The Seven Lords of War
The Factions within the Jenrakian military are vast, numbering over hundreds of different companies and thousands of different sub-portions, but in the end, seven major contenders vie for the power and favour of the Jenrakian Lords, all of them a general army that is spanned inter-provincially.
The Lancers
He looked upon hills as the daft sun rose softly over its gravened horizon, as a dark blanket of metal quickly rushed forwards.
When the provinces were unified, a method for quick aid to all members were needed. So, in recognition, Lord Aurathick of the Archios lands, developed a quick and powerful raiding army, which specialized in taking down entire legions of artillery, and to weaken fortifications, distinct feature of the early Jenrakian colonies; their massive stone castles. Lancers were a formed of quick assault method before large battles, a way to weaken both enemy resources and morale. The force, originally, was deployed in groups of tens, one being scouts and ten thousand being a full raiding force. At the beginning, powerful Noblemen and influential relied on the power gained from the Lancers as a strong, stable fighting force, an army that depended more on Jenrak’s illustrious wealth to stay in power rather than draining it’s powers from the country’s religious morals, a strong common factor that controlled most of Jenrak during that time.
The Lancers eventually went into decline during the 19th century, as conventional firepower soon overtook them, as machine guns and anti-tank shells made quick work of the Lancers, as well as their maintainability was extremely costly as technologies became more expensive. Mutinies were often then, as entire companies would desert during crucial battles, and the military would turn on each other, raiding small towns and villages against the government’s will, a sign of defiance and independent. Initially, the government had easy dealings against the Lancers, as quick force and ambient damage missiles proved effective against dated Jenrakian weaponry. But eventually, they began to grow in numbers and technology strength, mostly backed from anonymous crime organizations, which used the Lancers’ military tactics and their resourcefulness against the government, supplying them with more advanced military from around the world. It was during this time, that Saerus Annirak was born, and he became affiliated with the Lancers, during his capture and his imprisonment in a strong raid.
Rebel forces, led by the traditionalist Arcarum, eventually freed Saerus Annirak and he was soon detached to a Lancer mercenary squad. Learning their secrets, their honour, and their belief in a forgotten military strength, which Saerus later helped. When Arcarum won the strength of Jenrak, and it’s outer-lying colonies, and the former imperialistic government and it’s corrupt Lords on the run during the large witch-hunt that was the affectionately labelled the ‘Scourge of Purity’. The Lancers seemed to have finally given up, for when one government is crushed, another one equally intolerant of the old raiding army is placed. Things changed fortune for the Lancers, when Saerus Annirak was titled as the Lord of the Golden Patriarch, and the Lancers were given technological advances, as well as freedom to stay where they are. Saerus used the Lancer connections to the older Crime organizations to build a foundation in his own secret empire, maintained and carefully kept under order by Nahk Territurari. The Lancers were then incorporated as a fully mechanized, modern army with a powerful company value within Jenrak, and they were then heralded as heroes for their bravery. They soon later served as crucial scouts and raiding parties, mostly in the battle of The River of Kalaxus, where a Lancer army of 25,000 faced off and defeated a large company of Sandurian soldiers numbering at 250,000. The Lancers were forced ot deploy hit-and-run tactics, launching sneak attacks at night to wear down and demoralize enemy forces.
Lancers are large, long, toothily designed motorcycles, with a heavy portable pike on it’s right side, and a heavily armoured left side, allowing quick centrifugal turns to the right, useful when escaping enemy attacks. Armour is rare on the Ancius, the Lancer motorcycle, but all precious parts are moderately armoured with heat resistant steel, and usually two or three rockets are fired from the back against airborne foes. A sub-machine gun is attached to it’s front, allowing it to gun down infantry in front of it, and deployable electric pikes allow electrical surging against heavy artillery, and paralysis of infantry forces, as well as interlocking of other Lancers, creating a shield against moving forces. Another option, however, for more experienced and veteran Lancers is the Electro-pike, a long, straight pike that houses electric currents, electrocuting any object that touches it, ideal for short circuiting heavy artillery and cutting through infantry.
Saerus Annirak was claimed to have an Ancius that could fire an entire volley of 8 rockets at a time, as well as the highest recorded speed of any Ancius, 189km/h, but sources on that were sceptical.
Temsplace
Hear the quiet cries of sadness, they were. To fight and die so honourably for their country, they gave up their pleasures, their titles and their money, only to be forgotten in time.
Little accurate information is known of the Temsplace, as most information is highly biased either for them, or against them. What is known, however, that they are deprived only from Jenrakians with an astounding amount of wealth or potential, and they chose to give up all their possessions to become the Temsplace, Jenrakian for holy warrior. Indeed, they were. The Temsplaces only listened to the will of the church they were trained in, and in doing so, it not only became a deadly proposition, but an expensive one, keeping both the Church and the Political system involved in the military. Occasional disagreements and strides against Churches would result in frequent Temsplace interference, and not many like them. Although they were seen as cold and cruel, they acted in what they believed as the higher calling, a signal from Ackthal, the god of justice and correction. Temsplace, however, were more ancient and revered than most people know, as they were originally Ascheran missionaries.
Designed to be sent on conversion missions against Sanduras’ barbarians, the Temsplace were successful in converting much of the population, through nearly impossible feats, powerful excursions and great skills of both archery and swordsmanship. Also, their vow to never keep themselves in the a materialistic manner allowed barbarian tribes, poor and relent, to compare with the Temsplace, instead of the Ascheran Lords they were sent to have bowed down to. In time, the large number of Temsplace required to keep the peace between idealistic barbarians and the Ascheran leagues caused a heavy increase in the requirement of Temsplace, forming instead of a group of elite monk-like warriors, but a professional and powerful army directly independent from the empire. Eventually, the church became so powerful, that it overshadowed the political system that Ascherach began to fight back. Notice that during the Temsplace rise, the Ascherach they fought were not the Ascherach of the Karbulian or Enkur dynasties, but the era of the Huat, the dark days of interbreeding between barbarians and the Ascherans, allowing powerful overwhelmingly dangerous victories by the Temsplace. However, during the battle of the Six Winters (as named rightfully, as the battle lasted Six Years), the Temsplace were defeated by the Ascherans, unable to take the fortress of Zarazekko.
Disappearing, the church was unable to recall the Temsplace, the holy warriors going into hiding, vowing to return when the church needs them once more. During this time, because of this declaration of official defeat, the Tsellian religion was finally unified for a relatively long period. In their unification, they withstood powerful retribution from the Ascherans, both militaristically and economically. However, after the battle of the first Sasz Kerenuk, at the plains of Sasz Eren, the Temsplace once more arrived to help the church, and because of the Temsplace victory at Sasz Eren, the Tsellian religion survived. However, shortly after that, the church splintered into smaller sub sects, each still Tsellian but conferring to slightly different laws, and each Temsplace forced to join the church it was loyal to initially. This caused the War of the Shields, a large religious strife that caused the entire elimination and eradication of smaller religious sects, as well as small Tsellian ones. After that, the Temsplace began to go into decline, becoming more and more rare, and nobody knew for what reason. It was speculated that they went back into hiding once more, similar to before, this time it has become much more extreme quiet.
Over time, the emergence of new Temsplaces, exactly duplicate of the older religious warriors before, caused a great concern in the government. A warning to them that they thought were the move of the church, and wished to stop them before they became to powerful, as when religious figures become too powerful, they exercised their power, as history proved. The Temsplaces are described in their massive stone armour, looming and powerful, taller than any infantry there, as the bloodied markings of the Jenrakian church painted skilfully on its armoured chest. A long sword is their primary close ranged weapon, and modern Temsplaces nowadays prefer either heavy fire anti-armour weaponry or sleek and powerful anti-tank missile launchers. Their armour is deemed impenetrable by anything short of ballistics, and their tactical prowess rival even the most hard cored veteran Jenrakian. They were an echo of the past, but they will not die faintly into the dark - only make the rest of the world scream in fright at their arrivals.
Sword Bearing Police
And he said, “Oh great Lords! What misfortune has befallen my eyes! For my life is being taken, at the hands of one whom were to keep it.”
A group of skilled soldiers whom were tired of the secrecy of the Black Patriarchs, the Sword Bearing Police became tired working as killers for the government. To them, the law should be upheld by defending the innocent, not purging the guilty. After the split, the small group of Black Patriarchs took their technological ideals and their information of stealth and organization with them, forming under the guise of the General Illuminaatrix the Sword Bearing Police. Unlike most Jenrakian military legions, no Sword Bearer is more powerful than the other, and it makes it difficult when hard-pressed at decisions. Majority votes are usually held between disputes, and they were uncannily effective at working in tight groups, even against weapons with ambient damage, including artillery.
Rising from power in the modern ages, in an age of technology and sabotage, they created no traditional or ceremonial prerequisites – the job and the title is purely for business, not honour. As such, they take on a variety of tasks for the government, from heavy espionage in foreign lands or to suppressing relatively large riots with their wide array of chemical tactics. Although not necessarily marked as ‘police’ by Jenrakian officers, they act and their uniforms are painstakingly similar to conventional police officers of the modern age. However, their weapons are much more technologically advanced, requiring the most up-to-date weaponry, the state of the art in killing, defending, and stealth. Some Sword Bearing police are paid as highly ranked assassins as well. A virtue they believe would keep them well into the future, was the ideal of skill over technology and brawns. They thought that tactics and sheer military discipline would be enough to win in a war, which although proved to be true in the War of the Waters, it was inevitably useless during their defence of the Argun coastline, resulting in a major loss for Jenrakian legions.
