Karrigan'Xalda
Daughter of the Karishzar
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Sio's Drow followers, sub the martial arm of the Daughters of the Destroyer. Sub the unit Xalda belongs to and may eventually lead.
Image Credit: Here. Fourth image on the page. The Heralds would not dual-wield two big swords, but the image is cool.
Role: Shock infantry, religious zealots.
Permission: Blanket permission for anything made by Val here. Can use Firemane stuff because I own the company. ARGH gear available per this thread. Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here. Permission to use Tricks of the Trade submissions here. Permission to use Tricks of the Trade submissions here.
Links: Twilight of the Goddess, Liavondra, Initiation of the Phoenix Daughter, Firemane Industries, House Kerrigan, Order of Fire.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Heralds of the Destroyer. Called the Karish'zar Taq'mar'i'z in Xio.
Affiliation: Daughters of the Destroyer, Quas'Ziru, House Kerrigan, Siobhan Kerrigan, Xioquo, Karrigan'Xalda.
Classification: Force infantry.
Description: The Heralds of the Destroyer are a martial arm of the Daughters of the Destroyer, a Xioquo cult that worships Siobhan Kerrigan as the Karishzar, or Destroyer. The cultists revere Siobhan for toppling the ancien régime, abolishing slavery and defeating Myrou, a primeval Xioquo whom the drows considered to be their mother goddess. The Daughters of the Destroyer believe that by killing Mystra, the Karishzar proved herself to be the stronger goddess.
Thus she has taken her place in their mind. Moreover, she also put an end to slavery, setting countless Xioquo free. Finally, she gave the Xioquo access to more advanced technology and, ultimately, brought them to the stars so that they could find new worlds to colonise. In the eyes of the cultists, this makes her worthy of worship. However, they also have a rather apocalyptic mind set and see themselves as a martial organisation. Those who fight and die worthily in the cause of the Destroyer are assured paradise. The Destroyer has a benign side, but is also dangerous, and must be appeased by shedding the blood of her enemies.
The Heralds regard themselves as the Karishzar's chosen. Like their parent organisation, they are an all-female cult. Every member of the Heralds swears a blood oath to the Destroyer, vowing to fight for her. Former slaves, lower caste members and individuals who were persecuted by the old order are preferred as members. Their religious devotion makes them extremely zealous in combat, though this can also be used against them. Training can only be described as extremely gruelling.
Living in the darkness so long has made the sun and other bright lights painful for Xioquo. In daylight the members of this race wear robes and hoods to shield themselves, and often wear steampunk-like sunglasses on long operations. Their skins can blister in the sun if left exposed. One of the more cruel, yet effective means of torture devised by their Qadiri enemies was to simply secure a Xioquo in the midday sun and let the brightness and burns torment their captive.
Consequently, Herald training involves exposing the prospective recruit to the sunlight and the pain it brings. For this reason, they also train in extremely hot environments such as deserts. Moreover, there is a lot of physical exertion to build endurance and toughen them up. Mentalists from the Coven of Tlaxqui, a Xioquo witch cult, are brought in to force the recruits to face their fears, summoning illusions to torment them. As a test of devotion, acolytes are sometimes hung up on a wheel or pillar with a rope for a couple days. A Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape course is also part of the curriculum. The survival portion is being dumped in generally inhospitable terrain with maybe a knife. The recruits have a set amount of time - of which they are unaware of - to endure the elements. In addition to having to deal with wild beasts, they are tracked by their instructors and have the objective of avoiding capture.
Naturally, they will be captured. This is necessary for the next stage, where they have to resist the torture inflicted on them by their captors. Instructors are not allowed to kill their 'captives', but are supposed to make trainees believe that everything else is fair game. This is obviously an exaggeration, as there is no point in inflicting injury that would permamently ruin a promising recruit, but it is still extremely nasty. Recruits are expected to escape when the opportunity presents itself. Those who pass these and other trials are inducted into the ranks of the Heralds. Tattoos of a religious or martial nature are quite common among the Heralds. One of their symbols is the broken chain, to signify their liberation from the ancien régime. Another is the phoenix, which coincidentally is also the symbol of House Kerrigan.
