The Nauzica Brigade

[Taketheshot 3834]

 

“One of my men is worth fifty of theirs Sire, I bet my life on that”

Commander of the Nauzica Ser Drevin de Sarkozy reassuring Emperor John II of his troops prowess before the battle of Dogger Bay

 

The Nauzica Brigade

His Imperial Majesty’s Bodyguard of the Honorable Nauzica Brigade

 

 

The Nauzican Brigade is regarded as the jewel of imperial escort. It has rapidly changed, not only with the fashion of the times, but with the exigencies of their patrons, the Johannian dynasts; this military corps is more pregnant in history than one would imagine from its present appearance, which differs exceedingly from its inception as an auxiliary force of the Horosid armies.

 

While previously existing as a seperate entity for almost a century the Nauzica Brigade was unified with the JCP and the Horen Levy during the military reforms of John Horen III. While all united under one banner serving the emperor in the Order of Astlion, the Nauzica Brigade still stood as its own seperate entity within the order. They were still charged with the protection of the royal family and continued to do so until the new military reforms of 1579 where the Order of Astlion was dissolved and the Imperial Legions made their debut.

 

With the time for separation and distinction coming to an end the Nauzica now exists as the 2nd Imperial Brigade of the Crownlands Legion. They are comprised of the most elite troops from across the empire. Still retaining its tradition the only way to gain entry into the Nauzica is to be handpicked by one of the Officers.

The 2nd Brigade returns to its roots as the cavalry unit of The Crownlands much like it had been during the reign of John I. These men specialize in mounted warfare, using lances to skewer enemy footmen and to knock off opposing mounted units. Their attacks are swift and hard for the enemy to counter if lead correctly. The 2nd Brigade also serves as scouts for the rest of the brigade, quickly going behind enemy lines to assess the proper route of strategy for the Imperial Legate. Furthermore, whilst not directly deployed, the Nauzican Brigade is tasked with the safety of the Emperor and Imperial Family, acting as their premier bodyguards.

Commanders:

1st Captain of the Nauzica Brigade: Charles Henry of the House of Horen, Prince of Astlion.

2nd Captain of the Nauzica Brigade: Ser Vulpes Roke

3rd Captain of the Nauzica Brigade: Ser John jrent

4th Captain of the Nauzica Brigade: Ser Drevin de Sarkozy

5th Captain of the Nauzica Brigade: Ser Michael Hightower

6th Captain of the Nauzica Brigade: Ser Edwyn Harwyn

 

History

 

“True gold does not fear the test of fires.”

 

Tom Wettlock upon his mount to the Nauzican John Montney, before the great flames of Seahelm.

 

 

 

The time of the establishment of the Nauzica Brigade can be attributed to the onset of the Hexer Uprisings in the Aeldinic province of Agathor. There, in 1487, the exiled prince Charles Henry of the House of Horen found himself charged by his host the governor Benda Chivay to quell an arcane insurrection in the prefecture of Nauzica. The governor invested the young pretender a body of two-hundred archers, one-hundred men-at-arms, and two dozen demi lancers to serve as his personal escort. Along with this host, Charles was granted command over the Bullion Band, a landsknecht-mercenary company led by the infamous cavalier and minstrel Frederick ver de Linde. The Prince of Alstion and ver de Linde soon grew to be close companions in their travels hunting down seditious practitioners of maleficium. Their exploits on the field of battle earned them immense renown; it was not long until the Audemar, Emperor of Aeldin, son of Horos the Usurper, caught wind of their feats. In an uncommonly merciful ploy to secure the Horen claimant's allegiance and neutralize him as a threat, Audemar had the pair and their armies return to Nova Horos, the seat of the Horosid usurpers, to serve the empire as a vanguard.

 

 

 

This new and sumptuous company of soldiers was christened the Nauzica Brigade, a regiment and company in service to the Empire of Aeldin. Charles Henry had no intent of betraying his new liege; already used as a pawn prior in countless Aeldinic civil wars, he contented himself with this pardon and bore no indignities over his birthright. Yet the ambition of Frederick ver de Linde knew few bounds. Sowing the seeds of dissent, he inflicted the young prince the notion that he could challenge the might of Aeldin and reclaim his father’s rightful position.