The Sword bearing are divided into four levels of acceptance before any joining is officially allowed. First, an aspiring Sword bearer must commit to the Jenrakian leagues for at least 2 years, and must be in the army for at least 3 years. Also, the Sword bearing police must be born in Jenrak itself, and thus foreigners are never allowed to be Sword bearers. After that, a decoy mission is held, where trouble is placed, and the aspiring apprentice must finish it effectively in the time given. After that, a veteran Sword Bearer must agree to training the apprentice, and once the training has been deemed finished, the person will be officially recognized as a fully fledged Sword Bearer, and would be ready for responses from the government. Initially only answering to military leaders, they soon shifted the most of their allegiance to political leaders, and this competition from this small group caused a rift in the Black Patriarch system. Soon enough, they were powerful enough to pose a threat to the Black Patriarch, or what was left of them, as most changed occupations to Sword Bearers themselves.
Described to be professional, strong, conservative and extremely aware of their surroundings, they are always polite and never forget their manners, and many people claim them to be the corporate side of Jenrak, always so stable and strong in any situation. While it is common adornment for Sword Bearers to be wearing the typical uniform, the blue suit and pants, as a silver or golden sabre are hung straight at their hilt, it is noted that Sword Bearers in different regions of Jenrak wear different variations to suit their needs. For example, in the southern parts of Jenrak, near the Raunin Falls, the Sword Bearing do not, in fact, have sleeves. Instead, they have T-shirt like uniforms, and shorts as well, to combat the growing humidity, and they wear strong ridged leather to make sure they do not get bitten from any poisonous insects when they are on missions. Likewise, in northern mountainous regions, filled with gassy and strong haze, the Sword bearers wear a slightly dry and thicker version of their normal suits, as well as hoods that cover the entire face, and are transparent to show them where they are going.
Sadicistra
His mother only smiled creepily, as he breathed heavily, “Go to sleep, now, or the Sadicistra will eat you, as they do to all little boys who do not slumber.”
Not many people know them by the name of the Sadicistra. However, whenever someone mentions ‘Sadist’, then everybody is aware of whom these dangerous killers are. One of the prime forces in Jenrak’s shifting nature, the Sadists were not named after being Sadistic, although it would still fit their personas. The name for them originated from the original Ascheran bloodhound legions, an army of cannibals that could never tire or be hungry and could be maintained and kept alive by feasting on their enemy’s corpses alone. This practice was thought to have been long forbidden, and even now, nobody knows. However, one of the recent rulers, Arcarum, tried to emulate what he knew of the Sadists, and it came to oddly devastating results. Deprived from the name Sadicistradrakk, in Tsellian meaning Lurking, the Sadists seemed to fit their Jenrakian name fairly well still. One of the most infamous encounters with Sadist intervention, and most disturbing, was the War of Attrition, where Sadists occupied the northern rivers of the Kejistaca plains, the Erux Mountains their objectives.
To sum their escapades up in an ‘enlightening’ manner, they raped, pillaged and burnt everything in their path, an atrocity kept heavily under the guise by the government for an extremely long time, a stain on Jenrak’s prestige in the international community as a noted economist – after all, what gain in profit would there be if they destroyed everything?
Not many people know where they truly came to power, although it is highly speculated (and broadly accepted) that they were in appearance shortly after the reigns of the Mouthes, Renglessimon the initial person to begin the Sadist program. Arcarum himself was rumoured to be a Sadist himself, involved in the battle of the Krakkez fields, and the siege of Ahkcraz. Although sources, once again, were proven to be sceptical, it was still widely accepted by the general public.
Sadists are tall, thinly clad and pale beings – armed to the tooth for sheer destruction. Murderers and rapists, only the darkest of Jenrak’s criminals are dubbed in the Sadicistra class, a class entirely on its own. Trained through torture and torment to wield every weapon faced against Jenrak, and then some, they are proficient in melee and ranged weapons, using whatever is at hand. Accounts once held that they used their own nails to blind the enemy, when they ran out of any weapons available, and they ripped up their fallen comrades’ remains to sharpen their bones to a fine knife-like weapon. Seen usually with a leering, thin mask, their uniform made them always look like they smiled, a cruel, deafening ability that most people would not want to get on the wrong side of.
While their legacy was deeply disturbing, Sadists are known to be uncannily loyal – never has there been a revolt in the Sadist class structure.
Sirens
Mutiny! He cried. Mutiny! He shouted in the cold winter air, the frost still licking on his lips and the ice still clinging to his hair. Mutiny! HE would stop, and he would control.
Jenrak’s foremost occupational forces – Sirens. Most infamous in countries worldwide, they are known to be the most level headed of the Lords of War, their purpose as a large, disciplined and relatively loyal occupational and offensive army that would be charged with the deployment of many missions in the Jenrakian military. Out of Five accounts in War, Four of them would involve Siren interference, mostly as an initial assault or a large company designed for occupation. Composed of veterans and rookies alike, they form the core of the Jenrakian military, the number of most legions of Siren descendant. Designed after the Ascheran foot soldiers Sirreken, Jenrak’s military modernised their legions to be capable of more a ranged and heavy weapons force than a close ranged, melee army. Hence, the name Siren, Jenrakian for Long Soldier.
