OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Add some flavour to the Shadow Knights and an Eldorai cult I subbed.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Anti-Force-User Unit, elite infantry.
Permission: Permission to use subs by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here. They can use Firemane stuff because I own the company.
Links: Somewhat inspired by the Sisters of Silence from 40k. Eldorai, To Hell and Back, Twin Exiles, Force-Dead, Shadow Knights (lore submission), Kaeshana, Angelii.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Watchers of the Night.
Affiliation: Harbingers of Twilight, Naesala Faethyra, Eldorai, Shadow Knights, Court of the Shadows, Tynan Vanoth, Emissaries of Illyria.
Classification: Infantry.
Description: The Watchers of the Night are a crack unit of Force Dead Eldorai who worship Illyria, the Goddess of Death and the Underworld. She is reviled by orthodox Ashirans for betraying and trying to topple the Great Goddess Ashira. However, the fact that she is vilified by the orthodox Church has often caused her to be invoked by revolutionaries who seek to overthrow the Matriarchy. To them, she is the first revolutionary. This is not surprising since the Star Queen is officially regarded as Ashira's emissary and governor in the mortal realm, linking Church and State.
The Watchers are the product of a radical Illyrian sect called the Emissaries Illyria. This group elevates the Force Dead as being especially pure, for they are deaf to the whispers of the spirits and cannot succumb to their temptations. This makes them especially well-equipped to hear and pass on the teachings of the Mistress of the Underworld. Unsurprisingly, the Force Dead tend to dominate the sect, followed by Non-Force-Users. Force-Users who have proved they have the necessary control can join the Emissaries, but cannot rise to the leadership.
Like the sect that spawned them, the Watchers of the Night are a part of the Shadow Knights, a coalition of Eldorai rebels and renegades who have broken off from the Eldorai Matriarchy to erect what they consider to be a more egalitarian, merit-based social order. Shadow Knight society is based on the principle that service guarantees citizenship. The basis of the group is a nomad fleet. Within the context of this group, the Watchers are charged with combating dangerous Force-Users. This not only includes external foes that use preternatural powers, but also Force-Users within the group who have gone rogue and misused their powers. Eldorai have a higher than average Force affinity than humans. The same applies to their cousin races. Moreover, the Force-Users who belong to the Shadow Knights are a rather diverse bunch, such as ex-Angelii, self-taught exiles, Xio witches and Vash healers.
It is a potentially volatile and even dangerous mix. So they have recognised that it is vital to vet all Force-Users. The Shadow Knights have granted self-administration to different groups and created Courts to organise the various professions and spheres of life. The Court of Four Elements is responsible for vetting, training, disciplining and organising Force-Users. But when a Force-User goes beyond the pale and becomes a threat to the community, the Watchers can be deployed to hunt them down and bring them to justice, though only with official sanction.
They are trained to participate in the fury of combat and are particularly skilled in eliminating hostile Force-Users, Sithspawn and the like. The Watchers utilise Power Armour due to its protective qualities and the enhanced strength it grants its wearer, but also due to its intimidation value. They are not a subtle or stealthy force, but the hammer of justice, meant to smite those who think themselves above the law and believe they can escape judgement. They also receive the necessary equipment and training to take down opponents without killing them, such as riot guns, Stokhli sticks and ion paddle beamers. The Shadow Knights are not rich and so a good portion of their equipment is obtained via raids or black market dealings. A lot of the newer weapons used by the Watchers are Firemane designs. This is no surprise since Firemane equipped the armed forces of the Eldorai Matriarchy.
Religion is quite important to the daily life of the Watchers and so Illyrian iconography is pervasive in their barracks. They also tend to decorate their meticulously maintained armour with it. For many Eldorai outside of the Shadow Knights they are an unnerving sight - and this even applies to a good number of rebels. The Watchers believe the act of killing is a sacrament to their goddess, who alone is able to judge all. A Watcher should not act out of malice, but in service to a greater good. She may be scorned and feared by her peers, but this must not sway her from her course.
The symbol of Illyria is a circle with four inward facing arrows diagonal from each other. It is a common emblem for the Watchers. The Watchers are also educated about Shadow Knight law and legal procedures. They are supposed to be the hand of judgement, so they must understand the principles their organisation is sworn to uphold. Unlike some regimes that employ an anti-mage security force, the Shadow Knights are an oligarchic republic with a distinct military flavouring, not a totalitarian dictatorship. The system is flawed, but aims to be broadly accountable its citizens.
The bulk of the Watchers have been drawn from the Harbingers. Others are Emissaries who underwent a dangerous medical procedure to be turned Force Dead, or drawn from the last survivors of the 'Kaeshana Conundrum', who were turned Force Dead by their long exposure to the Netherworld. However, some of the Watchers are Eldorai Force-Users who abused their powers and were punished for their sins by being made void in the Force. Having undergone a process of indoctrination, they now do penance for their crimes and ensure that others do not succumb to the same folly.
The group works with both the Court of War and the Court of Justicars. The former is responsible for all soldiers, naval personnel and other war related persons, the latter for police officers, judges etc. Essentially, the Watchers retain their military status, but are attached to the Justicars. They operate under their jurisdiction for their internal security and law enforcement duties. But military operations are directed by the Court of War, while internal security and law enforcement come under the Justicars' umbrella. This can produce jurisdictional friction, but all Courts are supposed to work together. Watchers may be assigned to guard Force-Sensitive prisoners in max-security prisons or to escort them there.
The Watchers are led by Daestra Syen. She was originally a Harbinger, but decided to take a more official and less religious stance after becoming Force Dead. This has set her apart from several of her peers, some of whom think she has lapsed in her faith. She is someone who has come to understand the dangers that those with the Force possess. However, she sees her job as moderating and controlling that. In short, it is a policing role. She has a duty to watch over them, and correct their errors. This can mean eliminating them, if need be. She is a harsh woman, though not an inhumane one. Force-Users have power, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. She attributes the fact that many Force-Users succumb to the allure of power to the fact that there was no system in place to ensure accountability and carry out corrective measures if need be, as they only answered to themselves.
Calixte Drusil is one of the senior officers of the Watchers and considered 'old guard'. She is competent and feared, having brought many dangerous cultists to justice and purged numerous Sithspawn. The Watcher has been decorated many times for her bravery under fire. However, she probably enjoys her job a little too much, for she has acquired a reputation for mercilessness. Calixte distrusts Sciians and holds a grudge against Angelii, including former ones. She has become a bit of a bogeyman for conservative Ashirans. The knight is loyal to her comrades though.
Shira Inarel is a young, but promising officer. While she has gone through military training like all Watchers and been hardened by the years of persecution and exile, she conducts herself as more of an investigator and protector rather than taking a 'kill them all and let Illyria sort them out' approach. Ironically, Shira used to be a Force-User, but she succumbed to darkness and now does penance. It has been a bit of a 'born-again' experience for her.
Now she tries to keep others from committing the same folly. Deep-down, Shira still has some hang-ups about her new situation. She is uncertain whether she still has a soul or whether the gates to the afterlife will open for her. This has left her prone to feelings of melancholy, which she keeps hidden. However, she is dedicated to ensuring that other Sciians do not succumb to the same folly as her - and putting those down who cannot be saved. She has skill in police and detective work, such as simple investigation, observation, and data analysis associated with those fields.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size:Small
Unit Availability: Rare
Unit Experience: Elite.
Equipment:
Armour:
Rifles:
- MkI Bolter
- ACS-201 Executioner Slugthrower
- Reaper Plasma Shotgun
- BH-21 Particle Beam Rifle
- Magnetic Repeater
- T-21 Light Repeating Blaster
- Pulse Cannon.
- Stouker Concussion Rifle
- Mission-specific: Czerka Headbanger, Stockhli Spray Stick, Carbonite Rifle.
- Mk3 Heavy Bolter
- Model MGL-1 (often mounted on another rifle as an underbarrel grenade launcher).
- Rotary Cannon 2.
- T-7 Ion Disruptor
- SSSB-1 Static Pistol
- Cylix Bolt Pistol
- A280-CFRE
- Magnetic Revolver
- Sonic Disruptor
- MSD-32
- Hard Sound Gun
- Explosive Blaster Pistol
- Wrist Bolter
- Ion Paddle Beamer
- ZX Miniature Flame Projector
- Talons
- Fire Spitter
- ACS-208 Wrist Charric
- BCC BC-11 Comlink
- Amphistaff
- Vibroknife
- Monomolecular Energy Chorded Weapons
- Electrostaff
- Force Pike
- Sarix Mk2
- Sarzmigar Mk2.
Combat Function: The Watchers are an elite unit of heavy infantry, specialising in combating hostile Force-users. They are characterised by bravery, skill and fanatical zeal, viewing their mission as a religious calling. They are all Force-Dead Eldorai, completely void within the Force. They have no presence within the Force and thus cannot be sensed in it or mentally manipulated. They 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 is capable of launching an ordinary opponent off their feet at high speeds simply causes a Yuuzhan Vong either to stumble, or lose balance temporarily. Their Force Dead nature can give them an advantage over Force-users in combat.
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 Watchers. 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. To name some examples, during the Yuuzhan Vong War Jedi were able to cause Vong to suffocate by making the air super dense around them or increase the air pressure to a degree that they were effectively crushed.
Moreover, chucking a boulder obviously still works against Force Dead and Vong because them being a void in no way affects the fact that a giant rock is being thrown at them. Naturally they can also be sensed via Vongsense. For unknown reasons, Force Net also works on the Force Dead. In short, all the Force techniques that work against Vong and other Force Dead also work against the Watchers.
The Watchers receive training in how to combat Force-Users, alchemised beasts and the like both in small units and as individuals. They have been able to acquire power armour that Firemane created during the One Sith War. By now the corporation had replaced the suit with a newer design, but it is still formidable. Their tactics revolve around disorientating and overwhelming their opponents. Their foremost opponent are Force-users, and they tried and tested methods and tech to take them out: Firemane Bolters, Shotguns, sonic weapons, flamethrowers and some Vong tech their parent cult was able to get its hands on during the Great Escape. When the goal is to disable and capture rather than kill, Ion Paddle Beamers, stun grenades, carbonite rifles and riot guns come in handy. They are also equipped for melee combat, using Sarixi, amphistaves and Sarzmigar polearms. Finally, they carry Eldorai battle shields.
They are a very small unit and cannot be deployed in large numbers. They are focused on specific threats: eliminating or containing hostile Force-users, Sithspawn and the like. They can obviously fight conventional threats given their training and equipment. But their small numbers would leave them at risk of being overwhelmed in larger engagements. Enemies may not be able to match them on a one-on-one basis, but could overwhelm them in numbers. Moreover, their reliance on heavy armour leaves them vulnerable to guerrilla tactics, as they lack the mobility of light infantry. For the same reason, using snipers, land mines and heavy weapons is a good idea. Their armour is tough, but they are not meant to engage 'heavy' formations of armoured vehicles like tanks and walkers. Being infantry, they are vulnerable to air strikes and artillery.
While strong on their own, they will need support forces in larger engagements. Heavy power armour also makes them ill-suited for stealth and obvious targets, since enemies will see and probably hear them coming. These suits enhance their strength, but also make them less agile than light infantry. The Watchers are a blunt instrument, comparable to a broadsword or a war axe, and thus unsuited for operations that require subtlety.
Strengths:
- Elite heavy infantry. They are defined by courage, skill, zeal and tenacity. They are well-equipped, extremely devoted and indoctrinated to be nearly fearless in combat. They view their duty as a religious calling and utilise Power Armour.
- Force Dead. The Watchers are all Force Dead, completely void within the Force. This grants them an immunity comparable to that of Yuuzhan Vong and their biots. They excel at fighting Force-Users.
- Force-Dead. The Watchers are Force Dead. and thus completely void within the Force. This is a benefit, but also means that they cannot be aided by Force use either. This means they do not benefit from allies using Battle Meditation, Force Healing and Telepathy. Moreover, they are not immune to Force Lightning or Force Net, and can be indirectly affected by the Force.
- The brave few. They are an elite unit, but also a small one and thus easily outnumbered in larger engagements. Moreover, they lack support forces such as heavy combat vehicles.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. One potential threat to freedom and livelihood is posed by Force-users. They wield awesome power, but often with little responsibility. They can cause great devastation. Ergo, they must be watched. The Emissaries of Illyria are unique among Eldorai cults for being extremely distrustful of Force-users. They worship the Death Goddess Illyria, who was banished into the underworld for rebelling against the Creator Goddess Ashira. To conservative Eldorai, she is a mother of demons. To the Illyrians, she is the first rebel, who took up arms against an unjust order.
The Emissaries are dominated by a radical warrior cult called the Harbingers of Twilight. Originally they were a secret commune of Illyrians on Kaeshana. Exiled by Queen Tirathana VI for heresy, they were captured by Yuuzhan Vong slavers. Gruelling experiments turned them Force Dead. At least those who survived. At first they were slave-soldiers, then they rebelled and broke their chains. Over time they came to see their transformation as a blessing.
Conservative Ashirans called them soulless, for Sciia is both the Eldorai word for the Force and soul. But they claimed that they had broken the shackles of Ashira and were now able to commune with the Mistress of the Underworld without being manipulated by the whispers of spirits. To Ashirans, the Force is a flame they can tap into due to being gifted by Ashira. This belief was turned on its head among the Illyrian radicals, as they cast Ashira as the Great Oppressor.
The Emissaries introduced a three tiered approach: Force Dead, Force-Blind, Force-User. Force-users are not turned away, but regarded with suspicion and distrust, for it was believed that they must strive to resist temptation, lest they succumb to the whispers of the spirits and abuse their powers. For this reason, the upper ranks of the church were closed to them. To quote an influential cleric, "Blessed are those whom the spirits do not haunt, for only in silence is the word of the Mistress heard. Favoured are those who do not hear the spirits, for in ignorance can the true word of the Mistress be taught. Cursed are those who are seduced by the spirits, for in such ways is the benediction of the Mistress forgotten, and personal vainglory predominates."
When Kaeshana was devastated by a huge asteroid and the majority of the Eldorai fled to Tygara, the Harbingers came to the aid of the survivors who had been left behind. After all, there were fellow Illyrians among them. They entered into an alliance with the Shadow Knights, a group of dissidents and rebels who wanted to protect the Forsaken. This forced compromise on them, for they had to tolerate and work alongside Force-users. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but necessary for the greater good.
However, though they had agreed to cooperate and not force their condition on anyone, the Illyrians remained vigilant. Their religiously motivated distrust aside, Eldorai society had been historically dominated by Force-users. Galactic history was full of cases of them going out of control. An instrument was needed to watch the mages, keep them in check and hunt those who succumbed to the siren call of the spirits.
Some of the most dedicated, capable Harbingers came together and swore a solemn vow. They would form a covenant of sword sisters, dedicated to protecting the Eldorai from errant mages and the mages from themselves. They called themselves the Watchers of the Night. In addition to hunting down and containing or, if the corruption was too great, eliminating rogue Sciians within the movement, they would protect their people from external preternatural threats. Only on the glorious day when Illyria passed final judgement on the children of Ashira would their vigil end. Lady Death watches all.
Only the most loyal and martially skilled members would be chosen for this covenant. Like all Harbingers, they were Force Dead. Given the difficult choices they must make in the course of their duty, they must be unswervingly loyal to the order. However, they must not succumb to blind hatred. Instead they would have to realise that those among their people who had been touched by the spirits deserved their compassion...but also their blade, if they turn to evil. In such a case they grant the gift of death, though there is an official preference to capture and contain. The act of killing is a sacrament to their goddess, who alone is able to judge all. A Watcher does not act out of malice, but in service to a greater good. She may be scorned and feared by her peers, but this must not sway her from her course.
