Fiction:Sorcerers of Rathan/War Legions

"Let them hate us. They can hold onto their hatreds, so long as we hold the lash in the end."

- A Rathan Warrior

Command
Commander= Commanders are the fell-handed and foul-spirited lords of the Armies of the Rathan, and highest servants of the Sorcerers. These warriors are master strategists and lords of the armies, chosen from among the best and most cold-hearted leaders among the great Warriors raised by the Sorcerers for their armies. Commanders, due to their strength and power, have killed and butchered their way into the ranks of the Sorcerer's secular leaders. As the Sorcerers cannot be everywhere at once, they require their commanders to not only rule in their name, but to lead army expeditions and slave raids in their place for when the Sorcerer needs to be somewhere important.
 * Weapons - Varies
 * Defenses - Heavy armor
 * Equipment -

Commanders yield many brutal weapons, several using weapons they carried in their early days as warriors and such, many carrying either two-handed Battle axes, or one handed axes, while others use powerful rifles or fireglaives for ranged combat. The Commanders all yield their weapons with expert skill, having taken care of them since a young age, and having the connections to upgrade their damage and abilities beyond a normal weapon's abilities.

Their armor is heavy and blackened, every step a booming one, their massive frames built like tanks, and capable of surviving any attack, be it artillery or tank shots to their bodies. Any who attack the Commanders, often find their attacks mean little in the face of these iron-willed commanders. Commanders will often sit and laugh at their foes as numerous blows fall upon their bodies, waiting until either their foes run out of ammo, or they grow tired, before the Commander smashes them aside.

The Sorcerers entrust these warriors with everything under their command, and the numerous Commanders coordinate multiple areas of suppressing slaves, keeping industries working and making sure the will of the Sorcerers is enforced. Although the Sorcerers are ruthless in politics and power, backstabbing and ruining the lives and destroying their rivals in order to gain power. Commanders have some respect for each other, proportional to their success, and sabotage is seen as dishonorable to their comrades. So long as one is capable, he keeps his position, and his respect. If he fails, the Sorcerer will mat out his punishment, and as such, his fellows need not bother with him for too long.

Commanders are also prone to respecting and admiring their foes, and often will offer such deserving foes a chance to join them and become part of the Rathanii, though this offer is usually not accepted. Commanders, while sad at losing a fellow warrior, will also be glad they get to fight the foe one last time and be the one to kill them.

Sorcerer-Lord= Sorcerer-Lords are the masters and supreme rulers of the Sorcerers of Rathan, made up of various Sorcerers who made their way into a position of power through guile, strength and intellect. The Sorcerer-Lords are powerful leaders of the various Clans of the Sorcerers, chosen from among the Rathanii who show the strongest grasp of Dark Alchemy powers, and have been taken under by an elder Sorcerer Lord who trains and teaches the younger so that he is ready for a position of power within the Rathanii. The constant politics and powerplays makes these Rathanii terrible foes, and one that few want to deal with or underestimate.
 * Weapons - Staff of Power, Aster Blade
 * Defenses - Heavy armor
 * Equipment -

The Rathanii sorcerers take many years to train and hone their powers, often spending the time reading over ancient tomes of shadowy and diabolic lore, learning how to channel various powers based on their ancestry, the Sorcerer they are bound to serve and learn form, and those that catch their interest from the time they are mature enough to learn to channel their powers. Be it commanding fire and magma to burn their foes to ash, turning their foes to stone or iron statues, or stopping and reversing time, the Rathanii Sorcerer-Prophets are dangerous and deadly foes without many equals.

Though the powers their Dark Alchemy provide them are often enough, many a times, the Sorcerer-Lords have had to use more "basic" methods to defeat their foes in battle and face down their victims in war. They often carry staffs of mighty power and position to represent them as their badge of office. These staffs often end in blades or hammerheads, and are used to swat aside certain foes in battle, though most prefer their Dark Aster blades. These energy blades seem similar to many of the blades used by other powers, but resemble a medieval broadsword, specifically an Arming Sword. Such blades allow them slice cleanly through flesh and bone, and the hardest armors without issue.

The baroque armor they wear reflects their status, along with the great robes across their backs and shoulders, all revealing their status as the rulers and unquestioned masters of their society. Unlike their kin in the Prime universe, there is no equality or respect amongst the rulers of the Sorcerers and Clan-Prophets. There is power, and when the chance comes to gain more power, their rivals must fall like pawns to their plans. Be it engineering a slave revolt to kill their rival in the chaos, or sabotaging forges at the right moment, nothing is beyond the reach of these few power-hungry lords and tyrants.

