Iron Helms
This army page represents only bare bones information, and will be expanded with more details in the future.
Overview
The first army to bear this name fell victim to the budget reforms of Empress Mariika. In 379YE, the Senator for Karov, Maximov Goraniv Strascovich, received authority from the Senate to raise the army. It was completed shortly before the Winter solstice 380YE. The core of the army is made up of former followers of a sovereign known as the Charnel Lord. The Iron Helms are renowned for their cruelty, employing merciless strategy against those they face in war.
The third Varushkan general leads the Army of the Iron Helms army, and is appointed (or re-appointed) at the Spring equinox each year.
History
TBC
TBC
Recent History
One of their first engagements after being reformed was to arrest Dogri Thulebane in Skarsind. They laid siege (briefly) to Crow's Keep in Crow'sRidge and after giving multiple opportunities for the renegade Thane to surrender, efficiently attacked and conquered the hall returning Crow's Ridge to control of the Imperial Orcs.
Traditions
TBC
Composition
The vast majority of the soldiers of the Iron Helms are Varushkan citizens, many drawn from the eastern territory of Karsk, especially vales in Moresvah and Branoc. Most favour tightly woven scale, the finest the artisans of Karsk can forge. Others prefer the freedom of movement offered by dark leather lamellar. Some adorn their peaked helms with black plumes. Along with the soldiers, the army is famous for it's dog handlers, who fight alongside well-trained Varushkan mastiffs. One word will send them racing into the enemy to harry, to trip, to savage. Another word will cause them to fall on downed warriors, tearing at throats and bellies until the enemy is so much bleeding meat. The houndmasters fight alongside their hounds and with their pugnacious jaws, wild hair, growling voices, the seem to prove the old cliche that people begin to look like their dogs. There are unsubstantiated stories that on nights when the moon is dark they hunt alongside them through the forests of Lestasny, wrapped in the skin of wolves. This is most likely untrue, but adds to the mystique and the fear that the Iron Helms bring with them.
The hounds are not the only beasts that march with the Iron Helms. The army is regularly accompanied by a small number of eerie warriors hailing from the hills of Branoc. They wear fur and boiled leather, and they are adorned with black feathers. Their faces are painted white, in disturbing patterns. They look a little more like Kallavesi, or Navarr, than true Varushkans. Many of their fellow soldiers give them a wide berth, and when they camp their yurts are imvariably sited a short distance from the others. There are said to be a number of cabalists among them, privy to the unsettling secret lore of the Lord of the Broken Barrow.
When the Iron Helms march, above their column drift night-feathered carrion birds. In the evening and the morning, they crowd in the trees, croaking and muttering to one another. Some of the soldiers are said to speak with the birds as night falls. What they discuss, and who these soldiers are, is not a topic for open discussion.
Army Quality : Cruel
The core of the army is made up of former followers of a sovereign known as the Charnel Lord. The Iron Helms are renowned for their cruelty, employing merciless strategy against those they face in war.
| Summit | Elected |
|---|---|
| Spring Equinox 386YE | Alderei the Fair |
| Spring Equinox 385YE | Alderei the Fair |
| Spring Equinox 384YE | Alderei the Fair |
| Winter Solstice 383YE | Pavel Denisovich Patriciu |
| Spring Equinox 383YE | Magnus Anatolyvich Prochnost |
| Spring Equinox 382YE | Magnus Anatolyvich Prochnost |
| Summer Solstice 381YE | Magnus Anatolyvich Prochnost |
| Spring Equinox 381YE | Akstis Eigulys |
| Winter Solstice 380YE | Akstis Eigulys |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Alderei the Fair; it will be reelected at Spring Equinox 387YE. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold the title of General of the Iron Helms in the years since Empress Britta died.
Further Reading
- Crow on the cradle - 379YE Wind of Fortune proposing the refounding of the Iron Helms