The Black Guard began as a small group of PURE BLACK dragons (there are no mixed breeds in the Guard) disaffected with Nargus' bloodthirsty reign. While Black dragons on Aerdon are cruel brutes, as seen by most races, they do have a code of honour, however hazy, and it is one to be adhered to as it has aided in the survival of the race since their creation. Nargus, in his arrogance, disregarded these simple laws at his convenience and that behavior was eventually his downfall.

Nargus' military losing confidence in him came at a fortuitous time for Araxmarr, and came about, in part because of his time spent on Nargus' rack in the Hanging Gardens. By the Black Dragons' code, Blood-kin are not to be wounded or killed unless a grave breach of conduct is committed, family is sacred and Nargus' torturing of his own heir rubbed many of his elite captains wrong. Once free from the Gardens, Araxmarr used this anger over his treatment to wage a silent war on his sire in vengeance for the death of Lorelei, an off-world female dragon Araxmarr had intended to be bonded to, and the mother of Chari Blackthorn. Over time, Araxmarr was able to subvert nearly 2/3 of his father's core army to his camp, each Black taking a bond-mark on their right shoulder blade, a wreath of black thorns with the rampant black dragon, the ORIGINAL heraldry, something Nargus had cast aside in favor of a coiled serpent woven within the same wreath of thorns.

The Hunt:

For centuries, Araxmarr kept his private war and true feelings from his sire, waiting for the trap to be sprung, but fate changed his plans dramatically. As an assassin, Araxmarr had to follow his fathers orders and was sent to eliminate the ruling family of the Eldredae Elves in the far south of Nehlmere, the idea being, without their widowed Queen and Princes, the Silmetaurea would be easy pickings for conquest. Only two heirs of the Eldredae throne were left alive; Kyra, who'd fled years before into the NeutralLands, and Krassc, who'd been missing and presumed dead for centuries. Nargus, upon learning of Kyra's whereabouts and the fact she'd born several children to human, and a former soldier, recalled Araxmarr to the Keep, and sent him after Kyra.

Fate altered the course of the Black Guards' history once more, as Araxmarr fell in love with a half-elven child of Kyra and once that knowledge was brought to the attention of Nargus, the then Emperor led out his personal guard, a small group still loyal to him, and destroyed his son and every creature in the village where Kyra Eldredae-Diamondwood had made her home. The 'death' of Araxmarr left the Black Guard in turmoil, and it wasn't long before Nargus figured out what had happened to his military, but had no idea how many had lost their loyalty to him.

The hunt began, and during the few weeks of Araxmarr's absence and assumed death, Nargus and his remaining guard began a stealthy elimination of those discovered to bear the mark of Araxmarr.

The Inquisitions:

Those found to have the mark, were subjected to torture in the Gardens, Daemonorel being the first to take the mark was subjected to the worst of the treatment and was forced to watch his mate, a female Black of questionable blood to which he was freshly soul-bonded, die a slow and miserable death, then was made aware that years before, she'd born a daughter to him and had left the child to be raised outside the Keep. Few, if any of the Black Guard gave Nargus any information, and it was during this period that Task Diamondwood and the group of assorted people arrived in the Keep to end Nargus's life. Task, while hated for her elvish blood and seen as being responsible for Araxmarr being slaughtered was still viewed as a means to an end, and as actually assisted in her quest to kill the Emperor.

During Araxmarr's Reign:

After Araxmarr's return, The Guard viewed Task as something of a savior, but her being married to their new Emperor was a sticking point to many of the Blacks, regardless of her ridding Aerdon of Nargus. Needless to say, the Black Guard did little complaining when Araxmarr posted the majority of them away from the Keep to protect the borders of the Blackthorn territories. The Emperor did keep a firm hand on his Guard; looting, murder, theft, and other assaults on the various and sundry people dwelling in the Diirlathe were not to be harmed, but protected, yet another sticking point, but one obeyed with no questions.
With open war with Nargus at hand, the Black Guard has been recalled to the Keep and are the first line defense during the aerial attacks by Nargus.

Rank:

The Black Guard consists generally of more males than females, for one simple reason, the females will NOT leave hatchlings or a nest for battle, as this is part of their way of life, however those that are part of the Black Guard are looked on as equals and have an equal opportunity at rising in rank. Generally speaking, the higher the rank, the stronger the bond to Araxmarr.

