night of Sanctuary's existence, when Charles Bresley called upon loyal sentinels to aid him in defending the encampment from roaming predators while the rest of the expedition slept. All of the available evidence indicates that this is indeed the case, although some accounts mention that Charles himself dozed off halfway through the night. Whether or not that particular detail is true has been lost to the sands of time; however, it is indisputable that it was out of this original division of sentinels that the first members of the "Watchers and Warders" were chosen, and so it is entirely justified to trace the Sanctuary Watch back to that humble foundation.

The Watchers and Warders Soon thereafter, as one of his first decisions as the Mayor of Sanctuary, Charles Bresley established the "Watchers and Warders" civil defense and law enforcement group. Their objective was to, in Charles Bresley's own words,

"...these brave men and women shall be known as the Watchers and Warders of our Sanctuary, sworn to protect our settlement against all the dangers which surround us, and uphold just laws to serve the common good."

The Watchers and Warders originally consisted of Charles Bresley, who assumed the rank of Overseer, nine trusted guardsmen known as "Watchers", and two mages known as "Warders". They recieved no wages, but were provided with weaponry, armor, and training in whatever martial skills they did not already possess, and generally had all the resources of the settlement available to them.

Although records of the early legal history of the city are vague, the Watchers and Warders enforced what could be described as an undocumented patchwork of laws from various surface societies, stitched together with common sense. Endangering the settlement was the most serious crime, but varied as widely in punishment as it did in scope: consorting with slavers meant death by stoning, but running back to the camp while being chased by a pack of rats would incur merely a stern talk from one of the Watchers.

Early trials during the Mayorship were handled directly by Mayor Charles Bresley. He served as the judge, and the Watchers involved presented the case against the accused, who then had an opportunity to defend himself and argue his case. As the town began to grow, this arrangement began to consume a great deal of Charles' time, and many consider this to be a key reason for his turning over governmental power to the Council.

Law under the Council Charter Roughly a year after the founding of Sanctuary, Mayor Charles Bresley turned over almost all of the powers of government to an elected Council comprised originally of five men: himself, his brother Frederick, Alexander Ubel, Henry Archibald, and Jadderly Donrick. They governed the settlement through majority and minority votes, in accordance with the Council Charter. They also serves as judges and arbiters: each had the power to supervise a case, and any two could petition for a case to be brought before the full Council.

Around the same time that the Charter was drafted, Mayor Bresley turned over the position of Overseer to the skilled Watcher Calley Hennet, who had been one of the trackers during the original expedition that founded Sanctuary. She was widely respected as an expert tactician and a judicious individual, possessed with a great reserve of common sense that tempered her enforcement of rigid laws. Although many historical works written in the years following her demise have presented her entire tenure in a sinister light, during almost all of her years in command she was widely admired and respected by nearly all of the citizens of the fledgling Sanctuary.

Chapter Two The Frontiersmen

Over the course of the next five years of Sanctuary's existence, the Watchers and Warders guarded the town against the many perils of the Underdark. Goblins, kobolds, orcs, minotaurs, and countless other foes were turned back by their strength of arms, and the rule of Law was imposed upon the community. As Sanctuary grew, so did the duties of the Watchers and Warders. No longer did they merely protect a small circle of tents and a warehouse of supplies: they were now responsible for guarding the main gate to the town, patrolling the streets, and working with experts in the arcane such as Melinda Serena and Cornelius Archibald to reactivate the ancient svirfneblin defenses that warded the town so long ago. As their duties multiplied, their ranks swelled accordingly -- once consisting of only a dozen dedicated defenders, the Watchers and Warders had nearly fifty members by the time of the Civil Defense Act, encompassing nearly a quarter of the population of the town.

The Civil Defense Act It has been said by some that Mayor Bresley didn't like to see the powers of government concentrated among too few people. Others propose that his recently-married wife Melinda Serena had a hand in the decision, hoping that her husband would spend less time with Overseer Hennet and more with her. Still others have suggested that it was a natural consequence of the ideological differences between the Archibalds and the Ubels, and that the division would have occurred eventually even if Mayor Bresley had done nothing. One historical work could not hope to cover all of the possible causes behind the drafting and passage of the Civil Defense Act, and so my account will be confined to those facts which are beyond dispute.

