Silverite Order

The Silverite order is a trans-planar Giff Mercenary Company currently under contract in the Feywild.

History

A brief history of the Silverite Order. By: Archivist Kalo Risian
The Silverite Order was founded more than two thousand years before I write this, in the 88th cycle, 75th year of the Mechanus calendar. Our founding documents are filed with the Archive of Ultimate Law there. Thus we are bound by contract to follow our rules of conduct to the utmost of our ability. This alone makes our company among the most trustworthy Free Company operating across the planar spaces. At that time we were known as the Company of the Hammer.
Our Order earned its reputation fighting in the infinite chaos of Limbo, in the nine circles of Hell and on the infinite layers of the Abyss. By the second century of out operations we had earned a great reputation. Our numbers had swelled from their initial 800 to a grand army of more than 80.000! This success came at a cost of course. Our company has had a tradition of accepting high risk missions. Our Supreme Captains seldom last more than two or three years of command before meeting their fate. Our officers lead from the front. An officer should say “follow me”, walk upright and calmly on the battlefield and wear his symbols of rank with pride! The additional casualties this inflicts on our officer corps is more than made up for by the pride it inspires in the soldiers. Our longest lasting Captain was Rashid Goldennose. He survived twenty-nine years in the role and had a habit of pouring melted gold onto his wounds. He finally perished in the 99th cycle, 35th year when a astral dreadnought attacked his command ship on the Astral Plane. The company still keeps his golden nose among its treasured relics.
Once we had become one of the Great Companies we were hired for many famous actions. We fought the combined might of the Winter Court at the battle of the six rivers. At Queen’s Crossing when the might of Hell sought to use the Styx as a gateway to the realm of Shadows we blocked their path for eight days, until reinforcements from the Abyss could arrive. At Mount Celestia we fought in the great battle between the Compassionate Alliance and the Compact of Order. The Compact had hired the full might of our force. At the Battle of the Second Mountain, we stood 100.000 strong. Our men were on the left facing the Companies the Alliance had hired. Against us stood the Elven Companies. There were the Green Leaf Brothers. The Sisterhood of Song. The Soldier’s Republic and half a dozen others. Their assault was ferocious. Their discipline and weight of fire was such that our line almost faltered. But the Captain at the time donned armour gifted by Fortuna herself and rode along the length of our line, rallying the men. His hat and pantaloons were more hole than cloth by the end of his ride. Yet he was unwounded on that day! Others were not so lucky. We suffered losses by the tens of thousands. Yet when darkness fell and the battle broke, our line remained! On the second day news came that the leader of the Alliance had fallen. Their army dissolved into chaos. We partook in the great pursuit which then followed. We chased the Elven Companies all the way to the Elemental Plane of Water. There they escaped in ships which somehow found their way to the Material Plane where the forces of divinity could not pursue. Every soldier within our army was rewarded with a silverite ring for our efforts, and we adopted our new name: The Silverite Order to commemorate our greatest victory. Afterward we were hosted on the holy mountain for ten years. There was much feasting and merrymaking in those days. Many contracts expired in that time, and combined with our casualties our company saw its numbers decline. Only one in ten remained when we finally set out for the Plane of Fire to partake in the siege of Eris.
I would be remiss if I did not mention our defeats as well as our victories. For only the propagandist avoids the unpleasant things. Acknowledging defeat makes us better able to improve and overcome. When we fall it is only an invitation to get back up, my mother always said. Our company lost at Eris, for instance. The Sultan’s forces sortied. Our captain was overconfident. His lucky armour did not save him: he was cooked alive within it. Our rules of conduct specifies that we only retreat once 80% casualties have been inflicted upon us. On that day we suffered closer to 90%. Humiliated we withdrew to our headquarters on a demi plane we were awarded early in our history. Here we rebuilt the company. Our company suffered another setback in the Plane of Earth. The foes there did not engage in honourable combat on the field of battle. Instead they struck from caves, from beneath the earth and rained earthquakes on our columns. Constant attacks and attrition exhausted our men. Two captains committed suicide in succession. They could not stand the humiliation of an unfulfilled contract. Only by dishonourable deception on the part of our allies did the campaign draw to a close. As punishment for our dishonour by association our Captain marched the army across the Cinder Wastes and threw our gold payment into the Sea of Fire. He was found beaten to death with the payment ledger in his tent the next day. The company doctor determined it to be another suicide.
In the years since we have strived to rebuild our reputation. We know glory is often short lived. Yet precisely because it is hard to achieve, and harder to maintain, it is worth fighting for! Times change, wars come and go, but the Silverite Order remains. As long as we persist, we shall chase honour on the field of battle. Only in war is the true mettle of mortals revealed. Let it reveal that we are soldiers worthy of song!

Type

Military, Mercenary Group

Training Level

Professional

Veterancy Level

Decorated/Honored