For a while the Watchers operated with little oversight. They fought warlords and foreign raiders, but took the law into their own hands, judging Force-Users they considered to be too far gone. In the eyes of the Emissaries, the need for the Watchers became more acute when the Shadow Knights were forced to flee Kaeshana in the aftermath of the Kaeshana Rebellion and the planet's occupation by the First Order.
They formed a nomad fleet, seeking a new home in the stars. Their numbers soared as elves from various walks of life joined them. Initially the Sisters operated with little oversight from outside their cult, being a closely guarded secret. However, ther existence caused disquiet among Shadow Knight factions. Before the Kaeshana Rebellion, the Illyrians and the Aspirants had been on the brink of war. The activities of the Watchers contributed to this and also led to opposition from the Caerith Tyari, the Shadow Angelii. The unit had to be cashiered when one of its formation went too far, almost sparking conflict.
In the aftermath of the calamity, the Shadow Knights were forced to reorganise and structure their society. Courts were established to manage different professions and spheres of life. A Strategos was appointed to act as general-in-chief. But centralisation also led to strife and schisms. The Emissaries chose to integrate themselves into the new society. This led to tense negotiations between Fatebringer Tynan Vanoth and Archon Naesala Faethyra. The Archon recognised that the diversity of Force-Users could be a boon...but also a risk. At the same time, she wanted to integrate and control the Illyrian cultists. So she reconstructed the Watchers in a more law-abiding form. Critics claimed that this would give the Illyrian sect too much clout. In Daestra Syen, they got a leader committed more to the law than religion.
The Watchers were given an official role, but they would be integrated into the chain of command to prevent abuses of authority and lone wolf actions. The Archon herself was a Non-Force-User, which made her more acceptable to the Illyrian Cultists. The Watchers could only act against fellow Shadow Knights after receiving orders from on high. Their duties required them to work closely with the Vaecali, a punitive, deterrent and intelligence organisation created to protect the revolution from enemies within and without.
Their special role, of course, led to jurisdiction friction. The Watchers were recruited from a cult, but had to adhere to Shadow Knight law and operate within the hierarchy. Certain ship captains in the nomad fleet resented the intrusion. This was partly for spiritual reasons, but also because the Watchers answered to the central leadership and not the local leaders. There were also occasions when the Watchers were misused for purposes outside of their original mandate because they were a potent reaction force. This was also the cause of unrest within the unit. Nonetheless, the Watchers proved successful at hunting down and eliminating dangerous, rogue Force-Users, including, ironically, an Illyrian cult.
Due to the fragmentation of the Eldorai, the enemies of the Watchers also included Force-users from Eldorai groups hostile to the Shadow Knights. An example would be the Order of the Bright Star, a fundamentalist, reactionary group led by Grand Exarch Valkia Caethina. This group had a very strict theocratic interpretation of the law from the ‘good old days’ along with the racism, misandry, rigid class barriers and feudal privileges this implies. The Watchers would battle them, along with Rogue Sith agents and traitorous Sciians. Though this was not strictly speaking part of their mission profile, they also saw action against Archangel, as the machine cult threatened the survival of the Eldorai exiles. During the final battle they went up against Shards who had aligned themselves with Archangel to get revenge for the Contingency's defeat. A small detachment of Watchers fought Sithspawn and mad cultists on Gehenna when the Shadows attempted to set up a base on the hellish planet. They managed to free Eldorai who had been captured by Bando Gora cultists and driven mad by a dark side nexus.
When the Shadow Knights received word that Kaeshana had been dragged through the Netherworld and emerged on the other side of the Galaxy, they were sceptical. Nonetheless, they sent a task force to investigate. A contingent of Watchers and Harbingers was among them. They proved to be invaluable, for the Eldorai homeworld was now even more inhospitable than it had been after an asteroid crashed into it years ago. Its time in the warp had turned it into a tomb world, tainting it. Being deaf to the Force, the Watchers could resist the temptations of spirits and of a warped nexus. Some of their allies succumbed to madness and some survivors were too far gone. The Watchers helped the Caerith Tyari and Eldorai regulars rescue the few remaining survivors.
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