Sludge - Royalist Faction: The Barony of Pyrmia II

 The Archsentinel, Duke Galerik, sixth of his name, Warden of the Hallowsraad. 

Duke Galerik is a haunted man who has seen much in his lifetime. After a decade of service in the Fensguard in distant Q'wara he returned home to find his native Pyrmia on the verge of collapse.
Rising quickly through the ranks of the Barons court he oversaw the restoration of the Harakan and the re-mustering of the Chimera Thrones armies.

It was Duke Galerik who led the defense of the Zimhausen Gates, the razing of the cult temple of Elaos and the scouring of the Jontalbahn hinterlands. But for his many glories he is cognizant of the withering Royal tithe numbers and the rising tide of the Manticores creeping aggression. Still he holds true to the Chimeric disciplines in the face of doom.

An ancient Pyrmian epitaph in the hilt etching of his family greatsword reads:

 "Conquered by none, I will be free."   

 

Sludge - Royalist Faction: The Barony of Pyrmia I

     Beyond the Scattered Plains and the bleak northern barrens, the Barony of Pyrmia has stood loyal to the Chimera Throne for centuries past. Its solemn networks of fortified cities and towns hold bulwark against the onslaught of the raiding hordes from the Elucian archipelago.

In those wild lands beyond, foes of the Chimera gather in the Broken Steppes. Each winter the glow of camp fires from the hill lands grow ever brighter in the night skies. The baleful gaze of the Manticore is cast across this ancient realm.

But the claws and horns of the Chimera are still sharp. The resolute armies of the Barony are made of a variety of corps of professional soldiers such as the 12th Royal Marines. From their garrison at the strategic mountain aerodrome of Witrburg they stand ready to be ferried by fleets of dirigible airships riding on the swift updrafts to the beleaguered strongholds in the lowlands below. Their actions in the lifting of the Siege of Fusehill in 611CE is still sung in the old Marine hymnals.

 Added to this are the Pyrmian bannermen and royalist tithe troops who wade into the battle mire alongside the marines with pike and shotte. It is by their stoic deeds that the Harakan Wall still holds back the terrors of that cursed pass.

                   Pyrmian infantry at the Battle of the Valkern Fields, early 655CE

 At the fore the Barons court would employ loyal servants of Chimera Throne and the Royal Academy to lead their ranks into dire warfare. Royal Officers are often men of distinction and veterans of campaigns past, often found barking orders over the din of battle or in the bloody press of melee.

 

Captain Geopauldus and a Chimeric Chaplain bearing a reliquary of Ste.Austina  

 Defenders of the ancient faiths, sanctioned Royal Chaplains accompany the Barons armies as they march to war. For those about to face the horrors of battle, the prayer dirges and sacred incenses bring hope and conviction to the living and comfort to the fallen and dying.    

The aristocratic Royal Magicians can be seen among the ranks, extolling mystic courage and fury to men amidst the storm of gore and lead with arcane rites in the name of their monarch.

Coveted by many of the Barons warlords, the squadrons of the volunteer 11th Royal Hussars "Arnauds Finest" are an elite regiment of light cavalry. With a reputation of renegade bravado, many a tide has been turned by the timely charge of the 11th. The thundering hooves of raucous mustangs and flashing razor sharp sabres heralding their arrival.  

     

 

 "...It was in that moment that the Vostermach Freikorps spearwall broke that all hope seemed lost, then with bugle-cry the 11th Royal Hussars burst from the thicket woods. They cut into the Red Viziers flanks like the wickedly curved sabres they carried. With vengeful cry we knew the day was won...."
-Excerpt from Van Ruzes Commentaries on Pyrmia.Volume 5.Chapter 11.