Their skills with heavy weapons are impeccable, although most of them go into the study of sniping and assaults. Armed with a traditional Jenrakian Longbow rifle, and a simple long sword, Sirens are trained to their tip to be the best they can be. The appeal for the Siren class is great, and its numbers only grow greater despite Jenrak’s many civil wars and large-scale invasions. It is also for a known fact that all politicians are required to be in the military before they turn into politics, and Sirens are the minimum prerequisite. Therefore, all politicians were sirens once.
Sirens are seen as the most internationally accepted of all of Jenrak’s unique and yet odd military. Kevlar suited lightly, Armed with a unique longbow rifle, a sort of quick firing, light infantry weapon with a pike at its end, and a simple broadsword, they dominate the battlefield using skills and tactics, not numbers or force. Also trained in slight covert missions, they are adept at small squad raids.
Fists of Stone
He only kept walking, not even the bullets could penetrate his armour. Not even its steam could burn his skin, not even its shrapnel could reach his pain. For he was a walking wall, armed to the brick.
Many people see them as a new experiment, a new force created late in Jenrak’s premature dynasty. Yet, however, the concept of a stronger, battlefield warrior came as early as the Ascheran formations, when Enkur tried to make clones of himself to escape enemy assassinations. Modernised and enhanced with modern medicine, the Fists of Stone are the result of a combination of multiple drugs and a heavy number of enhancements. Steroids, morphine, and other nefarious methods are used to ‘enhance’ the Fists of Stone, despite usually deforming them terribly, the consequences piling up. To make up for the nasty aesthetic disruptions, Fists of Stone are placed in heavy armour, pushed through extreme training, and taught a number of enemy weaponry, without any regards for Jenrakian weaponry. Always using a large, obsidian, cleaver-like blade to cut through enemy forces, they are known for more of a morale purpose in the battlefields, more like the Temsplaces, instead of any practical purpose.
Caged up regularly in special ‘holding pens’, they are treated as primal beasts and freaks of nature, but apart from the harsh treatment during work, the ridicule and the despise of the general public, both internationally and in Jenrak of them, the Fists live a regular lifestyle, and most a life more luxurious than the average Jenrakian. They are sponsored and kept alive by the government, and they are taken care of. However, being erratic and unstable, while extremely physically powerful and (although not all, but most) mentally dim, has made them prone to rebellion, trying to overthrow many government regimes, so it has become a common practice for the government to keep the Fists of Stone in separate locations. While this may weaken the concentrated strength of the Fists of Stone overall, it would certainly prove helpful in occupations, having their strength stretched to cover every corner.
Tall, certainly lumbering, and immensely brimming with physical strength, Fists of Stone are placed in what looks like glossy stone armour. Parts of their armour attached to a complicated system of mobile pulleys and gears, to prevent any damage done to the suit when they either move too quickly or enemy fire or nearby shockwaves put the suit out of tandem, keeping the armour in one place.
The Aursauk
”Oh my god! The little bitch ate my hand! Snapped it right off and ate it! The Fucker!” He screamed and yelled in pain and anger, as the crouching figure shook, creeping away in the night.
For centuries, the idea of children being vessels of innocence and cruelty together frightened many people in Jenrak, and they kept their child disciplined and strong, to ward off the Aursauk, the Ascheran theology of sneaky evil. Unlike the others, Aursauks were not paid for their work – they work on an honour, each successful task earning a certain prestige and every failed task resulting elimination. One of the government’s darker secrets, these children were required for certain tasks, such as assassinations, spying and acts of terror and abductions. Responsible for 90% of missing peoples cases, Aursauks were initially trained as the government’s weapon against conventional occupational enemies – any enemy forces occupying Jenrak’s lands would be sent against the Aursauk. Very little is known on them, and they are never seen in any other place than the battlefield. Most of them illiterate, and by any standard, animistic, they regard the world with a different view of the world.
Aursauks, as children were not adept in melee fights against large, stronger foes, so they usually rely on light weapons that could be easily carried and moved around silently by children such as themselves. But their main weapon is terror. When any opposing is subjected to the Aursauk, soldiers usually disappear on both sides, entire companies go missing, and on both sides, men would be found dead. As such, the Aursauk were motivational weapons used against the soldiers of Jenrak – any time a legion or a group of soldiers were falling behind or failing to complete a certain objective, the Aursauk were deployed to ‘assist’ them. Most of the ‘assisted’ soldiers never survive after that. Aursauks are also taught self-reliance, never given food nor water. Instead they must find it themselves, and incapable of growing their own, they feast on the only commodity they come in contact with: humans. With a feasting thirst for human blood as water, and a taste for flesh as food, they are seen as cannibalistic.
