- Intent: To create the basic unit of the Sacred Band of Zarnâth.
- Image Credit: Headder is mine. Top here.
- Role: Rank & File of the Sacred Band of Zarnâth, a warhorde from Baûrgrim.
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: N/A
- Unit Name: Blessed Century of Zarnâth
- Affiliation: An'fâug'lir
- Classification: Heavy Melee Infantry
- Description: Usually clad in their distinctive red armors, the Blessed Centuries are the most common unit of the Sacred Band, warriors devoted to the ideals of their Prophet Zarnâth, the founder of the city-state where they origin. All warriors take a vow of silence when putting on their armor and never to utter a sound or word. They vow not to take off their armor completey at any given moment, sworn to always carry a piece with the holy glyphs of fertility. They are what the prophet proclaimed, that the foundation of life is blood and blood alone can birth new life. Only Knights and the Cleric are allowed to talk, even the Chosen may not utter a word, they are meant to lead by example and let their actions speak for them.
- Unit Size: Large
- Unit Availability: Uncommon
- Unit Experience: Trained
- Equipment:
- Armor of the Sacred Band
- Vibroweapons (Swords, Axes, Hammers, Doublesword, Scythe, Maces)
- Melee Weapons (Lessers)
- Improvised Armor (Lessers)
- Combat Function:
- Organisation: The ranks of the Blessed Centuries are clearly defined. The Lessers, fresh recruits, serve as servants and frenzied zealots around the main Warrior groups. These Fellowships, usually groups of five to fifteen, are commanded by a Knight, a sub-commander who is responsible for training and spiritual needs. The Blessed Century is composed of about five to ten Fellowships and is commanded by a Chosen, someone selected by the Apostles worthy to read the original words of Zarnâth himself. Aided in leading the Century, the Chosen has a Cleric, a fanatic preacher who tirelessly quotes from the Prophecy of Fertility.
- Tactics: Relying on steady work in melee, the Blessed Centuries are performing slow, but relentless maneuvres, ignoring losses to advance tirelessly. Their Lessers are usually scarcely equipped with most simple weapons and armor, acting as distraction or even vanguard to take attention and shots. When engaged each Fellowship starts to fight on his own, the Warriors trained to compete with each other and gain attention of the Knight or even Chosen.
- Silence: Due to their vows of silence, the troops are coordinated by their Knights into battle who follow their Chosen without question or doubt. They are the ones responsible for doing the little coordination possible in combat situations, shouting.
- Recruitment: Every citizen of Zarnâth is supposed to work for the Sacred Band. Those strong enough are violently conscripted to serve as Lessers in the Blessed Centuries by press gangs of clerics who stalk all levels of the city-state for possible candidates. As long as an individual is fully grown, they will conscript them, male or female and send them to a temple to pass the Rites of Worth, a process to select the physically strongest and most resilient, even though the standard is set by the group present, not by a general standard and the rest is discarded as slaves to serve in civil works around the city-state.
- Goals: Spread the Prophecy of Fertility, hail and embrace the Claim of Fell.
- Transportation & Interaction: As a rather simple and straight kind of unit, the Blessed Centuries form the backbone of the Sacred band of Zarnâth, but rely heavily on supporting units for transportation, firepower and heavy armor. They are usually provided by other warhordes of the An'fâug'lir.
- Force Abilities (Force User Units Only): N/A
- Relentless - The Blessed Centuries are unwavering in their zeal and goals, pushing onward no matter cost and exhaustion.
- Rage, Rage - In melee combat these lumbering behemoths are quite fearsome opponents.
- Empty Vessels - Through the absence of knowledge of a "better life" and deep rooted indoctrination, the Warriors are very difficult to turn against their leaders and ideology.
- Slow - The heavy infantry makes for a fine target for mobile and firepower oriented enemies.
- One Direction - Their equipment really makes only one tactic possible which makes them quite predictable in battle.
- Drill - Trained to excel in combat as warriors, but not soldiers, the Warriors of the Centuries are fighting on their own and even against each other, rather than a cohesive unit.
- No Shooting Back - The Blessed Centuries do not possess any ranged weapons on their own and therefore cannot return fire.
The Prophet known as Zarnâth was a warlord of Baûrgrim which founded a nameless city-state which would later be named after him. In one of the planets many wars, the Prophet would prove to dominate his surrounding city-states with a devotion to overpower his enemies by numbers, by inspiring his fellow warriors to breed more of their kind, to raise and train new generations faster and more numerous than the neighbours, drowning the enemy in their own blood while his hosts marched from victory to victory. It is debated if he was a Force sensitive but many rumours speak in support of it. With visions guiding him, Zarnâth wrote a codex which would later be known as the Prophecy of Fertility, basing a local religion on the ideal of blood being the fertiliser of the future and of life. His warhorde would be called the Sacred Band of Zarnâth with the Blessed Centuries providing the vast ranks of foot soldiers his reign had needed.
A very indoctrinated society was formed which was violently forced to bend to the ideals and progroms of the Prophet. With passing years and generations, the Zarnâthi were a complete devote people, not knowing anything but the screams of clerics on the streets, the sound of whips for the hordes of slaves and the clanking stomps of the Blessed Centuries patrolling the streets. As most city-states and areas of Baûrgrim, it was nearly cut off from any off-world trade and due to extensive eradication campaigns against protesters, history records and other philosophies, the people grew less and less educated which made them ever more fanatical.
Once the Claim of Fell became the dominant power on Baûrgrim, the Sacred Band was accepted as one of its sub-groups and from then served the Great Warmaster Lord Nyâsh.
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