Civil Defence Corps of Hurmu

The Civil Defence Corps of Hurmu, established by the Secretariat of State of Utas Ayreon-Kalirion on 8.X.1751 AN, is a uniformed service organisation in Hurmu created with the remit to defend the Hanwen u-Brida (Way of Life) and further implement the Civil Defense and Protection Act, 1734 by maintaining emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and the coordination of the civil defence programmes of the realms under the sovereignty of Order of the Holy Lakes.

The Civil Defence Corps reports directly to the Minister of Civil Defence.

History

Directive Number One, issued on 8.X.1751 AN, mandated the establishment of a Central Board of Control for the Civil Defence Corps, comprised of ten commissioners supported by a Central Secretariat under a General Secretary who would sit on the Central Board of Control as a non-voting member. The Minister of Civil Defence would serve as the Chairman of the Central Board of Control.

Reporting to the Central Board of Control would be Operational Divisions of the Civil Defence Corps corresponding to each realm of Hurmu. Initially, each Operational Division would comprise of a Headquarters Section, responsible for staffing control centres and divided into three sub-sections.

• Intelligence and Operations Sub-Section, responsible for recording and analysing information and preparing instructions.
• Signal Sub-Section, responsible for installing, operating and maintaining communications systems.
• Scientific Research Sub-Section, responsible for advising controllers on scientific and technical aspects of the work of the Corps.

The Central Secretariat, in addition to providing administrative support to the Central Board of Control, would be responsible for establishing the Commissariat and Inspectorate Services of the Civil Defence Corps, responsible for the logistical and disciplinary support of the Operational Divisions.

Directive Number Two, issued on 9.X.1751, concerned the nomination of commissioners to the Central Board of Control, the appointment of a General Secretary, and the procedure for recruiting volunteers for the initial cadres of the Operational Divisions. On the same day, the Minister made a request of the Minister for the Fyrd to be allowed the immediate transfer of forty volunteers from the Peace Academy to the Civil Defence Corps. The request was discussed over an agreeable lunch at an upmarket restaurant, and rapidly approved in return for the prompt delivery of some rare Cimmerian brandy.

By 12.X.1751, the volunteers plucked from the Peace Academy, placated by the promise of extra credits and an enhanced bursary, had been ensconced in a rented warehouse in a business park on the outskirts of Huyenkula and set to the task of undertaking a study of the Imperial Constancian Fire Service, Disciplined services of Port Balaine, and the Uniformed services of Meckelnburgh.

On the same day, having now become more acquainted with his role, the newly appointed Minister of Civil Defence, acting in his capacity as Chairman of the Central Board of Control, recognised that the fledgling Corps could not afford to develop in isolation from the existing realm-level infrastructure mandated by the still-unamended Civil Defense and Protection Act of 1734. The realm Offices of Civil Defence, with their experienced Directors and specialised Deputy Directors, already possess established networks, local knowledge, quarterly reporting mechanisms, and realm-funded resources. Duplicating these structures risks inefficiency, jurisdictional confusion, and potential resistance from realm administrations. To ensure a smooth and legally compliant transition, the Minister opted for early collaboration rather than top-down imposition. Accordingly, on 12.X.1751 AN, the Minister issued an invitation memorandum to all serving Directors of the realm Offices of Civil Defence, summoning them to a two-day consultative conference at the Civil Defence Institute in Huyenkula. The Institute, originally established under the 1734 Act as the national training centre for civil defence staff, provided a neutral, purpose-built venue with lecture halls, accommodation, and training facilities ideally suited for the gathering.

Huyenkula Conference

The proposed agenda was rapidly circulated. Ostensibly it was to brief the Directors on the establishment of the Civil Defence Corps and its role in implementing and enhancing the 1734 Act. To that end the conference would be seeking:

• To solicit their expertise in shaping the structure of the realm-based Operational Divisions of the Corps.
• To explore practical pathways for integrating legacy personnel, programmes, and resources into the new uniformed service without disrupting ongoing civil preparedness activities.
• To discuss the future role of the Civil Defence Institute as the primary training academy for both legacy staff transitioning to the Corps and new volunteer recruits.

The consultative conference, rescheduled to 20.X–21.X.1751 AN to accommodate the travel demands of Directors arriving from distant realms such as Normandie and Transprinitica, was held at the modestly proportioned but well-appointed Civil Defence Institute on the outskirts of Huyenkula. Though the Institute’s primary function was training rather than hosting, its staff rose admirably to the occasion, transforming the main lecture theatre into a temporary conference chamber and the adjacent refectory into a dining hall befitting a gathering of senior civil defence officials.