Pawn= Pawns are the almost-lobotomized servants of the Sorcerers, hand-picked officers, aides and court-vassals to the Sorcerers, and their officers on the ground and in space, always within a few meters of their Sorcerer, unless ordered elsewhere, and always ready to strike. They are cultivated from those who have power in certain essences, magic powers and other esoteric abilities the Sorcerers find interesting, but not enough to warrant their joining of the actual Sorcerer Spire-Paths that build their society. As such, these beings more or less are designed to be good servants and assists to their lords, but not threatening enough to hold power themselves.
 * Weapons - Aster Blades
 * Defenses - Light armor
 * Equipment -

Every Pawn is chosen from among the candidates judged to weak to carry out the powers of a Sorcerer of Rathan, and as such, comes to be sent to the Chambers, areas were their heads and skulls are carved open, and a special mind-control "Shadow crown" is placed within their skull. Hence forth, this crown will control their actions, guide their thoughts and allow them to tap into certain knowledge pools from their masters. Every Sorcerer has a certain way of building their Shadow Crowns that allows them to connect with their Pawns, and their pawns alone. No other Sorcerer, without express permission, can tap into these Crowns, and no crown can be removed, removal resulting in death, so that no Pawn may escape his service without dying in combat.

Pawns are armed wit the same Aster Blades that other Sorcerers and high ranking members use, and these blades allow them to cleave apart any foe that stands in their way, leaping, dashing and easily out-maneuvering all but the best foes with their agility. For this reason, they wear little armor, and wear only long-coats over what appears to be normal clothing, though is laced with a polymer material capable of withstanding a lucky shot or two if a Pawn is caught unawares.

When a Rathan Sorcerer commands his legions to war, a number of Pawns act as high commanders and officers under the Commander, and lead segments of troops into battle. With mere gestures of the hand, foot and slight tips of the head, they can command troops to certain positions, to fire at certain angles, and hold position. Such training takes years to master, even with their altered and mechanically tortured brains, but a Pawn has nothing else on his or her mind but to complete the tasks given to him.

Frontline Infantry
Warrior= Warriors are the iron-clad, heavy foot troops that form the core of Rathan's legions. They are a grim-faced, spiteful group, driven by pure hatred and unrelenting malice to see their foes dead and grounded into dust and ash. These warriors are drawn from the Lower Echelon Clans within the Spires and cities of Rathan, and are bound by the will and word of the Sorcerer who commands their section of the city or colony. The Warriors will, when called upon, will rally to his cause and fight for whatever goals he has in mind. In their downtime, every Rathan citizen is an artificer, landowning farmer/food producer or some other upper middle class job, but, as their population of slaves far outstrips them, and their ancestors were all warriors, this means that every citizen is also a highly trained soldier, often with centuries of experience under his or her belt. As such, whether it be slave raids or full out war, the Rathan always have legions of dedicated, heavily armed and armored soldiers ready to go to war for their masters.
 * Weapons - Plasma Rifles, Swords, Axes
 * Defenses - Heavy Armor
 * Equipment - Jetpacks, Grenades

A Warrior is a grim being to face in battle. They have, for centuries, dedicated themselves to fighting and martial excellence, and are ready to lay down their lives for their masters, but, above all, lay waste to any forces that oppose the Sorcerers of Rathan. The Warriors care little for honor or position, only seeking the total eradication of their foes on the battlefield, and the enslavement of any survivors. They will unleash roiling tides of Plasma Rifles to fry and burn away the flesh and armor of their foes with every shot. Honor is an irrelevant concept to them, all that matters is victory, and as such, their Plasma Rifles differ greatly from the Pulse Rifles of Mendel Warriors. While Pulse Rifles are long ranged, controlled weapons whose plasma-based projectiles are generally safe to use, Rathan-pattern Plasma Rifles are unstable, brutal weapons, designed to inflict damage regardless of safety or overheating.

Although they prefer ranged combat, simply wanting to destroy every last atom of their enemies, melee combat is not lost to them. Carrying massive Claymores or two-handed axes on their person, Warriors, when all else fails, or when they simply feel like it, will charge into battle to butcher their foes in close-quarters and leave none standing. Although one would think their skills would dull, the opposite is in fact the case, that they have grown fiercer and more brutal in the maelstrom of close combat, regardless of their preference for ranged combat. Nothing is more enjoyable the grinding the arrogant beneath their boots.

Warriors march into war with heavy suits of armor, in replication of their Mendel ancestors, but also take inspiration from their Krallir and Madilipi forbearers. Their armor is well-forged and well-built, forged by each Clan to keep their troops alive as much as possible, and make sure their warriors stand out from the other, lesser Clans and their debauched warriors. Every Clan has their own seals, runes and war-paint styles to make them stand out right from each other. No matter what Clan, however, the Warriors who wear this armor are always protected well, every suit of armor able to resist all but the worst of enemy fire.