The Civil Defense Act was drafted and sent to the Council on the 8th day of Alturiak in the Sixth Year after the Founding. It established three government-funded organizations devoted to civil defense: the Watch, the Spellguard, and the Seekers. Each organization was assigned specific duties and powers, and was allocated a portion of the new Civil Defense Budget, which consisted of money raised by levying a tax on incomes. Mayor Bresley described the division as follows:

"...henceforth there shall be three agencies which shall ensure our defense, working in concord and harmony to undertake a task that is larger than any one man and larger than any one order. The Watch shall guard the gates of our Sanctuary and enforce just laws within, bringing criminals before the Council for judgement and defending the city in times of need. The Order of the Spellguard shall be charged with warding our town against its enemies, reactivating the old automatons and lost svirfneblin defenses, and protecting the citizenry of the town from the harmful spells and magecraft of our countless foes. The Seekers shall lead the forward defense, seeking out new resources, identifying the threats and dangers that surround us, and taking proactive action against these threats as needed."

The Civil Defense Act laid the foundation for our modern formulation of the Watch. Calley Hennet became the first Sheriff of the Watch, and organized the thirty guards reporting to her into squadrons, each lead by a Sergeant. She worked closely with Frederick Bresley, the leader and founder of the Seekers, and the Melinda Bresley, the Commander of the Spellguard. Together, they patrolled the Sanctuary frontier -- the mysterious ruins of Dunwarren, the ancient towering svirfneblin gate behind which the city had been founded, and the vaulted Underdark caverns in which the old metropolis was built.

Heroes of the Frontier Some historians have referring to this as the "Golden Age" of the city's civil defense. Others have remained skeptical, pointing to many inconsistencies and seemingly arbitrary decisions that reflected an immature and underdeveloped legal history. I do not subscribe to either perspective -- it would be fanciful folly to overly idealize our early defenders, and utterly indefensible to entirely condemn them. The school of thought on this topic to which I belong is that of the "Heroic Age": a period lasting forty years from the establishment of the Watch to the end of Sheriff Hennet's tenure in command. This era was not "Golden", in that there were notable flaws; amongst these, as mentioned above, the infancy of the legal codes, the haphazard structure and lack of interlocking hierarchies (a problem which has persisted to this day) and the lack of established precedent on many organizational and oversight issues. Despite these real flaws, and at times even because of them, this age has been deemed the "Heroic Age of the Civil Defenders" by respected historians.

Why call this the Heroic Age? A hero must demonstrate distinguished valor in times of danger, and fortitude in times of suffering. He must be prominent in the unfolding of remarkable events, and engage in singular feats of boldness and action to change the tides of history. This, the Watch did, during the early years of Sanctuary. Defeating rampaging minotaurs, frenzied orogs, chittering aberrations, deadly drow, and many other monstrous beasts of the depths, they showed valor and courage in the face of incredible perils, and against all odds they prevailed. Assault after assault, danger after danger was overcome by these early defenders, beginning with the drow attack of the seventh year and continuing steadily as the settlers established themselves and our Sanctuary grew into a small city. They served as explorer-guards of the new frontier, working with the Seekers to stay a step ahead of the needs of the city, tracking down sources of food and water, safe housing and natural resources, and confronting the legion horrors of the Underdark along the way. Without exception, it was the Watch in the forefront of the struggle for civilization, aided at times by the Seekers and at times by the Spellguard, but always the foremost and predominant heroes of the day.

The Ideological Divide Frederick Bresley departed on his great journey upwards in Year Twelve against the warnings of Spellguard Commander Melinda Bresley, and this is often cited as the seed of discord between the Seekers and the Spellguard. Some historians argue that after this event, the Seekers began to grow distant from the people of the town, neglecting their civil defense duties, undertaking risky missions that put everybody in danger. Others, particularly those of the late Ubel school, argue that it was the Spellguard that began to grow increasingly insular, concerned as much with "protecting" the town from its own explorers as with warding against our common enemies. Either way, as the Watch was led on by Sheriff Hennet, the stage was being set for conflicts between the Spellguard and the Seekers that would influence the next hundred years of our Sanctuary's history.

Trade, Law and Justice under Sheriff Hennet The first forty years of Sanctuary's history saw the development of the early trade contacts with surrounding settlements. Although there was considerable reluctance at first to initiate trade with the slaving duergar, opposition gradually eroded as it became apparent that trade alliances would mean not only wealth and reliable equipment, but also a measure of security. Some theorize that the true reason which Sanctuary has survived for all these years is that it has become something of an oasis and neutral trading ground, where passing merchants from the varied societies on the Dark Lake and elsewhere can engage in trade and expect efficient justice when they are robbed or harassed.

