Sky Wolf

Who says that a wolf cannot strike from the skies? - Jesedo Terma, Captain of the DS Hetoro

Composition

Manpower

The amount of Sky Wolves depends on the Dragon Ship they are stationed on which numbers from a hundred to seven hundred.

Equipment

Zip lines Grabbers: A simple latching system used to descend from a zip line
Grappling Hooks: Often used in boarding or standard climbing, in some cases, it can be used as a makeshift weapon.
Wind Lenses: Special lens worn to protect the eyes from wind and allows the wearer to see properly.
Air Suits: Allows the wearer to feel comfortable while being protected from the cold temperatures in the sky. Along with aid them with their descent from the air to the ground
Chutes: In case the user has to evacuate a Dragon Ship or fall off it a chute in the back can be released to help the descend to the ground safely.
Survival Pouch: Contain standard survival gear to use when in the wilderness.
Emergency Fireworks: used as a signal for an emergency by launching colored-coded fireworks.
Powder Markers: explosive colored powered used in aerial bombardment to target certain areas and to avoid which areas not to hit.
Breaching Tools: A series of tools used in forcing entry into places such as buildings and vehicles. Often involving cutting, breaking, and in some cases a small explosion.
Smoke Bombs: Used to create a diversion to cause an escape or enter an area easier. Through being caught in the smoke tends to cause the user to lose their sense of direction.

Weaponry

Weaponry of the Sky Wolf is small to deal with close-quarter combat in tight spaces and be allowed to get past an enemy's guard with ease.
Kukri Knife: A curved knife the often used for both survival and combat, rather than stabbing like most knives it uses a chipping motion.
Kama: Originally a farming tool, this small scythe is used as a slashing weapon and use block, trap and disarm an opponent.
Kunai: A common throwing weapon used by Shinobi, due to its easy use it is often used in tight spaces as enemies are no place to dodge them.
Hatchet: Their size and speed make it an easy weapon to use in battle.
Inferno Vial: A vial with a flammable material is used in destroying things like the fire rapidly spreads and hard to put out.
Hand Crossbow: A smaller version of the crossbow that easy to carry on your person without the worries of being bulky.

Vehicles

The standard used vehicles to travel for a Sky Wolf is a Dragon Ship and Fire Ballon for travel as they were created to use such ships.

Structure

Sky Wolves sizes vary with the operations they carry out, their average size can range from six to seven hundred. Often being placed in groups of six for better tactical use and mission success. Sky Wolves are often under the command of a captain of a Dragon Ship who has received order from his superiors. But once they leave their ship command fall with them and their officers.
Aerial Officer: The rank given to Sky Wolf to lead men on assignments. Their authority is absolute during an operation.

Tactics

Covert Operations

Sabotage: Often done to destroy enemy resources, infrastructure, or military. In doing this it will cripple the enemy and create an advantage for allied forces to exploit.
Assassination: Killing enemy leaders is a sure way to cause chaos and confusion amongst the leadership. Missions like this often are done in the dead of night and where a target is vulnerable to achieve success.
Retrieval: Sometimes things of interest have to be brought back to be exploited, these can be an item, person, or document. These are considered high priority missions that have to be successful.

Invasion Operations

Destruction: To better the success of an invasion, siege weapons, warning systems, and garrisons are targeted to ease resistance for the ground forces.
Capture: Often involving the control over certain buildings, persons, or even fortifications to make the capture of a settlement or a region easier.
Breach: A simpler task often involving the opening of a defense's gate or clearing out a building to secure it.

Aerial Combat

Pouncing Tiger: Dragon Ship are highly valued and should be captured instead of destroyed. By boarding the ship and killing or forcing the crew to surrender can lead to having a new ship in your fleet. Often done by using grappling hooks or hunting onto the ship itself.
Falling Comet: Using Inferno Vials while descending causes fires in multiples places on a Dragon Ship to cause chaos and confusion. Some bombings often target a certain area to cause severe damage to incapacitate a ship or forcing it to land.
Black Fog: Due to the tight spaces on a Dragon Ship, smoke bombs are often used to disorient the enemy and allow Sky Wolves to gain the surprise on the enemy and advance inward at the same time.
Wounded Beast Striking: If a Dragon Ship being boarded is unable to be captured, it is up to the remaining Sky Wolves to take it down with them often forcing it to crash, damaging the engine and or ramming it into another Dragon Ship
Sneaking Serpent : Rather than entering the ship from above, they instead go in from below using a breaching kit to take control of the lower parts of the ship, often being the engine room and the propellers.
Cornering the Deer: Involving two Dragons Ships to trap one in between them and sending in Sky Wolves on both sides. Causing the crew of the ship to unable to defend both sides as become overwhelmed.

Training

Phase One

Before anything else is done for them, recruits must first go through environmental survival training to prepare them for the climate conditions that they will experience on Dragon Ship in higher altitudes. The best place to experience this is on a mountain as they reach high up to match those of flight. Doing this will test their endurance and their ability to adapt to the cold temperatures and strong winds that will come with them. They are often meant to be up there for hours due to the fact many flights they will be taking many hours or days before they reach their destination. Those who are unable to pass often freeze to death or descend from the mountain in defeat.