Warriors are brutal figures, the center piece to every Rathan army, and the hard, iron core of every fighting force. Their slave troops, canon fodder and other forces can do much of the fighting and the hard battles, but it is the Warriors who will deploy and keep the fight going. After all, at their core, every Rathan is a Warrior, and if their center piece unit is the one to flee, what is the point in even being called Rathan. As such, Warriors will fight until told to retreat or withdraw, but will stand and die until then. If they retreat without orders, they will be stripped of their armor and uniforms, and executed publicly for the shame they bring.


 * Races Gallery

Heavy Infantry
Rathan Janissaries= Rathan Janissaries are specialized heavy shock troops and powerful infantry that are taken as slaves from an early age to be heavy infantry soldiers. These slaves are drawn from a variety of sources, most of them coming from subjugated populations under the "protection" and ownership of the Rathan. The mental enslavement of these populations keeps them in line, and every five years, the Sorcerers come to their subjugated populations seeking the strongest and most well-disciplined youths. Others, come from actual Hegemony citizens in other galaxies. The Rathan, being spiteful as they are, care not for most allies, and will raid border and unprotected planets of every galaxy, from Cyrannus to Dravanamus to take youths from these populations to be inducted into the Janissary Corps. A few Janissaries are even taken from prisoners of war that betrayed their species and swore allegiance to the Sorcerers. As such, their numbers vary from Libertus, Humans, Vanara, and multiple others.
 * Weapons - Plasma Rifles, Halberds
 * Defenses - Heavy Armor
 * Equipment - Grenades

To be inducted into the Janissary Corps, is seen as a great honor for the subjugated populations of Rathan, while the warriors of the native-born Rathan see them as rivals for their status. The Janissaries are slaves, first and foremost to them, and should be treated as such. Where's most slaves will work dawn til dusk for their masters, and have little rights other then to not be killed by their master, the Janissaries are ultimately property of the Sorcerers and Prophets that gathered them, and have the honor of being allowed weapons, and can, when given permission, be allowed to move on their own without being tracked. They may even carry weapons as a status symbol, so that others know not to cross them. A Janissary has full right to kill any non-warrior that insults them.

Janissaries usually carry heavy Plasma Rifles to unleashed volleys of punishing plasma fire upon their foes, using heavy rifles with shorter range then those used by other warriors, but with more fire power and punch to them, able to pierce and melt through armor and flesh much easier, but over-heat much quicker. For melee combat, many Janissaries carry large halberds to hack and smash their way through enemy infantry ranks with reckless abandon. They carry two swords, one, a short broadsword as a status symbol, and the other, a long Dao-style blade used to execute lower ranking peasants and slaves that do not show proper respect.

The Janissaries are trained from a young age to handle all these weapons, as well as archery, to improve their hand-eye coordination and upper body strength, and live on the frontier for years with the older Jalquwwat and Rathan training sergeants. They are required to learn not only the Rathan language, but also Cyrannian Basic and a third language of their choice. If the species in question is weaker then the Rathan, like a human, they will be required to go through the process of genetic modification and editation to make them brawnier. By the end, every Janissary is a hardy, brutal warrior, honed to provide perfect heavy support to the Rathan Warriors.

Infernal Guard= Infernal Guard are amongst the deadliest and most dangerous of the warriors recruited and equipped by the Sorcerer-Prophets, and far more powerful then most other Rathan warriors. The Infernal Guards are Rathan members who have suffered the stain of defeat and dishonor in their time. This ranges from a slave revolt, a overworked furnace or even being a blood relation to a failed commander or traitor. Their pride too much to bear such dishonor, but unwilling to kill themselves, which is viewed as the ultimate cowardice, these failures join the Infernal Guard for the purpose of earning back their honor, by death and fire.
 * Weapons - Fire Glaive Rifles.
 * Defenses - Heavy armor
 * Equipment - Various types of Grenades

In the Infernal Guards, name, past and position is forgotten. All that is important is combat ability. Once the oath is accepted, the condemned has his or her face sealed within a hot, burning cast-iron helmet, and armor hooked into their very flesh, impossible to remove by most normal means. This is symbolic of their life now; they are warriors and nothing but, their lives consumed and driven by the practice of war and domination. Their armor supplies all of their needs, meaning food and water is irrelevant to the process of war and battle. They make their barracks in the deepest, hottest parts of their holds, living in roiling heat, and overseen by their cruel Overlords, called Castellans.

An Infernal Guard usually carries a Fire Glaive Rifle, a gun that, when fired, projects multiple streams of burning white-hot plasma at targets, that sticks to them and slowly devourers and eats through armor and flesh, no matter how strong or thick. The screams of horror and damnation are but the music of their marching songs, as the Infernal Guard march over the crumbling forms of their fallen foes and allies alike. If any enemies are strong enough to survive, the axe-like blades will cleave their foes apart in no time.

