Unreviewed The Graspborn

[Mercy]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To formalize the Graspborn, a cult and warband dedicated to Mercy and her teachings, representing the militant and ideological arm of her growing influence across the galaxy.
• Image Credit: MJ
• Canon: NA
• Permissions: NA
• Links: Mercy, Alcariel, Ashline Terminal, Galactic Kaggath Tournament, the Conclave, the Annihilation.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Organization Name: The Graspborn
• Classification: Warband/Ideological Cult
• Affiliation: Mercy
• Organization Symbol: See image above. A flipped arm that unwinds into a cascade of tendrils, symbolizing the act of seizing power and becoming transformed by it.
• Description: The Graspborn are Mercy’s warband and personal cult. Born from the wake of her victories and forged through her philosophy, they are a recent but increasingly prominent plague in the Galaxy. Their numbers swell with the disillusioned, scarred, and hungry. Those who witnessed her power and felt something awaken within themselves. Their creed is simple: to grasp is to live. Strength is not inherited or granted but taken. The weak are trampled, the deceitful are purged, and only those with the courage to seize what they desire endure. What began as scattered followers evolved into a structured force after Mercy’s victory in the Galactic Kaggath and her recognition at the Conclave as Warmaster of the Sith Covenant. From there, the Graspborn began to spread like a contagion through the Galaxy.

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

• Headquarters: The Auric Horde - Mercy’s roaming war fleet, which serves as the central rallying point for the Graspborn.
• Domain: The Graspborn do not rule territory in the traditional sense. Their influence is mobile, with fleets, outposts, and captured strongholds constantly shifting location as Mercy’s campaigns advance. Still, several key sites are known to have hosted or harbored them:
  • Ashline Terminal – A fortified industrial hub once besieged and later claimed by Mercy’s forces.
  • Black Verge Station – A waystation turned recruitment den for Graspborn cells moving across the Outer Rim.
  • Unnamed Outer Rim Colonies – Temporary settlements restructured under Graspborn hierarchy before being abandoned or absorbed.
• Notable Assets:
  • The Auric Horde – Mobile warband flagship group.
  • Converted Factories and Forge-Holds – Repurposed for ship repair, weapon production, and indoctrination.
  • Ground Detachments – Raiders, shock troops, and enslaved labor contingents operating under Graspborn banners

SOCIAL INFORMATION

• Hierarchy:
  • The Sovereign: Mercy, founder, leader, and living embodiment of the Graspborn’s creed.
  • The Apprentice: Alcariel, visionary and interpreter of Mercy’s philosophy.
  • The Hands: Regional commanders and trusted lieutenants who lead fleets or ground contingents.
  • The Nails: Operatives, enforcers, and agents who extend the Graspborn’s influence through sabotage, diplomacy, or assassination.
  • The Host: The marrow and the bone. A collective of zealots and warriors divided into three castes. The Grasped serve as the tide, the Forged as the spine, and the Ascended as the teeth.
• Membership: The Graspborn began as a small cult of the broken and desperate: soldiers, slaves, and fanatics drawn to Mercy’s example. Over time, as her victories multiplied and her image spread, they turned into a sickness. A plague that is spreading, jumping from mind to mind, encouraging you to cast off weakness and become the strongest version of yourself. To join the Graspborn is to reject helplessness. Initiates endure brutal trials of endurance and loyalty. Those who survive emerge reforged. Recruitment often happens silently, by rumor, by holovid, or by word of mouth. A worker who sees her battle footage may disappear days later, abandoning everything to chase a vision of her strength. This is not a natural response, some speculate that Mercy’s arm, eldritch and golden is a factor in the spread of her contagion.
• Climate: The Graspborn function as a harsh meritocracy. Strength, cunning, and endurance determine worth. There is no nepotism, no inherited privilege, and no sanctuary for the complacent. Rivalries are fierce, often bloody, and Mercy herself acts as the final arbiter when disputes threaten cohesion. Internally, the warband is disciplined and fatalistic. Every member believes they can rise if they are strong enough, or fall if they prove weak. The organization thrives on that tension.
• Reputation: To outsiders, the Graspborn inspire fear and disgust. Whole communities have lost family members overnight, drawn inexplicably toward the cult. Their influence seeps into hearts and holonets alike, spreading like a plague of conviction. Among underworld syndicates and warlords, they are both respected and avoided, a storm best left unprovoked.
• Curios: Members wear the sigil of the unwound hand, either painted, branded, or etched into their gear. Many adorn their right arm with leather wraps or tattoos to mimic the markings of Mercy’s own arm, nicknamed the Thronegrasp.
• Rules:
  • The powerful take what they will.
  • The weak suffer what they must.
  • Strength must be proven, never faked.
  • Theft, deceit, and cowardice are punished by death.
  • Only truth, endurance, and resolve are sacred.
• Goals:
  • To spread Mercy’s philosophy across the galaxy through conquest, terror, and example.
  • To gather strength, resources, and power enough that none can challenge their creed.
  • To survive and dominate in a universe ruled by fear.

MEMBERS

• Mercy – Founder and Sovereign.
• Alcariel – Apprentice and visionary interpreter of the creed.
• The Hands and Nails – Numerous regional commanders and agents, unnamed but ever shifting.
• The Host – The masses, meat and bone, that clashes for their glory and that of the Graspborn as a whole.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Graspborn began as a whisper, a reaction to victory. After the Galactic Kaggath, stories of Mercy spread faster than fact, spawning imitators and zealots alike. Broken soldiers, exiles, and failed Sith began to speak her name as a prayer for their own redemption.

When she emerged again at the Conclave and was named Warmaster of the Sith Covenant, the whispers grew louder. The few that had been calling themselves Graspborn, became many, a sickness that spread through war-torn regions and broken worlds. Her actions gave them the hope to dream of something better, her victories gave them purpose, and her acknowledgement finally gave them legitimacy.

From that point, the Graspborn stopped being scattered cells and became a warband, an organized cult bound not by faith in a god but by faith in a living will.

Now they travel aboard the Auric Horde, carving Mercy’s mark across the galaxy. Where they go, fear follows. And when they leave, something new remains: a broken world, reorganized by the truth that only those willing to grasp deserve to live.