Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Vash.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Force Warriors. Beastmasters.
Permission: Can use Firemane tech because I own the company. They can use Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers equipment due to Firemane gaining access to ARGH tech in this thread. Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here.
Links: Four of a Kind, You're Grounded, Firemane Industries.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Wildkin of Darkwood Glade.
Affiliation: Vashyada, Tylania.
Classification: Infantry.
Description: Of all the Eldorai subraces, the Vashyada have the deepest connection to nature. Having dwelt in the vast, dangerous forests of Yarkul for centuries, they are a hardy, tough people. Unlike their cousins, they are the least inclined to bloodletting and warring amongst themselves. Their isolation prevented them from developing advanced technology and so they are fairly primitive. However, this does not make them savages. Far from it. Rather they adapted very well to their environment and learned to use it to their advantage. Both the Qadiri and the Xioquo as well as foreign slavers discovered to their peril that the Vashyada are far from helpless. For the wood elves have repelled many incursions into their territory and are excellent irregular fighters. Their Force wielders tend to excel at healing, stealth and earth manipulation.
The Wildkin of Darkwood Glade are secretive Vashyada sect. They have embraced nature, but take it a step further than many Vashyada Force wielders. Mother Nature gives, provides and preserves. But she is not all peace and love. She can be cruel and tempestuous. Her power must be respected because in the end nature always wins. The wilderness is home to manifold beasts. The Wildkin have chosen to embrace the wilder side of nature. They are dedicated to the nature spirits. Other Vashyada tell tales of how Wildkin have transformed into bears and huge spiders, tearing their enemies apart.
This is, however, poetic licence, though the secretive nature of the sect encourages such stories. The Wildkin are very skilled at channelling into their bodies so that they fight like beasts. They are highly skilled at communicating with animals and have excellent senses. Each Wildkin has the ability to summon familiars, based upon their totem. The Wildkin regard themselves as guardians of balance and treat their powers as divine blessings. In their view, they are guardians of nature. The beastmasters do not strictly follow the Light, but avoid the Dark as well. This is in keeping with their emphasis on balance. Overall, they are quite grey by Vashyada standards.
Some Vashyada whisper that their prowess comes at a price, and that their minds are too close to those of the beasts they try to emulate. This is also due to the fact that they spend an extended period in the Dark Heart of Yarkul, a dark place that the Vashyada have always sought to avoid. The Wildkin scoff at such notions, pointing to their record as defenders of the Vashyada people against monsters and foreign incursions. The Wildkin follow the mainstream Vashyada. They have helped Firemane sometimes, but are very picky about what they do for the humans. The Wildkin are not the easiest to contact because their use of modern technology is very minimalistic and they do not like it when outsiders show up in their forests with vehicles, shuttles or similar.
All in all, the Wildkin are a small group whose size is about equal to that of a platoon. The group has both male and female members since the Vashyada are fairly egalitarian when it comes to gender. A female Vashyada warrior called Akulina is the leader of the group. However, leadership is passed by group consensus rather than a formal hierarchy imposed on them by above. Akulina was a warrior for many decades before the group elected her as their beastmistress. She is an experienced and strong individual whose record lends her words authority. She proved herself by besting a Xioquo necromancer who had wanted to harness the Dark Heart. Akulina has bonded with a Partuz queen, who has allowed the beastmasters to ride some of her drones. Cestmir is a warrior who acts as her second in command. He is ready to work with the sky people, but is suspicious of their treatment of nature and their dedication to preserve it. He really does not like pampered eco-liberals from the rich Core Worlds.
Arsisha is an outcast who joined the Wildkin when she had nowhere else to go. She comes from the mainstream Vashyada, but ran afoul of intrigue. Her tribe had been in a dispute with another clan over land and hunting rights. Her foes had the backing of the High Queen. Her clan lost, and Arsisha, who had fought very aggressively and given in to her darker impulses, found herself accused of dabbling in the dark side. Exiled into the deep forests, she was found by Akulina, who taught her about balance. Arsisha still struggles and is quite bitter, but has found a place among the group. She is a fierce, aggressive warrior in combat.
Ermolai is a younger member of the group. He has recently joined to take the place of his father, who was a member of the Wildkin for a long time but then perished fighting the Netherworld entity that had corrupted the forests. His sacrifice proved crucial to banishing it. Ermolai looks up to his dead father, and has vowed live up to his example. This makes him very determined, but also eager to prove himself. He usually serves as the scout of the group. This puts his vigour to good use, but also serves to temper his eagerness.
While Akulina is the strongest warrior and beastmistress of the group, Vera is its spiritual core. The priestess believes that serving nature and communing with the spirits is a good way of strengthening nature. She is extremely knowledgeable about exotic plants, spirits and the Force. Akulina is a better warrior, but Vera is no slouch in combat and very good at summoning familiars. In contrast to traditional Vashyada priestesses, she favours a more aggressive approach in combat, rather than remaining on the defensive. She has taken an interest in the culture of the Witches of Dathomir, having encountered some Dathomiri expatriates.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Elite.
