"The Wanderer"
OOC Info
Image Credit: Doot!
Insignia Credit: Doot Doot! (Imperial Iron Sun)
Doot Doot Doot! (Thunderdome Wizard logo)
Role: Esoteric Knight order/Support Infantry
Permissions: N/A
Links: INVASION: Death's Sting (SJC Invasion of BOTM-held Lao-Mon)
JUNCTION: Blood Snow | The Battle for Carlac (NIO Invasion of BOTM-held Carlac)
DOMINION: Vinum Sabbathi | The Scourging of Dathomir (NIO Dominion of Vacant Dathomir)
JUNCTION: Iron Resolve (Junction of Enclave-Excarga, NIO-Krownest)
General Information
Affiliation: NIO
Galidraan Imperial State
Rurik Fel
Willan Tal
Lucien Dooku
Lachlan Sinclair
Dante Corvus
Amadeus Blackwood
Apollo Kurze
Darth Sybila
Classification: Auxiliary Brigade
Description: If his father's love of swordsmanship is anything to go by, then Lord Michael's lightsabre-wielding ways should be quite the revealing contrast in strategic approach, as Lord Erskine's adherence to making unconventional mettle of the conventional playing-pieces would always differ to his second son's adherence to immersing himself into the process of mastering all things that naturally defied convention. Completely contrasting everything his father represented and relied on with equal measure, the Brotherhood's Grandmaster has thrived on war's many unpredictability factors, and has made a point of reflecting that fact as intensely as fate would allow of both Lord Michael himself and of the recently upscaled brigade he leads. After all, there is nothing conventional about this contingent, and the same goes for the story of what they've had to endure to survive for so long.
Starting out as a battalion of Revolutionary Militia, the Highland Brotherhood has since undergone changes that have steadily improved their capabilities in conventional and esoteric theatres of war, some out of necessity in training, other changes appearing in rearmaments along the way, but oddly - most often in the way they've viewed war in and of itself since. From the Druid's guiding philosophies, to those the Brotherhood's warriors personally held dear to their hearts, the many references they cling to have also played a great part in how they've behaved unlike any other contingent in the Imperium's vast array of legions, brigades and smaller contingents so far. Warrior-poets, much like their Bardic brethren, were always known for their cunning, their wit, and their ability to use one's sleight-of-hand against them, and in the process of the Brotherhood's evolution, the Highlanders will slowly but surely prove to be no exceptions to the legends of old in this regard.
While the non-commissioned element are no slouches in conventional warfare, fighting in the trenches in their own wild and destructive way with reckless abandon when required, they understand what the esoteric elements in the upper ranks are there for, allowing ritual-magic, mutative-transformation and chemical-warfare to make their efforts all the easier to endeavour as they go. This secondary element, seemingly irrelevant to the ultraviolence the Highlanders are normally accustomed to, is still often powerful enough to turn the tide of battle against their enemies, and in ways that silence all potential detractors within and without the Wanderer's Brigade. It is that of their esoteric capabilities, having both a Woad-born Druid and a Novanian-born Shaman at their disposal, awakening ambitious hopes among the lower-ranks for any possible competitive edge over unsuspecting enemies.
Combat Information
Unit Size: 6,000 (MEDIUM)
Unit Availability: Uncommon
Unit Experience: Trained
Combat Function: Unconventional Support
Equipment (Vehicles): NSTL-62a Landspeeder
Equipment (Trooper Armour): Defiant-pattern APCU All-Purpose Combat Uniform
Equipment (Weaponry): SRK-65 Particle Beam Service Rifle
CSR-50i Slugthrower Sniper Rifle
AP-25i 'SIMP' Particle Beam Blaster
Strengths
Fighting Spirit: One of the finest qualities of the Highlanders, one such of which Lord Michael learned in the early days of his mostly-unknown urban war for Galidraan III's coastlines. Always pitting their smaller numbers against the odds, and from the very first shot that had been fired their way in anger, the Brotherhood know exactly what it means to be tested by the most intimidating factors in the Galaxy's seemingly-endless crucible; and now, with the training and rearmament under their belt, the Highlanders aim to test their newfound proficiencies against any apocalyptic threat to the Imperium's borders.Strategist Commander: With the strength of mind being indicative of both sides of his immediate family, the enrolment and studying process of Lord Michael's youth and young-adulthood was largely spent war-gaming and target-shooting to make his grades, and from there, all his many proficiencies would begin to add up in short spans of time for each new skill or tactic Barran would learn along the way. From the moment he retained control of the Highland Brotherhood, Michael has vowed to constantly improve the former-revolutionaries as the Second Great Hyperspace War progresses, accepting every means to doing so for the sake of the Goidelic warriors under his command.
Naturally Fearless: Eerily calm in their eagerness to stand and fight, instilled into them by Lord Michael's example alone, and with such a mindset involved, this is among the main driving factors of how they remain so calm and meditative before, during and after each operation. All this is made more intense by the fact Lachlan Sinclair is also a meditative soul and an adventurer at heart, that and the fact he needs to keep his heartrate slow until a transformative quickening is required. Perfect alignment with the brigade's most destructive playing-piece would always be of great help to the Highlanders' mindset, an affirmation that the battlefield is where they truly belong, making concrete their collective ability to remain calm in the heart of the crucible.
