Karrigan'Xalda
Daughter of the Karishzar
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Siobhan's retinue of minions and Tygaran lore. While the Qadiri Sepoys and the Eyes of the Forest were fairly conventional colonial army units, this unit expands on Firemane's colonial forces in a different way.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Force support unit. They are not frontline combatants, heavy infantry or commandos, but mystics.
Permissions: Access to Firemane gear since I'm the owner and Liavondra is a Firemane ally. ARGH gear available to Firemane per this thread. Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Links: Twilight of the Goddess.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Coven of Tlaxqui
Affiliation: Order of Fire, House Kerrigan-Alcori, Siobhan Kerrigan, Firemane, Xioquo, Daughters of the Destroyer.
Classification: Force support unit, Sorceresses.
Description: The Coven of Tlaxqui was created by Firemane from existing Xioquo witch and earth covens. Some are defectors, others are slaves or slave-soldiers who took up arms against their mistresses and were freed by Firemane's forces. A number are members of the old clergy, now following a different icon, or dark adepts who changed their allegiances.
They are explicitly not a frontline combat unit, for they lack the durability or conventional fighting skills. Nor are they elite commandos. While they receive training in the use of gun and blade, this is for self-defence. In part, this is to allow them to focus on harnessing esoteric applications of the Force. However, it is also a deliberate policy on the part to Siobhan, as it reduces the chance of potential renegades becoming a threat to her. Instead, they use the Force to act as a support unit, especially in the mental field. Aside from using these powers offensively, they can also protect their comrades against such attacks to a degree.
The members are all Dark Side practicioners, blending traditional Xioquo beliefs with a darker blend of the teachings of the Order of Fire. They have a spiritualistic, shamanistic style, practicing a form of ancestor and spirit worship. Some of the minor Xioquo deities who used to be subordinate to Myrou are also worshipped. The witches invoke the Karishzar's name when they call upon the power of the spirits, as they call the Force. Their use of the Force is rather ritualised and so they will often come together in communion before battle. Training in the Coven is unforgiving, for the prospective mystic is exposed to the very powers she will be expected to call upon when the day comes to serve the Karishzar.
While the training is obviously less pointlessly sadistic than what they would have undergone during the old days, there have still been cases when neophytes died or suffered severe trauma. Mind games are quite common, including simulated interrogations, in which the acolytes have to shield their minds from Force-based intrusion and face their fears. Moreover, the only way to learn how to feed on someone's life force, you need to be drained yourself first. Use of poison are quite common amongst the Xioquo. So neophytes are taught to build up a degree of resistance by being gradually exposed to it in small doses. However, this only works against a select number of poisons, chiefly organic ones.
Within Firemane, the Coven members are looked upon with a degree of mistrust, especially on the part of Order of Fire members who stay away from the dark arts. Other Firemane soldiers remember the Battle of the Underealm and the horrors they witnessed during it and are not comfortable with how individuals they once fought against now claim to be loyal allies. That said, dark side practitioners are nothing new in Firemane.
The group is led by Xai'Zalra, the scion of a clan of Xioquo witches. Her family lacked the prestige and connections to become one of the big players on the council that ruled the Xioquo in Myrou's name prior to the conquest. In the aftermath, her clan executed a smart ninenty degree pivot to position themselves as loyal servants of the new régime. With the big players gone they could advance their cause swiftly. Zalra's decision to pledge herself to the Coven must be understood in this light. She helped recruit several of its members from witch covens that had been decimated by the bloodletting or disbanded after the conclusion of hostilities. This was successfully sold to the new regime as a way to keep them from drifting off into extremism.
Zalra is associated with the Daughters of the Destroyer, a Xioquo cult that venerates Siobhan. However their leader Quas'Ziru has doubts about her sincerity, regarding her as someone who stuck with the ancien régime until it became inconvenient for her. She is the type of former old guard member who is useful to keep around, but who merits watching. Many of the Daughters also dislike the idea the of members of the old elite trying to worm their way into the sect, even if Zalra wasn't a prominent figure in the old days. So the high priestess keeps her at arm's length. Ironically, Zalra is easier for outsiders to get along with than the intense, fanatical Ziru. However, her more amiable attitude hides a calculating mind.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Elite.
Equipment:
Armour:
- Fully covering dark robes with a Cloak of Hate, hood, gloves and tunic. Wear a fully covering mask with rebreather and other standard equipment to protect themselves against sunlight as well as chemicals while providing an air supply. May add a plastoid or durasteel breastplate, vambraces, and gauntlets in combat.