 

 

 

Their rebellion in the early winter months of 1498 collapsed within a year’s time. The expected de Sola detachments needed so desperately for the Horen claimant to prevail had arrived after the Battle of Ronda, where Emperor Audemar decisively prevailed over Frederick’s armies through the tactical brilliance of a double envelopment. The skulls of the avaricious Lieutenant ver de Linde’s along with thirteen of his senior officers were sent to the Horen prince’s camp; forced into exile in face of this staggering defeat, Charles fled to the continent of Athera in hopes of gathering fresh hosts to press his claim once more, leaving his wife and infant son at Governor Benda’s palace. Yet he would arrive in King Andrew’s court to only be forced to the cloisters, the paranoid sovereign wary of the prince’s intentions. Henceforth, the might of the Nauzican Brigade had dwindled; once a standing army, it now consisted of ill-more than a minor retinue in service of The Old Pretender Polycarp, Prince Charles’ new moniker as a friar of faith They took a new sigil thereafter, fourteen skulls on a black field in honor of those defiled at the Battle of Ronda.

 

 

 

Yet in 1526 with the ascent of Polycarp’s son, John Frederick, to the title of Holy Orenian Emperor, the Nauzican Brigade was once again granted imperial authority. At his coronation, the whole corps was on duty at the Cathedral of Saint Lucien, being formed into two guard companies in homage to the brigade’s roots. Under the helm of the veteran knight Vulpes Roke, ardent Horen loyalist, the Brigade once-more attained a level of distinction they had lost in exile. It was remarked that the band of soldiery lingered to the Emperor as wraiths, their presence never unnoticed by the courtiers of Praha Palace.

 

 

 

When Vulpes had expired of natural causes, the emperor’s baseborn son, John of Peremont presided over the palace guard. His ineptitudes, missteps, and greed had caused a decline in the corps’ ability; choosing to restyle the force as the Impera Brigade to appease Vailor natives, he lost the support of many veterans of the band who cherished their Aeldinic heritage and replaced them with the unsavoury sons of Felsen’s political elite in turn for bribes. John Jrent was exiled and the Nauzicans disbanded in 1546, after the imperial bastard and the corps were found embezzling city funds.

 

 

 

For ten years, the security of the imperial line and the palace of Ancelcourt was left to watchmen and conscripted courtiers of the palace. This martial atrophy was not noticed until the reign of John II, where incessant dreadlander raids managed to threaten the governance of the state. In an effort to restore order in court and defend the imperial household, he proclaimed the Nauzican Brigade to be reinstated once more, and charged Ser Drevin de Sarkozy as its Captain. Composed of of noble cadets, various members of the gentry, and a smattering of lowborns, the Nauzican Brigade now serves with utmost distinction and discipline as stalwart honorguard and task force of the Emperor.

 

The fledgling brigade took great prominence during the Rurikid Uprising of 1557, performing skillful flanking and maneuverability against the enemy during the infamous Battle of Dogger Bay, where the young Michael Sunfield, later to be the 5th Captain of the Brigade, led a devastating front against the Dreadlander encamped line. Later in the war, the Brigade took leading role in the capture of Seahelm in 1559, overwhelming the city’s defenses and butchering the Rurikid levy in mass massacre.

 

For the remainder of John II’s reign, the Nauzicans remained as palace guards; with the Emperor’s unwillingness to enter vassal conflict or even external conflict, the Brigade saw little action. The Krajian Revolt of 1560 led to Nauzica’s reentrance into the battlefield once more, however the battles were mere skirmishes in comparison, and majority of the fighting would be had by the Emperor’s loyal northern vassals. The Brigade soon dwindled in size from its compared bolstered ranks of years’ past.

With John II’s abdication in 1567 and his son, John III, taking the throne in his wake, the Brigade command was granted to his brother, the Prince Alexander Sigismund, in replacement for the stepping-down of Ser Michael the Aengul. With time comes change of course throughout the next 15 years many reforms would be made to the Nauzica including its brief inclusion in the order of Astlion then in 1579 it was integrated into the Imperial Legion

 

BATTLE HONOURS

 

 

 

 

1487 - The Sack of Caer Mant

The inaugural major battle of the Nauzica Brigade, the Sack of Caer Mant was where the Hexer School of the Griffin’s uprising was quelled on behalf of Governor Benda Chivay. The stronghold of Caer Mant was devastated through siegeworks, with the Nauzican Brigade assuming the vanguard and thrashing the host of seditious Marked Men in bloody assault. The legendary duel between Prince Charles and Hexer Hieronymous of Lex is recorded in the song The Half-Hand Hexer, recounting Charles’ feat in maiming the Hexer against considerable odds.

