by Cherny » Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:35 pm
One does not need to be particularly sharp-eyed to spot the newly-appointed Civil Constables in the days after the Vice-Governor's decree; indeed, at times it is hard to miss them, as they show no hesitation in making sure that their presence - and their official powers - are thoroughly recognised by the townsfolk. Cherny makes a sidelong study as he trails after his master, watching quietly from the relative safety of the knight's shadow.
The Civil Constables all display some mark of their authority, be it a jacket in the Lady's livery or a simple sash of red and gold; they have a certain swagger to their demeanour, a certain strut; at rest they do not stand so much as pose - weight on one leg thus, feet angled like so, shoulders thrown back, head lifted as to regard the world down the length of their nose; when they laugh it is a braying guffaw or dismissive scoff, frequently at some poor underdressed soul's expense.
They patrol the streets in small bands, making no secret of the fact that their business is to judge those around them. In each little group one of them wields a pamphlet stamped with the Lady's vine-and-tiara sigil, to which they ostentatiously refer at regular intervals; the rest tend to be of a certain type, as if pressed from a mould - strapping young dandies in well-tailored clothes, notable by the sturdiness of their footwear and the weighty brass heads that adorn their walking-sticks.
Passers-by wearing the Lady's colours are treated with courtly manners and knowing smiles, a tip of the hat or nod of the head in recognition of their peers; those who do not bear the red-and-gold receive an insolent inspection, a gaze that sweeps from head to toe and back again, followed by either a nod of grudging approval or sneer of undisguised contempt. Those deemed to have breached the Vice-Governor's new byelaws face a summary fine, to be surrendered immediately to the jeering bravos as the pamphlet-bearer laboriously inscribes their details in a small crimson-bound notebook.
The squire finds himself rapidly disliking this new facet of Rhaena Burnie's Myrken Wood.