They believe that those who live worthy lives go into the earth (heaven is down) and reunite with the spirits of their ancestors. The wicked will be adjudged by those they wronged and cast out into the unending light and heat, where they will suffer eternal torment. To the Heralds, serving the Destroyer and slaying the wicked is their ticket to a good 'interview' with the spirits assembled, and entitles them to a good place in paradise. They don't, however, believe that the Karishzar rules heaven itself, though she is regarded as blessed and as a higher being. Myrou was an evil tyrant who tormented her people, so the spirits endowed the Karishzar with their power and gave her the sacred quest to destroy the false queen.
Training, ceremonies and ritual are important components of the daily life of the Karish'zar Taq'mar'i'z. Many Firemane members consider them deeply disturbing. However, they make for a tenacious, brave fighting force. Often before battle the members of the sect will mark themselves with runes. All Taq'mar'i'z are expected to keep their armour and swords in top condition and always be ready to answer the call to take up arms in the name of the Karishzar, her family and the Xioquo people. Until recently they were supervised by the Order of Fire, Firemane's Force-using branch. The Order does not replace native Force groups, but assumes a monitoring and supervisory role over those associated with House Kerrigan. However, the Daughters have denounced Firemane for slaving and other exploitative practices. Today, they are openly hostile to the megacorp, and have cut all ties with it. They are preparing for nothing less than a campaign of vengeance and operation free the Xioquo people from the megacorp's pernicious influence. They have acknowledged Elpsis as a fellow Daughter and one of their battle sisters, though they do not view her as a mistress they will follow without question. Their legal status is somewhat murky, but they are at the disposal of the Queendom of Tlaxqui during national emergencies.
Bloodletting and extreme religious devotion aside, the Heralds also educate their members in other ways. Literacy rates are very low among Xioquo since the aristocrats that dominated the ancien régime saw no reason to grant their slaves or low caste members access to education, rightly fearing that it could motivate them to organise and rebel. The Heralds recruit their members from the classes that used to be oppressed, so they strive to educate them. To this end, the warrior priestesses cooperate with their parent cult, the Daughters of the Destroyer.
The Xioquo are very proud of the fact that they were the most advanced Tygaran race, so now they strive to catch up with the rest of the Galaxy. The Daughters and the Heralds share this ambition. Karrigan is a popular surname for freed Xioquo slaves and those who were wronged by the old order. Slaves were denied a name, so many - though not all - took the name of their liberator after the collapse of the ancien régime. Thus one finds many Heralds who have named themselves after their idol. It is considered a matter of principle among the Heralds to ensure that the family members of a dead battle sister are looked after.
One of the Heralds is Karrigan'Xalda. Xalda grew up as a slave and was later a slave-soldier. When the sky people came and waged war on the Xioquo, her mistress sent her to Siobhan Kerrigan as a gift, with secret orders to poison the Firemane leader. However, Siobhan was able to sway Xalda to her cause and forgave her instead of punishing her. Siobhan's cleansing purge turned Xalda into a devoted follower. To reflect her devotion, she has taken Karrigan as her surname. Though a bit naive about the greater Galaxy, she is a capable soldier and strong Force-User, with an affinity for elemental earth abilities.
Xalda was one of the Xioquo who fought against the Dominion of Light on Tephrike. Her experiences there have left her with a very negative view of 'Yedi', especially due to the Dominion's use of child soldiers. She is a Host Commander among the Daughters of the Destroyer, which means she leads a small cell. Her trauma as a slave and upbringing in the cutthroat environment of the Underealm has shaped her. She can be cruel, ruthless and vindictive, even to the point of sadism. She enjoys inflicting pain on those who once made her suffer. She does have empathy for victims though, especially children and former slaves.
The Heralds are commanded Arqui'Taxlsa. Strong, brave and tough, she is also a rival to High Priestess and a bit of a schemer. While she genuinely disliked the old order, she was also an active part of it. Fought with distinction against the ill-fated Qadiri assault on the Underealm, when the army of the Mirza of Lakish was defeated by the Xioquo. When Firemane tore down the old order, her mistress wanted to fight to the death for Myrou by carrying on a protacted guerilla war from the depths of the Underealm. However, Taxlsa killed her and ensured an orderly surrender to the invaders. Indeed, she helped the occupation force ensure security, suppress looting and provided information on surviving players of the ancien régime.
