Wassergardenkorps

The k.p.k. Wassergardenkorps (Zusian: ᚦ᛫ᛈ᛫ᚦ ᛇᚨᛊᛊᛂᛡᚷᚨᛡᛑᛂᚾᚦᚬᛡᛈᛊ), usually known as the Zusian Water Guard, is the   force of Zusea. It is a multi-mission service unique among the Zusian military branches for its broad variety of duties, ranging from maritime to  to. The Water Guard is administered by the Hofka and commanded by the High Commodore and the Zusian Basilikar, both of whom sit on the Court War Council. It employs more than 20,000 active personnel and maintains an extensive fleet of 122 patrol ships, tenders, tugs, icebreakers, as well as 825 smaller boats and an aviation division of 101 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Created by Sibannakus the Magnificent in March 1818 along with the Marinakorps, the service was originally called the Zollkorps ("tariff corps") and tasked with collecting customs duties at Zusian seaports, most notably the rebellious ports of Nerotysia. At the time the Nerotysian port of Emborn was the second-largest in the country, and often failed or refused to cooperate properly with the new imperial tax authorities. Though initially unable to prosecute Zusian citizens due to the military's general lack of domestic authority, the Zollkorps engaged in the brief Zusian Tax War with the Kingdom of Nerotysia, as the recently-independent regional government insisted that the central government had no right to any tariff revenue from its ports. The crisis was resolved by the passage of the Seagoing Forces Act in 1825, in which the Räichstag granted the Zollkorps supreme powers over Zusian ports and disbanded the independent Nerotysian coast guard.

The modern Water Guard was formed by a merger of the Zollkorps and the Zusian Sea Rescue Service (Tatzscha Seenotdientsch) on 28 December 1925. In 1949, the Zusian Lighthouse Service (Tatzscher Scheinturmdientsch) was brought under the command of the Water Guard.

The Guardian's Oath
The Guardian's Oath (Wächtereid) is the ancient creed of the Nightcrawlers of the Vordic Empire (called the Aalwürmer in Zusian), which were ships tasked by the Emperor with guarding the Imperium's shores against piracy and slavers. The original author of the oath is unknown; some ancient sources claim that the poem was recovered from the wreck of the Polaris, the legendary nightcrawler that sacrificed itself to save a small fleet of merchant vessels from Redonian pirates.

All Water Guardsmen are required to swear the Oath before their term of service can begin.

The Guardian Ethos
In 2008, the Water Guard introduced the Guardian Ethos. High Commodore Oliver von Peck noted in a message to all guardsmen and women: [The Ethos] "encapsulates the soul of the Water Guard," and is the "contract the Water Guard and its sailors make with the empire and its citizens."

The Ethos is: