Company of the Grey
A veteran mercenary company that has fought in countless battles, they are well known for putting themselves in some of the most bloody and brutal engagements never shying away from a fight and attacking head on with the foe. The company specialises in medium and heavy infantry supported by battlemages and bards whose sonorous horns, drums and singing signal the companies advance, striking fear and dread into those opposing them on the battlefield.
Structure
The company has a straight forward leadership under their captain Théodore with a lieutenant Alda and quartermaster Dùghall to assist in organising the company. The most experienced veteran mercenaries are selected as sergeants to command smaller troops within the company, any hopefully souls wishing to join must first be selected and approved by these sergeants and sent to the lieutenant and quartermaster for further approval before the captain agrees to accept them. The company prides itself on being one of the best in all the land, they won't let just anyone join so most new recruits must have already proven themselves as veterans of multiple battles before they are even worth considering.
Captain Théodore Voisin
Most would be stunned to see a hellion at the head of a famous mercenary company. Yet any who knew Théodore would understand that he is the only man capable of leading this reckless band. The man has fought in over a dozen battles, some of the most notible being the Battle of Lichten Pass, the Siege of Lardel Castle and the Battle of Herminder Mire. Before he founded the Grey he fought for Polliers as a billman, the scar over his right eye was from a wood elf sword and his missing left horn came from an orcish axe. He holds no opinions when it comes to race, creed or religion in his company. So long as they can wield a sword, spear, axe, warhammer, halberd or can cast devastating magic spells and competant at it he'll accept them. He named the company the Grey after both his grey skin colour and the ash piles that formed after every village and hamlet is burned from war. A reminder to the company who is in charge and that war is not a game.
Lieutenant Alda Blattners
A forest gnome warlock who's fiendish magics may be feared by many but within the Grey she is valued and respected amongst her comrades, not only is she skilled in her use of magic but her knowledge and experience on the battlefield has given her a knack for leading and strategy. Théodore had fought alongside her several times before he founded the company, she was the first he approached with an offer to join his new mercenary company which she agreed to on the condition that he would keep her safe from the Orthodoxy and their Heralds. Her prescence in the Grey has encouraged a respectable number of other mages to sign on, trusting in the company to keep them safe and allow them freedom to continue using their magics.
Quartermaster Dùghall MacAsgain
An old dwarven man with a mind for numbers and the gift of a salesman, he is trusted to keep the company supplied with food, weapons, armour, beer and camp supplies. He is well loved amongst the company for his dry humour and williness to buy a few luxury goods for the men particularly after a gruelling battle, offsetting Théodores morose and unwelcoming demeanour. Dùghall is more than just a quartermaster, he is also a veteran of many campaigns and relied upon to drill and train the company keeping them in fighting condition and vetting the new recruits, though he is old and beyond his prime he will still pick up his axe and warhorn and dive into the fighting alongside the others blasting out bardic magics.
Assets
The company is smaller than many other mercenary companies but make up for it in their prowess and ferocity, numbering at around 940 men mostly made up of infantry with supporting mages and bards. The infantry are divide into medium armour troops in breastplates, helmets and padded gambesons armed with swords, spears and halberds, and heavier troops in splint and plate wielding warhammers, poleaxes and morningstars. Roughly the company has 500 medium infantry, 340 heavy with the remaining 100 made up of mages and bards.
Hiring the Company of the Grey is not cheap due to their elite nature but this does not disuade nobles from parting with their hard taxed coin, the company is quite well off for gold and silver. Even in these times where the successor states are not at each others throats work is still plentiful, the Grey have found themselves fighting off marauding orcs and jotnar from the north or fighting off bandits and brigands, to even hunting down monsters and slaying Harrowed beasts.
History
Formed during the collapse of the Kingdom of Polliers and the Harrowing by Théodore Voisin. A former soldier of the kingdom he experienced all manner of horrors of war. His hellion heritage left him ostracised by many only his skill in battle, leadership and tactics earned him the respect of others. With the Kingdom falling he had little options available, either to side with one of the successor states or strike out on his own. Banding together with Alda and Dùghall two former comrades and war veterans the three decided to form a their own mercenary company. The three had served alongside many other soldiers who now found themselves torn, their King was dead and the bannerlords were now at war with each other claiming to be the next successors to the crown. Many of these veterans knew Théodore, Alda and Dùghall for adept soldiers and good leaders, a strong number of these former soldiers of the crown joined the trio swelling the mercenary companies numbers to a point where they could be deemed worth hiring.
With the company up and running with a good number of experienced soldiers the Company of the Grey set out to sell their swords, spears and spells to whomever would pay the most gold. The ambitious former bannerlords of the kingdom were eager to hire on any and all mercenaries they could to give their armies and and edge over each other, hearing about a company formed of Polliers veteran soldiers and mages the Company of the Grey were highly sought after very quickly. As the company fought in more and more battles for the successor lords their gold coffers swelled, their equipment improved and their numbers increased further as more veterans seeked to join a company that not only paid well but also cared for those in their employ. The Grey became pivotal in several engagements and skirmishes during the Wars of Succession making quite the name for themselves as one of the more capable free companies.
Once the Wars of Succession ended and a relative peace has swept over the former crown lands of Polliers, the successor states borders established and the focus swapped to rebuilding and reinforcing control over their realms. The Grey found themselves not without work, the noble lords still valued the work of the free companies rather than risk the lives of their own men. Defending villages from marauding orcs, jotnar, bandits and deserters has become the Greys main source of employ, though this may not be the most well paid or satisfying of work Théodore is well aware that peace never lasts forever and that soon enough the Grey will be marching to war once again.
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