Lore:Shields of Senchal

General Renmus, leader of the Shields of Senchal

The Shields of Senchal were a group of Imperials that composed the military forces of the city of Senchal in Southern Elsweyr, with them being seen as the protectors of the city as their value was appreciated by the people, with the Legion receiving their name from the city council itself at some point. Problems that plagued Senchal were many, but the Shields and their actions managed to help diminish the amount of criminal activity, allow for the rebuilding of the location and they even formed a governing council to better administrate the city and eventually even had to help deal with the new threat in the form of the Dragons that began to plague Elsweyr.

History

Thirteenth Legion

Originally, the Shields of Senchal were known as the Thirteenth Legion that acted under the Empire of Cyrodiil of Emperor Leovic. With the Colovian Revolt, their commander joined the side of the rebels and was given the rank of general by Emperor Varen Aquilarios.

After the victory of the revolt, this Legion was sent by the new Emperor to deal with the constant problems and issues that the region was facing and in order to help with the restoration of order. During this time and for the period afterwards, they were led by General Meric Renmus, who used his forces to defend the city walls as the Khajiit rebuilt their homes, even working with citizens of influence to form a city council as the entire royal family was wiped out by the Knahaten Flu.

Defenders of Senchal

The Senchal Palace under Shields's protection

Despite the good intentions, the Imperials were initially met with hostility and distrust, but the locals eventually grew to respect the Thirteenth Legion, which allowed for their new name of Shields of Senchal to be given to them as they restored the city. At some point, they were not even seen as rulers by some, just enforcers of the laws that the Khajiit wanted them to enforce.

New problems would soon come to Senchal by the year 2E 582 as a wave of Dragons was released from the Halls of Colossus and quickly spread across Elsweyr, eventually being present in Pellitine as well. Thanks to the Dragons, they also began to deal with an influx of refugees coming from the devastated countryside, putting a strain in their already stretched resources.

During this period, a new threat to the Shields and to Senchal was believed to come in the form of Nahfahlaar, a Dragon that could threaten the city itself, but the Shields refused to help Sai Sahan in his mission to kill the beast, citing lack of resources and the need to keep their forces in the city if a Dragon did attack. The Dragon problem would eventually lead to the reformation of the Dragonguard under Sai Sahan, with at least one of the Shields deserting to join the cause of the Dragon hunters.

As the Dragon activity increased in Southern Elsweyr, the Order of the New Moon began to recruit in Senchal, causing certain citizens of the city to disappear. By this point, Senchal was a disaster away from a full-blown riot because as more refugees poured into the location, more turmoil would appear, which was said to be made worse by the lack of the envoy of the city who had left her position.

This envoy eventually returned to the Shields in order to recruit them in the fight against the Dragons. Later, this was accepted and the Shields of Senchal joined the Dragonguard in the defense of the region, offering tactical information, supplies, soldiers and being considered a potential invaluable ally, although some members of the militia still remained in Senchal to defend it, with this great aid helping in the defeat of Laatvulon and the end of the immediate threat to Southern Elsweyr.

Around the same time, a new Dragon threat in the form of Kaalgrontiid appeared, with the Shields continuing to keep Senchal safe as they would not be able to greatly help in the coming conflict, hoping to defend the city but wishing for the success of the Dragonguard who would move against the creature.

Defenders of Elsweyr, including the Shields, celebrating victory against the Dragons

With the end of the threat of the Dragons, the restored Queen Khamira of Anequina offered a position to the Shields in the restored Elsweyr Confederacy, however, it is not clear if they accepted the offer as accounts vary. The Shields might have either accepted it to keep their defense of Senchal or they might have returned to Cyrodiil, although the individual members were allowed to determine their own courses of actions if the latter was the case.

Before and after the threat of the Dragons, other great issues were still being checked by the Shields in the wilds, with them paying outsiders for some of the work as they had other matters to investigate. Those missions in the wilds were asked by the Khajiit themselves and included dealing with thieves and defeating a guardian of a temple of Meridia as well as getting supplies that both of those enemies had next to them.

By the end of the Second Era, Senchal was outside of Imperial jurisdiction thanks to the reformation of the Elsweyr Confederacy, but parts of the city still had damages of the time of the flu which included areas abandoned and others with ruins, suggesting that the efforts of the Shields did not completely heal the city to its former glory.

Equipment

Weapons and Armor of the Shields of Senchal

The weapons and armor of the Shields of Senchal had to be adapted to deal with the beasts and the climate of Elsweyr, with their equipment changing after their arrival to the region.

Weapons

With the adaptations to new challenges, both beast and humanoid, the Shields changed their axes to be sleeker, inspired by the Khajiiti cleaver. From the Khajiit, they also adapted the idea of bows with finer metals and bow strings made from senche-gut, although the style was still unique to the order with intricate carvings along the grip and distinctive colorings.

Their daggers were straight and thick, with only the carvings on the hilt paying homage to Khajiiti design as they preferred function over decoration. This Khajiiti design prominence was not seen in every weapon, with some like their maces being decorated with bronze while their staves had bronze details in addition to dyed leather and gold beads with an eye decorating the top.

For the variety of enemies in Elsweyr, their blades had to possess brutal and reliable efficiency, being straightforward save for carvings on the hilt, capable of cleaving through scavengers or even Mountain Bristlebacks.

Armor

For defense, the chest pieces of the Shields had sparingly applied metal, usually used for embellishment alongside Khajiiti-inspired crescents, this lack of metal was due to the problem that heavy armor would have in the climate and the terrain of the region as something flexible was preferred. This influence of climate could also be seen in their boots, which were open and flexible.

A need for flexibility was also seen in their gloves, which were open for freedom of movement, allowing for greater efficiency during use of weapons, but also hard-worn callouses as a result. Some of their helmets also had that distinction, being made of leather, although others were of pliant metal, something that could also be seen in their leg greaves that had a combination of both but focused more on movement, but still with proper protection.

Their belts were one of the pieces that were studded with an engraved metal buckle for functionality and a striking look, similarly their shoulder armor also had metal for defense, although it was more for a good first layer of defense.

One of their most decorated pieces of armor was their shields, which were decorated with ornate crescents, golden chains and intricate compound and was considered their signature instrument. The shield functioned as more than mere defense, as it had the symbol of the order and inspired courage, serving as a manifestation of their purpose.

Gallery

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  A Shield of Senchal Warrior

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  A Shield of Senchal Archer

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  A Shield of Senchal Centurion

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.