Karjr with a Blaster
“Steel is not silent. It remembers who it was sworn to protect.”
Verd'kandar saying
OVERVIEW
The Verd’kandar, the Steel Sentinels. They are the elite defense force - the Shield of Kestri, homeworld of the Iron Covenant. They trace their roots to the Si’kahya, the former elite guard of the Mandalorian Enclave: disciplined, visible, and often deployed on expansionist or preemptive missions to assert Mandalorian strength across the Outer Rim.
But when the Enclave returned to Kestri during the Third Vong War, their mission changed forever. After more than a year of brutal fighting against the mutated Yuuzhan Vong, the world was left scarred, its cities reduced to ruin. From the ashes of the Si’kahya emerged the Verd’kandar - not conquerors, but guardians of what survived. They were forged in the war’s aftermath to hunt down the last pockets of Vong resistance, to protect the capital of Tor Valum, and to safeguard the sanctity of Kestri itself.
They are not the iron hand of Mand’alor, nor soldiers of empire. They answer to Kestri’s peaks, its snow, its forge...and to the quiet oaths whispered by those who refused to bend the knee.
MILITARY DOCTRINE
The Verd’kandar uphold a doctrine of sacred defense, symbolic deterrence and myth-bound discipline. They do not extend the reach of the Iron Covenant, they anchor it. Every action, whether a strike or a silence, is meant to preserve what Kestri has become - a haven, not a fortress.
Core Tenets:
- Defend, Do Not Dominate: Preservation of land, legacy, and myth is their highest duty.
- Environment as Ally: Warriors are trained to master Kestri’s terrain - from its subterranean forges to its storm-choked peaks.
- Symbol as Strategy: Every movement is deliberate, echoing ancient customs to instill fear, reverence, or pause.
PRIMARY DIVISIONS
I. Frost-Cloaked Commandos
“You won’t hear us before you feel the cold.”
These lightly armoured specialists thrive in blizzard warfare, cliffside ambushes, and deep-winter infiltration. Camouflaged and enduring, they operate along the edges of Kestri, maintaining hidden fortifications and striking only when the sanctity of the world is breached.
Identity:
- Arctic camo-beskar, insulated cloaks, and silent mobility tech
- Experts in survival, stealth, and sabotage
- Maintain off-map routes and shrines known only to their ranks.
II. Forge Wings
“When we fall from the sky, we fall like myth.”
Fast-moving, jetpack-deployed warriors who form the aerial and rapid-response arm of the Verd’kandar. Their ranks are bolstered by Basilisk War Droids, restored from Maji Ironworks.
Identity:
- Deployed in sudden flame-strikes or high-altitude drops
- Known for iconic “Mythfall” tactics - descending with fire trails and thunderous war cries
- Operate in tandem with Basilisk units, both autonomous and piloted
- Serve not for planetary assault, but for mythic deterrence - a reminder to intruders that some legends still watch the stars
III. Mythos Guard
“We wear our stories. You will add to them.”
The most honoured warriors of the Iron Covenant, the Mythos Guard serve as living relics and ceremonial sentinels. Only those who have endured extraordinary trial or sacrifice are granted a place among them.
Identity:
- Guardians of sacred sites, pilgrimage routes, and relic-forges
- Armour marked with rune-scars, each etching telling the tale of battles endured
- Called upon in moments of great spiritual crisis or celebration - they are keepers of oath and memory
- Work directly alongside the Rekav’dral as protectors of the Covenant’s soul
COMMAND AND ROLE
The Verd’kandar are led not by generals, but by a council of Alor'ad drawn from their major divisions. Their allegiance is to Kestri’s soul, not to any single leader. Orders are delivered through a coded oral tradition preserved in song, symbol, and ancestral tale. They are also represented by the Flameward within the Rekav'dral.
- They do not police the Clans or Covenant as a whole
- They do not meddle in politics
- They do not leave Kestri unless myth or dire need demands it
When the Verd’kandar move, it means something precious is under threat...or already lost.
LEGACY
The Verd’kandar are the Shield the Iron Covenant, raised when the fires of war threatened to consume their home. They are not remnants of the past - they are steel shaped by principle, by memory, and by snow.
“We were once the blade in the void.
Now we are the shield at the gate.
Kestri endures because we endure.”
Now we are the shield at the gate.
Kestri endures because we endure.”