In this light, the relationship between the Watch and the new transient merchant class takes on a heightened importance, and this relationship was largely shaped by Sheriff Hennet's direction during the period when early trade relations were being formed. Her track record on the subject is admirable. She demanded the highest degree of courtesy and respect toward visitors, explorers and wandering merchants who were passing through the town, and would personally help these new citizens through the legal process if they felt that they had been wronged. The disarming compassion which her Watch demonstrated did a great deal to facilitate the development of smooth trade relations between Sanctuary and, among others, the duergar smiths of Clan Grunstubhle, who soon became the city's primary source of cheap armor and weaponry.

Chapter Three The Incomparable Awakening

Sheriff Hennet's rise to power took place over the course of six years, during her service in the Watchers and Warders. Her reign over the dominant civil defense institution of our Sanctuary, the Watch, lasted for nearly four decades. Her downfall took merely two months in early Year 46.

Thool'oon, the Sublime Visionary It was early in the days of Hammer of the 46th year since the Founding. The city was still grieving over the brutal, convoluted murder of Spellguard Commander Melinda Bresley several months before. Meanwhile, evidence slowly began to come to light that a powerful monstrous creature, known only as "the sublime visionary," had taken up residence in one of the winding caverns just outside the city walls. Seekers and adventurers disappeared without a trace mere footfalls out of sight of the gate, and maddened men wandered through the city proclaiming the end of days. Lesser monsters emerged from its lair, wreaking havok at the base of the city gates.

At the same time, many who knew Sheriff Hennet began to notice a peculiarity to her behavior. She would disappear for long periods of time, missing important meetings and briefings. Her reports and analyses, once held as the gold standard for civil defense paperwork, became increasingly sloppy and disorganized. When she did appear at the Watch House, she was visibly exhausted, and her behavior was erratic and unpredictable. Amongst themselves, her subordinates began to question her judgement and continued competence to lead the Watch.

By late Alturiak, the Seekers and the Spellguard were ready to conduct a joint operation, along with several Watchmen, to track the source of the "sublime visionary" to its lair and eliminate the threat to the city. What they found there, none had expected. Calley Hennet and a half dozen lost Seekers, all enthralled by powerful magical domination, were worshipping a large beholder who they called "Thool'oon, the Sublime Visionary". Upon being confronted by the joint expeditionary force, a fierce battle ensued, in which the beholder and his cultists, including Hennet, were all killed. The lair was scoured with fire and acid, and body of the monster destroyed entirely, and the cavern collapsed -- but the damage was done.

Aftermath of the Awakening Under Sheriff Hennet's command, the Watch had kept the city virtually impregnable to the surrounding hostile monsters, and the had Seekers ensured that the city was well-aware of any approaching threats long before they arrived. The people of Sanctuary, once martial and disciplined, prepared for any threat, had grown recreant and heedless under their guard, largely asleep to the great dangers nearby. The news about Thool'oon and his infiltration of the city was a rude awakening from this long slumber, and caused a wave of panic throughout the populace -- shock, outrage, horror, fear. How long had Sheriff Hennet been under the influence of the enemy? Who else within our very Sanctuary could be a hidden thrall of an insidious foe?

Councilor Deriil Khovn was at the head of the riots. A band of refugees who had escaped from the Chabzash beholder hive were burned alive to "exorcise their minds." Escapees from a slave caravan headed to the Illithids of Ysinode were murdered in their sleep after the Seeker posted to defend them was beaten and left for dead. Across the city, neighbors began fearing neighbors, and friends stopped trusting friends. The rioters established an inquisitorial tribunal with Khovn at the head, conducting mock trials before executing the men, women, and children whom they suspected of being under mental domination. Lacking a leader, the Watch was unable to restore order. It was the Spellguard that ultimately detained Khovn indefinitely inside the Spellguard Tower (an act of questionable legality but clear necessity) and pushed for the promotion of Sergeant Ardel Wyle to restore order to the city.

Ardel Wyle became the second Sheriff of Sanctuary on the 5th of Ches, Year 46 at the decree of the Council -- a decision hastened by a special appeal made by the new acting Spellguard Commander Stephanos Simms. Sheriff Wyle and Commander Simms spent their early careers working to root out potential psionic threats, restore law and order, and reassure the populace that Sanctuary was still safe from the legion dangers that surrounded it. Their first objective, however, was to end the terror and the riots which were tearing Sanctuary apart. The Council was expanded from five members to nine members, to provide the manpower to handle all of the work that confronted it. With Wyle and Simms working in consort with the Council leaders, the leaders of the riots were soon arrested, including Councilor Khovn, and many were executed or banished for endangerment of the city. Without their leaders, the rioters dispersed and, slowly but surely, the rule of law was reestablished.

