Dùblawyaans

The Dùblawyaans^listen (Dofleini for "loyal soldiers") are the elite guards of the Doflein Emperor, composed of a cadre of fanatical slaves led by doflein commanders. The unit has been in existence for nearly a thousand years and boasts that it has never been defeated in combat, though that claim is disputed.

History

The Dùblawyaans were founded in 469 AC, during the Doflein Confederation Proclamation of Shtǒsyaapt. The reigning emperor at the start of the year was assassinated in a coup by his palace guard, provoked by commanders loyal to rivals on the Court of the Prime. His successor, the mastermind behind the coup, showed no loyalty to those guards who supported her. Instead, she had the entirety of the guard executed for treason.
For a time, the emperor kept no guard, knowing how easily anyone could be swayed by promises of riches and rewards. When she narrowly avoided an assassination attempt of her own, she realized that she could not be without any guard. Her solution was to take a group of slaves who had been raised since birth to be fanatically loyal to the Prime and make them her guard. While initially they were unskilled and protected her through sheer mass of bodies, they were trained in combat by those few doflein the emperor knew were unwaveringly loyal. Their training, combined with the zealotry conditioned into them, made them exceptionally deadly. Trained to believe their emperor was the infallible voice of the Prime itself, and without the political ties to other members of the Court of Prime, they were willing to sacrifice their lives without hesitation to protect her.
The slave guard proved greatly successful, not only protecting the emperor from any harm, they also won several battles of the Proclamation. They were rarely brought into the field, but the emperor wanted to display their courage and prowess, so they were kept as rear guards on several engagements. They particularly won acclaim in the Defense of Toongstěts, when the emperor's train was ambushed. The slaves fought fearlessly, fighting off an assault nearly three times their size. While the slaves lost nearly half their number, the emperor was never personally threatened and the ambushers were thoroughly routed.
This stalwart defense earned them the name of Dùblawyaans. Each successive emperor has kept the cadre of indoctrinated slave soldiers, using them both as elites in the conquest of other realms and as their strongest line of defense against any usurpers. The current emperor, Grathus, has been kept alive for over 500 years through their efforts, long past his natural lifespan.

Training

Due to the delicate position they occupy, the slaves who compose the Dùblawyaans are selected from among a select group who have been specially trained for the role since a young age. Priests of the Prime raise them from birth, indoctrinating them with the idea that the Prime is the only god in existence, the emperor is the divine voice of the Prime in the material world, and the doflein are inherently morally superior to all others. As they near adulthood, each slave is evaluated by five randomly selected Priests, none of whom have been responsible for their indoctrination. They are tested on their faith in the Prime, loyalty to the emperor, physical strength, and lack of fear. Those who are consistently graded high by all five priests are selected to be trained as Dùblawyaans. The majority of Dùblawyaans are brachids or littori, as the doflein believe they have perfected the techniques to condition them over the centuries.