Their armor is sealed upon them, like their helmets, forged and reinforced plating meant to survive any strike. The Rathanii beneath are cursed to never see the sun again, their plates across their bodies for as long as they serve the Infernal Guard. The armor systems recycle water, wastes and other materials, all so they may never leave their armor, remain within their personal cell forever more. The armor can withstand thousands of degrees of heat projected all around them, or stand firm against the coldest winter winds that would take away fingers and other parts with frostbite.

Once a great victory is won on the battlefield, the Infernal Guard will have his or her armor cut open, and be freed from it, revealing their horrid and burnt features to the world, but freed regardless, and able to return to their Family and House once more as though nothing ever happened. If a Rathanii fails again, and ends up in the Infernal Guard once more, his sentence becomes a life sentence. If one sabotages a fellow Rathanii who had earned his freedom form the Infernal Guard, that saboteur will take his place.

Light Infantry
Fodder= Slaves are regarded with very little care or appreciation for their plight and problems. They will labor away for hours within the forge fires, creating new weapons for the Rathanii, harvest food for hours a day, and, if they are considered worthy, provide children that may, if they are lucky, serve as Janissaries, Sorcerers and Pawns for the Lords of their domains. They care not for race or origin. Many of their slaves are aliens true, but many of their lords are also of alien origin, and many slaves are also Rathanii dissidents who thought to reform and change their society. When it comes time for war, slaves must provide more then labor, and their meat is perfect for the armies and navies.
 * Weapons - Swords, pistols, Rifles if lucky.
 * Defenses - Nothing
 * Equipment - Nothing

When the armies march, while their soldiers can number in the thousands, even millions, Hordes of slaves are brought alone to work in the billions and trillions, each nominally armed and trained for war, enough to challenge a foe, enough to perhaps pull down one or two grunts with them before falling, but not enough to actually threaten stability within the actual army. Even if every single slave revolted, the army could still function and keep moving after putting down their revolt.

Most Fodder carry basic swords and pistols, rushing at their foes in a mad rush of flesh and savagery, told that, if they are capable, they may join the rest of the army has full fledged warriors, either Janissaries or another prestigious rank. This, and the terror their masters inspire, pushes them to throw themselves at every defense, and try and tear down any foe. Their swords will barely do anything to even the most primitive of armor, and are only really dangerous to those with 21st century tech. Their pistols are regarded as little more then a stapler with bite to it. Some of the lucky ones may get basic ballistic rifle weapons for when their masters are generous.

Their armor is worth little to protect, barely able to resist even a basic bullet round to the chest. In certain conditions, they may get breathing tubes and the like to survive in hostile environments, but generally, their masters only care to keep them alive so they can waste enough ammunition from their most important troops and Janissaries.

Androids
Khanornusi Golems=
 * Weapons - Wrist-mounted Energy Blades, Railgun blasters, Missile Launchers, Electro Canon
 * Defenses - Heavy Armor
 * Equipment - None

Black Ops Infantry
Immortals=
 * Weapons - Heavy Rifles, various other rifles, grenade launchers, other weapons
 * Defenses - Heavy Armor
 * Equipment - Jetpacks, Jamming gear, marker lights.

Infernal Ironsworn= Infernal Ironsworn are among the most elite of the bodyguards of the Sorcerer-Lords, and awarded only to the most powerful of the Sorcerers. Those who lead certain Spire-paths, who have gained the favor of the Witch-Queen in her service, and finally the Witch-Queens and Warlock-Kings themselves, who have the best pick of the Ironsworn in battle. The Ironsworn are meant to guard in peace and in war, and are deployed whenever their master leaves for hostile worlds, visits another Sorcerer, and remains in their palace to oversee and maintain their territory and holdings. The Ironsworn guard the doors leading to the personal enclave of the Sorcerer-Lords, while the two best of the guard remain inside. These Ironsworn Castellans never speak, even to their comrades, and only to their master, commanding others with gestures of the hand and various other non-verbal forms.
 * Weapons - Heavy Axes.
 * Defenses - Heavy Armor.

Ironsworn always stand at attention, never leaving their spot, their long halberds gripped within the right, and ready to act. The moment a figure appears that their master has not ordered to be with, they will hold the figure back at axe point. If an infiltrator or assassin enters the building, they will attack immediately. To them, life is action and reaction, and they are never caught unaware or unready for battle. The moment an individual, no matter whom, enters their master's abode, they are already planning way to kill them, changing slightly to develop a thousand more ways with each step, calculating how their peers will move, and how they in turn will move to counter any attacks.

Wherever their master goes, they are always 12 steps behind them. The Ironsworn will always maintain this distance, and in battle, will form a living wall around their master until ordered away, to oversee the attacks on their foes, and destroy their enemy leaders. With but a mental command, the Sorcerer can call back his troops, and the Ironsworn will flock back to his or her side to protect him.