OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Eldorai Diaspora and the Shadow Knights.
Image Credit: Here. Here.
Role: Force Dead assassins and black ops operatives.
Permissions: Can use Firemane equipment because I write the company's owner. Permission for all subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Links: Eldorai, To Hell and Back, Yuuzhan Vong, Ashiranism, The Harrowed, Kaeshana, Harbingers of Twilight, Xioquo.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Sicarii.
Affiliation: Shadow Knights, Court of the Shadows, Raekana, Emissaries of Illyria.
Classification: Black Ops.
Equipment:
Armour:
Melee Weapons:
Rifles:
- Verpine Shatter Rifle
- DC-19 Stealth Carbine
- Chitin Carbine
- DXR-6
- Bolt-Thrower
- Nightstinger
- Dart Gun (variable chemical payload)
- Amban Sniper Rifle
- ACP Repeater Gun
- MSD-32
- Magnetic Revolver
- Class-D Disruptor
- Renegade Blaster
- Adjudicator
- Sonic Disruptor
- Verpine Shattergun
- A280 CFE
- FWG-5 Flechette Smart Pistol
- SH-9
- Sonic Stunner
- Hold-out Bolter.
Attached Weapons:
- Concealed Dart Launcher (variable chemical payload)
- Talons
- Fire Spitter
- Vac Attack
- Dur-24 Wrist Laser
- Nang hul, Razor Bugs.
- Mqaaq'it.
- Devaronian blood poison, Senflax, Malkite themfar and other poisons. Bladed weapons often have a Devaronian edge.
- Fex-M3.
- No-Show
- Berserk
- BCC BC-11 Comlink
- ShadoWing
- Whisper Jet Pack
- Field Security Overloader, Scramble-Key, Laser Lockpick, Grappling Spike Launcher, EMP Disruptor Stylus, Anti-Security Blade, Individual Field Disruptor, Cyanide Suicide Pills.
- Grenades, IEDs.
- Blast Bug, Plasma Eel, Magma Pebbles, Snap Bug.
- Detonite Charges. Door-Breaking Charges. Bore Bangs.
- Bhorash Jelly.
- Mesh Trap, Monofilament Net and Wire.
Description: The Sicarii are a secretive group of assassins, spies and black ops operatives who worship Illyria, the Eldorai Goddess of Death and the Underworld. Her faith is considered heretical by orthodox Eldorai, for the Book of Light proclaims that Illyria grew haughty and rebelled against her the Great Goddess Ashira. To mock Ashira's creation of the Eldorai, Illyria spawned demons and abominations. After failing to slay Ashira in mortal combat, she was imprisoned in the underworld. Despite being reviled, there Illyrian sects have arisen time and again, challenging Eldorai orthodoxy. There has been a bit of a resurgence ever since the destruction of Kaeshana, which Illyrians see as proof that Ashira is either weak or does not care for her children.
The Sicarii, like the Harbingers of Twilight, their parent sect, embrace Illyria as a liberator. One thing that is special about them is that every member of the group is Force Dead. Orthodox Ashirans would call them soulless demons. By contrast, the Sicarii postulate that this has freed them from the pernicious influence of the spirits that seek to tempt Sciians, for only in silence can the Mistress' true word be heard. They are freaks to normal Eldorai society and have responded to this by embracing their curse and declaring it to be a blessing. They are a collection of outcasts and proud of it. Members who join the group must swear a blood oath and undergo initiation rites. Some of these are influenced by Xioquo traditions.
They serve a different purpose than the Harbingers. The latter are raiders and shock troops. They have gained renown as cunning reavers. Like them, the Sicarii are devoted to Illyria and dedicate their killings to her. But unlike the Harbingers, they are a scalpel. Instead of facing their foes directly, they employ espionage, subterfuge, stealth and assassination. Unsurprisingly, the Sicarii are particularly adept at hunting and killing Force-users. They are completely void in the Force, which means that Force-users cannot sense their presence, read their minds or anticipate their actions. Moreover, many direct Force powers do not work on the Force Dead.
Raekana earned her place as a leader during the Long Night, when she achieved infamy as a guerrilla leader and assassin. Long before the cataclysm, she was part of a secret community of Illyrians who hid their faith by living as Ashirans. For a while she was able to pass as a religious artist, who produced Ashiran secret, but secretly inserted Illyrian symbols. However, a religious purge instigated by conservative elements in the Church unmasked. Fearing that she would be martyred, she lapsed and renounced the Illyrian faith. This caused her tremendous guilt and made her an outcast among those who remained true. After restrictions eased under Tirathana VI's successors, she became an activisit. She reinvented herself as a religious crusader and holy assassin after the cataclysm.
