- "First week of the month of the Yellow Ferret to find the twelve greatest fighters in the land to become our elite Centurion Guard.[...] Anyway, we offered fame, glory, and instant wipe-clean of your criminal record, including uh-huh banishment marks."
- ―Fen
The Centurion Guards are a group of elite fighters that are to carry important or dangerous missions and are the direct protection of the High King.
The Tournament[]
The tournament was inspired by the movie The Dirty Dozen (not the porn one) where outlaws were hired to do a high-risk mission during World War II in exchange for a pardon of their crime. [1]
Margo during the tournament
High King Fen created a tournament in spring, during Yellow Ferret Season, where criminals and less favourable people could apply to be in the guard. Those people would be a group who has for a specific goal to find the Dark King and kill the Takers that was starting to overtake Fillory. In exchange, they would get a full pardon from the crown.
The participants can enter the tournament with the weapon of his choice which becomes the only one they can use during the fights. Magic is not seen as a weapon and can be used in combat and to give yourself an advantage. (When Margo Hanson enters she applies Singh's Advanced Skin Hardening spell on herself and use magic against Fen) The tournament is a one against one battle per bracket. Each bracket has five contestants. The one who manages to vanquish the four other opponents become the champion and a centurion guard. To win, your opponent must be killed, knocked out or decide to forfeit their place. At first, it seemed that everyone was welcome to apply but with time it became that only one woman could be a centurion. Should there be more than one in the winners, they should fight until only one win. [2]
Under the Dark King[]
- "-His Majesty is immortal, yes, but he is not invulnerable. Which makes us?
-Expendable." - ―Captain of the Centurions and Margo
Under the Dark King, the centurions act as close guard of the king while he is in the palace, accompany him when goes against the takers and ensure the security of citizen who might have been abducted. He uses the guard to distract the takers while he summons the spells that remove them.
The centurions are also used during Bick Pickwick campaign against the Fairies, using some to capture hidden ones or doing raids on their camps.[3]
