We are the dragons that scream, we are the horns that announce war, we are heralds of your doom!
— Whistle-Wailers chant
The Whistle-Wailers are a specialized military unit from the city-state of
Tshoggan who use large, elaborate war-horns to break their enemies. With the echo of the cave, the blast of a Wailer Horn can disorient an enemy - a battery of them can rattle the bones in their bodies. Stories tell of Wailers even bringing down an avalanche of stone on their enemies or stopping a charge dead in their tracks. But just as many are of the Wailers suffering from their own weapons.
Heralds of Doom
If you can hear us, it is too late.
— Whistle-Wailers motto
Wailer Horns are large, elaborately decorated warhorns with a long shaft ending in a widening maw on the head. The end of the Wailer Horns are usually made to resemble some great and terrible beast, such as a
Ashikumo or figures from
Tshoggan mythology. Due to the muggy, humid environment of
Khasanganay, most are made from bone or chitin, though ceremonial, or ritual Wailer Horns are sometimes made from precious metals.
Some Wailer Horns are so large that they require two users; one to hold and aim the front end, and one to blow the horn. Holding the front is a fate typically reserved for apprentices or conscripts.
by EMAProject European Music Archeology
The sound of a Wailer Horn deafening, loud enough to disorient and even stun beasts and warriors alike. In the tunnels of Araea, a single blasting wail can echo for miles, assaulting its victim again and again. It makes for an effective, if indiscriminate, weapon, more than capable of causing physical harm through ruptured ear-drums and splitting headaches.
When Wailers assemble in great numbers, it is said the noise alone could turn away both gods and demons.
Wailers excel in siege warfare - a stationary target with which they can bombard, day and night, allowing the defenders no peace to sleep or recover.
This devastation is hard to predict and control once loosed, and as a result, the Wailers often operate away from other friendly units. They are commonly placed at the front of a conflict when both sides are maneuvering, and the exact position of the enemy isn't known. Wailers will flood the tunnels where any foe might be expected to be with noise, with the echo obscuring their own position. Foes suffering from a constant barrage of wails are worn down and nerves frayed, creating an opening for other warriors to strike... Or for the Wailers to gather and give them a bone-shattering combined wail.
Structure
We do not need the strongest, the fastest, or the most clever - only the bravest.
— Whistler-Wailers motto
Wailers work in
Atha - Hand of War - formations with half working as trumpeters and the rest to support them. Smaller horns are used to signal other Wailers where they are and what their status is; a low droning tone to keep in contact, a short high-pitched tone to indicate they are under attack, and so on. They are lead by a champion, supported by a second-in-command and a signaller to coordinate the trumpeters. Due to the Wailer's tendency to lose their hearing, they communicate through hand signals and touch.
Such is the force of a thunderous blast of Wailers that foes sometimes find their torches extinguished and Ahi Bugs crushed in their lanterns.
Beyond the Wailer Horns, each warrior brings their own weapons - usually an assortment of clubs, daggers, and short pole-arms. Trumpeteers always travel lighter and generally with nothing more than perhaps a dagger or short club. The glories won by Wailers have earned every Wailer Champions the right to carry one of Tshoggan's famed
Xhar Blades. These swords have a hilt almost as long as the blade, allowing their wielders to alternate between sweeping cuts and quick thrusts, depending on what the space around them permits.
by Earth Temple Exchange
Using sound as a weapon is such a brilliant idea. This article so detailed I almost forgot it wasn't real for a moment. Really good work here.
Same! I completely forgot it wasn't real by the end.
A very delayed thank you :)
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.