The Long Years The next forty five years of Sanctuary's history were colored not by bold, charismatic political figures or deadly monstrous foes, but by gradual social development and notable natural disasters. The legitimacy of the Watch, which had been thrown entirely into question with Hennet's demise, was slowly reestablished, and the city was secured under the watchful eyes of the Spellguard. Seeker operations, which had fallen into disrepute, were infrequent and limited in scope. Overall, the city enjoyed a period of safe stability and slow expansion.

Sheriff Wyle's men were there during the Great Quake of Year 65, exercising the Watch's supreme authority in emergency situations to coordinate the rescue and evacuation of citizens from the collapsed sections of Dunwarren. When portions of the walls fell away and recently settled areas of the city were exposed to monstrous incursions, the Watchmen were on the front lines creating a "shield wall" to hold off attack until everybody could be evacuated back to the safe regions of Sanctuary. Along with many others, this incident served to cement the Watch's new reputation as stern, unflinching defenders of the city proper -- a somewhat different reputation than that of the "heroic frontier explorer-guards" that had developed with Sheriff Hennet.

When the city was struck with the terrible "Chilling Plague" in Year 87, the Watchmen were given vaguely-defined "public health powers" by the Council. Sheriff Wyle established a strict curfew and forbade camping in the streets, which had been common practice until that time. Watchmen dragged the sick and dying out of the public areas and into temporary hospices and asylums where they had less chance of infecting others. Despite the clear necessity of these measures, many felt that Wyle was overreaching his authority and that his Watch was behaving in an increasingly authoritarian fashion. These discontented citizens, and many others who simply sought to escape from the disease-wracked urban areas, began to pitch camps outside the established boundaries of Sanctuary. They were the first wave of settlers to encamp outside the borders of what is now "Upper Sanctuary" since the Great Quake, which destroyed many of the earlier outer settlements and put a damper on the colonization of the rest of Dunwarren.

Although many of these outer colonies and minor settlements disappeared with the end of the Chilling Plague, one remained long afterward. Known as "the Sanctuary Below", it was a tent camp pitched in an uninhabited section of Dunwarren lying roughly beneath the modern Upper Sanctuary. Contemporary historians often theorize that a major contributing factor to its success was the small shrine to Ibrandul that was established in Year 92, providing security and divine healing for those camping nearby. Another notable school, the late Ubel analysts, argue that it was the inherent freedom of the dark, open, unclaimed spaces that attracted people to "the Sanctuary Below" and guaranteed its success and prosperity while Upper Sanctuary was still wracked with plague and discord. Still others point to the proximity to a water source and abundant fungal growths capable of sustaining the growing population, and unclaimed areas large enough to herd rothe. Regardless of its origins, "the Sanctuary Below" would have a marked impact upon Sanctuary proper over the course of the next decades.

Chapter Four The New Dominion?

The joining of Upper and Lower Sanctuary seems such a distant memory to us today. One can barely recall the furious debate, the bitter questions and wild accusations, the uproar and discord amidst the Council. Years later, this strife appears a mere fading memory, a single blip of no import, inconsequential to the great course of events. It would be folly to disregard it so quicky. The expansion into Lower Sanctuary in Year 100 almost singlehandedly set the stage for the tremendous events that took place over the course of the next twenty years, which have led to the present state of the Sanctuary Watch.

The Promotion of Sheriff Dhogur Sheriff Wyle died on 15 Flamerule of the Year 94 since the Founding. His ranking subordinate, Sergeant Arphias Dhogur, was promoted to Sheriff at the decree of the Council shortly thereafter. Over the past ninety years, the Watch had outgrown the old three-tiered structure, and has expanded to a force nearly a hundred strong. Sheriff Dhogur's first action was to renovate the command hierarchy of the Watch, establishing three Lieutenants responsible for coordinating major functions and supervising the Sergeants.

