The Iron Oath
Bound by Contract, Forged in Honor
Among the many mercenary banners that wander the Sphere, none bear the weight of history or the respect of rivals quite like The Iron Oath. Founded in the chaotic aftermath of the League of Stars' collapse, the Iron Oath has endured not by brute strength alone, but by a rigid code of discipline and loyalty that elevates them above the common sword-for-hire.
The Iron Oath traces its lineage to the League’s disbanded frontier legions—veterans who, faced with the collapse of their sworn order, chose not to turn to banditry or private war, but instead bound themselves together with solemn contracts of mutual defense and service. From those first ragged companies grew a brotherhood of warriors who prized honor above coin and who measured a man’s worth not by his blood, but by the weight of his word. Today, the Iron Oath operates primarily along the volatile borders of the Federated Suns and the Draconis Combine, serving as defenders of key strongholds, guardians of merchant convoys, and impartial enforcers of truce terms when warring lords cannot trust each other. Their most famed posting is at Stonecross, the fortress-city straddling one of the few major passes through the Azure Fold, where the Iron Oath maintains neutrality at swordpoint between two great powers.
The company is organized into Wings—small, semi-independent cohorts each led by a Captain sworn directly to the company's Marshal. Recruitment into the Iron Oath is strict and uncompromising: skill at arms is required, but so too is unwavering adherence to the Oath’s code. No oathbreaker may join; no betrayal is forgiven. Those found guilty of treachery are cast out—or, more often, buried beneath the cold stones of the Fold where their dishonor can trouble no more. Magic is rare among the Iron Oath, but valued where it strengthens discipline: wards of loyalty, oaths enforced by old ritual, and healers who patch wounds quickly enough for warriors to return to the line. Sorcery meant to deceive or corrupt is forbidden absolutely.
The Iron Oath's banner—a silver sword on a field of iron grey—is recognized from the Crescent to the Fold, and its presence on a battlefield carries a single message: the word given shall be the word kept, even unto death.
“The contract is our shield, the oath our blade.” — Marshal Odira Veran, Commander of the Iron Oath
Type
Military, Mercenary Group
Leader
Leader Title
Location
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
