Omenguard
Composition
Manpower
Omenguard is comprised of 1200 soldiers, primarily Stone Dwarves.
Equipment
Omenguard is well equipped with heavy armor and siege defenses.
Weaponry
Omenguard is famous for using warpicks, as is common among the Stoneborn, but also for using heavy siege defense weaponry and large war cleavers.
Training
Omenguard is an old organization with a long military tradition. The dwarves of Omenguard are very well trained and the veterans of many conflicts. Many of the Dwarves of Omenguard have been with the unit for centuries and have never stopped training and passing their expertise onto others. It is said that Ver Omenguard once received divine guidance in combat, but modern rumors attribute Omenguard's expertise to less-than-holy extra-planar sources...
Logistics
Auxilia
Rumors have arisen in recent years that Omenguard is assisted by hordes of Demons in combat, but others claim that it is simply the violence and ferocity with which Omenguard warriors fight that convinces their enemies that there are Demons in their ranks.
Omenguard is supported in combat by local levees and Omen Auxiliary units.
Recruitment
Omenguard recruits locally and, when a new recruit is brought in, they are made to serve outside of the keep in one of the Omen Auxiliary units for three decades before they have the chance to prove themselves and truly enter the ranks of Omenguard. Omenguard is a lifelong commitment and desertion is punished with death. Allegedly, no one who has joined Omenguard fully has ever left alive.
History
Omenguard was formed under the name Silver Omenguard in honor of it's first captain, Aldrek Silverspine. The unit was formed as a forward position to warn The City of Stone of oncoming hordes of savages and to delay them. The unit served in its role dutifully for thousands of years under the guidance of Baltus, The New God of Creation, beating back Stagcorans, the Tukrok Khanate and any other group that would challenge their position. Omenguard units famously bore standards emblazoned with symbols of Baltus and were said to wield the God's will and fury in battle.
During The Collapse Period Silver Omenguard held its position and defected from the Ackramorian Empire to the newly seceded Kingdom of Titanshatter, it's historical allegiance. Following the rebellion's defeat after the Battle of Ackra, the the military forces of the Ackramorian Empire were rallied and chased the rebels, who were in full retreat. The empire was collecting new recruits, freeing prisoners of war, and accruing defectors. In a matter of weeks the conflict had completely turned around for the empire and it looked like nothing could stop Empress Evanlyn Vita's righteous march to reclaim imperial territory.
Ver Omenguard was called on once again to hold strong, to cover the retreat of the rebel forces, and to delay the imperial forces which would need to capture the ancient fortress in order to secure their rear before moving on to the ultimate prize, The City of Stone.
Just as in the days of yore, Silver Omenguard prepared themselves to do their duty, though their forces and resources were diminished after all of the fighting and frantic retreating. Their orders were clear, and stakes, painfully apparent, the rebellion had failed in spectacular fashion and now it fell to a skeleton crew of dwarves and their old fortress to prevent the empire from making their defeat absolute. It is said that King Olric Stoneborn's final orders for the inhabitants of the fortress were delivered in a bloodied letter that read, "By Baltus's hammer, hold your position at any cost, lest all of Titanshatter bear the price instead."
Ver Omenguard was old, an outdated design, but sturdy and the Dwarves of Silver Omenguard resolved to hold, there was no question that they were all prepared to face their end at the behest of their king, as their parents, and grandparents, and great grandparents had done before them. At any cost, this was surely the will of Baltus, as their priests had assured them.
When the Ackramorian Legions arrived, they laid siege to the castle, the fighting was brutal, but the fortification held strong if at the cost of many of their number. During the frantic retreat, many soldiers had arrived to reinforce the castle, but few supplies accompanied them, and the Ackramorians seemed to know it. The fighting almost entirely ceased, but the besiegers settled in to starve out the defenders. The leader of Silver Omenguard, Ravart Silverspine, anticipated this and had sent brave parties of Silver Omenguard into the old caves and tunnels in the mountains so that they could find their way through the Underdark to the City of Stone, to fetch supplies and reinforcements.
Ravart Silverspine was faced with a worthy opponent however, and one that was a student of military history and knew the fortress and its defenders well. Led by Grand Praetor-Generalus Gaius Maedia, the Ackramorians began to put pressure on the old fortress by attempting to infiltrate it through the caves and mines in the mountains that connected to Ver Omenguard. Though unsuccessful in taking the stronghold, the attacks had a secondary objective, to cut off Ver Omenguard from resupply and reinforcement.
By attacking the castle from the caves and mines, Gaius forced the Ravart to order that the defenders cave in the mines and caves to prevent infiltration. The caves were the defenders' last hope at resupply and reinforcement.
Silver Omenguard prayed to Baltus for salvation, but Ravart was forced to make a terrible decision. Silver Omenguard would not abandon their post, they would hold to their last breath, by any means necessary. As the days turned into weeks, the fortress' meager supplies dwindled, despite aggressive rationing and the desertion of most of the non-Silver Omenguard inhabitants of the fortress. There had been many casualties over the course of the siege and Ravart decreed that the dead would continue to honor their oaths and commitment to their king's word.
Silver Omenguard would cannibalize their own dead in order to continue the fight. Every day was precious, as it allowed King Olric Stoneborn to rally their forces and prepare defenses. Ravart declared that he and he alone would endure the shame of the act and ritualistically sacrificed himself, that his body may nourish the living for just a little longer.
Silver Omenguard set about it's gruesome task, consuming their own comrades, drying what meat they could and turning the rest into a rancid stew. On that day of great and terrible feasting, the besiegers are said to have smelled the stew and felt a confused hunger. As the days went by Silver Omenguard ate their own commander as well, cracking his bones for the nutritious marrow within. Another two weeks passed and the Ackramorians withdrew, in order to hold defensive positions before the Stoneborn relief force arrived.
Silver Omenguard had held. King Olric was made ill by what he found within.
The holy warriors are now thought to have been abandoned by Baltus after consuming the flesh of their own, and rumors persist that Blair's madness owns them now. Ravart was also the final Silverspine to lead the organization.
Ver Omenguard is now simply inhabited by Omenguard and ghosts of the past. Omenguard still serves the King of Titanshatter as they have for thousands of years.
Rumors abound of the fiendish influence that hounds after Omenguard or, if the rumors are to be believed, that which aids it.
Historical loyalties
Omenguard has always been a part of the greater military of the Kingdom of Titanshatter and maintains their post and loyalty to this day, over two millennia since its founding.
Founding
2123 BBA
Overall training Level
Elite
Assumed Veterancy
Veteran
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