 

1492 - The Battle of the Westgate

The most famous of the original Nauzica Brigade’s exploits, where under the joint command of Charles Henry and ver de Linde the detachment successfully held off the vastly numerically superior army of Marcus Antipatros (Coincidentally the paternal uncle of Charles’ future wife, Clara de Sola) in a narrow pass in Exeter known as the Westgate, thereby preventing the rebels against Emperor Audemar’s rule of the Province of Exeter from advancing to the region’s capital, Vesetta, and winning the revolt for the Horosids.

 

1498 - The Battle of Ronda

At the hamlet of Ronda, the Nauzican Brigade suffered an emasculating defeat at the hands of Emperor Audemar. Commanded by ver de Linde, the Brigade attempted to ford the Rond river at the stroke of dusk in an attempt of ambushing Audemar’s own camp and capturing the Aeldinic emperor.  Their feint was uncovered by forward sentries, who promptly stirred the armies from their slumber and apprehended the Nauzican skirmishers in pitched conflict. The battle ended in gristly defeat as an entire contingent of the brigade were massacred.

 

1536 - The Battle of White Mountain

The last battle in which the Nauzica Brigade were commanded by Ser Vulpes Roke, the Nauzica Brigade served with distinction in safeguarding the Emperor’s life. They managed to preserve perfect order throughout the onslaught, not losing a single soldier to the dwarven legions.

 

1558 - The Battle of Dogger Bay

Led by the Nauzican youth Michael Sunfield, the Nauzica Brigade prevailed over Rurikid rebels and Dreadlanders. They commanded from the rear before charging into battle to mop up the retreating enemy forces.

 

1559 - The Sack of Seahelm

The Nauzica Brigade played an instrumental role in the swift victory at Seahelm. Captain Drevin de Sarkozy was charged with leading the imperial vanguard into the city. Nauzicans served with distinction as they decimated the enemy force in a fierce blitz, leaving only stragglers in their wake.

 

1561 - The First Battle of Baranya

In the Baranya Valley, the combined Nauzica Brigade and levy of the Duke of Carnatia suffered a loss at the hands of Krajian dissenters. Coming on request for the Duke of Carnatia’s efforts in repelling the incursion, the newly christened Ser Michael Hightower led the cavalry in joint with Ser Thomas Ashes, only to be repelled back by the light mounted skirmishers of the Hetman Sveneld, and forced to retreat south.

 

1562 - The Second Battle of Baranya

In the spring of 1562, the Krajian insurgents attempted another raid upon the County of Kvasz, in order to replenish their food supplies after the winter and to prepare for a full assault south. Ser Michael Hightower commanded the Nauzican cavalry along with Prince Henry Joseph, flanking

 

1563 - The Battle of 'aelaa Alththuluj

Led into battle by Ser Michael Hightower who since the Sack of Seahelm had taken over as commander of the Nauzica. With the empire stretched to the limit Ser Hightower orchestrated a brilliant defense in the field which bought the Empire much needed time to regroup in the lull after the battle was considered a draw. Lacking the drive it held before the battle the Southern Axis crumbled and the Empire was no longer under threat. Although not considered a victory in terms of battle Ser Hightower took charge of the situation and avoided what could’ve been a disastrous blow for the empire.

 

1565 - The Battle of Krajia

Upon the news of Nauzican Bradsaw’s, commonly known as Zaza, capture, the Nauzica Brigade led by Ser Michael Hightower marches north in attempted rescue. Later joined by the Carmatian headed by Ser Rickard Barrow, the swelling force successfully breaches and pillages the fortified rebel stronghold of Krajia.

 

1567 - The Standoff upon the Eroch River

After hearing of John Owyn, Prince of Alstion’s capture during the Watchman’s Riot of 1567, the joint forces of Lothar, Archduke of Lorraine and Ser Rickard Barrow, who commanded the Carnatian and Erochlander levy, marched south from Metterden in order to intercept the dreadlander party. Ser Michael Hightower joins the armed group with a contingent of Nauzicans, where the Imperial forces crush the rebel band and successfully rescue the Prince of Alstion.

 

THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

 

Those inducted to the Nauzica Brigade are to recite the Oath of Allegiance;

 

“I swear to be true to the Lord, the Emperor, and his realm and not to maintain silence about any evil that I may know which is being contemplated against them. I swear also not to eat or drink with traitors and not to have anything in common with them. On this I kiss the cross.”

 

Enlisting

In order to be inducted into the Nauzica brigade one must be handpicked by the officers of the brigade. Inductees are chosen from across the empire and generally have multiple battles in their record and excellent skill and prowess with a blade and numerous other weapons.

 

-Emperor John Horen II leads the Nauzica over the walls at the battle of Seahelm

 

 

Credit to Eddythebrave for the original post I merely updated it 

 

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