: Actually, it would appear I've answered my own
: question--and Forrest just answered it, too. The
: Emperor wasn't killed at the beginning of the last
: Dark Age. The Myrkridia wrought havoc on humanity as a
: whole, but the Cath Bruig survived and Muirthemne
: never fell. The Emperor did die at the end of that
: Dark Age, but Connacht ascended to the throne
: immediately thereafter and so the Heron Guard felt
: bound to serve him.
: --SiliconDream
My feeling is that the Heron Guard protect the Emperor but if he dies in battle, they're cool with it--they did what they could, honor is served. The problem for them is that when Muirthemne fell they weren't around in large enough numbers to make a difference, and this time the Emperor didn't die in battle, he died in a firestorm they hadn't even tried to prevent (yes, there were extenuating circumstances, but they would still feel bad). Also, from their subsequent actions (as Jmen they stop being badass warriors and becomes "friends of the people") I would imagine that the loss of an entire civilian population probably got to them as well--not only did they fail the Emperor, they failed each and every one of his subjects as well.
