The Silverbrand Mercenaries: A Deep Dive

Blades for Coin, Shields for the Powerful

The Silverbrand Mercenaries are a private military company operating within and around Freeport, offering their services to the highest bidder. Unlike common sell-swords, they are a well-organized, highly trained force, providing elite protection, tactical support, and military expertise to those who can afford them.

While they have no official allegiance, their strongest ties lie with Freeport’s noble families, who employ them for personal security, political maneuvering, and private military operations beyond what the Freeport Military can legally or effectively provide.

The Silverbrand name carries weight—not just in Freeport, but across Anuheim. They are ruthless, efficient, and fiercely loyal to their contracts. While they are not pirates, bandits, or simple sellswords, their morality is entirely dictated by the coin they receive.

Origins of the Silverbrand Mercenaries

The Silverbrand Mercenaries trace their roots to Freeport’s earliest days, though their exact origins are heavily debated. Some say they were once renegade knights from a fallen kingdom, others claim they were exiled soldiers turned mercenaries. Whatever the truth, the Silverbrand name first appeared on Freeport’s records over a century ago, when a group of disciplined warriors arrived in the city, offering their services as hired protectors.

Their name, Silverbrand, supposedly refers to the silver rings each member wears, signifying their oath to the company and their neutrality in all conflicts. Others believe it refers to the first contract they ever signed.

Over the years, the Silverbrand Mercenaries have become an essential part of Freeport’s power structure, often serving as a buffer between the nobility and the growing instability of the world outside the city’s walls.

Structure & Organization

Unlike ragtag mercenary bands, the Silverbrand Mercenaries operate with military precision. Their chain of command is strict, their soldiers well-trained, and their contracts ironclad.

The Silverbrand Council

A group of veteran commanders who oversee operations, ensuring contracts are honored and the company remains profitable and respected.

The Council rarely takes direct action, instead issuing orders and ensuring Silverbrand mercenaries are deployed where they are most effective—and most valuable.

They maintain strong ties to Freeport’s noble families, carefully navigating political tensions to ensure the company remains independent yet indispensable.

Silverbrand Captains

The operational leaders, responsible for managing individual contracts, deployments, and battlefield decisions.

Each Captain has their own specialized unit, trained for different types of combat and assignments.

Captains often negotiate contracts personally, ensuring that their forces are deployed only when the coin is worth the risk.

The Silverbrand Companies

The Silverbrand Mercenaries are divided into specialized groups, each suited for different kinds of warfare:

The Ironguard

Specialists in protection, trained to guard nobles, diplomats, and high-value targets.

Often embedded within Freeport’s noble estates, they serve as personal guards, estate defenders, and political enforcers.

Their loyalty is to the contract, not the person—if an employer can no longer pay, the Ironguard simply walks away.

The Stormlances

Heavily armored warriors who excel in direct combat, specializing in open warfare and sieges.

Rarely deployed within Freeport—used primarily in private wars, frontier conflicts, and large-scale battles.

When nobles need a show of force, they call upon the Stormlances to make their enemies think twice.

The Shadowmarks

The most feared division of the Silverbrand Mercenaries, specializing in espionage, sabotage, and assassinations.

Highly secretive—most people in Freeport don’t even know they exist.

Their services are the most expensive, often used to eliminate political rivals, disrupt enemy operations, or retrieve high-value information.

The Ashen Blades

Deployed to Freeport’s countryside and beyond, tasked with dealing with goblin raiders, securing supply lines, and defending mercantile interests outside city walls.

They are often at odds with the Freeport Military, as their presence exposes how ineffective the official army is at handling external threats.

Some farmers and merchants prefer to pay the Ashen Blades directly, rather than relying on Freeport’s weak outer defenses.

Reputation & Operations

The Silverbrand Mercenaries operate under one fundamental rule:

“Honor the contract.”

• They do not betray their employers—as long as their coin holds.

• They do not switch sides mid-battle, even if offered twice the payment.

• They do not fight without a contract—every battle they engage in has a price and agreement.

This reputation has made them both respected and feared—nobles know that once Silverbrand is hired, they will not be outbid. But it also makes them dangerous, as their loyalty is tied entirely to wealth.

Relationship with Freeport

While not officially tied to Freeport’s government, the noble families rely on Silverbrand more than they care to admit.

• They are hired for personal security, ensuring that nobles are safe from assassins, rivals, and rebellion.

• They are used to enforce political decisions, deploying forces where the Freeport Military cannot legally act.

• They bolster Freeport’s external defenses, often doing the work that the official military refuses to handle.

However, as Freeport grows in power, Silverbrand finds itself in a precarious position:

• They are too valuable to be ignored, but too independent to be controlled.

• Their influence is growing, and some nobles fear they are becoming more powerful than the aristocracy itself.

• With enough coin, they could become more than mercenaries—they could become a ruling force.