In the old days they made money as contract killers, by accepting bounties on Force-users or stealing Force artefacts. These are ventures they still engage in today. The Shadow Knights also use them in this capacity. They sometimes cooperate with the Watchers of the Night, a special Shadow Knight composed of Force Dead warriors in Power Armour, who are charged with eliminating hostile or traitorous Force-users. Following the example of their founder Raekana, some Sicarii have become fond of leaving calling cards of sorts after scoring a kill. In the Shadow Knight hierarchy, the Court of the Veil is the body responsible for them. It handles all spy, stealth and espionage type activities.
In terms of composition, the Sicarii are a mixed group. Some of them are members or descendants of the original group of Harbingers. Others are Eldorai who lived on Kaeshana during the First Order's occupation and survived the so-called Kaeshana Conundrum, when the planet was sucked into the Netherworld by a warp storm. The experience turned them Force Dead, and they started associating with the Harbingers after Kaeshana returned to real space and its last survivors were evacuated.
Finally, a few Xioquo have joined the cult. Ironically, these tend to be Force-users of varying skill, who feel that the Dark Side is Myrou trying to ensnare them. Having been influenced by Illyrian teachings, these radicals have decided that it is worthwhile to cut out the curse of the Force entirely to be beyond her reach. The fact that the Illyrians are, by Eldorai standards, fairly egalitarian on gender matters makes them attractive to some Xioquo males, as the drows are the most misandrist of all Eldorai races. The drows are extremely agile, resistant to cold and can see far further in the darkness than humans or Eldorai. They excel at sneaking and blending into the shadows. However, centuries spent in their subterranean lair has made sunlight and other bright lights painful to them. Thus they must wear covering attire in daylight.
This mixed composition makes the Sicarii quite cosmopolitan. Their outcast status has also helped forge a common bond, as they are freaks to normal Eldorai society. Unsurprisingly, the Sicarii are negatively disposed to the Church of Ashira and the Eldorai Crown. The Xioquo influence also gives them a very negative opinion of the Xioquo old guard, especially those members who want to find a way to revive Myrou again. Indeed, they are quite militant when it comes to tracking, hunting down and terminating Xioquo cultists who want to bring the mad goddess back from the dead. They also do not have a high opinion of the Daughters of the Destroyer, a Xioquo cult that worships Siobhan as the Karishzar, for they just see it as a kinder, gentler version of Myrou's cult.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Small
Unit Availability: Rare
Unit Experience: Elite.
Combat Function: The Sicarii are assassins, spies and scouts. Rather than confront their enemies directly, they use stealth, subterfuge and trickery. Every member of the group is a highly skilled black ops operative. They are very good at stealth, sniping, poison, mimicry and martial arts. Most also possess secondary skills such as demolitions, slicing and piloting. Given the nature of their work, their training stresses initiative, self-reliance and, above all, patience. Gloryhounds and daredevils are weeded out. Moreover, every single member of the Sicarii is Force Dead.
Thus they are completely void within the Force. They have no presence within the Force and thus cannot be sensed in it or mentally manipulated. The operatives possess an immunity comparable to that of Vong and their biots, meaning they are unaffected by most Force powers targeted directly against them. Even a normally powerful telekinetic blast that was capable of launching an ordinary opponent off their feet at high speeds simply caused a Yuuzhan Vong either to stumble, or lose balance temporarily. Their Force Dead nature can give them an advantage over Force-users in combat. Indeed, they specialise in hunting and killing Force-users.
However, while being void in the Force is a great benefit, it also has all the associated drawbacks as they cannot be aided by the Force either. Thus if an ally were to use Battle Meditation, that would be no help to the Harbingers. Trying to communicate via telepathy or heal injuries with the Force will not work on them. Moreover, they are not immune to Force Lightning and can be indirectly affected by the Force. The Sicarii are a unit of special purpose operators. They forego heavy, tanky armour and heavy weapons. This enhances their mobility and stealthiness, but leaves them more vulnerable in protracted combat or against heavily armoured enemies. They are a scalpel not a hammer, and should be used accordingly.
Strengths:
- Elite assassins and special operations operatives.
- All of the Sicarii are Force Dead. Thus they are completely void within the Force, cannot be sensed in it and possess an immunity to direct Force powers comparable to that of Yuuzhan Vong and their biots.
