The Eternal Shadow of the Throne
The Royal Guards are remembered not as a sect of ideals or mountains, but as the living shadow of emperors. Their legacy is tied so tightly to dynasties that their reputation rises and falls with each throne. To some, they are saviors who preserved order in times of rebellion; to others, they are butchers, tyrants, and secret police who silenced dissent.
Yet one truth endures: no dynasty exists without them. From the Han to the Qing, from palace gates to Murim councils, the crimson cloaks of the Royal Guards have been constant reminders that the emperor’s will is never unguarded.
Among commoners, the Guards inspire both fear and respect. Villagers recall tales of Guards quelling bandit uprisings, saving towns from chaos when armies faltered. But just as often, they whisper of midnight arrests, of families erased by a knock on the door, of crimson cloaks disappearing into alleys with prisoners who never returned.
Folk sayings capture the duality:
“When the Guards arrive, justice comes.”
“When the Guards arrive, silence follows.”
Shaolin: Respect them as defenders of order, but accuse them of being pawns to tyranny.
Wudang: Acknowledge their discipline, yet condemn their blind obedience as a path without Dao.
Emei: Sympathize when the Guards defend the weak, but despise their role in enforcing cruel decrees.
Tangmen: Hatred eternal. The Guards are their constant foes, the antidote to their poisons.
Wanderer’s Valley: Mortal enemies. The valley thrives in lawlessness, while the Guards embody law incarnate.
Scholar’s Academy: A mirror and rival. The Academy advises with ink, the Guards enforce with steel. Both believe themselves indispensable to the empire, yet distrust each other’s methods.
Every sect remembers the Guards as rivals, for they stand not for philosophy or freedom, but for throne and empire alone.
The Han: Heroes of loyalty, who stood firm against treacherous ministers.
The Tang: “The crimson wall,” saviors during rebellion.
The Song: Fractured by corruption, remembered as divided shadows of a failing court.
The Yuan: Both betrayers and loyalists, torn between submission and resistance.
The Ming: The blade of terror — remembered as executioners and secret police.
The Qing: Survivors in silence, adapting into bureaucracy while keeping their creed alive.
To thrones, the Guards are both shield and weapon — indispensable, yet feared even by emperors who command them.
The Night of Crimson Cloaks: During a Tang rebellion, the Guards fought to the last man at the palace gates, their cloaks drenched red, buying enough time for imperial reinforcements to arrive.
The Jade Treachery: A commander who poisoned his emperor was executed by his own Guards, proving loyalty to the throne transcends loyalty to any one man.
The Siege of Tangmen Hollow: Royal Guards stormed Tangmen strongholds, enduring poisoned darts and blades, yet emerged victorious by sheer discipline.
The Duel of the Silent Square: A commander of the Guards defeated three wandering sect masters without a word spoken, embodying the silence of duty.
These stories shaped their image as shadows who fight not for self, but for empire.
Today, the Royal Guards remain feared, mistrusted, and indispensable. Their crimson cloaks are still seen at palace gates, their chains still drag traitors through alleys, their swords still gleam beneath banners of dragon and phoenix.
Rival sects may plot, dynasties may rise and fall, but as long as a throne exists, so too does its shadow. In Murim councils, their presence is both warning and guarantee: the emperor’s eyes are here, the emperor’s will is present.
They are not remembered for kindness, nor for philosophy, nor for freedom. They are remembered for their creed: The Throne Before All.
Summary:
The Royal Guards’ legacy is one of paradox — guardians and tyrants, saviors and butchers, feared and revered. They are remembered by people as both justice and silence, by sects as rivals and enforcers, and by dynasties as the shadow that never falters. In the current age, their role is unchanged: the crimson cloak that ensures no emperor ever stands alone.