These actions helped put her in good standing, especially with Zhiva Khalan, a Falleen GRU agent who became her handler. Taxlsa also used the opportunity to settle 'old scores' and make a profit. When the new order took shape, the former servitor was ready to make a smooth transition. She is too valuable and effective to remove, but Ziru has her doubts about how trustworthy she is. Taxlsa has been very eager to bring the Heralds into the future by equipping them with modern weapons, combining old Xioquo tactics with new tactical doctrines.
The relationship between the Heralds and the Xioquo government is a bit complicated. While an aristocrat, Liavondra was secretly a dissident and was eventually locked up and tormented by her family. She also did not abuse her slaves. Moreover, Siobhan put her on the throne and she seeks to lead the Xioquo out of the dark age. In that regard she is a figure the Heralds must respect. However, she is also a Light Sider and clearly does not share their beliefs. Indeed, she regards them as deeply disturbing - understandably. The Heralds are aware of this. However, they despise the reactionary forces that seek to restore the totalitarian old order and bring back slavery. In that regard there is common ground. Xioquo politics are complicated, to say the least.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Elite.
Equipment:
Armour:
- Cusaeris Mk3 OR Storm Commando Armour. Their helmets have in-built translators.
Sidearms:
- Hold-out Bolter
- Magnetic Revolver
- A280-CFE
- Hard-Sound Gun
- ATA Pulse-Wave Blaster
- MSD-32
- Verpine Shattergun
- Sonic Disruptor
Rifles:
- MGL-1 (often mounted on another rifle)
- DC-19 Stealth Carbine
- Reaper Plasma Shotgun
- BR-4 'Baleful Bantha' Blaster Rifle
- Imperial Heavy Repeater
- Slugthrower Rifle
- KV33 Pulse Cycler
- DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle
- Magnetic Repeater
- MK I Bolter
- Grenades, Bore Bang.
- Molecular Stiletto, Dart Gun (variable chemical payload). Berserk.
- Suicide Pills.
- APE Boltgun Ammunition
They are good at sneaking up at a foe and attacking fast and hard. Access to Taozin amulets and Spectre armour can enable them to get close to an enemy without being detected before launching an attack. Xioquo dwell deep beneath the earth, and are used to seeing in the dark without the aid of technology. This has made the Heralds talented in cave and underground fighting.
However, they are a rather small unit. Moreover, their equipment and approach to warfare is suited for surprise attacks and rapid strikes. This leaves them vulnerable in pitched engagements out in the open, as they lack integrated heavy support such as armoured fighting vehicles, aircraft or heavy weapons. They would be vulnerable to long ranged bombardment, tank formations and so on. This means they will require support from others in pitched combat, such as pilots, heavy infantry, snipers, artillerists and so on.
They do not carry lightsabres and use Sarixi or Force Imbued Blades instead. While the Sarix is able to deflect blaster bolts and cut through many materials, it is a physical blade with actual weight behind it and thus less effective at reflecting blaster fire than a lightsabre would be. A Sarix also cannot cut through a blast door such as Qui-Gonn did, nor can it be used to melt through a solid wall or vehicle plating. Overall, the Heralds are a strike force of warriors augmented by the Force. No more, no less. Ysalamiri, Voidstone and the like will deprive them of preternatural advantages in combat. Their strength comes from the Dark, so powerful Light Side powers can weaken them, making them less effective than they are. Their armour is good and has shielding, but only offers minor lightsabre protection.
Force Abilities (Force User Units Only): The Heralds are skilled in elemental Force shaping, manipulating the earth, water and ice. They are also skilled in offensive and defensive telekinesis and can use the Force for physical enhancement to augment their body, push it past its natural limits and suppress their pain. Their connection to the Dark Side allows them to tap into Force Rage as well as utilise Force Fear and Force Affliction.
Strengths:
- Elite infantry. The Heralds are disciplined, zealous, brave and skilled. Their religious zealotry makes them tenacious fighters and extremely difficult to scare or mentally manipulate.
- Force warriors. The Heralds are strong warriors of dark or grey alignment, utilising a mix of elemental Force abilities and more traditional dark side powers.
- While they train extensively with conventional weapons and in hand-to-hand combat, losing the Force means losing their greatest advantage. This can put them at a disadvantage against enemies who use ysalamiri or Voidstone tech.
- Lack heavy weapons and thus suffer against heavy armoured vehicles and heavy fortifications. It also has implications in protracted combat. Being an infantry force, they are vulnerable to long range bombardment, such as air strikes. The Heralds lack integrated heavy support, making them dependent on support forces in larger engagements.
