Rakkisguard

"Glory to Westmarch. I will defend its honor until my death!"

- Commander Kaya^(src)

Rakkisguard
Race	Humans
Leader	General Torion
Affiliation	Westmarch
Headquarters	Westmarch
Type	City guard
Standing	Presumed defunct
Appearances	Diablo Immortal Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Moon of the Spider

The Rakkisguard (a.k.a. the Westmarch Guard) is the city guard of Westmarch.

Lore

"The Westmarch guard is out in full force. Still, I suppose it makes sense..."

- Charsi^(src)

Both men and women serve in the Rakkisguard. Their ranks include archers, shieldmen, and pikemen. Officers bear the sigil of the Rakkisguard (a wolf), and can be distinguished by their wolf pelts. They wear red and white plate armor, and their shields display a red wolf. At least some of their helmets are plumed.

The Guard posted bounties in Westmarch from various patrons.

History

Moon of the Spider

In 1265, King Cornelius passed away. Per the line of succession, Justinian was next in line for the throne. As with every other time a king passed away, uncertainty was in the air, given Westmarch's feudal system. Justinian ordered that the Rakkisguard be pulled back from the city walls to shore up the palace, reasoning that the capital was under no threat of invasion, and that a show of force in his seat of power would discourage any noble from challenging his right to rule. Despite his misgivings, General Torion obeyed. Half of the Rakkisguard were removed from the walls for the sake of Justinian's coronation.

In truth, this was part of Justinian's mad scheme to secure his own ascension, albeit under the influence of Karybdus. The Rakkisguard facing the forest near Westmarch were ordered by Captain Alec Matteus to douse the lamps along the wall and take off their helmets. Despite the questionable orders, the soldiers obeyed, at least at first, but by then, it was too late—in the darkness that had resulted from the doused torches, the Children of Astrogha had scaled the outer wall, undetected. Outnumbered and vulnerable, the guards were quickly overwhelmed. Some were killed, others were controlled by the spiders. Their human puppets then opened the gates, allowing the main swarm to enter Westmarch.

The Children swarmed through Westmarch. Shrieks rang through the air, and quickly fell silent. The spiders were quickly discovered by General Torion, who fought them alongside his fellow Rakkisguard. They fared better than the guards had on the outer wall, as Torion quickly realized that the spiders were controlling human hosts (and gave orders for all helmets to be secured), and were vulnerable to fire. However, such were the spiders' numbers, they were forced to fall back.

The situation was desparate. While the fires were vulnerable to fire, rain was making the flames feeble. While the spiders were no longer able to take the Rakkisguard as hosts, they were able to bite them, killing them nearly instantly given their venom. Salene Nesardo realized that if things continued, Torion might have to choose between letting the spiders take Westmarch, or burning the city to the ground.

The battle continued to rage. Reinforcements steadily joined the front, but when it came to numbers, the Children of Astrogha had the advantage. They began pouring over every wall, and began to take Westmarch's citizens as their hosts, making them akin to the walking dead. At least a fifth of the capital was either ablaze or had been burnt to the ground, the rain was going stronger, and oil stockpiles were running out. However, with the banishment of Astrogha, his children stopped dead in their tracks, and withered away, the rain itself washing away their dust.

Dawn of Damnation

The Westmarch Guard in 1270

In 1270, the Westmarch Guard vetted refugees from Ashwold, before letting them into Westmarch.

In a vision granted by the Einfrinn Tree, Westmarch was overrun by the Wrathborne. The Westmarch Guard tried to defend the city, but were overrun by the demons. This future was apparently avoided by a hero/group of heroes.

The Reapers

In 1285, the guard was decimated by the Reapers when they attacked Westmarch—many of its members were raised as undead revenants in the Reapers' thrall. A number of Rakkisguard were able the secure The Survivors' Enclave. Outside this area, various guards continued to fight the Reapers, and were aided by the Nephalem. Of note, some Rakkisguard sided with Lord Wynton as he attempted to seize power.

In-game

The Westmarch Guard appear in Westmarch in Diablo Immortal. Some of their members serve as NPCs.

The Rakkisguard are represented by Westmarch Soldiers in Act V of Diablo III. They mostly appear as friendly NPCs, or in one event, as enemies. Rakkisguard items can be worn by the player's character.

Known Members

A Rakkisguard officer

• General Torion (not necessarily a member himself, but had command)
• Captain Vonn
• Commander Kaya
• Lieutenant Derric
• Lieutenant Dunn
• Lieutenant Fizriah
• Sergeant Samuels
• Quartermaster Derek

Deceased

• Captain Alec Matteus
• Boromir
• Gerard
• Stefan
• Dale Hawthorne
• Igor Stalfos
• Magnar
• Trejiak

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

The Westmarch Guard as seen in early versions of Diablo Immortal

• They are likely named after Rakkis, the founder of Westmarch.
• It is not entirely clear if the Westmarch Guard and Rakkisguard are the same group. However, they functionally both serve the same purpose as a city-guard of Westmarch. Ergo, the article has treated them as being synonymous.
• In early versions of Diablo Immortal, the Westmarch Guard wore black armor. In the final version, their armor was changed to white, syncing with their depiction in Diablo III.
  • In Moon of the Spider, while not outright named, the Rakkisguard appears to be present. Their visual description matches that in Diablo III.