Guardian of Giselle's Tomb

This title is appointed by the League Assembly

Overview

The Guardian of Giselle's Tomb is an Imperial title created by the Senate in Autumn 380YE. Work on the tomb was completed shortly before the Spring Equinox 381YE. The position of guardian is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a regular income of liao and funds drawn from pilgrims taking advantage of the unique opportunities available at Virtues's Respite.

In 387YE, the body of Empress Giselle was relocated from the tomb to a new resting place in Capodomus Cathedral, in Sarvos. The Guardian has barely been impacted by this change as the place is visited more often as a memorial to the history of the League and the successes of Temeschwar, and as a tribute to Demitri Archama, than it ever was as the tomb of a southern Empress.

Responsibilities

The Guardian oversees Virtue's Respite in Temeschwar. If the shrine were to be threatened, it would be the responsibility of the Guardian to face those threats; likewise should any opportunity related to the shrine arise the Guardian would decide how to respond.

Powers

Virtue's Respite was the target of attacks by the rats during the rat plague. This resulted in the Guardian's income being halved. The matter has since been resolved, apparently, with the relocation of the body of the Empress, but the site no longer receives quite the level of attention it did when it was the resting place of the former League Throne.

Portion of Liao

The sinecure provides four doses of liao to the Guardian each season, to be used as they see fit.

Memorable Income

The tomb of Empress Giselle draws pilgrims from across the League, though mostly from Sarvos. Some visitors who want to commemorate their pilgrimage pay a premium fee for one of the resident artists to draw a depiction of them near the sarcophagus - tattered gonfalon of the Brotherhood of Torn Banners in pride of place. The income from this, along with other amenities, nets the Guardian of Giselle's Tomb 34 rings each season.

Appointment

The Guardian is a League national title appointed by judgement of the League national assembly.

The Guardian has tenure and serves until they die or step down. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the League National Assembly, and the Assembly of the Nine.

Summit	Elected
Spring Equinox 381YE	Casimir Marcelino di Sarvos

Recent Elections

This title is currently held by Casimir Marcelino di Sarvos. This title has tenure, the occupant may hold the title until it is revoked, they die or they relinquish the position. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

Virtue's Respite

For decades after her death, Empress Giselle was interred in her family estates in Sarvos. Following the Grendel assault and the sacking of the city, which included an attempt to steal her body, her sarcophagus was moved to a safer location. After much debate the Senate chose to re inter Giselle in Temeschwar. A new tomb was constructed for her, under the supervision of Gant Archama (the Senator for Temeschwar).

Built within city walls, near one of the two river gates, the building takes the form of an open-air amphitheatre, decorated with the motif of the unbroken chain of Loyalty. At the entrance to the seats a statue of the Senator's father, Demitri Archama (who looks so like Gant that several wits have pointed out it could just as easily be a statue of the younger Archama as the elder). He is shown seated, swathed in fur with a stern visage.

The sarcophagus itself rests on a plinth before the raised stage, and the theatrical back drop consists of four large white granite panels carved with scenes depicting the recent joint ventures of the League. They show the raising of Caricomare; the liberation of Holberg; and the rebuilding of Sarvos after the Grendel attack. The final panel depicting the escorting of the body of Giselle from Highguard to Temeschwar by a company of soldiers bearing the tattered gonfalon of the Brotherhood of Torn Banners, with the Brotherhood's Colonel Iacob Genoshu clearly identifiable as the figure leading the procession.

Almost immediately there was wry commentary that the tomb - dubbed "Virtue's Respite" by Gant Archama - appeared to be less a memorial to the dead Throne, and more a testament to the recent successes of the League and the Brotherhood of Torn Banners in particular. During 386YE, the rat plague that beset Temeschwar seemed to show a particular dislike for the tomb. Eventually, thanks to the work of Archbishop Estella Lucat, the mortal remains of the Empress were relocated to Capodomus Cathedral in Sarvos.

Virtue's Respite has barely been impacted by this change; it is visited more often as a memorial to the history of the League, the successes of Temeschwar, and a tribute to Demitri Archama, than it is the tomb of a southern Empress.