Accommodation was provided in the Institute’s own dormitory blocks, usually reserved for course attendees, which had been hastily refurbished with fresh linen and small welcome packs containing local Huyenkula honey cakes and a pamphlet on the history of Hurmu’s civil defence efforts. Directors from more cosmopolitan realms quietly noted the austere but spotless rooms, while those from rural districts expressed genuine appreciation for the quiet and the absence of urban distractions. Catering was overseen by the Institute’s permanent kitchen team, supplemented by a detachment from the Order’s catering corps. Meals leaned heavily on traditional Hurmu cuisine: hearty rye breads, smoked lake fish, root vegetable stews, and an abundance of lingonberry preserves. Evening dinners featured a modest but respectable selection of regional wines and the non-alcoholic staple, cloudberry cordial. The highlight, universally praised even by the normally reserved Director from Samhold and Karnamark, was a late-autumn roast goose served on the first night, accompanied by a speech from the Institute’s quartermaster thanking attendees for their “continued service to the Lakes in times of calm and storm alike.” Coffee and tea stations, stocked with both Hurmu black tea and imported New Alexandrian blends, were positioned strategically in the corridors and remained open throughout both days, becoming informal hubs for conversation.

The Minister opened proceedings with a keynote address affirming that the Corps is not intended to supplant the 1734 Act framework but to professionalise and unify it under a single, recognisable banner. Directors expressed initial concerns about funding continuity, autonomy, and career progression, but appreciated the reassurance that their offices will form the operational core of the new realm divisions

Beneath the cordial surface, the conference hummed with the quiet manoeuvring typical of any gathering of ambitious civil servants answerable to different realm administrations.The Director from Amaland, a long-serving veteran of his regional office who had risen through the ranks, arrived with a small entourage of deputies and positioned himself as the unofficial spokesman for the “legacy” cohort, subtly emphasising continuity and institutional memory whenever the Minister spoke of “modernisation” and a “uniformed service.”

His counterpart from Lontinien, younger and openly enthusiastic about the Corps’ ethos, made a point of wearing a prototype Corps lapel pin and circulated annotated copies of the two executive directives, earning appreciative nods from the Minister’s aides but raised eyebrows from several older Directors.

After a generous lunch, with an accompanying selection of wines from the Vineyards of Mitra, the attendees broke out into realm-specific and functional groups to map the six Deputy Director roles onto the proposed Corps sub-sections.

The Director from the Lake District, known for a pragmatic rather than ideological approach, spent much of the breaks in quiet conversation with the General Secretary of the Central Secretariat, clearly angling for his realm’s Operational Division to be designated the pilot site for early integration trials.

A minor but amusing point of tension arose over seating arrangements at dinner: protocol officers had arranged tables by realm alphabetically, but several Directors gently rearranged place cards to ensure they sat nearer (or deliberately farther from) particular colleagues with whom old funding disputes or boundary disagreements lingered.

By the end of the second day, however, the shared meals, late-night cordial in the common room, and the Minister’s deliberate practice of seeking each Director’s opinion in turn had softened most edges. When the joint communiqué was drafted, it bore the genuine signatures of all attendees.

The key agreements coming out of the conference were as follows:

• Directors would serve as provisional Division Commanders pending formal integration.
• Joint recruitment and training courses would commence at the Institute in early 1752 AN.
• A standing Integration Liaison Committee, co-chaired by the General Secretary of the Central Secretariat and a rotating realm Director, would oversee the process.

Standing up the central institutions

With the consultative conference of 20.X–21.X.1751 AN having successfully placated the realm Directors of Civil Defence, by securing their provisional roles as Division Commanders and their commitment to integration, the Minister of Civil Defence turned his attention to the foundational support arms mandated in the establishing directives: the Commissariat Service and the Inspectorate Service. These services, designated as essential logistical and disciplinary pillars for the nascent Civil Defence Corps, had been outlined in Directive Number One (8.X.1751 AN) but remained entirely conceptual. The Central Secretariat, still operating from temporary offices in Huyenkula and staffed by the General Secretary and a handful of administrative aides, bore primary responsibility for their creation. The brief window between late X.1751 AN and the onset of XI.1751 AN (spanning the remaining days of Elroqpin and the early days of Vixaslaa) saw a flurry of focused, behind-the-scenes activity to lay their groundwork.

The Commissariat Service, intended to handle procurement, supply chain management, equipment maintenance, transport, and general logistical support for the expanding Operational Divisions, received priority due to the Corps' immediate material needs, namely uniforms, vehicles, training aids, and basic rations for the forty volunteers recently transferred from the Peace Academy.

In the final weeks of X.1751 AN, the General Secretary drafted and circulated an internal memorandum designating a provisional Head of Commissariat from among the more administratively experienced volunteers. This individual, a former quartermaster from the Lake District's legacy office, was tasked with conducting an inventory of existing realm-held stocks (tents, medical kits, and emergency rations) that could be transferred to Corps control.

Preliminary requisitions were submitted to the Ministry for seed funding to acquire standard-issue uniforms (designed in a practical dark-blue pattern with reflective piping) and basic transport three Snatch Land Rovers repurposed from the Fyrd's vehicle fleet.

