Featured above: A Zealot Elite with a Pulverizer with an extended magazine.
- Intent: To add further detail to the Elite class of Zealot warriors in the Bryn’adûl.
- Image Credit: ArtStation - by Saeed Ramez
- Role: Special forces unit
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: The Zealot unit page (used for reference), ArtStation - by Saeed Ramez (image)
- Unit Name: Zealot Elite
- Affiliation: The Bryn’adûl
- Classification: Acquisition & Assassination
- Description: Zealot Elites are the highest-ranked grunts in the Zealot Order, led by the personal command of Zealot Commanders. Often having several years of combat training and experience, Elites are extremely formidable warriors who are nearly unrivaled as commando units.
- Unit Size: Small (2 Elites in an Elite Squadron of 2 Elites & 1 Commander)
- Unit Availability: Rare
- Unit Experience: Elite
- Equipment:
- Armor
- [Limited] Barad Special Operations Armor
- Firearms
- [Minor] Driller Submachine Gun
- [Minor] Splitter Utility Bow
- [Limited] Pulverizer Pistol
- [Limited] Splitter
- Melee Weapons
- [Minor] Barad Kukri
- [Minor] Barad Glaive
- Armor
- Combat Function: Zealot Elites operate independently from other Zealot ranks in three-unit Elite Squads led by a Zealot Commander. Rarely seen on the battlefield, Elites are typically deployed in only the most high-risk and high-priority combat zones. Jacks of all trades, Elites often carry around a portable armory of rifles, melee weapons, and the Force prowess of their sensitive members.
- Special Forces: Zealot Elites are extremely well trained in the more subtle arts of combat such as infiltration, assassination, and asset retrieval. As such, Elites can perform high-risk, high-complexity, high-value operations that even other Zealot designations might be incapable of performing.
- Bigger & Meaner: Zealot Elites are often among the finest specimens of the entire Aeravalin and Baedurin subspecies, rivaled only by their Commanders and high-ranking Shamen and Brutes in physique.
- Force Warriors: Unlike lower ranks of Zealots, a considerable amount (~50%) of Zealot Elites are Force-sensitive to at least a minor extent, allowing them to enhance their already impressive combat performance with enhancement and psychic attributes.
- Big Boys: As members of the Draelvasier species, Aeravalin and Baedurin Zealot Elites are well-built and can take serious punishment from most opponents.
- Tactical Introversion: Zealot Elites are at their most effective when operating in groups of three, away from heavy frontline fighting. If the enemy vanguard detects an Elite Squad, then they will be hard-pressed to escape the pressure applied by superior firepower.
- Big Boys: The considerable size of the Draelvasier species makes it difficult for Zealot Elites to hide themselves from keen-eyed enemies, and their large forms are easy targets for enemy marksmen.
The title of Zealot Elite is a highly respected position given to only the finest of Zealot Minors, Shadows, and Majors.
Often handpicked by sector commanders and officials, Zealot Elite candidates are selected for their extensive combat experience and exceptional combat performance. Once a year, Elite candidates are transported to Dramedius Prime, where they undergo one year of intense training at an exclusive facility.
The training cycle for Elite candidates involves such tactics as fasting, one-on-one duels until one duelist is knocked unconscious or cannot continue fighting, and mastery of almost every weapon produced by the Draelvasier.
Candidates are also put through a notoriously competitive ranking system based on an individual’s combat and intellectual prowess. All individuals start at an identical rank, but they can gain “points” towards their score by performing well physically and learning new combat and survival skills. Through small information stones, Elite candidates can keep track of their scores and are alerted when they gain points or rise in the ranks. While the easiest way to increase an individual’s ranks is improving one’s mind and body, winning against a higher-ranked candidate in a one on one duel can lead to a sudden, drastic shift in rank. For example, if the twelfth-ranked candidate were to beat the third-ranked candidate, then they would rise to third while the former third would become fourth. However, if the former third-ranked candidate works hard enough, they can gain enough points to surpass their challenger once more.
The value of rank comes from reward - only the top 10% (Elite candidate pool size depends on the year of recruitment) are accepted as Elites at the end of the year. To further encourage competition, higher-ranked candidates are given priority in private lessons over lower-ranked candidates. At the end of the year, the information stones of all candidates are turned into a central database and processed to determine who is worthy of becoming a Zealot Elite. Typically, an entire day is given to the ceremony of giving the successful candidates the title of Zealot Elite and assigning them to Elite Squads, which are often assigned to tasks within a week of formation. Those in the lower 90% of the ranks are sent back to their original roles, where they resume their duties as they did before being Elite candidates. However, rejected candidates can be inserted into the Elite program once more if they continue to display exceptional service.