The Guard has a simple manner of Ranking, and it is as follows:

Emperor: Araxmarr Zavern Sar'da is the supreme word, the end all and be all commander. His orders are not countermanded, and the Black Guard accepts NO ORDERS from Araxmarr's spawn, the Black Prince Akavian, ANYONE.

General: Yarwin Blackthorn serves as the general for the Silver Guard. Discipline and control of the Silver Guard falls on his shoulders, with the exception being if a Tribunal is called. In which case, the defendant is subject to a jury of peers, a tribune of both Black and Silver Captains.

Captains:

Beneath Araxmarr's 'rank' are the Black Captains, of which Daemon is generally accepted as the leader considering his seniority, and seniority does carry a lot of weight with the Guard. The Captains are responsible for each FLIGHT assigned them, and are aided by Lieutenants.
Lieutenants: Lieutenants are responsible for their own WING, a smaller group that makes up the FLIGHT. There are far more Lieutenants than Captains, and this position seems to have a great deal of turnover, as leaders of the wings are generally picked off first during battle.

WingGuard:

WingGuards have two sub-ranks, Right and Left. They are the two dragons that hover immediately behind the Lieutenant on his/her left or right, if the wing is in V formation. The Right WingGuard takes the rank of Lieutenant should the current Lieutenant fall in battle. The Left assumes the Right WingGuard's position when this occurs and so on and so forth, with the Sargtlin behind the Right WingGuard moving into the Left WingGuard position.

Sargtlin Renor (Black Warrior): Simply and bluntly put, the arrow-catchers of the Guard, the Grunts. This rank is the hardest to control and has the lightest bond to the Emperor, which means for a dragon to assume or be elevated the Rank of Lieutenant or higher, that dragon MUST have a strong will, constitution and generally be able to control large groups of the lower ranking Sargtlin.

FLIGHTS, WINGS and Fighting Formation:

Only Araxmarr's Black Guard are disciplined enough to use formation and while scoffed at by Nargus and his ilk as being too rigid, the fighting formations can and do have crushing results, far better than attacking in individual brawls.
Flights: A Flight is an offensive or planned defensive formation that resembles to the naked eye on the ground a V shaped cloud of black dragons, but actually there is method to the madness. The Captains lead out the FLIGHTS...a large formation composed of several WINGS of dragons, each Wing consisting of no less than three dragons in formation, no more than 7, as to get more together in a Wing than that would hard to manage and cumbersome. To a foe meeting a Flight head on, there appears to be layer upon layer of dragons with flame filling the air space between.

Wings:

Each Wing in Flight formations will fly at a different, staggered level, in either a tight V formation, or inverted V, depending on what or who is being attacked, the Lieutenant of the Wing being at the apex of the V at all times.
During the surprise attacks on the Keep at Laer, only individual wings consisting of three to five dragons are used, as the speed, maneuverability and control smaller numbers afford are necessary to successful defense. During peace-time, the Black Guard will participate in regular war-games and practice flights, as the constant precision necessary for keeping the formations tight without injury to each other or accidental flaming of one's comrade is critical for the survival and success of the Wing, and therefore, the Flight. Any mistake either in flaming or flying could be and has been in the past, catastrophic.

Numbers:

The total number of the Black Guard, during and after the Scorched Earth timeline, stands thusly:

15 Flights, each Flight having 30 Wings, each Wing, at full strength, consisting of 7 dragons = 3150 Black Guard total, 2505 Sargtlin Renor, 210 Right WingGuards, 210 Left WingGuards, 210 Lieutenants, 15 Captains.

Note: This is only the number of the BLACK Guard. The Silver Guard has lower numbers, however, their numbers are increasing as time goes by.

Current Black and Silver Guard and Their Rank:

NOTE: This is not ALL the Guard, only those currently being written.

First Captains:
Daemonorel Ashev - Black Guard
Elandriil Datari - Silver Guard

Captains:
Erinya Dhaunae - Black
Altorian Ashka - Black
Atas Saad'ra - Black
Trevis Shaka - Black
Areq Datari - Silver
Alena Dhaeraow - Silver
Darrtur Inarban - Silver
Acylone - Silver

Lieutenants/Right WingGuards:
Dorian Ashev - Black
Gabriel Silinrul - Black
Domation Stratha - Black
Ivette Razvancha - Black
Tarshille Mearta - Silver