Aursauks are children exclusively, picked up from orphanages in Jenrak. Most of them having obscured pasts and no records of parents to avoid any sort of emotional conflict, Aursauks spread fear through Jenrak daily, emotionless and pale skinned. With dry skin, rotting sharp teeth and claws as their only hand-to-hand weaponry, Aursauks are fitted in clothes that would be deemed effective for camouflage, mostly black as they work at night. To distinguish Aursauks from children, look for the telltale tattoo of the Slaxla, a twisted ‘I’ letter on the back of their neck.
Kelirius’ Laws of Battle
Translated from Tsellian
[i]Herrissian Karbulia was one of the barbaric rulers of the northern mountains, stretching his empire to be almost larger than even Enkur’s, bringing Ascherach’s reach even greater throughout the eastern parts of the golden sea. Although some scholars point his success to the growing amount of chaos around them and thus flocking to him, most agree on the fact of his General, Kelirius, whom is argued today as the most brilliant commander either Jenrak or Ascherach has ever seen. As detailed in his scripture, Kelirius’ Laws of Battle.
RELIGION
(1) The Church and the States are to be together into two parts, acting as one. The Church is to be fed to the soldiers as much as they need. Like bread and Water is their physical supplement, their preaching is their spiritual supplement. Supplying the soldiers with all of the needed requirements would keep them fresh and ready for battle.
(2) Never go to war for religious reasons. Should there be a victory, there would be theocratic arrogance. Should there be a loss, there would be a dissent. Should there be a standstill, there would be a schism.
(3) The Church is to maintain their own military for their own uses. The state is to never ask from the church for military. The military of the church is to be entirely different in motives from the state.
(4) All legions are to deploy in formations best suiting their environment, not their divine intersection. All divine intersection is to happen during after victory, for ritual revitalization. All ritual revitalizations are to be complete and whole.
(5) Fear is not allowed to be utilized in the church during war. When there is fear, there is uncertainty. When there is uncertainty, there is a riot. When a riot breaks out, the strength is divided. Control by fear would only bring new offspring of dissentions by others.
(6) In no way is the state to endorse the church in their wars. Any wars involving direct religious declarations are to be wholly from commercial or private industries, and any state controlled entity is to be stopped from aiding them. Should there be a breakdown in the religious beliefs, the state is to maintain control.
(7) Should the enemy utilize the church to help his units gain morale, use atheist men. Should there be no atheist men, follow their laws of religious warfare. When an enemy is humbled by the common features, they would deem your forces as converted, and they would grow arrogant. Use your soldiers to turn the battle around.
(8) Keep your priests at the back of the front line if there is a surprise attack, and designate your legions to constantly protect your priests. Although this may seem to your legions as a method of defending their beliefs, it would be actually give them a common rally point when ever they are divided.
(9) Have the priests treat your soldiers well. When they fall, the soldiers would be pressed with grief, and control that aggression towards the foe.
(10)Have all churches stopped preaching, and use any form possible. When different churches send mixed messages, everybody replies with different messages. Different messages cause dissent.
ATTACKING BY WATER
(1) All wooden ships are to be on the outside of a fleet, so when the enemy launches arrows of fire you can move your ships away from your unaffected ships without having to avoid catching on fire.
(2) Use the water as a weapon. Prepare your fleet at the highest intensity of a storm at sea. When you launch, you will only go through the dying storm, and your enemy will be able to fight you when they were being battered by nature.
(3) Fog is never to be used by your fleet unless you know the geography of your enemy. However, if there is a thick fog, send a small fleet with small ships carrying many men, pretending to be your enemy’s ships. Board ships if needed.
(4) Fear at sea is deadlier than fear on land. Launch damaged and decoy ships at your enemy in your initial assault, so it uses their ammunition.
(5) Place your navy in groups that would have the offensive force firing clearly from the back of the defensive force. Keep your defensive force only in defence, never offence.
(6) Never switch duties. When there is no more of a crucial ability, flee to safety and rejuvenate. However, there must be none of that ability, for you to be valid to flee.
(7) Never assault a fortified area. If the enemy is broad, then launch a large false force to attack one spot, and direct their legions to another spot.
(8) Keep your navy in correct conditions. Wood rots; metal rusts; string breaks. Keep your arrows plenty and ready.
(9) Never leave behind wreckage if possible. Take the remains of lost ships and turn the wood into arrows. Take the metal and turn it into armoury. Take the string and create rope. Use the remains of your enemy’s and your fallen brethren’s supplies to fuel your continuous attacks.
(10)Cannons and arrows can hit far away, but cannot hit close. Train your men to swim and board ships, so that should they survive a ship wreck, they may set fire onto the enemy’s ship.