By the transition into XI.1751 AN, small working groups began cataloguing potential depot sites, with a disused warehouse near the Civil Defence Institute earmarked as the interim central commissariat store.

The Inspectorate Service, charged with maintaining discipline, standards compliance, internal investigations, and training oversight across the uniformed Corps, developed more cautiously, reflecting its sensitive disciplinary remit. Shortly after the conference adjourned, the Minister personally selected a provisional Chief Inspector, a respected senior deputy from the legacy Response cadre known for impartiality, to lead planning.

During the closing days of X.1751 AN, this officer convened discreet meetings with the General Secretary to outline a basic code of conduct, drawing inspiration from the disciplinary frameworks of the studied foreign services (particularly Meckelnburgh's rigorous standards).

Initial efforts focused on preparatory rather than enforcement measures: drafting inspection checklists for future Operational Divisions and proposing a small cadre of inspectors to be trained alongside the first volunteer cohorts.

By early XI.1751 AN, the framework for an Inspectorate handbook had been sketched, emphasising fairness, transparency, and alignment with the Order's constitutional principles.

As the Civil Defence Corps hurried toward fuller operational status in the closing days of XI.1751 AN, a sharp but discreet internal dispute erupted within the Central Secretariat over the proper place of the Civil Defence Institute in the emerging structure.The provisional Chief Inspector, a meticulous and somewhat austere officer drawn from the legacy Response cadre, had grown increasingly convinced that the Institute, long the sole national centre for civil defence training, should be brought firmly under the new Inspectorate Service. In a strongly worded memorandum circulated to the General Secretary on 18.XI.1751 AN, he argued that only by placing the Institute within the Inspectorate could the Corps guarantee rigorous, uniform standards across all training programmes. He pointed to the Inspectorate’s remit for discipline, compliance, and oversight as the natural home for an academy that would shape the professional ethos of every Corps member. “To leave training in a semi-autonomous silo,” he wrote, “invites divergence, laxity, and the persistence of outdated realm-specific practices that the uniformed Corps was created to overcome.”

The proposal quickly found quiet support among a handful of younger Secretariat aides who admired Meckelnburgh’s tightly controlled emergency-service academies and saw the Inspectorate as the guardian of the Corps’ emerging corporate identity. They circulated an unsigned addendum suggesting that the Institute’s director be redesignated as a Deputy Chief Inspector (Training) and its campus flagged with Inspectorate insignia.

Opposition crystallised almost immediately, and far more vocally, from an unexpected coalition.The Head of Commissariat (provisional), the former Lake District quartermaster who had only weeks earlier secured the Institute’s refectory for the conference, objected on practical grounds. In a blunt reply memorandum dated 20.XI.1751 AN, he warned that folding the Institute into the Inspectorate would transform a welcoming educational establishment into what many volunteers would perceive as a “disciplinary watchdog’s lair.” He argued that recruits, many of them idealistic former Peace Academy students, would approach training with apprehension rather than enthusiasm if the same service that investigated misconduct also controlled their classrooms.More significantly, several of the realm Directors-turned-provisional Division Commanders registered private but firm protests. The Director from Amaland, still smarting from what he viewed as creeping centralisation, telegraphed the General Secretary to remind him that the conference had explicitly affirmed the Institute as the “primary training academy” for the Corps, not as an appendage of any single support service. He hinted—none too subtly—that any attempt to place it under the Inspectorate would be seen as a breach of the collaborative spirit only recently secured.

The General Secretary, caught between the competing factions and acutely aware that the Minister was already juggling recruitment targets and logistical shortages, moved swiftly to contain the dispute. In a closed-door meeting on 22.XI.1751 AN, he rejected outright incorporation into the Inspectorate, citing risks to morale and realm relations. Instead, he proposed, and the Minister endorsed the following day, a compromise: the Institute would remain an independent entity reporting directly to the Central Board of Control (and thus ultimately to the Minister), but the Inspectorate would be granted formal authority to set training standards, certify instructors, and conduct annual programmatic audits. The Chief Inspector accepted the outcome with restrained grace, though he insisted on a footnote in the final directive reserving the right to revisit the matter “once the Corps attains full establishment strength.”

The realm Directors, informed by discreet courier, expressed relief; the Commissariat Head simply requisitioned additional coffee for the Institute’s stores, muttering that some battles were best won by keeping the refectory neutral.

Thus, by the end of XI.1751 AN, the Civil Defence Institute survived as a distinct institution, neither swallowed by the Inspectorate nor left entirely untouched by it, preserving its role as the intellectual and formative heart of the Corps while acknowledging the new realities of uniformed service. The dispute, though brief, served as an early test of how delicately the Minister and Secretariat would need to balance central discipline with the legacies of decentralised cooperation.

Organisation

• Civil Defence Corps of Hurmu
  • Central Board of Control
    • Operational Divisions
    • Civil Defence Institute
  • Central Secretariat
    • Commissariat Service
    • Inspectorate Service