The Broken Swords is an elite military unit, arguably the most feared mercenary unit across all of Teluria, that sprang from the remnants of the breaking of the great Samada horkos and the rise of the Serinnian Empire hundreds of years ago. Brutal, efficient and, for all intents and purposes, incorruptible, the Broken Swords sell to the highest bidder and command a lofty and steep price.
Their history is long and storied. They have been nearly wiped out on at least a dozen occasions. But they have vanquished or survived every single conflict or contract they have taken and much to the disdain of practically every 'officially' recognized city or state on Teluria, they have never been 'broken' and they always rise again.
The single allegiance they appear to hold is with the free city of Wayanmar. And the allegiance is unanimously returned. It is perhaps the single greatest reason why Talinor has never brought the city into its fold and in turn why the Serinnian Empire has never been able to devour Talinor and Wayanmar with it.
They are led by an enigmatic soldier known only as The Captain who rises through the ranks and is selected by the armies six Hesir Commanders. Most soldiers of the Swords carry nicknames, rather than a ranking, with a sick or twisted sense of humor. But as with any good military unit, it is these basic foot soldiers, though basic is a bit of a misnomer, who comprise the meat and heart of the army’s effectiveness. Each soldier is singularly honed to be a weapon of destruction; be it, sharpshooter, shield-front line soldier, demolitionists expert, supporting warmage or an array of other titles.
Beliefs
War is my livelihood.
My unit is my family.
My home is the campaign.
The Oath
By my Oath, to the Sword Halls,
To the All-Father and to the Patron Saint of Soldiers,
By the blood that stirs within, I break my blade.
My past dies behind me, my future, the Broken Swords.
Current Members Of Note
Grim’shak, Carry, Valinor, Whisper, Bertram, Vicar, Clever, Terp, Marko, Beauty, Kaylee, Killraven, The Whale, Talon, Stand, Kehkma
Former Members Of Note
Samazar, Top, Flewellyn, Reaper, DJ, Slab, Switch, Wymrick, Deegan, Judge, Buttercup, Blackie, Wicked, Grin, Hammer, Shade, Pudge, Hobnail, Killjoy, Carry, Potboil, Two-Fingers, Arborious, Cerak, Punch, Stick, Fritter, Mourn, Quefinder, Maul
Goals
To give anyone - the disillusioned, the criminals, the saints, the romantics, the downtrodden - a chance to start new, achieve greatness and die with honor.
“You have one job, and one job only, for which you will be paid from the spoils of our contracts. That job is to protect the soldier to your right and to your left.” - The Captain, Grandelar campaign circa 23 CSE.
Organization of the Swords
Team. Consists of five to eight soldiers, led by an individual appointed by the Regiment commander. Usually designated with the namesake of an animal or creature such as Raven, Cobra, Vulture, etc. Support teams are usually named after flora, all others fauna.
Company. The smallest of the main units (the others being the Regiment and Hesir), it consists of four teams. The leader's title most often the simple nickname of that soldier in the Swords; for example, Top.
Regiment. Consists of four Companies, three of which are of a designated combat speciality (ground/front line, cavalry, etc) and one attached Company that contains the necessary support units for the campaign. Led by a Deputy Commander whose title designation is Deputy Commander, or sometimes just Commander. Regiments are named for the letters of the alphabet. Ard. Baed. Coad. Dran. Dran is almost always support.
Hesir. Consist of four regiments and is led by a Battle Commander, who’s designation and ranking is “Commander.” Each battle will have a very specific ‘specialty’ of all the units beneath it. Commonly, four hesirs are ground, front-line units. One hesir is cavalry and other mounted units. One is support which consists of scouts, warmages, siege machines, healers/field docs, etc, as well as quartermasters and other non-combat units. These support units are directly attached to a combat unit based on the needs of the campaign. For instance, in Broken Swords: The Last in Line, @Hobnail, Kaylee and Judge are all from various support units that have been attached to a particular company for the duration of the campaign. Hesirs are named by number. 1st Hesir, 2nd Hesir, etc. 5th Hesir is always cavalry. 6th is support.
Army. Six hesirs. The full army of the Broken Swords. At full strength consists of close to 3000 soldiers. This number can swell or diminish depending on the circumstances of the current campaign but at the start is usually closer to the upper end and near the end falls well below the norm. The Army is led by an individual who no longer holds any other name but “The Captain.” Their rank, title and honorific within the Swords is “Captain.” This individual is almost always elected by, and almost always chosen from, the six Hesir Battle Commanders.
It should be noted that full strength is rarely ever achieved. Attrition is high, war is constant. In the last 200 years the largest mustered force of about 80% capacity (roughly 2400 soldiers) achieved by the Swords was during the Dead Plague Uprising campaign.
At the start of the devastating Ardenian Campaign, the Broken Swords had started with almost 2100 soldiers. By the end, they had nearly 80% attrition - approximately 420 soldiers remained. The losses were so great that two of the acting hesirs (Top being one of these) had risen to this rank from Regiment Vice Commander in the last two months of the war.
A unit is designated by Company/Regiment/Hesir. 3rd of A2 for Third Company, Ard Regiment, Second Hesir.