Phase Two

With their bodies strengthen, their next challenge is to be able to leave a ship to prepare for their descent into combat. Often going through the three types of combat entry, grappling, zip line, and cutting. Grapple is often just boarding another Dragon Ship in air combat, but to avoid injury or possible death it is often done at sea on another ship. The ever-moving water and the moving ship will test their ability to land their throws perfectly to cross to the other ship. Ziplining often descending from the ship into battle, often in an urban environment or wilderness using a grabber to safely reach the ground. Open using high buildings and mountains to mimic the conditions they would be going through, along with being fired at as it will most likely happen. Lastly is the most dangerous form of descent, the chute drop. Conditions must be right for the use of this or it could lead to the death of the Sky Wolf using it. This often has to do with the chute is damaged or twisting in use and will lead to certain death. But in conditions are right they will gently descend to the ground. Training is done on the ground first with all safety procedures taught and is then done from a Fire Ballon where trainees jump off and use their chutes. A net is often left down below if anything goes wrong with the jump.

Phase Three

The final phase of the train involves weapons, tactics, and further survival training. They are trained in the weapons commonly used by the Sky Wolves. Along with both tactics in assault and infiltration to aid them. Training is often harsh and brutal as there is no comfort in being a Sky Wolf and your enemies will show no mercy to you, so you might as well treat them the same way. The fighting style of Wolf is often taught to them which game them their original name of the Sky Wolves due to the balance of strength and speed used aggressively. As for survival training, it is often for them to survive in the wilderness and live off the land if they were being used to infiltrate enemy lines and wreak havoc behind them or become stranded and wait for rescue. Once finished they then sent off on assignments after a graduation ceremony and become official Sky Wolves.

Logistics

Logistical Support

Sky Wolves only carry their standard equipment, making them fast and mobile to ensure their movement when in their assignments.

Auxilia

Sky Wolves act as the vanguard to an invasion force and will be assisted by infantry forces and aerial bombardment from Dragon Ships near them.

Upkeep

600 Gie

Recruitment

Sky Wolves are often recruited from settlements that live on mountains or high altitudes as their bodies are used to dealing with the weather conditions making them the best candidates. Though most of the recruits come from ground level and more training is needed for them to properly be able to conduct operations. It matters little where these recruits come from or their gender as every able body is needed.

History

Wolves Take Flight

The Dragon Ship had changed warfare for the Davad Archipelago, but with this advancement new way had to be created in warfare to take advantage of it unique position. One was to create a new breed of soldiers that could fight in the skies and be used in aerial invasions as most troops were not trained to fight in such conditions. It was at that moment the Juzakabe Shogunate created warriors capable of fighting with speed and efficiency to ensure victory, the Sky Wolf. They would be trained to withstand the conditions they were thrown into and fight with as if they were wolves themselves overwhelming their foes in battle. From the skies, they would descend to the ground to carry out their missions covertly and openly to achieve their goals. Striking fear and confusion into their enemies as they did this to better their chances at victory. Through these skilled fighters, the shogunate keeps an iron grip on the lands of their empire until it finally fell. But the Sky Wolves remained as they were still needed for their skill and experience and would be used for many centuries to come.

First Ones In

Sky Wolves are often the first sent into enemy territory to ahead of anyone else are fully use their training. Since their creation, many cities have been conquered and many armies in disarray because of them. Either using stealth or coming in hard and fast to allow the rest of their allied forces to come in and take the objective. Though being a Sky Wolf is not for the faint of heart, often dealing with these assignments are the dangers of being captured or killed by the enemy with no help. There is no escape or retreat, the only thing that matters is the mission at hand and it is to be completed no matter the cost. Making causality rates higher than most other troops in the archipelago due to this mentality with some of them coming back or none of them at all.

Historical loyalties

Due to the over all use of Sky Wolves in warfare it all depends on who leads them and where they were born.

Type

Airborne

Founding

1039 CA

Overall training Level

Professional

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

Used by

• Shungetsu Empire

Fear From Above

Sky Wolves are feared across the land for their skill and precision in carrying out their missions. It is often a common thing to see with defender looking up to the sky rather than the ground in case the seen an Dragon Ship with Sky Wolves coming down from it. Due to the numbers that are with them, it is hard to deal with them, and when they reach the group their speed and aggression make it difficult to deal with just one of them. Not mention the chaos they cause while they are running around as they try to complete their task.

Being a Shadow

Sky Wolves are said to have similar train methods to that of a Shinobi, as they use stealth excessively while behind enemy lines to ensure they remain undiscovered for as long as possible. All the while getting rid of any threats that they get in their way and hiding the evidence as if they were not there. Only to strike fast and hard when the target is found and disappearing without a trance once they are done to await extraction.

Enduring Survivalists

Sky Wolves once they descend to the ground often have to stay on it for a while to do their missions. They rarely carry anything except their equipment to move light and fast. Making them live off the land and doing anything to survive, even resorting to stealing as a last resort. It is often the case that groups will often separate into small or just one man groups to reserve resources. This could last for days on end as they try and deal with the climate and weather while trying to reach their objective. It is a common practice to kill an enemy that they come across and steal their supplies or clothing to make their time easier and faster to complete their mission.

No Mercy

Be a Sky Wolf is not for the faint of heart as they are sent into dangerous situations constantly and the odds are often against them. Which has created the mentality of giving no quarter to the enemy and make their lives a living hell if they should cross them. Creating the phrase " we are wolves" amongst them often using it while heading in battle. This has also created some infamy with them as well as they often have no boundaries with military and civilian infrastructure, leading to the destruction of both in some of their mission as they storm building and settlements to gain control of them, not caring about the inhabitants inside of them and will not hesitate to kill them if they get in the way.