ATTACKING BY MOUNTAINS
(1) All mountains have a way up. If there is no way, make a way.
(2) Anything can be destroyed. Mountains blocking your way can be too.
(3) Never let your enemy, should he be on a mountain, know of your arrival.
(4) Always climb on at least two sides to reach your foe.
(5) Crush them, but do not destroy their items. Take what you have.
(6) If possible, do as little damage to the mountain – when they retaliate, use the mountain against you.
(7) Have a good understanding of your terrain.
(8) A tunnel is good, but time consuming. Destroy their trade routes.
(9) Goad your enemy out. Disrupt their supplies. When against a foe on heaven, live forever against them on earth.
(10)Never let them understand your plan. It is easier to stop a foe on the ground than a mountain.
ATTACKING BY DESERT
(1) Sleep at day – attack by night. When your enemy bakes bread and drinks water, destroy them in their camps.
(2) Attack light before a sandstorm. Let nature ravage them, and attack heavy after.
(3) Cut off their supplies of water. A mirage is more dangerous than a sword.
(4) Use the corpse of the fallen to keep your men’s thirst quenched. Water runs out – blood does not.
(5) Never water with metal. You cannot fix armour in sand.
(6) Shine the shields of your men so it glitters like a mirror. When the enemy comes, blind them with the sun.
(7) Heat is unbearable. Fire is insanity. Use fire in the heat of the desert – set fire to their camps, launch arrows of blaze.
(8) Always change horses and carriers of catapults. Do not let them fall behind.
(9) When on horseback, man and beast must have equal fervour and energy. It is tiring for the horse to carry the man, and it is uncomfortable for the man to ride a sweating horse. Attack on horseback – travel on foot.
(10)Travel light. Use your shield to block arrows, and avoid enemy melee. Let them dry out from the heat.
ATTACKING WITH STEALTH
(1) Prepare 4 plans in case of mistakes. Anymore will be forgotten, and any less will result in incompetence.
(2) Have the best men – never make it stronger with every attempt.
(3) Never send a man on his first job in an impossible mission. Experience is a greater weapon.
(4) Having enough weapons is illogical. As such, have them trained to know of the potency of any object they come in contact with, such as forks, sticks, butter knives and relics.
(5) Do not rely on the gods. They have better things to do than aid in your quarrel.
(6) Have assistance ready, but tell your initial men to not expect help. It would increase their efficiency when they work, and increase their morale when they fail and receive reinforcements.
(7) Always have the strongest man at the front to draw the bullets.
(8) Bring a fan and chemical weapons. Never let the gas paralyze its starters.
(9) Patience is key. Wait and be silent – to be quick and sleek is to fail. To be quiet and lengthy is to receive victory.
(10)Commend all victories in secret. Any enemy must not know of enemy infiltration if allowed.
LOSING A BATTLE
(1) When losing a battle, tell your soldiers to retreat and take supplies with them. Leave a handful of men without wives and sons or is not the firstborn of a family to fight.
(2) When surrendering troops, give up the leader on certain demises. If there was an uncalculated attack by nature, then have the leader flee for his incompetence was not his whim. If he lost this battle as a first, second or third failure in a war of many victories, have him flee. Otherwise, he will suffer alongside his soldiers.
(3) The wise General keeps supply routes directed to other camps once news of defeat is reached.
(4) When a battle is lost, have all supplies and eligible soldiers move to the next force so the next battle could be won.
(5) Never give up on a battle that is crucial. If the battle is losing, then enlist all around to fight.
(6) Have all men use second hand weapons if loss is inevitable. When an enemy takes over, they will not have any supplies nor weapons of your own to take.
(7) Use the dead as a wall. Infest them with sickness.
(8) Make it seem as if the enemy was savage and barbaric, if they were not so. This would gather the people around you, against a common foe. If necessary, allow any outlying villages to be destroyed.
(9) Destroy your siege weapons. Never keep them. It would be a shame to have your castle felled by your own catapults.
(10)A paper is official. Pride can be manipulated. Never let a paper get in your way of stopping your pride.
WINNING A BATTLE
(1) To fight a flawless battle is to grow arrogant troops.
(2) Leave your weaker parts so that your more crucial parts can be too heavy to be taken.
(3) A foe is foe when they have sides opposite to you. Coerce them into an ally, and betray them when they are least expecting it.
(4) Should an alliance is not available, then assault them from behind.
(5) There is no such thing as a bad tactic. If it works, then use it. Pride is deadly.
(6) Let no enemy force die meaninglessly. Let loose all prisoners of war to fight on your behalf.
(7) Gain favour through compassion and courtesy – not torture and imprisonment. Even if it is not for the reason you are fighting, it will give them a deluded reason to join your side.
(8) To lose too many battles is to lose all. To win too many battles to risk losing too many. Only win a landslide victory if you need the forces for the next battle.
(9) A close battle wins the hearts of the people better than a quick battle. Suspicion rises when a battle is quickly won.
(10)Any attacks on civilians would certainly gain distrust from your own people, as well as your enemy’s hatred.
The Vizi-Lords’ Revenant
In Jenrakian lore, a secret society of murderers, plotters and criminals are preparing the fall of the Jenrakian crown. However, also in the lore, a group from an mystic society have always come to thwart them in their attempts. This secret society of the balance, as the people call them, are formed thousands of years to protect Ascherach from crumbling into smaller states. When they left, like the Temsplace, the empire crumbled. Now, in their pledge to Jenrak, they would do what is necessary to keep the nation in a single piece. To them, this society controls Jenrak and it’s economic power, as well as military power. Nothing goes through Jenrak without its knowledge. They deal any up rise or insurgence harshly, and commonly people go missing in power because of their interference. Known darkly as the Krrazkaz Vizi-Thrimm, translated they represent the Vizi-Lords’ Revenant. A dark, evil group of people, all whom have powerful traits of influence, this sect controlled since the Lirrogun era, and the eradication of this group is nearly impossible. In the group, they reach out to hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and spies, a complex network that watches carefully over the nation, both its underground crime and its law and order societies. Controlled by a small elite few, none of them know of their counterpart’s identities. Therefore, it would become extremely difficult for either of them to kill them – however they all respond to a single leader whom is actually known, yet cannot be found and thus never killed. The high elites of this dark caste are:
Elnias Illuminaatrix (eel-nie-us eel-oo-meen-u-ter-icks)
A tricky man he was, his blades of fire steeling in his leg, the twisting rust crushing their bones as he pulled out the silver handle and its silver barrel.
Eln, as commonly known by his peers, is a man whom is strong in conviction and punishment, trying to emulate his idol, the Dark Lord Ciranaar Arkszen whom he is dearly fond. However, a shy, demurred man, Elnias controls much of Jenrak, as his control of the Watcher. Conniving, influential and extremely cunning, he always looks a few steps forwards, never looking behind to regret what he has done. While sneaky, measly and relatively a shifty man, he is an expert swordsman, given the mark of excellence in Jenrak’s sword bearing police twice for his skill in battle, and he is an extremely skilled commander. His role in the Vizi-Lords’ Revenant was originally shrouded in mystery, but it was later revealed that Arcarum Dreskisk, king of Jenrak and a non-member of the Revenant, gained too much power – enough to challenge the authority of the ancient society’s leader.
As such, they sent Illuminaatrix, the closest of Arcarum’s friends in this society to deal with the king, resulting in the death of Arcarum, and the appointment of Illuminaatrix. A feeling of regret, Illuminaatrix tried to ask for forgiveness, and while he was seemingly given so before Arcarum died, the society did not handle well with his change of mind. Though still accomplishing his mission, Illuminaatrix is one of the highest elites in the Revenant.
Illuminaatrix is highly religious, always carrying with him a sceptre of the traditional Jenrakian symbol of strength – the crude twisted ‘S’, embroidered in gold, his blade at his side. Confirmed, his blade can light on fire when he unsheathes it, and while most speculate it to be a magical miracle, it was actually a tricky piece of scientific thought. The toothed blade would ignite a makeshift flame, that would run along a small tube in the sword lined with gasoline and fat, keeping the blade burning.
Agros of the Mountain (ack-ger-oe-z)
He is what makes us all cry in fear, to sleep and wonder if he would come down from the mountains and eat us all, or would he spare us? Would he let us stay alive? Would he spare us to only chew at our flesh another day?
Agros of the Mountain is known because of his strength, and how he is rumoured to be born in a cave on Mt. Scious. However, nothing is entirely different from him. A devout follower of the religion, he is one of the most influential priests in the area, and a former Temsplace himself, commanding the holy warriors to death and battle.
Agros is needed in the sect as a stronghold of the society on the religious sects of Jenrak, keeping the priests and the shamans under control so that they can keep their activities under Revenant guise.
Rashkta Nirandu (rash-tuh nee-rand-doo)
I was looking at a demon in white. I thought she was an angel, her heavenly complexion, the wind perfectly strewn across her hair, her soft but strong voice. I thought she was to save me, until I saw the bloodied sword in her hand.
Little is known of originally shy Rashkta, but it was highly accepted that as soon as she entered the military, she found her calling card: killing. She didn’t fight in the army for the wages, the protection, the insurance, but for the killing. Unlike most of her soldiers, whenever there was no war, no civil up rise, she would kill her own team mates. Eventually, a grouped up taskforce stopped her, and she was given a chance, as a Sadist. Rashkta, a cunning woman, accepted, and slowly worked her way, proving to have an extraordinary skill with the sword. Her power and her speed was considered legendary, even in the elite of swordsmen. Eventually, her lust for death began to rise, and she was found to be a powerful addition to the Revenant. Hired by Gelectriax personally, Rashkta eventually found it in the favour of the Dark Lord, and she rose to become his bodyguard. While she is rarely seen with him, Rashkta is taught to always be in his service.
