The Emberwardens

The Emberwardens guard furnace sanctums, outer gates, sealed galleries, emergency storehouses, and the dangerous works where one careless spark can become a hall's obituary. They are soldiers, fire-keepers, inspectors, gate crews, and the stern hands that close passages before panic spreads. Their gear smells of soot, leather, bronze oil, coal dust, and hot wool. The order is old, born from fires and collapses that Dovarim still names in drills. Their authority protects the realm, but it also lets them decide when safety becomes obedience and which door must close first. There is beauty in their furnace discipline when sparks are caught before halls burn; there is dread in the same calm when they close a gate and refuse every plea until danger has passed.