Warden Fendant

The Warden Fendant is the outward‑watching office of a math, responsible for maintaining sentinels and surveillance along the rooftop perimeter of the Mynster’s central complex.

First Appearance and Context

It is introduced in an architectural description of the Mynster and its central tower, the Praesidium. Built atop the steeply vaulted roof is the aerie of the Warden Fendant. The aerie encloses an inner court squared around the Præsidium—divided into storerooms and headquarters—while its outer edge forms an open walkway that allows the Fendant’s sentinels to pace a full circuit in a few minutes, seeing to the horizon in all directions except where structural elements intervene. Along the same elevation, the Warden Regulant’s windows sit tucked below the sentinels’ walkway, emphasizing the division between outward and inward oversight. Gargoyles mounted on the supporting braces mirror this split: half (the Fendant gargoyles) gaze outward, while the Regulant gargoyles look down into the concent.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Maintain an outward watch over the surrounding lands from the Mynster’s heights.
• Field and direct sentinels who patrol the rooftop perimeter walkway.
• Provide early sighting of approaching activity beyond the walls, complementing the inward‑focused oversight of the Warden Regulant.
• Assess extramuros movements and authorities, advising the math on distinctions between groups such as the Warden of Heaven and the Panjandrums (the Sæcular Power).
• Plan and implement precautionary measures around Apert, including adjustments to watch and access control during the days when gates are open.
• Staffing and affiliation: positions in the office are held by hierarchs; training internships are associated with the Order of the New Circle and may be assigned to promising avout.
• Ahead of solemn services in the Mynster, the office has been observed clearing and securing the rooftop works and muster rooms; the Warden Fendant personally swept the level and ordered non‑essential personnel out before a Convocation.

Location and Structure

• Headquarters in the aerie constructed on the flat roof above the Mynster’s vaulted ceilings.
• Inner court arranged around the Præsidium with enclosed workspaces and storage.
• Open periphery walkway supported by close‑spaced braces, each capped by a gargoyle; Fendant gargoyles face outward.
• Access controls at this height include a portcullis that can close the Warden Fendant’s court and a small bridge that links it to the Regulant court.
• Muster rooms and equipment stores line the inner walk; storage chambers hold metal crates of munitions that are periodically rotated out after long service lives and replaced by community hand‑to‑hand chains up the stairs when new stock arrives.
• The Fendant’s ledge offers a downward view into the concent; avout who step to its parapet sometimes hood themselves to respect the Discipline against gazing extramuros. Sentinels have been seen patrolling here even in deep winter, wearing bulky winter‑bolts and mukluks.
• Memorials in the Fendant court honor past holders; a prominent bronze depicts Amnectrus—Warden Fendant at the time of the Third Sack—kneeling behind a parapet, with his actual rifle and a drift of spent casings mounted as relics on the base, which also serves as his sarcophagus.
• A high ledge associated with the office is referenced as Warden Fendant's Ledge.

Relationships and Counterparts

• Counterpart to the Warden Regulant, whose domain is symbolically and physically below the sentinels’ level and oriented inward toward the concent.
• Works at the interface with extramuros authorities and investigators within the math; when external situations evolve, avout may consult with the office and the Warden Fendant may relay concerns to and from the outside.
• In ordinary times, the boundary between the two wardens’ jurisdictions is the top of the wall; during Apert—when the wall effectively ceases to exist for ten days—responsibilities overlap and coordination becomes more complex.
• During rites held in the Mynster (e.g., the aut at Provener), the Warden Fendant sits to the Primate’s left, while the Warden Regulant sits to the right.

Current Status

Active, with a visible presence atop the Mynster where sentinels continue to patrol the rooftop circuit. At this time the office is held by Fraa Delrakhones. He has been observed seated to the Primate’s left during a rite in the Mynster and, during the opening of the gates, standing aside with the Primate as visitors enter. In the lead‑up to Apert, the Warden Fendant met with avout to review concerns and indicated additional precautions would be put in place, and the holder is monitoring reports from other Wardens Fendant. Intern roles connected with the office are currently being filled by members associated with the New Circle.