Nohecharei

Nohecharei are the traditional guardians of the emperor, “sworn to die before they would allow harm to come to him: one, the soldier, to guard with his body and the strength of his arm; the other, the maza, to guard with his spirit and the strength of his mind.”

Details
“The Emperor of the Elflands has both the right and the obligation to be attended at all times by the nohecharei, the guardian of the body and the guardian of the spirit.” Nohecharei are buried with their emperor. During an emperor's coronation, after the uncrowned emperor goes to the vigil chapel, the nohecharei give the emperor their oaths, binding them to the emperor to death and beyond. Nohecharei are at least sometimes cremated when buried with the emperor.

Should the emperor die under their watch, his nohecharei kill themselves at the feet of his corpse. Nohecharei are sworn to silence about anything they witness in the emperor's presence.

Nohecharei are not servants, but they are not the emperor's equals: they are his bodyguards.

The nohecharei stand guard at doorways and accompany the emperor most everywhere, including his bedroom, and observe his meals. One nohecharis guards the emperor in his bedroom, so they eat when they're off-duty or the emperor is sleeping, and will trade off eating, leaving the other nohecharis to guard. Sometimes, protecting the emperor can involve verbal attempts to remove unwanted visitors, rather than physical attacks, though nohecharei will fight and even kill when needed to protect their emperor.

There are seemingly two pairs of nohecharei who work in shifts. They are separated seemingly by who was appointed first, in their pair: the first pair appointed are the First Nohecharei, while the second pair are the Second Nohecharei. This does not change if one partner is replaced (e.g., Kiru Athama replaced Dazhis Athmaza, and became Maia Drazhar's Second Nohecharis, not his Third). One of the rare times the pairs attend an emperor all together is during an emperor's coronation, and at least sometimes during emergencies. Nohecharei also seemingly have oaths to each other, possibly not to cause the other nohecharei (particularly their partner) intentional harm in the course of their duties, or to otherwise betray them.

There is nothing apparently sacred about which pair guards on what days; it seems to be more of a scheduling issue.

The captain of the Untheileneise Guard appoints a nohecharei soldier from among their ranks. Alternatively for maza, only dachenmazei become nohecharei, and they are traditionally asked, and can refuse. Although the appointment/request is by different individuals, the head of each association seems to have some sway over both nohecharei. Nohecharei are seemingly traditionally male.

Maia Drazhar's nohecharei included Deret Beshelar, Cala Athmaza, Telimezh, Dazhis Athmaza, and Kiru Athmaza.

Members

 * Cala Athmaza (First Nohecharis to Edrehasivar VII)
 * Dazhis Athmaza (Second Nohecharis to Edrehasivar VII) (deceased)
 * Deret Beshelar (First Nohecharis to Edrehasivar VII)
 * Hanevis Athmaza (Nohecharis to Beltanthiar III) (deceased)
 * Kiru Athmaza (Second Nohecharis to Edrehasivar VII)
 * Telimezh (Second Nohecharis to Edrehasivar VII)