Equipment:
Armour:
- Animal furs and leathers. Durasteel cuirass, pauldrons and vambraces. Durasteel mask shaped like an animal skull with rebreather and other typical equipment for a helmet.
- Force Imbued Blade, Spear or Tomahawk
- Vibrodagger.
- Sarix
- Shatter Pistol
- SP-2
- Ripper
- Cylix Bolt Pistol
- Wrist Bolter
- Shattering Bowcaster
- Scatter Gun
- Energy Bow
- Lightbow
- ACS-207 Aerosolblaster
- ACS-208 Wrist Ion Beamer
Animal Mounts:
- Access to Partuz.
Moreover, their skill in physical augmentation allows them to channel the Force into making themselves stronger, so that they fight like beasts. Through these techniques, they can accomplish incredible feats of strength, durability, agility, stamina, resilience and speed. As a result, they excel in melee and close combat. Their Force affinity also manifests in the ability to accelerate the healing process within their bodies. Moreover, they have the ability to summon familiars. Each Wildkin tends to have a specific beast they are bonded to and can summon as an attendant spirit to fight on their side. Moreover, they are able to employ Force Weapon, an ability that allows the wielder to imbue a mundane weapon with the Force for a period of time. This allows something as simple as a wooden stick or a mundane sword to become resistant to lightsabres.
The Wildkin have extremely keen senses, can regulate their body temperature and control their sense of pain. Using the Force, they can conceal their Force aura from other Force-Sensitives and turn invisible. They tend to use these techniques to get close to a target, before they reveal themselves and strike with primal ferocity. The Wildkin favour Force Imbued melee weapons in close combat. Their skills make them are ideal for ambushes, reconnaissance and sudden strikes on specific targets. They care little for fighting in a vast city or a desert, but are extremely formidable in a forest environment like on Endor.
However, they are a small unit that is seldom larger than a platoon and lack integrated heavy support. Indeed, their use of modern technology is rather minimalist. Moreover, they lack heavy weapons, which has implications if they find themselves facing heavy armour. In addition, they only wear light armour. They are a unit of specialists and should be employed accordingly instead of attacking an enemy head-on, especially one who outnumbers them or is positioned behind entrenched fortifications. However, they are ideal for guerrilla assaults or eliminating specific high-value targets.
The Wildkin also make use of Partuz to an extent. These giant spiders have been traditionally used by the Vashyada as animal mounts. While not sentient, the Partuz are very intelligent and make excellent ambushers. Their appearance is fearsome, but they are social creatures that have a strong bond with their riders. Moreover, their thick carapace can protect them from many dangers, though heavy weapons and lightsabres can still pierce their hides. They are excellent mounts for ambushes and scouting.
Strengths:
- Powerful beastmasters and stealth experts.
- Physical augmentation experts. They are excellent at channeling the Force to boost their physical attributes, allowing them to accomplish impressive feats of strength, speed, endurance, and resilience. They fight like beasts, are very resilient and have a strong healing ability.
- Very small unit.
- Lightly armoured, lack heavy weapons, or integrated heavy support. At a serious disadvantage when facing heavy armour such as tanks, especially out in the open. They rely on surprise, speed and aggression. Thus they suffer in pitched front-line combat or direct assault on entrenched fortifications.
The Vashyada are a people that live in close communion with nature. They have a strong connection to the land and are most at home in vast forests. However, while they revere the Light, they are not meek pacifists, as invaders such as the Qadiri and Xioquo have learned the hard way. Their existence has been defined by reverence for nature and its many wonders, but also struggle against it, for many dangers lurk in Yarkul.
As with their cousins, religion plays an important role in Vashyada life and they have a plethora of cults. It helps that they have a - from their point of view - living goddess in their midst, as the Paragon Tylania walks the earth. However, she takes the role of an oracle, guide and advisor rather than of a ruler. Her reluctance to assume power stems from the misfortune that befell many of her fellow Paragons. Ashira, first of the Eldorai, was murdered by Ardarvia. Mystra fell to the dark side and became a power-crazed megalomaniac who ruled as a tyrant.
Vashyada religion has tended to be shamanistic in nature, with druid-like priestesses acting as intermediares between the people and the spirits. Within this context, there have always been movements of those who have communed with the forest. In time this led to the creation of a cult of animal spirits who took it a step further and employed it for martial means. Therein lie the roots of the Wildkin of the Blackwood Glade. The sect existed apart from the clans, but were dedicated to defending and protecting the forests from whoever and whatever intruded on them.