- Dart Rifle (variable chemical payload)
- ACS-207 Cryoban Gun
- ACS-207 Acidthrower
- Shatter Pistol
- SP-2
- Sonic Stunner
- MSD-32
- Renegade
- Holdout Bolter
- Sonic Disruptor
Melee Weapons:
- Vibrodagger
- Force Pike
- Force Imbued Blades or Quarterstaffs.
- Force-focusing visors
- Taozin amulet
- Bladed weapons often have a Devaronian edge
- Berserk. For use on others, not self.
- Holdout Blaster
- Grenades
Xioquo are physically weaker than humans and these here are squishy wizards. They would be at a disadvantage if engaged up-close. They lack heavy armour, meaning they must rely on the Force to protect themselves against powerful attacks they cannot evade. Several of their powers require focus, which can leave them vulnerable. They are a support force, not frontline combatants. While strong in the Force, their use of it is highly specialised. They focus on using the Force over conventional combat skills, so ysalamiri and Voidstone make them vulnerable, as both take away their biggest advantage. They are trained in the use of melee weapons and guns, but not shock troops. The Coven members lack heavy weapons, which can be a disadvantage, especially if they do not have access to their preternatural powers.
Most of the members of the coven are also adepts of the Dark Side. As a result, they are vulnerable to Light-based offensive powers such as Force Light and feel weakened in areas strong in the Light, such as a Light Side nexus. Obviously areas strong in the Dark Side will have the opposite effect. The traditional Xioquo racial weakness to the sun and bright lights applies during daytime operations in areas touched by the sun. Living in the darkness for so long has made both painful to them. Their skin can blister in the sun if left exposed. Bright light can dazzle them and UV radiation can cause serious burns if exposed. Hence they wear armour and fully covering robes with googles or masks.
Force Abilities (Force User Units Only): The Coven of Tlaxqui is a group of dark or dark-leaning sorceresses. They focus on terramancy, Force Net, Dark Healing, Crucitorn, Force illusions and can use Force Drain. In addition, they are capable of using the Force to create regular darkness to conceal themselves. This can be understood as a counterpoint to Force Flash, which disorientates via bright light. This does not enable them to summon Waves of Darkness, as their ability is merely an environmental effect. The full strength of their dark rituals is based on the number of the Coven members able to reinforce it. Thus, as more are disabled, killed or injured, the weaker their effects become. This is pertinent when they want to use mentalism or earth shaping on a larger scale.
Strengths:
- Powerful earth shapers and dark witches.
- Strong support unit.
- Support unit, not frontline assault troops. Lack conventional anti-armour or long-ranged weapons. They also do not have integrated heavy support such as combat vehicles.
- Ysalamiri and Voidstone deprive them of their biggest advantage in combat, as their training focuses on the Force over conventional combat skills and tactics. This particularly pertinent since they don't wear heavy armour or carry heavy weapons.
- The coven is largely composed of dark side adepts, which makes them susceptible to powerful applications of the Light such as strong blasts of Force Light.
Xioquo society has always been steeped in the Dark Side. For centuries, the Xio were governed by a ruthless mageocracy where only those who pursued the path of Darkness ended up on the top. Thousands laboured as slaves to serve the whims of the mistresses who sat on the top of the pyramid. The disobedient were brutally punished and often sacrificed in ghastly rituals to power war machines or be turned into abominations.
Believing that Tygara was theirs by right and that one day their 'demigoddess' Myrou would awaken to lead them to conquer Tygara, the Xioquo warred against their neighbours and rivals, the Qadiri and Vashyada. Myrou was the first of their race and regarded as the creator of the Xioquo. Having been badly injured in a duel with her sister Tylania, Paragon of the Vashyada, she slumbered in a sarcophagus. The Xioquo regarded their dark mother with a mixture of fear and dread. They sacrificed living beings to her in order to sustain her, but also to make sure that she did not awaken too soon. For their prophecies foretold that on the day Mystra arose, she would also judge her children and devour those she found wanting. While the technologically most advanced of Tygara's natives, their low population, incessant power struggles and the constant need to be on their guard against slave revolts kept the Xioquo from fulfilling their potential. They could have achieved great things under a less self-destructive régime that did not see the need to put the majority of their own people in chains.
Nemesis came to their subterranean kingdom, the Underealm, when a coalition of Firemane, Eldorai and Qadiri forces invaded their territory, defeated their armies and war beasts, and finally slew Myrou herself. By that time many Xioquo had become disillusioned with their creator since she fed on them just as enthusiastically as on their enemies. Slaves rebelled, seeing a chance to cast down their chains, and the remaining mistresses finally capitulated.