- They are Force-Dead and thus completely void within the Force. While a great benefit, it does have the normal associated downfalls in that they cannot be aided by the Force either. Beneficial techniques such as Battle Meditation, Force Meld and Force Healing will not work on them. Additionally they are not immune to Force Lightning or Force Net, and can be indirectly affected by the Force.
- They are trained and equipped for stealth, subterfuge and surgical strikes, not drawn-out battles or confrontations with heavy armour elements such as tanks. The Sicarii forego heavy weapons in favour of stealth and precision. They are a scalpel, not a hammer or a broadsword.
The Sicarii have their roots in an old Eldorai heresy. They can trace their origins back to a community of Illyria worshippers, who were banished by Star Queen Tirathana VI. Forbidden from setting foot on Kaeshana's surface again, they were declared outlaws and apostates. In Eldorai mythology, Illyria is the Goddess of Death, ruling over the hellish underworld. Orthodox Eldorai do not worship the reviled deity.
This is because she rebelled against the Great Goddess Ashira, the supreme deity of the Eldorai Pantheon, who is credited with fashioning the first Eldorai from clay, breathing life into them and endowing them with souls. However, Illyria was prideful and envious of her mother. Determined to surpass the Heavenly Mother, Illyria utilised dark sorcery to create demons, twisted parodies of Ashira's children. Upon being confronted, Illyria turned on the Pantheon.
The conflict between the two is known as the War in Heaven. Angels and the other Eldorai deities rallied around Ashira, who led them into battle against the forces of darkness. While their armies clashed in an epic battle, Ashira and Illyria duelled upon the surface of Kaeshana. Illyria was able to stab and wound Ashira severely. However, though weakened, Ashira cast her down into the underworld. Then the supreme goddess ascended to heaven.
Until this fateful day, the members of the Pantheon had walked the earth, but now the Star Queen would be needed to communicate with them and guide the faithful. This is how the Ashiran scriptures record events at any rate. While Ashira is associated with light, fire and air, Illyria is the embodiment of darkness. However, because orthodox Eldorai society is built upon the bedrock of crown-temple-nobility, many dissidents and renegades have embraced Illyria, regarding her as a liberator who stood up to the powers that be, who was unjustly vilified.
Queen Tirathana VI, whose own legitimacy was somewhat questionable, made a concerted effort to enforce religious orthodoxy and thus strengthen her claim to the throne, as the queen was not just a temporal ruler, but the Defender of the Faith. The dreaded Investigators of Ashira's Truth were endowed with sweeping powers to root out bastions of heresy and unbelief. A whole community of Illyria worshippers was arrested en masse. They were accused of blasphemous practices, consorting with demons and foreign raiders and ritually murdering innocent Eldorai.
Therefore, they were sent to the 'foreign devils', being taken in ships to the nearest inhabited system and left to fend for themselves, with minimal supplies. Inevitably, they became prey for pirates. Their captors were Yuuzhan Vong, who regarded their prisoners as ideal servitors. Thus they carried out experiments to turn them Force Dead. Many of the slavers' victims perished. Those who survived later rebelled, overthrowing their masters. They called themselves the Harbingers of Twilight and came to embrace their new condition as a way to get closer to the Mistress of the Underworld and free themselves from the shackles of the spirits. Some Illyrians, fearing exile or martyrdom, lapsed and renounced their faith. One of them was future leader of the Sicarii. Illyrianism was legalised under Tirathana VII but to prevent disturbances and pogroms many were relocated to remote areas of Kaeshana.
The Sicarii came into being during the Great Exodus, when the Eldorai Matriarchy abandoned doomed Kaeshana. Most of the Eldorai were evacuated before their world was devastated by an enormous asteroid, but some had to be left behind. They called themselves the Forsaken and cursed those who had gotten away. One of them was an Illyrian believer who was born under the name Sirave Miayra. She was an empath and fully exposed to the staggering loss of life caused by the cataclysm. The ensuing death and destruction caused such a strong psychic wound that the shock would have killed her, if she had not, unconsciously and instinctively, severed her connection to the Force.
However, her condition went beyond merely cutting her connection, for she became dead to the Force. Thereafter, she was deafened to the Force's call. She was incapable of sensing it or using it to shape the world around her. However, she herself had become a void in the Force. Confused and shaken, she became an exile. For a while, she wandered, but in time she took up the blade. Kaeshana had collapsed into lawlessness. Warfare between warlords, religious sects and gangs was endemic. The wandering Illyrian made herself a name punishing the wicked and the unjust, gathering a following.
