Nefadric Marksmanship Lanyards
The Marksmanship Lanyard of the Nefadric Empire is a military decoration awarded to Imperial Nefadric Army for marksmanship.
Apperance
The decoration consists of a braided rope that is depending on the bestowed grade, made from dyed wool, fine silk, gold stringed silk or velvet with a woven rosette. The dye used also varries depending on the grade. While the woolen grades are dyed entirely black the silk variant uses an alternating pattern of red and black, the gold stringed silk is solely red and velvet royal purple.
To denote sub-grades, one to three ornamental tassels of the approriate material are awarded. They are displayed by hanging suspended from the lanyard. An exception to this is the velvet grade, which is always three tassels are displayed. This is because the velvet grade indicates mastery and no further subdivision is required.
Honnor Devices
Additional devices are awarded for special merits that are displayed no matter attained grade and often according to independant heraldry instead of the Nefadric Army Code.
Commission's Mark
The Commission's Mark of the Royal Nefadric Ordenance Board is an award that is granted by the commission that bestows the woolen grades of the marksmanship lanyards for exceptional scores durring a series of military profession specific tests, that usualy include some form target shooting and fire drills. The decoration is an ornamental silver bullet that is displayed in the same way as the ornamental tassels. One should however note that it is of higher precedence and thus must displayed as the nearest to the rosette.
The Skull of Null
The Skull of Null, is a honor awarded for exceptional display of combat ability with ones service missle weapon in any engagement with the foes of the Nefadric Empire. It comes in three grades: Standard, Major, Exhalted.
In it's standard varriant the Skull of Null is a iron device in the shape of a humanoid skull that is woven into the lanyard between the braid and the rosette. A major award of the Skull of Null is, the vastly higher requirements aside, nearly identical to the previous grade with the difference that the device is made off gold. The exceedingly rare award of the Exhalted Skull of Null, is a golden skull, covered with runes, a translucent crystal set within each eye cavity and with golden wings pinned onto the sides.
Imperial Shield of Marksmanship
When mastery is achived and the legendary velvet lanyard awarded, it comes with a gold shield that is attached on top of the rosette. The so called Imperial Shield of Marksmanship features the heradry of the Imperial Nefadric Army engraved on it's golden surface. In addition golden cuffs are woven into the lanyard.
Manufacturing process
The Nefadric Marksmanship Lanyard is braided from a moderatly thick rope of the material of the corresponding decoration grade. At the beginning a loop is formed, in case of a velvet grade lanyard a golden cuff would be added now, then the rope is braided. The starting knot is a figure-eight knot which is continued over the length of the rope. To do this the rope is laid in a 'S' form and woven like a three-strand braid. At the end the tip of the rope is woven through the emerging loop and pulled tight. On a velvet grade lanyard one golden cuff each is woven before and after any other honnor devices, further dividing the braid from the following rosette. In the rare case a recipiant of the velvet grade is not also a recipiant of any honnary device that would be woven between the braid and the rosette only one gold cuff would be used as a dividor. After the woven rosette the lastgold cuff of a velvet grade lanyard would be added before ending in a loop again.
Significance
The Marksmanship Lanyard is the pride of any Nefadric Marksmen within the Imperial Army.
Grades
The woolen grades are not a decoration for outstanding marksmanship but an indicator for completed extended formal training, thus are common place among the forces of the Nefadric Empire. Amongst the superbly trained professional Imperial Crown Forces, the completion of the initial grades is a requirement for service, however more revered and prestigious regiments have even higher requirements.
The silken grades are much more rare as the pervious grade since they are no longer awarded by a comission after an exam, but earned via good placement in an approved tournament. No longer are are these limited to being indicator of training but an actuall award for excellence. A silken grade is seen as a major milestone and means one has proven themselfs. Recipients of this grade are not only truely excellent marksmen but are elgible for veteran and elite units.
The goldstringed silken grades are only awarded in a dedicated anual tournament and can no longer be earned in any approved tournament like the standard silken grade. Achiving this grade is a breakthrough and shows that the recipiant is among the top of the line.
While for most the efforts to climb only grow after earning the goldstringed silk, almost all have reached the end of the line at this point. Earning the legendary velvet grade is a grand honnor that only bestowed to very few and implies that mastery has been achived. The owners of this decoration are a small elitist community of unfathomably skilled marksmen, that are true visionaries of thier craft.
Honnor Devices
Commission's Mark
The Commission's Mark is an honorary award for scoring the maximum points durring a commissioned examination drill. Only a minority achive this score and thus is a much admired deed.
The Commission's Mark also qualifies a marksman to become certifed for gun powder weapons. Hence the majority of recipiants carry some form of gun powder weapon.
History
The Nefadric Marksmanship Lanyard has thier origin in the aftermath of the sige and following occupation of Brodon where Nefadric troops were ordered to hang anyone on the spot if they were found in possession of a weapon. To fullfill this order Nefadric troops started to carry ropes with them as a preknoted nose over thier shoulder.
The idea of a decoration for superior marksmanship came from Duke Krofeal Ingotmantle of Clan Emberborn, when he wittnesed a Nefadric crossbowmen with such a noose slung over his shoulder land a difficult shot on a pesant that ran with a sword he scavanged from the remains of a recent clash.
Item type
Clothing / Accessory
Owning Organization
Rarity
While the initial grades are very common, even ubiquitous among Imperial Crown Forces, however, the higher grades are a honnor that is a very sought after.
Grades of Achivement
- wool rope without ornaments
- wool rope with one ornament
- wool rope with two ornaments
- wool rope with three ornaments
- silk rope without ornaments
- silk rope with one ornament
- silk rope with two ornaments
- silk rope with three ornaments
- goldstringed silk rope without ornaments
- goldstringed silk rope with one ornament
- goldstringed silk rope with two ornaments
- goldstringed silk rope with three ornaments
- velvet rope, on the rosette a golden shield
Comments