Xioquo society has always been steeped in the Dark Side. For centuries, the drows 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. Believing that Tygara was theirs by right and that one day their 'demigoddess' Mystra would awaken to lead them to conquer it, the Xioquo warred against their neighbours and rivals, the Qadiri and Vashyada. 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 them from fulfilling their potential.
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. Mystra was awakened, but defeated by Siobhan with the help of her allies. 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 present Queen of the Xioquo, Liavondra, is an adept of the Light Side, who seeks to lead her people on a better path. However, weaning them off despotism, and reclaiming their independence would take time.
During her campaign, the Xioquo had 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. A select number of Xioquo went a step further and came to see the Karishzar as a Goddess. By slaying Mystra, she had taken her place and set the dark elves free. This belief was naturally far from universal, but spawned a number of cults.
The most successful were the Daughters of the Destroyer. Fittingly, their was a former priestess. Her name was Qas'Ziru. Once she had been a cleric before being betrayed and enslaved in one of the perennial power plays, for the totalitarian régime had branded her a traitor. When Mystra arose from her slumber, the dark one required sacrificial lambs to feed on to fuel her power. Ziru was one of those who should have been fed to her. Being tormented by Xioquo inquisitors had left Ziru deeply scarred and more than a little unhinged. However, she was saved from getting her own heart torn out when Siobhan Kerrigan slew Mystra. Ziru witnessed the dark one's destruction. This moment changed her life forever. To her it was no simple liberation. It was a divine revelation.
She took her gratitude to extreme lengths. She was probably not in the stablest frame of mind. Either way, she began preaching what she considered to be the word of the Destroyer. Her first followers were found among freed slaves. At first the authorities tried to suppress the cult, viewing it as a nuisance and potential source of disorder, as some of its members tried to take justice into their own hands. This changed after Ziru received an audience with Siobhan Kerrigan. What happened during their talk remains obscure, but the cult received official sanction in return for its loyalty and obedience.
To ensure that the Daughters of the Destroyer would be ready to do their duty when the Karishzar calls them to do battle in her name, they founded a martial organisation called the Heralds of the Destroyer, where its most martially inclined Force-Sensitives would be organised. The Heralds would attain glory and honour by slaying the enemies of the Karishzar, thereby gaining the favour of the Dark Queen. Those among them who fell on the battlefield would be martyrs and be rewarded for their meritorious sacrifice.
At the same time they would protect the future of the Xioquo people. Each Herald swears a blood oath to Siobhan Kerrigan and her family. It should be noted that Siobhan's adoptive daughter Elpsis was deeply uncomfortable about these zealous Drows. Ironically, they regarded Elpsis as the Daughter of the Destroyer, for her fire is clearly a manifestation of the Destroyer's will. Elpsis was also perturbed by their belief that the 'Offspring of the Destroyer' would be destined to become the next Karishzar when the present one ascended to a higher plane of existence.
One of the first Heralds was a young Xioquo woman called Karrigan'Xalda. The young woman had once been the slave-soldier of a cruel mistress. She became acquainted with Siobhan when her mistress sent her to the Firemane CEO as a 'gift' prior to the fall of the Underealm. In reality, Xalda had been given the task to poison Siobhan. But the Firemane leader had figured out her true purpose and managed to sway the young Xioquo to her cause. Like the Daughters, the Heralds were set up as an an all-female sect. The Xioquo are probably the most misandrist of all the Eldorai races - and that's saying something. Attempts to sway them to a more inclusive mind set have been unsuccessful so far.
Arqui'Taxlsa became the commander of the Heralds of the Destroyer and thus Xalda's commanding officer. Strong, brave and tough, she was also a rival to Ziru and a bit of a schemer. While she genuinely hated the old order, she had also been an active part of it. She was a slave-soldier and thus not a free woman, but able to acquire a trusted position beneath her mistress due to her cunning and skill as a schemer. Taxlsa had fought with distinction against the ill-fated Qadiri assault on the Underealm, when the army of the Mirza of Lakish was defeated by the Xioquo. When Firemane tore down the old order, Taxlsa sided with the Xioquo's new rulers.