Steeped in Mysticism: To the detriment of their enemies, the fact that few believe their magics would work on a conventional battlefield has made it easier to exploit the hubris of all who dare to draw out a fight with the Highlanders. From the lycanthropic transformations of the Wanderer's bodyguard, to the psychedelic-warfare of the Novanian shaman, the Druid himself is well-assured of his safety in wielding his own powers to defend them in turn. Like on Lao-Mon, Carlac, Dathomir and the untold rituals on Galidraan III, the intent to wreak havoc on the minds of their opposition would always amount to something more workable than mere theories and the likes, especially when belligerent-factions are fully-engaged in hostilities.
Weaknesses
Jacks of All Trades: Through no fault of their own, the ever-evolving situation in the Galaxy has beckoned them to rise from the humble irregular/militia status and methodology the Highlanders had sworn by in the beginning of their journey, and with simple Guerilla warfare in the streets of Galidraan III's largest cities as their starting-point, much and more has been picked up along the way - with little or no time to master or utilise what they've learned since. Falling into Serenno's sphere of influence in the years after the Lao-Mon and Carlac deployments, it would be a blessing for the wealth of information the Highlander would receive henceforth, yet also a blight for the fact it would force them to (once again) adapt to battlefronts that are still somewhat new to the Wanderer's brigade.
Slow Troop-Replenishment: It is no secret that the Highland Brotherhood have been bloodied plenty in their time since officially announcing allegiance to the Imperium, and while these sacrifices are the sort that have gained the respect of their allies and enemies alike since long before Lord Michael took them to war for the first time, filling the vacancies left open by the passing of their heroic caste would never be easy. The Highlanders, though the province spans far and wide, is unexpectedly rich in natural resources - also being a fitting environment to yield a particularly-tough breed like those initiated into the brotherhood, are still a smaller Goidelic tribe than all the others, and by quite an obvious margin at that.
Normalised Esotericism: Good for the mystics, good for the force-users who know them, and also just as good for the werewolf; but as for how it affects the worldview and personalities of the brothers serving within the brigade, it can be said that some might find it all quite dystopic to recount, and certainly counterintuitive to what they're trying to achieve in the fight against the Imperium's growing list of enemies. Some may come to see it as heretical, and others already see it as strange and outlandish at face value, and though the ancient pantheon of the Goidelic tribes haven't steered Michael's ilk wrong yet, it still fails miserably in the attempt to instil any sense of safety or security in the minds of the contingents they're deployed to support as auxiliaries.
Historical Information
*'Cha Bhi Sinn Uile!'
**"It's all we know!"
A father's avoidance of discussing the heart of the Crucible with his second son, a son's avoidance of following in his father's footsteps, until neither could avoid their duties as father and son - these stubborn refusals to address their faults in each other's eyes would be the catalysts that gave rise to that very moment when Lord Erskine personally assigned Lord Michael to active duty. On what would become the homefront in the following two years, the Wanderer's Highlanders would hold and struggle in the streets of the largest Woad cities, even after the rest of the Free State arrived to assume full control of the Galidraan star-system, given his own means to taste a useful morsel of the Crucible his father spoke of. And much to the surprise of everyone, Michael's militia would be among the first to respond to the threat of the Carlac Rebellion, also responding very quickly to the bombing-assassination of the previous reigning Imperator in the moments after the chain-reaction blast was set off.
They weren't ready, and even as far back as their first major deployment on Carlac, it looked as though there'd be no point in time that they ever would be; but that wouldn't stop this particular element of the Goidelic caste from giving it a try anyway, not with heavy armoured support on their side in the Imperium's darkest period of uncertainty yet, and especially not with the mystics' actively working to turn the tide in their own strange, outlandishly-arcane ways. Their lesser standard of soldiering wasn't so easily noticed on the frozen world of nightmares, as the Highlanders and their mystically-gifted superiors acquitted themselves quite well on that occasion, as it wasn't until their deployment on Lao-Mon when their efforts appeared to fall short of the strategic-requirements to achieve victory in any lasting capacity, a glaring truth that no fight with the Maw in the jungle should last longer than a couple days.
If it wasn't for Lord Michael's shaman, there is a very high likelihood that there would be very few Goidels left to continue in their part of the Imperium's war with the Brotherhood of the Maw, as one major slip-up could have resulted in a complete Goidelic rout; one such chain-of-events that had been avoided by a cunning, yet rather heinous shamanic-possession of the Drengir monsters under Mawite control at the time. After the eighth day of fighting for control of the jungle, the opening salvos of the Second Great Hyperspace War were well and truly shot, relegating the Highlanders to lesser deployments and operations until one of those lesser-missions yielded chances encounter with Dante Corvus and Lyra Voi'Kryt in particular, opening abundant doors of opportunity for the Goidels as a result of these rare occurrences.
Serenno's guiding hand would begin to point them down the right path soon after, and not only in terms of retraining and rearmament advantages, but in giving them a means to see that they're fighting for more than just their own people and the Imperium at large - to see that the Highlanders were also fighting for the safety and prosperity for all who would proudly stand with them as fervent Imperials. Putting an ambitious lot under the control of an ilk that was every part as ambitious in turn, under the guiding hand of one who always one step ahead of the others, would always be seen as foreboding to all who would view such strategic-mentorship unfavourably, but the Wanderer's brigade know they would be little more than cannon-fodder without it. This is the way of things in the Second Great Hyperspace War, one either moves with the times - or one resigns one's self to letting the future mercilessly devour them.
Last edited:
