Vaena Askari
Lady Cadalthor
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Vaena's mooks.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Veteran militia.
Permissions: Can use Firemane stuff because I write the owner of the company. Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here.
Links: Ashiranism, Eldorai Exodus from Kaeshana, Firemane, Inexorable, Four of a Kind, Denouement, Choir of Angels, Draconian Guard, Church of Ashira, Angelii, Colonia Askari, Qadiri, Kaeshana, Casus Belli, Kraal, Tygara, Kar'zun.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Triarii
Affiliation: Vaena, House Cadalthor, Eldorai, Knights of the Blessed Lady.
Classification: Infantry, Militia.
Description: One day a soldier's service will come to an end. Assuming they have not been killed in the line of duty or in an accident, they will be discharged. Then they face the question of what to do with their lives. The same applies to the governments of the nations they have served. Veterans' care is not just a moral imperative, but a practical consideration. After all, leaving a bunch of people who have been trained to inflict deadly violence without any form of assistance is a recipe for disaster.
The Eldorai Matriarchy has a tradition of setting up military colonies for veterans. The Star Queens of yore settled veterans for the purpose of pacifying remote territories, to reward loyal service and to keep the soldiers productive. They would have their own land and gainful employment, which meant they would not turn to banditry or join a rebellious general. The colonies are administrated by small councils of priestesses and nominated soldiers. The way the nomination system works is that the residents nominate a number of soldiers who sit on the council and the government picks a couple of them.
Many things have changed for the Eldorai since the old days. For one, their homeworld is a barren tomb world, but the basic principle has remained the same. The Eldorai have a tendency of idealising the farmers; they are industrious, goddess-fearing and patriotic. Soldiers who choose to settle in the veterans' colonies receive a pension and a piece of land that will enable them to start a new existence. Moreover, they receive an official document called a diploma, which certifies that they have been honourably discharged. It lists the regiment the holder served in, and has a brief description of their time of service, such as any major battles they fought in, any awards they received if any and the rank they are being discharged with.
However, they are still considered Eldorai army reservists who can be called back into active service and are expected to keep their skills sharp. For this reason they tend to be settled in areas that are fairly remote or on the frontier. Organised locally, they can act as first responders in the case of raids or disasters or join the ranks of the regulars during major emergencies. In the case of a natural disaster, they can be deployed to provide security, protect aid workers, recover survivors, combat looting, construct shelters and help with the distribution of supplies.
The Triarii are one such veteran formation. When they are not participating in drills or fighting, they are artisans, farmers, engineers and so on. Their experience enables them to assume positions of leadership for militias and auxiliaries. As they are not regular soldiers, they do not receive the newest equipment. However, they are experienced in doing so and good at improvisation. They have cultivated a strong ethos as pioneers who guard and develop the frontier, which sets them apart from Eldorai who dwell in more 'settled' regions. These semi-professional citizen-soldiers are a force of veteran militia Vaena Cadalthor, head of the noble house of Cadalthor, has bestowed her patronage on. Vaena herself was born a noble bastard and spent most of her life in the Eldorai military before the Queen legitimised her. She has not forgotten her soldierly roots.
As a result, she feels more comfortable in the company of soldiers than among refined, perfumed nobles at fancy soirees. Thus she has taken up the responsibility of providing many veterans with the land and the financial means to look after themselves and their dependents after being honourably discharged. This obviously has had the side-effect of giving her a force of loyal militia. Detractors would say that this is a way of buying a soldier's loyalty. If asked, she would argue that she is merely doing her patriotic duty by ensuring that those who have shed their blood for the motherland are provided for. One military colony founded by her is Colonia Askari. Ironically, it was built on Cadalthor lands, but the owners were expropriated by the young duchess.
The Triarii call up their members for reserve service as well as immediate active duty in wartime. This reserve duty tends to be take place in the same unit for many years. It is not uncommon for soldiers who served together in the regular army to find themselves in the same Triarii unit when they join the reserve after being honourably discharged. This is an important factor for bonding and cohesion. It is worth noting that while Eldorai develop more slowly than the average human, they also have a longer life span. Twenty-five to thirty years is most of the average human's working life, but an Eldorai is barely getting started. All this means is that the Triarii have a substantial pool of experienced recruits who may be able to serve for a long time, assuming disease, injury or death does not make them ineligible.
As part of their non-combat duties, the Triarii have capitalised on the fact that they are soldier-farmers by founding special agricultural assistance teams. These teams are supposed to win hearts and minds by providing assistance to locals. To accomplish this they teach locals about new farming techniques so that they can improve production and find new ways to keep their people fed. This can verge from basic gardening to large watershed and irrigation projects or teaching people how to use droids in agriculture. This is quite pertinent because the Eldorai operate on the fringes of known space. This kind of public diplomacy builds good will and enhances cooperation.
It does take some for the Triarii to mobilise for larger endeavours since they are scattered and not full-time soldiers, but they are tenacious once they get going. Most of the Triarii are Eldorai, but they also accept Tygaran elves who have sworn an oath of allegiance to the Matriarchy and served in the Auxilia. This grants them Eldorai citizenship, which also transfers to their children. Tygaran elves such as the Qadiri may have to deal with more or less subtle racism though, although Vaena herself is strictly opposed to discrimination against the 'sisters' and punishes it when she hears about it.
Sadly, some Eldorai still refuse to let go of out-dated and long discredited notions of racial superiority. Vaena has taken the step that citizenship will also be granted to the spouses of Tygaran veterans. This is not general policy, but simply something she has decreed in her autonomous fiefdom. Many of the Tygaran members are Qadiri, but the Triarii also recruit other native elves. Priestesses from the communities the Triarii are drawn from tend to perform the duties of chaplains. They are not political commissars, but minister to the faithful, take care of the wounded and provide inspiration. Ashiranism is not a pacifist faith, and so while most priestesses remain in the rear area, there are some who do participate in combat, boosting the morale of the soldiers.
One prominent leader among the Triarii is Sadrana Calitha. She is a one eyed veteran who was wounded at Kaeshana. She retired with the rank of Lieutenant, honourably discharged, but worked even after that as an instructor and organiser. When mustered out she was nominated as one of the colony's representatives. A pious, serious and rather intense woman, she is loyal to Vaena and is vigorously opposed to the attempts to allow 'outsider' (non Elven) merchants and traders into the colony. She is, however, opposed to discriminating against the Tygaran natives.
She works with Damarae Alisth, a former Angelii who served out her term and then retired. She is the one in charge of making sure that the children of the veterans are analysed for Sciiac potential and brought into the Angelii. This makes her a little unpopular with some, but she is fair, though also less pious than Vaena might like. Her service was that of a healer and she was not a front line soldier. However, she's good at administration.
The Triarii have both male and female members, though the makeup of the officer corps clearly favours the latter. Eldorai society is traditionally matriarchal. While things have liberalised somewhat, many of the top jobs are still dominated by women and some are closed to men entirely. The less developed Qadiri are ironically more progressive, since they are open to the idea of male rulers, though a female will inherit first. The Eldorai's regular army is open to both genders.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Large
Unit Availability: Rare
Unit Experience: Veteran
Equipment:
Armour:
Rifles:
- Magnetic Repeater
- Mk II Boltgun
- ACS-204 Vulcan Blaster Rifle
- Verpine Shatter Rifle
- E-11D Carbine
- HN-55 Heavy Sonic Carbine
- ACS-202 Vanquisher Light Repeating Blaster
Support Weapons:
- Model MGL-1. Usually mounted on another rifle as an under-barrel weapon.
- PLX-4 Missile Launcher
- HOB Heavy Repeating Blasters
Melee:
- Talon Vibrodagger
- Vibroblade
- Sarix (limited to select officers)
- Sarzmigar
- Grenades
- APE Boltgun Ammunition
- Misc. digging, welding, agricultural and engineering tools.
- Arrow-23 Landspeeder (armed variant).
- Bladesinger Combat Speeders
- A-A5 Speeder Truck. Armed variant is used.
Moreover, they can guard the frontier against threats that do not necessitate the intervention of the regular army, such as pirates and raiders. Their military experience means that they can provide training and leadership to native militia. When their people face an emergency, they can take their place among the ranks of the regular army or local self-defence forces. Being reservists, they do not get the newest armour or tech, but they have discipline, adaptability and fighting spirit. However, they have little in the ways of heavy integrated support, which means they will have to rely on support from regulars in larger engagements.
Whilst the Triarii will generally be older than the average soldier, especially new recruits, they might not have necessarily seen a lot of action during their regular military service. However, the history of the Eldorai has rarely been peaceful for long, so most Triarii will have participated in quite a few campaigns, enabling them to pass on their skills to more inexperienced comrades who have not yet seen action outside of training. The idea is that these older, steadier soldiers will be able to keep their wits up and be able to hold the line if panic breaks out and hold back the enemy if the rest of the army has to retreat, or conversely create a breach.
Outside of direct combat, they are well-suited in engineering roles. Many of the soldiers are also skilled craftsmen. The force has groups of dedicated engineers who can take charge of building fortifications and infrastructure. Moreover, they obviously know a lot about agriculture. This has the beneficial side-effect of being helpful in hearts and minds campaigns. It has also made them skilled at setting up improvised fortifications.
Most of the Triarii are former members of the regular army and thus Non-Force-Users. However, the corps also features a small number of Force-Users As they have been trained in military tactics in addition to Force use, this allows the use of combined arms tactics because they can incorporate their preternatural abilities into an overall battle plan. However, the Force adepts are both a small minority among the Triarii and their powers are limited. Essentially, they benefit from Sense abilities, precognition and enhanced reflexes. This can give them an edge in combat, but they lack the hard-hitting powers normally associated with Force-Users. A few of the Force-Users are gifted in Force Healing and Force Valour.
Strengths:
- While there are only a few individual units, they are available in significant numbers.
- Force of veteran militia. The Triarii are not full-time soldiers, but very experienced in combat.
- Limited access to heavy weapons. Largely forego heavy integrated support such as armoured vehicles, which means they will require support in pitched front-line engagements.
- Lack of air power.
Military colonies have a tradition among the Eldorai. This practice preceded the unification of Kaeshana under the Star Queens, but was formalised quite early on to stabilise the realm against rebellions by ambitious nobles and Kar'zun incursions. The Star Queens of yore settled veterans in outlying territories for the purpose of pacification, reward for loyal service and to keep the soldiers productive. It would give them and their families an income, ensuring that they would not turn to banditry. This was particularly pertinent during a time when the Star Queens still had to establish their authority as the Eldorai's absolute rulers, and the Matriarchy warred with the Kar'zun, the perennial rivals of the elves. Of course, charismatic generals also used the promise of land grants and money as a means to curry favour with their soldiers.
The Triarii played a prominent role when Sylviane II (the Righteous') led a rebellion against Kihae the usurper. When she was tipped off and fled, Marjorai Kaldis found herself alone and seemingly without friends, pursued by assassins of the usurper. However, a good friend of hers from the Angelii days had become leader of one of these colonies along with soldiers who had served the Kaldis family for generations. This 'Colonia Apalea' (Colony of the (Northern) Ice) welcomed Sylviane in and when the assassins came to seize her they picked up weapons and killed them.
Marjorai raised the standard of rebellion in that city, and a hundred volunteers became her honour guard along with that good friend who would later become her husband and consort, Aedan. The rest of the veterans, joined by others from nearby colonies rallied and showed that despite their retirement and age they still had a skill and ferocity unmatched. They won a battle early on, and many of the professional forces started to come over to Marjorai's side, turning the tide. With the usurper killed and order restored the now Sylviane II honoured the survivors of Colonia Apalea by making it a major city in the north and renaming it Colonia Valkyra (Colony of the Brave).
When the Eldorai Matriarchy fragmented during the Time of Troubles, it was common practice for pretenders to try and appeal to veterans or try and bind their legions to them by making extravagant promises. Eldorai fought against Eldorai during this time, and the Kar'zun took advantage. The Triarii remember a hastily assembled unit of veterans who fought a Kar'zun incursion to the last Eldorai to defend their homes. There was no Eldorai central government that deserved the name and the various Eldorai claimants were too busy with fighting over a piece of furniture to defend the motherland. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but the story is true.
Ariane the Great rallied the Triarii and the regular army for a veritable crusade against the Kar'zun. It went down in history as the Great War. Following the final defeat of the Kar'zun, Ariane and her successors settled demobilised veterans in former Kar'zun territory to ensure the stone people could not return and the soldiers would not be restless. Many of the Eldorai's modern cities, especially those in the west of Kaeshana, were founded by veterans. They were all named Colonia or a variation thereof. The Triarii assumed a policing role in these outlying territories.
Ariane had lived through a time of internal strife for the Eldorai and was adamant that nothing could threaten her rule. The Kar'zun, meanwhile, were deported to 'reservations' where the Eldorai could control them. Their species was driven to the brink of extinction. With Kaeshana under the complete control of the Star Queen, the practice of granting veterans land declined in importance, for there were no new lands to conquer. It was, of course, custom to confiscate the lands of treasonous nobles. The practice gained a new lease of life following the settlement of Tygara and Arkas. Many things have changed since the old days The Eldorai have found themselves on a stage far greater than they could have anticipated. While there are those who still cling to the delusion of being the mistress race with a goddess-given destiny to rule the stars, saner spirits have had to acknowledge that they are outgunned and outnumbered in the greater galaxy.
Kaeshana, the sacred homeworld, is now an abandoned wasteland, having been devastated by multiple calamities. Moreover, the Eldorai are scattered, with many having embraced a nomadic life style. Veteran colonies have been founded on Tygara across the northern lands, as well as some Qadiri dominated ones to the south. The idea is that the settlers will fight for the land they have been given, which will likely be the only plot they have in their lives. Moreover, they can spread Eldorai culture and build bridges with the natives. As the Eldorai move into the stars, Triarii go with them to set up outposts. They have distinguished themselves fighting rebel insurgents, Kraal raiders, corsairs and other threats. A formation of Triarii participated in the Battle of Kaeshana. Most of them had been deployed at the Citadel of Dusk to provide security and aid to Eldorai refugees, but saw combat action when war erupted with the First Order.
Following her ennoblement, Vaena Cadalthor took an interest in the Triarii. She had been given her own fiefdom and often operated in frontier areas. She was distressed and angered by a reports of a scandal in the war ministry's department responsible for veterans' affairs. Certain officials had embezzled funds that should have been used to provide the former soldiers with pensions. Moreover, officials at a military hospital were accused of keeping a secret wait list of veterans who were seeking health care. This list was kept out of sight of government regulators, who were instead sent documents that vastly underreported how long it took for patients to see a doctor.
As part of a programme to revive the old practice of settling veterans in military colonies, Vaena founded Colonia Askari. It was partly built on land that had been in the possession of House Cadalthor, but Vaena expropriated the owner because the nobles had been buying up land and driving farmers into debt. The palatial mansion of her mother Mylea Cadalthor was turned into a school. Various Triarii formations started working closely with Vaena from then on, giving her a force of loyal and experienced militia to draw upon if needed.
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