Trials were held for a number of war criminals, slavery was abolished and a new government was set up. The new Queen of the Xioquo, Liavondra, was an adept of the Light Side, who seeks to lead her people on a better path. Determined to bring about a better future for her people, she presided over what could be described as a social revolution. With Firemane's blessing, the old patronage networks were broken up, slavery was abolished and the lower classes were emancipated. Obviously these reforms were not to the liking of the old guard. But many of the great houses had been decimated by the bloodletting. Some of those remained continued the fight in the underground or went into exile. Others made an oily transition, proclaiming that they were loyal to the Queen and had always disagreed with the policies of the old Council. Their supposed change of heart aroused justified suspicions.
In the meantime, a number of Xioquo exploited their new freedom to explore what lay beyond the Underealm, and eventually Tygara, as the drows moved into the stars to escape the confines of the Underealm. Several found their way into Firemane's ranks. During her campaign, the Xioquo conferred the title of Karishzar upon Siobhan Kerrigan. It means Destroyer in their language. At first it was supposed to condemn her as an abomination that threatened everything the Matriarchy stood for her. To many freed slaves, it became the title of a liberator, for it showed the hated mistresses feared her. Especially after her battle with Mystra, though in all fairness Siobhan did not defeat her on her own. In the aftermath, some cults began to venerate her. It suits her ego that they refer to her as 'Great One' or the 'Great Karishzar'.
The private armies of the Xioquo matriarchs who had once held the nation in a vice grip were disbanded. But this left many Xioquo warriors and sorceresses without employment. It was obvious to Firemane's occupation authority that something had to be done about this. Otherwise former servants of the ancien régime could become a serious threat to the new order and provide a pool of recruits for extremists and terrorist groups. Liavondra recruited many for the militia and the new Xioquo national army, promising a more egalitarian order. Those who embraced the Light found a place in the Seekers of the Sky and the Banishers of the Night, a group of Xioquo paladins devoted to protecting the innocent.
However, this left those who still adhered to the Dark Side but had not joined the Myrou holdouts without opportunities. Siobhan was a Dark Jedi herself and not opposed to employing dark side adepts, provided they could be controlled and followed her laws. She realised that not all who swore fealty to her now had suddenly become her acolytes, but would accept those who could be useful. Thus Firemane accepted Xioquo into its auxiliary formations and recruited dark witches.
The Coven of Tlaxqui was one of the groups that came into being as a result of this policy. It was created by Firemane by recruiting from the ranks of existing covens. Potential recruits had to be vetted carefully, lest the group be infiltrated by fairweather friends and double agents. For though most Xioquo soldiers had laid down their weapons, there were still holdouts that conducted a guerilla campaign. Moreover, a good number of nobles and priestesses had only pretended to accept the new order. The coven was conceived as a specialised unit whose members could use their Force powers to support Firemane regulars and Force warriors. This was quite close to the role many of the witches had played under the old order. Of course, they had to accept Firemane laws. Among other things, this meant giving up blood sacrifices of sentient beings.
Xai'Zalra was appointed leader of the group. The sorceress had made a smooth transition from servant of the ancien régime to supporter of the new order. Setting up the unit was not an easy process. The group had to contend with infiltrators. Indeed, their training facility was bombed. Zalra herself was targeted by assassins, who believed she had sold out. She also tried to pack the Coven with her own followers and prevent the appointment of witches outside of her clientele. Firemane executed a senior sorceress for treason.
Nonetheless, the group gradually took shape. It saw action against Xioquo insurgents who still followed the old ways and played an active role in the defence of the Underealm when the Kraal, a race of ferocious lizardmen, assaulted it. Their earth shaping powers enabled them to aid their allies by causing a partial cave-in above the invaders. They also conjured illusions to sow confusion and create chaos in enemy ranks. The Coven was one of the Xioquo units that were deployed to the battlefield in order to support Firemane in the Krolis War, an internecine Qadiri conflict Siobhan Kerrigan was pulled into because one of the feuding parties was led by her ally Shahbânu Semiramis. Once again the Xioquo mages battled their hereditary enemy, the Qadiri. They fought in the final battle that resulted in the defeat of the League of Krolis. However, they were not among the Firemane troops that entered Krolis to accept the League's submission, as Siobhan realised that this would be extremely offensive to Qadiri feelings and possibly reignite the conflict.
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