Having discarded her birth name, she became known as Raekana. This was a reference to the dagger she wielded with great skill. She murdered warlords, foreign slavers and their native collaborators. Whenever she sneaked into their homes to punish them, she left a calling card, as if daring them to pursue her. Her followers called themselves the Sicarii. In time Raekana established contact with the Harbingers, who had come to Kaeshana to aid their people, and the Shadow Knights.
What she learned convinced her that condition was a gift bestowed upon her by Illyria. She became infamous as an assassin and a raider. When the Illyrians who believed that being Force Dead was a blessing from their goddess formed the Emissaries of Illyria, Raekena joined them. However, there was a schism in the Illyrian movement. Those who rejected the idea that they could reach the goddess by becoming Force Dead formed a counter-movement, which sought to commune with her through the dark side. Eldorai, no matter what their religion is, are very fond of schisms.
Raekana became a prophetess, guerrilla leader and raider. Indeed, she became a bit of a folk heroine. The Sicarii operated from a stronghold in the mountains of Kaeshana. To raise funds, they acquired a ship and began to operate outside of Kaeshana, accepting bounties and assassination contracts. These were desperate times, so they were not particularly picky about who they worked for. They gained a reputation for their professionalism, but also their ruthlessness.
During her travels, Raekana crossed path with a Dark Master called Darth Verrat. This Sith Lady tried to manipulate her and her followers by offering to restore her connection to the Force. Raekana pretended to indulge her, but then murdered her. The Shadows backed their estranged cousins as well as Firemane and the Alliance against the First Order during the Battle of Kaeshana. When the Alliance withdrew, Raekana and her closest associates were among the Shadows who stayed behind on the planet to continue the struggle against what they saw as a foreign invader.
The Sicarii's partisan campaign came to an end when one day Kaeshana was dragged through the Netherworld by a warp storm. The planet had already been devastated by the asteroid collision, but this cataclysmic event turned the planet into a haunted, twisted hellscape. Raekana and her surviving followers were among those few who were still on the planet when this happened and survived. The fact that she was dead to the Force meant that she could not be haunted by the spirits, but it still took a toll on her sanity. She became a prophetess to some of the survivors and organised them to protect themselves against the terrors of the warp.
She also had contact with the Harrowed, a mixed group of Eldorai and Kar'zun who had banded together for mutual survival. When Kaeshana emerged from the warp, the few survivors found themselves on the other side of the Galaxy. Various Eldorai groups had heard the planet had shifted and dispatched expeditions to investigate this phenomenon and rescue survivors. The Sicarii managed to establish contact with a Shadow Knight rescue team. This enabled them to escape the inhospitable, cursed planet.
Affiliation with the Shadows and their allies also brought the Sicarii into contact with Tygaran elves who had ventured into the stars. Qadiri and Vashyada were not really receptive to their message, as they perceived it as bizarre and lacked an Illyria equivalent in their respective pantheons. As a result, it was not very attractive to them.
However, the Sicarii found followers among the Xioquo. Traditionally, the Xioquo emphasised subterfuge and stealth and were known for their assassins. The Xioquo who were attracted by the message of the secretive group identified the temptation of the dark side with the call of Myrou, the dark goddess of their people. Thus being turned Force Dead was a way for them to cut whatever ties tied bound them to the primeval Xioquo, whom they regarded as the creator of their race.
Shar'Viraq became a leading Xioquo convert. Under the ancien régime she had been an acolyte of the priesthood of Myrou who had been forced into the role to raise the status of her house. One of the duties of the priestesses was to carry out blood sacrifices to appease and nourish the dark queen. Having seen the horror of what the priesthood did she was determined not to become one of them. She perceived what others called the dark side as the voice of Myrou, and took the radical step to avoid it. Raekana was able to bond with the drow, who rose to become the second in command of the group and helped recruit more rogue Xioquo to the cause.
The blend of traditional Illyrian and Xioquo beliefs led to some purists to claim that the Sicarii had strayed from the true path of Illyrianism, whatever that was supposed to be. To earn extra credits and gain access to tech that would not be available to them otherwise, the Sicarii continued offering their services as assassins and bounty-hunters to clients who could pay them. This does not contradict the methods of the Shadow Knights, who have become a paramilitary migrant fleet for hire, though the Sicarii might be less scrupulous when it comes to their choice in clients.
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