Indeed, she helped the occupation force ensure security, suppress looting and provided information on surviving players of the ancien régime. These actions helped put her in good standing, especially with Zhiva Khalan, a Falleen GRU agent who became her handler. When the new order took shape, the former servitor was ready to make a smooth transition. She was too valuable and effective to remove, but Ziru had her doubts about how trustworthy she was. Taxlsa showed herself to be very eager to bring the Heralds into the future by equipping them with modern weapons, combining old Xioquo tactics with new tactical doctrines. She fought Kraal raiders who attacked the Underealm and displayed eagerness to see the Xioquo warriors gain experience on the modern battlefield.
When the Blood Wraiths, a dark cult of Xioquo necromancers who had refused to accept the new order, arose, the Heralds and the Light Xioquo were forced to join forces against this mutual threat. For the necromancers intended nothing less than to awaken Myrou a second time, using mass deaths as fuel for the ritual. The fight with the necromancers was a bloody one, for they raised the dead as undead servitors and summoned illusionary horrors. While Zixasa and the paladins combated the hellspawn with the power of the Light and the Silencers suppressed the power of the witches, the Heralds cut through them with religious fervour.
Fuelled by their religious zealotry, they sung hymns to the Karishzar and the goddesses of the Xioquo. In so doing they provided protection for the casters and took the fight to the dark mages. Their Force imbued weapons allowed them to destroy the dark spirits summoned by the necromancers. Taxlsa drew upon the Dark Side to sap her enemies of their vitality and their control over their undead hordes, some of whom were mentally dominated by the Soulstealers and used against their creators for a short while.
The Heralds were drawn into Tephrike's internal conflict when Firemane went to war in response to a traitorous attack on a Firemane delegation and the capture of Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori. In the eyes of the Heralds, Elpsis was the daughter of the Destroyer. Her eye was a manifestion of the Karishzar's will. Karrigan'Xalda and some other Xioquo warriors participated in the battle of Fortress Purity. It was a bloody battle. While the Dominion's technology was inferior, it was able to compensate with ingenuity, ruthlessness and mass use of Force-Users. Through use of a weather control machine, the defenders were able to create a storm. This negated Firemane's air power and made it difficult for the attackers to communicate with their fleet. Many transport ships and gunships were lost in the storm, or targeted by kamikaze fighters.
Intense fighting took place on the ground. Xalda was part of a rag-tag force of Firemane and Resistance soldiers that fought its way through the forest and onto a hill that had been turned into a Dominion stronghold. She faced fanatical Dominion militia, suicide bombers and Jedi warriors. Xalda aided her comrades by summoning a mist and slew one of the lieutenants of the elite Jedi Vanguard during their charge. These were elite warrior-priests of the Windian Jedi Order, fuelled by a fanatical devotion to what they considered to be the Light that matched that of the Heralds. The young Herald used her skill of stealth, physical prowess and strength in the Dark Side to prevail, though she was injured.
When the battle turned against the Dominion, General Kennobi sent a horde of child soldiers on a suicidal death charge before committing suicide. The Firemane soldiers were forced to kill the charging children. This affected Xalda deeply, as she had once been a child soldier herself. The Herald helped bury the dead Younglings after the battle was over. Meanwhile, a Firemane task force led by Tempest was able to locate and storm the concentration camp Elpsis was being held in.
Elpsis was able to overcome her brainwashing and smite the Inquisitors responsible for her captivity, inciting a prison revolt. The defeats were a great blow to the Dominion, but the war was not over. The Heralds continue to serve their idol to this day, even after Siobhan Kerrigan fell into a coma following her fateful duel with Darth Soteria. The Heralds maintain that she will wake and that they have to hold vigil - and protect her 'queendom' from Firemane minions and vassals they believe take her name in vain.
Today, the Daughters of the Destroyer have declared their alliance with Firemane void, for it has been revealed that the megacorp was luring Xioquo workers to company towns and work camps to used as indentured servitors in conditions little better than slavery. Some Heralds participated in an assault on one such work camp on the world of Arkas. The operation was led by Elpsis Kerrigan, the rebellious Fire Princess. The guards and supervisors were slaughtered by the enraged Xioquo warriors. Firemane's board announced it would carry out an investigation, blaming the slaving operations on a few rogue actors. Needless to say the sect did not buy this cover-up. Thus the Heralds were cut off from Firemane resources, though they have benefited from Elpsis' opening the family arsenals to them. With Elpsis having joined the Daughters as a sister, the Heralds prepare for a war of purgation and liberation.
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