Although his years in command were marred by popular discontent, Sheriff Dhogur's Watch was efficient and highly organized despite being tasked with enforcing the complicated, oft-conflicting corpus of laws. The Lieutenants were trained and highly respected as legal experts, and were often called upon by Councilors to testify as to legal precedent in trials. Although many at the time praised the thoroughness and refinement of the city's legal codes, others felt that the laws had grown too complicated for most people to comprehend, and that the Council only made the situation worse by simply passing new laws and relying on the Watch to interpret the final meaning, rather than themselves reinterpreting or overturning old ones. These scholars, many of the late Ubel school, criticized the "disturbing trend" of legal scholarship taking place primarily in the Watch, rather than amongst the judges of the Council.

Councilor Albert Ubel was the most vocal and outspoken of the Watch's critics during this period. His speech "Liberty amidst the Coming Darkness" is widely held to be the most important political oration of the past fifty years. Delivered in the Year 104, he predicted that...

"The fate of our sovereign society is being decided in the Council courts today, but should our decisions continue as they have, there is no force above or below that shall stop our fate from being decided in the streets tomorrow. For the past fifty years our defenders have turned inward, and sought to defend us not from our enemies but from ourselves -- the Watch and the Spellguard work in consort to keep us in line, satisfied with a dismal existence in this prison beneath the world. With every man's speech are the whispers of discontent -- in every man's mind, the dream of freedom -- on every man's lips, the word "rebellion." Few even know the laws of our town, and fewer care, for the scholars of the Watch outwit our own people at every turn. Where can one be safe from the prying eyes of those who guard with spells, or the dutiful march of slaver-made iron boots upon those liberties which we once held most dear, the pursuit of light and liberty? We have swallowed the Sanctuary Below, but we shall never consume it. There shall be a reckoning of steel and blood, should we not turn back from this dire course which we have set ourselves upon." -Councilor Albert Ubel, "Liberty amidst the Coming Darkness", Year 104

The Proclaimation of Boundary and Dominion The settlements in "the Sanctuary Below" were officially incorporated into Sanctuary on 22 Mirtul of the Year 100. The borders of Sanctuary were established to lie at the edges of the combination of "Upper" and "Lower" Sanctuary, and the Watch was tasked with enforcing the laws throughout the entire region. Previously, the Watch had not been responsible for enforcing laws in Lower Sanctuary, since it was outside of the borders of old Sanctuary.

This expansion of the Watch's dominion caused a considerable amount of debate. Many of the inhabitants of the Lower Sanctuary were not fond of Wyle and Dhogur, and disliked the presence of the Watch in "their" district. At the same time, Sheriff Dhogur was not enthusiastic about trying to impose order upon the unruly, crime-infested Lower Sanctuary. Despite their concerns, however, several prominent Councilors, most notably Councilor Indrensen, managed to push forward the Proclaimation, arguing that it would be short-sighted folly to leave Lower Sanctuary vulnerable to attack or invasion, and that its people deserved the services and security that Upper Sanctuary could provide.

Setting aside the complicated politics of the time, the end result was that the Watch was assigned to enforce the laws in both Upper and Lower Sanctuary, but was granted no increase in funding or resources. Watchmen were openly attacked and often "mysteriously disappeared" while patrolling in Lower Sanctuary. Levels of criminal activity began to rise in both layers of the city due to the Watch's resources being spread thin.

Chapter Five The Road to Rebellion

The Ubel Rebellion was arguably the most significant and cataclysmic event in the history of Sanctuary. It was indicative of a fundamental disconnect between the people and their rulers, between the guarded and the guards -- a rift which some, particularly those of the late Ubel school, believe originated back in the early years after the city's founding. Others, notable many who were directly involved with the early leadership on both sides, attribute it to more recent events, particularly the settlement of Lower Sanctuary which served as an uncontrolled breeding ground for resentment, and its subsequent takeover by the Watch.

The Lysik Revolutionaries Early in Tarsakh of Year 118, the adventuring company known as "Lysik's Lancers" led an uprising in Lower Sanctuary after their group was disbanded by the Council on account of repeated endangerment of the city. They raided the Watch supply bunker and forced the Watchmen to flee back to Upper Sanctuary. Their leader, Jher Lysik, quickly mobilized the residents of Lower Sanctuary into an untrained militia to assist with his uprising. When the Watch returned in force, they were defeated after a pitched battle by the Lancers and their allies. Mayor Michael Bresley, upon recieving the news, immediately placed Sheriff Dhogur in emergency command with orders to run the rebels out of town and establish order. Sheriff Dhogur sealed the stairwell down to Lower Sanctuary and, without consulting the Council, deployed a regiment of sixty Watchmen to "reclaim" the Lower Sanctuary.

During his brief reign as the "Supreme Ascendant" of Lower Sanctuary, Lysik established a government known as the Ascendant Regime. Little is known of the policies or structure of this government, as it collapsed three tendays after its formation when the Watch regiment finally broke through the Lower Gate and publically executed everybody who held any position of power in the uprising. When the stairwell was unsealed and Sheriff Dhogur arrived in the reclaimed territory, he authorized his Watchmen to sieze all caches of weaponry and armor found in Lower Sanctuary and arrest anybody who disobeyed. His subordinates dragged people in at random for lengthy interrogations, attempting to root out every name associated with Lysik's regime.

Sheriff Dhogur's unilateral actions caused a considerable amount of concern in the Council. Although he was acting within the "emergency powers of the Watch," many felt that his approach went well beyond the call of duty and set a disturbing precedent. Furthermore, his suppression of the Lysik revolt did nothing to endear the people of Lower Sanctuary to the continued Watch presence in the district, and Councilor Ubel was particularly vocal about how Dhogur ultimately had brought more danger to Sanctuary than he had averted -- tacitly implying that the Sheriff himself was endangering the city through his actions against the rebels. Although most Councilors did not go this far, there was a general sense of disapproval of the way that Dhogur had handled the uprising. Ultimately, however, no punishment was levied against the Sheriff; instead, he was commended for his "heroic and efficient elimination of a grave threat to the city."

Councilor Albert Ubel Albert Ubel was born in the 47th year of our Sanctuary, the son of the founder Alexander Ubel. He spent his early adulthood working alongside his aging father in rallying support for the Seekers, particularly during periods when their methods were under the harshest scrutiny. He has been called both an "enthusiastic champion of freedom" and an "insidious worm, either indifferent to the destruction of our home or actively seeking to bring it about." He ardently advocated that the Council provide more and more funding to Seeker operations searching for Frederick's path, even as these operations increasingly risked the very existence of the city by drawing the ire of nearby slaver races. He also drank heavily, particularly later in his life as public interest in the Seekers was on the decline. Eventually he sought a seat on the Council for himself, and was first elected in Year 98. He was known for his vicious invective and refusal to compromise, as well as occasional bouts of paranoia, which many attributed to his drinking. On account of all this, he was a difficult man to deal with on the Council -- several of his fellow Councilors simply refused to interact with him at all, and ultimately he had few true allies in the political sphere, despite having a large popular following.

Councilor Ubel repeatedly pressed for the town's laws to be drastically simplified, the power of the Watch and the Spellguard substantially cut, and the Council to take a more active role in establishing consistent interpretations during trials. He demanded that the Spellguard justify their restrictions on magic use, rejecting their traditional arguments out of hand. He clashed with Sheriff Dhogur over the size of the Watch, the legal expertise of the Lieutenants, the use of entrapment and prolonged interrogations when handling endangerment cases, the extent to which the Seekers ought be obligated to report their findings, the independence of Lower Sanctuary, the perceived abuse of vaguely-defined Watch civil defense powers, and a long catalogue of other issues that covered nearly every major topic of the day. His relations with Spellguard Commander Stephanos Simms were similarly frosty, particularly after a speech in which Ubel proposed that the Spellguard be made an "animatron repair division" of the Seekers, under the supervision of Ivlysar, so that the people would be certain that the animatrons were "truly being put to proper use in the search for freedom."

Despite his marked lack of diplomatic abilities, Councilor Ubel was a commanding and popular political figure. Although he alienated his fellow Councilors by taking issues directly to the public rather than tolerating deals and compromises in closed Council sessions, he grew increasingly popular with the people at large. His militant rhetoric and opposition to the "established order" resulted in a martial cult developing around him as well, consisting of armed citizens in Lower Sanctuary who took his predictions of "blood and steel, fire and swords" extremely seriously. Although it remains unproven, many suspect that the Seekers were actively supplying these partisan elements with weaponry, supplies, and inflammatory rhetoric in the years leading up to the Ubel Rebellion.

Revolt amidst "the Coming Darkness" Amidst rising tensions, the elderly Mayor Michael Bresley suddenly disappeared in late Uktar, Year 119. It is believed that he was supervising a scouting operation along the Dark Canal when his expedition was ambushed and slaughtered, their bodies washed down into the Dark Lake, never to be found. This has never been confirmed, and rumors persist that he was assassinated by some nefarious faction or other hoping to destabilize the city. No legitimate evidence has been found to verify any such theory, although the political consensus was indeed destabilized by Mayor Michael Bresley's death.