The sect came into being during a time when Tylania slumbered. The Paragon had been able to defeat Mystra in mortal combat, preventing her army of Xioquo and Qadiri from subjugating Tygara. However, she was seriously wounded by the battle and needed time to recover. Thus she went into seclusion inside a stasis pod that had been left behind by the creators of the Eldorai and their cousins. Over time she became an almost mythical figure to the Vashyada, though she would be awakened in times of great crisis. Meanwhile, the Vashyada regressed, experiencing a dark age. During one of her awakenings, Tylania instituted a dual monarchy to guide the Vash. However, the wood elves functioned more as a confederation of staunchly autonomous tribes.
The Wildkin formed from a group which moved deep into the untamed wilds of Yarkul. They were cut off from their fellow Vash and got close to the Dark Heart. There nature was the wildest, most dangerous, and most savage, for it was influenced by the energies of a nexus. The ancestors of the Wildkin adopted a highly shamanistic view of nature, and came to associate it with the animals they encountered. Indeed, the beasts in that area were more intelligent and cunning thanks to the nexus. A good number were near-sentient, and some had even achieved sentience. The balance of nature tested the Wildkin. As a result, they were more grey than the rest of their kin, as the mainstream Vashyada revere the Light. However, they restrained themselves from the dark as well, and came to see themselves as guardians of balance. However, any invaders or intruders would very swiftly meet an end to their blades and their animal companions if they did not show proper respect.
The Wildkin became semi-mythical figures to the rest of the Vashyada. There were tales of how they could transform into giant spiders or direwolves who tore their enemies apart or devoured them. This is poetic license, though the Wildkin are formidable combatants. Though seldom seen by their fellow Vash on a day-to-day basis, they always entered battle when a fight was going dire for their kin. Qadiri and Xioquo invaders learned to respect, and fear their prowess. Not only were the Wildkin potent melee combatants, they could move near-silently, communicate with and control the animals of nature, even those war beasts foreign invaders brought with them.
The Wildkin distinguished themselves when a Qadiri Mirza called Brahdok tried to invade Yarkul. However, the Vashyada knew of their approach, and with the aid of their priestesses they summoned mists and illusions to deceive the Qadiri. The Wildkin helped by communicating with small spiders and ravens to keep track of the invaders. Then the Vashyada warriors ambushed the Qadiri in the forests. Using guerrilla tactics, the Wildkin fell upon their foes, targeting officers and Force-Users in swift, surgical strikes. Their powers allowed them to turn the Qadiri's Yazgid war beasts against them.
Here and there, Vashyada druids or warriors came to the Dark Heart to face its trials. In some cases this was a rite of passage, in others a test after having committed a wrongdoing. In such situations, the Wildkin acted as guides, providing some guidance for their kin but also warning them. At the same time they dispatched Vash who came with ill intent. Aside from that, they acted as protectors for more remote Vashyada tribes. The Wildkin faced a dangerous challenge during the Netherworld Event. This calamity left virtually no world untouched, and their homeland was no different. However, it also manifested in ways other than mass disappearances.
The Wildkin had been dealing with the panic caused by the sudden raptures, when they noticed that the threat had become even graver. There was madness in the animals, the land itself was sickening, and the Force was distorted. Once green land had turned sickly and been corrupted. They were forced to combat this menace. Working together with druids that served Tylania, they determined that a malevolent spirit entity was responsible for it. It was a creature of the underworld that had been released as part of a spillover effect from the Netherworld. Its corruption manifested as a sickness that it spread to the land as well as the animals and the people that dwelt in it. The Wildkin confronted and were able to banish this creature, restoring balance.
When the sky people arrived, they made a pact with the Vashyada. Eventually Firemane helped the wood elves take off into the stars by building arkships for them. However, progress also brought new issues. There was a divide between Vashyada who wanted to wholly embrace the new ways and those who adhered to the old traditions. Many adopted a middle-of-the-road stance, seeing the Wookiees as role models, as the natives of Kashyyyk maintained an advanced, yet nature-based civilisation. One of the Wildkin visited Kashyyyk to learn about its people.
The Wildkin had to deal with a rather bizarre intrusion. A group of eco-liberals from the Core Worlds had learned that the Vashyada were 'noble savages' who lived in a 'virgin paradise'. These eco-liberals were radical students and youngsters who protested against overpollution in the Core Worlds. This did not stop them from showing up in high-class, fume spitting speeders and spaceships and using their electricity after they had done their good deed. They also left lots of plastic around after eating a lot of meat. The Wildkin found this bastardisation of nature appalling and got called too 'backward' to understand the real meaning of nature. They were narrowly restrained from unleashing their spiders on the hippies. When some of the 'progressive' liberals got lost in the Dark Heart and went mad from the revelation, they could finally be compelled to leave and return to their comfortable life in the mega-cities of the galactic Core.
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