While she grew, she grew and left her compassion, rationality, and love. Groomed by her master to be ever the best, she kept up her appearance, taught that is was not lady-like to be dirty, to have bad posture, and that is was good to have a strong live in the arts. As such, Rashkta is a smart, beautiful, artistic woman, mostly not because she enjoyed these things, but that it was appropriate to do so in the ruling elite. Although never taught to be polite, Rashkta grew up with a sense of thinking for herself, always conflicting others with her sharp tongue and her cynical mind. During her time in the military, Rashkta eventually led to become the leader of the Sadists, and she had perfected the primal Sadicistra rage, and more importantly, gained a great deal of military power – mostly through fear. Unmarried, Rashkta has never known love, and lives quite happily in her life as a loner, forever serving her master: the Revenant.
Lord Authaulus (ow-thu-lis)
I believe I can fight for a better tomorrow. A tomorrow our fathers dreamed of, our grandsons will live through, and our wives will weep in. For I, like others, will feel only heaven’s touch, when we do our part.
Authaulus is Saerus Annirak’s brother. When the two brothers were born, Saerus’ father could only maintain one son, and he picked the one with a strong figure, the first to speak, and gave the other, Authaulus, to a nearby town. Ironically, their futures were in a constant rivalry, and yet they never knew whom the other really was nor the importance. Saerus, born strong, was groomed to be looking sharp and handsome always by his picky mother, and Authaulus, born handsome and ravishing, grew up to learn discipline and strength from his adopted parents. Eventually, both were taken in the attack, and Saerus and Authaulus had taken different lives from then on. While Saerus escaped, Authaulus was freed by a priest whom felt sorry for the boy. Seeing this as a sign, Authaulus gave up his worldly pleasures and desires to become a priest, and eventually, his great strength led him to become a powerful Temsplace.
Not only did he become a Temsplace, but he started off as the successor of the original Temsplace commander of Scion, Irukiaz. When Irukiaz saw the potential in the powerful and smart Authaulus, he gave him his crowning helmet. Beginning his career as a holy warrior, Authaulus grew fond of Saerus Annirak, but at most moments, felt a certain jealously, a certain envy that he could not and was not allowed to show to anyone – he was a holy man, after all. Many times, he felt a slight anger towards Saerus, and when Saerus was announcing his marriage to foreign woman, Authaulus felt fairly happy for him, when Saerus’ did not, and still Authaulus did not know why. Authaulus is a tall, powerful, slightly bearded man, whom never leaves his armour. Authaulus never takes it off, and when he showers, he is put in a large water chamber where a machine washes him carefully, as his armour is covered in plastic to prevent rusting. Authaulus is the zealot on which Gelectriax needs, the sword on which enforces Agros’ will.
Lord Meillimus (mi-lee-mass)
He’s the creeping, walking, lurking bastard in the closet, he is. Nothing’s as horrible and creepy as he is. So watch out for Meillimus.
Lord Meillimus is a strong Sadist warrior, one of the original Black Patriarch, before he was convicted and later taken in by Rashkta. A close friend of Nahk Territurari, Meillimus is seen to be the most level headed of the Sadists, not killing when needed, and barely feeding off human flesh or drinking human blood whenever avoidable.
Meillimus oddly enough, enjoys Beethoven.
Lord Gelectriax the Wicked (guh-lek-ter-ee-ax)
He is not a god. But if there ever was anything close to a god, if there was a man who could be seen as one, he would be it. Great Gelectriax the Wicked.
No one has ever been close to killing Gelectriax. No one has ever been able to see him truly. In a robe and hood, wearing a dark traditional Ascheran armour, and always thinking ahead, Gelectriax has never been seen in public before. Nobody knows how he gets around, nobody knows of his origins. Referred by Illuminaatrix as ‘The Creeper’, and by Rashkta as ‘Master’, Gelectriax is a cunning, calculating man with a skill with the blade never seen before. Confirmed that before he became the leader of the Revenant, Gelectriax trained Arcarum in parts of the Drikthe Style of battle, the style of fighting that the infamous king used before his untimely death, a style that few have mastered, if not none.
Speaking with a creeping, dark voice, no one has ever seen Gelectriax’s face, and there is no way to trace the man down. Killing all of his relatives when he was appointed to leader, Gelectriax was seen as a supernatural threat, using stealth and dark assaults to gain power. While he seems to be a traditionalist, Gelectriax always preaches stability, and strength, a philosophy that was highly supported by Drakthaz. While people claim Drakthaz to be Gelectriax, Drakthaz is in no condition to fight the way Gelectriax fights, a way that seems to be impossible for anybody to fight at all.
One of Jenrak’s darkest mysteries, this Lord is highly shrouded in mystery.