Council debates regarding the selection of Michael Bresley's successor began immediately. Yorrick Bresley, his son, was the obvious candidate, but he was opposed by Councilor Ubel, who sought to have Ivlysar Tal'en'qir, leader of the Seekers, appointed to the post (over the objections of Ivlysar himself). Although few of his fellow Councilors took Albert Ubel seriously, his proposal opened up the possibility that the Bresley heir would not necessarily be appointed the next Mayor of Sanctuary, as had been expected given past precedent. Quite a few prominent individuals in the city, including Sheriff Dhogur, began to seriously consider making their own bids for mayoral power. As it became clear that the selection would be far from simple this time, the Council became deadlocked, split into a half-dozen factions each supporting their own particular candidate.

As this fierce bickering and discord in the Council continued on into Nightal of Year 119, the Spellguard arrested Councilor Albert Ubel and detained him indefinitely at the direct request of Sheriff Dhogur. Albert Ubel was arrested on charges of failing to register as a magic user, repeat unauthorized magic use, theft of Spellguard property, and nearly a dozen counts of repeatedly endangering Sanctuary through reckless behavior. Spellguard agents, assisted by a Watch escort, apprehended him in his home and after a short altercation, transported him to a holding cell at the Spellguard Tower. With the Mayor missing and the Council riven by internal squabbling, there was no formal trial of Councilor Ubel in the foreseeable future.

Whether or not Councilor Albert Ubel would have been convicted on the multitude of charges arrayed against him shall never be known. His son, Montgomery Ubel, staged a rebellion in Lower Sanctuary shortly after the arrest, on the 21st of Nightal, and led a full-fledged invasion of Upper Sanctuary. The Watch, unprepared for such a tremendous show of force, was unable to immediately repel the assault. The rebels laid siege to the Spellguard Tower, and pitched camp along the far side of the city opposite the Watch House. The Town Hall, in the center of the battlefield, was sealed and barricaded by the Councilors who were trapped inside. Lower Sanctuary served as the forge of the rebellion, providing supplies and material aid to the forces encamped in Upper Sanctuary. Within days, the city was divided into two armed camps, locked in a vicious battle to the death.

The scope of the rebels was far beyond the recapture of Albert Ubel. Despite his death during their attempt to storm the Tower several days after fighting began, the rebels persisted in attempting to (very literally) overturn the Spellguard and defeat the Watch. Montgomery Ubel, leading the rebel camp from within a captured Watch bunker in Lower Sanctuary, arranged for siege equipment to be bought at nearby trading posts and brought into the city through the Lower Gate. Sheriff Dhogur, aware that the Council was barricaded inside the Town Hall and unable to command the city, proclaimed himself the Overseer of Sanctuary. He called up all able-bodied citizens to serve as conscripts and assist the Watch in fighting against the rebels, a struggle taking place outside many people's very homes. After two arduous months, the rebel grip on Upper Sanctuary was broken, and their scattered forces beat a hasty retreat back to Lower Sanctuary, where they prepared for the war to come.

Chapter Six The Council's Decree

With only eight members amidst a sea of troubles, split into a half-dozen factions over the issue of the selection of the next mayor, and confronted by Dhogur's declaration of himself as the ruling Overseer of Sanctuary, the Sanctuary Council had a brewing crisis on its hands. While Sheriff Dhogur sealed the stairwell and led his army to the gates of Lower Sanctuary, the relatively undistinguished politician Yorrick Bresley was building the foundation for the future of the city. Until this time known only as the son of Michael Bresley, the foresighted Yorrick Bresley made a name for himself by unifying the disparate factions within the Council behind a proposal for drastic and far-reaching changes that would prevent the rifts which caused the Ubel Rebellion from ever opening again.

Yorrick Bresley's Proposal The people of Upper Sanctuary had little love for Sheriff Dhogur and for the Ubel rebellion, the strength of which was increasingly being attributed to Dhogur's actions during the Lysik revolt. Although those who outright supported the rebellion had left to Lower Sanctuary to side with Montgomery when the rebels retreated out of Upper, a great deal of dissatisfaction and concern remained, particularly once Dhogur left to lay siege to the Lower Gate with an army of Watchmen and conscripts, leaving only Lieutenant Greer in command. Yorrick Bresley used this to his advantage. His name and his father's reputation as a protector of the status quo had already earned him the support of the more conservative elements of the Council, who feared that a break with the Bresley tradition of mayors, particularly at such a volatile time, would spell destruction for the town. To unify the other factions within the Council, he adopted several of Ubel's more acceptable reforms, including vastly diminishing the power of the Watch, simplifying the burdensome legal codes, and reaffirming the Council's sole authority to interpret, revise, and overturn laws. His agenda, which he called the "Unity Program," was well-recieved by the Council as a whole.

