The 6th brigade

[Jokinghills 825]

The Midnight Legion

The 6th “Black” Brigade of the Imperial State Army

 

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“Linger ye fetid beasts, in the warm and dark. Trust, that we shall await.”

 

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Introduction

 

He laid soft steps upon the muddy ground, his feet were weary from days of travel as the cacophony of crickets ushered in the evening moon. The traveler sighed, too long had he been on the roads, with the scars and still fresh wounds to prove that they were no place for one to travel alone.

 

It was a life of solace, the traveler thought to himself as he continued down the moonlit road, but it was not so bad. There were friends, however fleeting, periodic moments of hope inspired by charismatic priests, or perhaps that was just his nostalgia.

 

Then he heard it, it was an all too familiar noise, the clink of chain and squish of heavy leather boots. The trio of darkly clad men stepped out from behind the trees as they called for him to stop. The traveler knew the drill, his possessions for his life. He gripped the gold painted cross beneath his tabard tightly. 

 

He was tired of it though, and he was out of valuables. He did not wish to lose a digit, or a limb for that matter. He had spent too much time working, too much time just to stock his now empty pockets with meager rations for his journey to the mountains. He took his chance, a more than likely foolish one, as he turned into the dark and thick woods.

 

The snap of twigs betrayed his escape, as the trio chased him, a bolt whizzed by his ear, slicing it as he yelped. He slid down the ravine, hiding beneath a large chestnut tree as he whispered a prayer from his childhood to GOD, though more likely to himself:

 

 

 

You are always there,

 

For your love reaches everywhere.

 

Above the clouds, beneath the sea,

 

I know your hand will cover me.

 

Through the darkened starry night,

 

Again at dawn when all is bright.

 

Upon the heavens, or over bridges,

 

Deepest valleys, rocky ridges.

 

You beside me, o so close,

 

Knowing when I need you most.

 

 

 

Through different lands of war or peace,

 

Where suffering stirs or riches twist,

 

I choose to walk the path you tread,

 

And carry your wisdom where I'm led.

 

I’ll bring your peace with every step,

 

And bless each place I rest my head.

 

You keep me safe, watch over me,

 

I choose to put my trust in thee.

 

The traveler’s breath began to steady after the third repetition, the harsh sound of his impending death fading deeper into the forest in pursuit. He waited before deciding to trust God once more and take an uncharted path in the forest. He rose from the nook in the tree and began to meander forwards, guided only by the stars and moon.

 

His hope faltered as he continued in the dark. He began imagining his savage death to those that camp within the forest’s lawless territory, wolves or boars, or even worse, man. With each step his body failed him, as he paced deeper he felt he was being watched. Though this wasn't the discomforting watch of men, this felt more… carnal.

 

He looked around, but in the darkness not much could be seen. The man could not shake the feeling, though it wasn't until he spotted the beady eyes high in the branches above that he began to run. The flapping of leathery wings was heard in the air as the frosted ground beneath the traveler crunched. The cacophony of THUMP and THUD were soon made a concert by the shrieks of the winged beasts as one swooped down and caught the man by his ragged attire. He stumbled forwards, before he was lifted from the ground.

 

He squirmed as a second winged creature swooped down and assisted in lifting the man from the ground, and the traveler let loose frantic shouts for help. His mind raced, for it was a dark and deep forest, no one would be there to help. The crazed ramblings of his mind were cut short when he heard a horrid squeal and felt himself fall lower back towards the ground. One of the creatures fell the short distance to the ground, limping.

 

Men, or what he could make out and hoped were men, dressed head to toe in black were sprinting towards him from the tree line. The quiet forest now erupted as the men shouted and barked commands and large war hounds sprinted forth to tear flesh off the one fallen create. The winged monster dropped the traveler attempting to flee, but as the traveler hit the ground and rolled to look at the sky, he saw a javelin sail into its back and through its chest causing it to fall. Three men with crossbows drawn approached the wounded beast and leveled their weapons at its head. The harpy squealed and lashed out as it could, but liquid spilled from the javelin in its chest. 

 

A large man dismounted from his black mare and approached the group, “well what are you waiting for privates? Dispatch it.” And with that three bolts were shot, though none were entirely true, causing the harpy to wretch and squirm more. “Curwa” cursed the man. “Must I do everything myself?” he asked. He wrestled a large mace from his hip and approached the dying beast, before going to use his large figure and mace to crack the harpy’s skull and silence the squeals. 

 

The other harpy lay dead beside the traveler, numerous bolts having been sunk into its refined form. His back ached from his fall, his feet from his running, his shoulders stinging where the talons had cut him. However, the traveler sat up as he watched the large man hand his mace to one of the privates, he uttered something along the lines of “clean it then and when we return you will all practice your shots two hundred times.” The large man, seemed to approach him. He extended a hand, helping the traveler up and with a booming voice he said “Welcome to the 6th Brigade.”

 

Section I: The Brigade

The 6th Brigade of the Imperial State Army is a special operations unit founded on the ideals of  holding the empire's beliefs to the highest esteem. The unit specializes in carrying out high risk operations with stealth and swiftness. Their secondary purpose is to be a protective detail to the highest ranking officials within the Imperial State Army.

 

Section II: General Brigade Information

Purpose & Duties

 

The 6th Brigade, their members often called more simply ‘Disciples’, is a brigade in the Imperial State Army focused on three fields of work. The first and most core is the study, documentation, and execution of beasts that taint the realm of man. The second field of the 6th Brigade is that of planning and executing operations granted to them by the broader Council of State, the 6th being beholden to the command structure of the Imperial State Army, and by proper approval, by the Ministry of Intelligence. The third responsibility of the 6th falls under clandestine information services, accumulating knowledge from their travels and passing it onto the proper channels within the Orenian government.

 

Field 1.

 

Monster, beast, creature, critter, horror, freak; Fear manifests itself in many monikers. Rather than shy away from, or flatly deny, the physical presence of these fears, the 6th seeks to study them to find a weakness, so that they may later purge them. A 6th Brigadier will usually be found carrying a journal, as it is their most treasured possession perhaps save only for their weapon. This journal’s beginning pages will be filled with images of known monsters and information about them, acting as a kind of bestiary. The pages following this will be filled with the notes and drawings of its 6th Brigadier owner. The first of these blank pages will often be covered with documentations from trials given to the private once graduating from Imperial State Army 2nd Brigade training.

 

Field 2. 

The second field consists of mainly gaining and using enemy intelligence gained by talking to the general population of Almaris. They are trained in how to persuade and talk to most ‘people’ through learning how to do this; they also picked up skills on making their identity unknown to this in foreign kingdoms. 

 

Field 3.

Hard-to-achieve operations granted to them by proper authorities. More can be learned on this after entry.

 

Uniforms

The uniform of the soldiers in the 6th shall consist of nothing special. A solid black set of armor to go on top of normal chain mail. This is intended so that the brigade remains humble and at their roots. The uniforms must of course be well cleaned, polished and upheld with the utmost effort put forth to it.

 

 

Armaments

Bec de Corbin: The bec de corbin is a variety of either short or long handled polearm characterized by the long, beak-like spike from which it gets its name, meaning “raven’s beak.” Adorned on the opposite side with a hammer, and with a spear tip at its point, it is a weapon characterizing the versatility required of the 6th Brigade. With the beak designed to pierce through armor and flesh, and the hammer to deal crippling blunt trauma, and a spear point on its longer variants to keep foes at range, rare would it be for one to encounter a situation for which this signature weapon is not suited.

Mace: The mace is a weapon more intuitive than most, with an appealing and deadly simplicity to its power. Valuable against any manner of opponent in close combat, be they armored in plate, leather, or adorned in mere cloth. Its heavy, blunt strikes can dent metal and shatter bone, making it a weapon suited to any occasion, and for most hands

Longsword: The standard longsword is an invaluable and versatile tool to any soldier; almost as much a symbol as it is a weapon of war. Well-suited for dealing with lightly armored targets, its long reach allows for ample control over distance, and its keen point and cutting edge make it a weapon to be feared when wielded with skill.

 

[OP bandamont 901]

Ziegfrid would shake his head as he looked at the uniform of the fourth , standing on a armour stand " It's dead anyways. . . perhaps the 6th could get me some adventures"

[Mescaffier 6197]

Viktoriya sniffed, frowning some at the appearance of a brigade; two purposes, snagged & stolen from other brigades, sewn into one. She shook her head and went back to brooding.

[Imperium 3495]

“Interesting,” Captain Ruthern comments as he heard the news.”

[makeitsoyoucandeleteaccounts 610]

"Next time.", spoke Jan E., saddened by the lack of a prober Clown Corps Sixth Brigade. The Ex-Terrorist would proceed to cry to himself all night about his Clown Corps proposition.

[Isthatyou 131]

3 hours ago, Nouveau-Chapeau said:

"Next time.", spoke Jan E., saddened by the lack of a prober Clown Corps Sixth Brigade. The Ex-Terrorist would proceed to cry to himself all night about his Clown Corps proposition.

"sht up" says Varon before laugheing