After conducting the intricate negotiations required to establish a consensus within the Council, the formal selection took place on Kythorn 12 of the Year 120. Yorrick Bresley was selected by a unanimous vote of the Council to become the next Mayor of Sanctuary. He quickly called in Lieutenant Greer to assure that the Watch forces remaining in Upper Sanctuary were loyal ultimately to him, and not "Overseer" Dhogur -- unequivocally, Lieutenant Greer confirmed that they were. They were then set upon the task of rebuilding and repairing the damage done during the fighting, supported by a slew of funding bills that were quickly approved by the Council.

Dhogur's forces broke through into Lower Sanctuary in late Flamerule. Montgomery Ubel and his loyalists fled into the ancient Dunwarren sewers, all too aware of the fate that awaited them should they be captured. They exhibited surprising resourcefulness, leading many to suspect that they were being supplied with arms and armor from somebody working within the city -- the Seekers have been the target of much suspicion on this point, although no evidence has been forthcoming. The rebels were ultimately never captured by Sheriff Dhogur's men: they waged an irregular guerrilla campaign in the sewers, using disease, elaborate traps, and noxious gasses to slow Watch progress.

Sheriff Dhogur, having recaptured Lower Sanctuary, began to institute his old policies of forced interrogations, random searches, and organized entrapment to root out those providing aid to the rebels. Despite their loathing, the residents of Lower had grown used to these abuses, and so it was a genuine surprise to many when Mayor Yorrick Bresley, backed by Lieutenant Greer and the remaining Watchmen of Upper Sanctuary, emerged from the unsealed stairwell upward on the first day of Eleasis and informed Dhogur that he was being retired from his position as Sheriff at the order of the Council for his "egregious abuses of limited power, threatening the lives and happiness of our citizens, and endangering the safety and stability of our Sanctuary itself." There were celebrations in the streets, and cheer where once there had been only sorrow.

The Unity Decree Sheriff Dhogur surrendered peaceably, retiring and living out the rest of his days quietly. All of the participants in the rebellion were officially banished from the city of Sanctuary, but little effort was made to root out participants who hadn't willingly left. The size of the Watch was cut from nearly three hundred men (including Dhogur's conscripts) to a force of roughly sixty paid guards, assisted in times of great danger by a volunteer reserve of varying size. The Spellguard lost its power to arrest, and the Watch was placed directly under the supervision of the Council, rather than under the command of a new Sheriff. The great dissent and upheaval was quelled; the people were satisfied with the new mayor and the new Watch. The rift, which had once grown nearly wide enough to consume our town, was sealed.

Conclusion and Advice Addressed to the Councils of Year 122, and beyond.

Councilors, I am but a humble scholar who professes only to know more of the past than I do the present, but heed my words -- the responsibility which you have shouldered, and rightfully done so, is no small matter and is intertwined with the great threads that run throughout our history. What men shall you make our defenders, and in whose path shall they tread? Can we ever relive the heroic days of the guardsmen of the frontier? Ought we strive to model ourselves after the stern protectors who Wyle commanded, saviors of the city proper time and again? How do we reconcile the absolute necessities of effective defense with the discord and destruction that Dhogur's later years saw? Only a fool would dismiss these questions lightly -- they touch upon our very fundament, the core vision of our society.

I admit, that I have no easy answers. There are no easy answers. The advice which I offer is this: do not grow distant from those whom you serve. The laws of Sanctuary have not, in truth, been genuinely simplified despite the promises which Mayor Bresley made. I know little of the present -- far be it for me to assign blame to any individual or any group, for our politics are complicated and our government quick to change. I merely implore you, the Council, and Mayor Bresley, to pursue the course, necessary to our survival, necessary to our future unity and prosperity, which you once did set out upon. The people must understand the laws, for they must understand their defenders, and their defenders are their manifestation of the laws.

~ Erhurd Grendshur, scholar of our Sanctuary, loyal veteran of the Ubel Rebellion.

((Credit for writing this goes to Arkov!))