Casteviedan Siegesmith

 

“I’m not here to pretend to play by your foreign concept of honour. You burned our homes, murdered my kinsmen and have the audacity to demand my conscience to bow? You may as well already cut off my head, but mark my words. Where I fall ten others boiling with the same fury shall take my place.”   -Siegesmith facing the executioner’s axe.

  A Casteviedan Siegesmith does not humour traditional values of honour. The sights of comrades skewered on spears and disemboweled by axes, brought their disillusionment. To march into death's hands is not bravery but the epicenter of foolishness. To callously sacrifice their own kin like pawns in a great game of chess is not honour, but cowardice.   They do not answer threats with visceral cries, but with a deafening silence that beckons an unyielding tide. Though they remain unseen in their outposts carved into the wilds, they need only give a single command to unleash annihilation. Obliterating formations to leave nothing but a mark of ash that never made it to the frontlines.   It is the minds of mathematicians and physicians. Firing blindly from the depths of the woods and yet they strike with surgical precision. By their usage of maps and radioed coordinations alone, the call of an Ordinant is all a Siegesmith needs to orchestrate anyone from civilian to veteran - to enact the command like a prophecy of doom.   With cold and calculating pride, they blast carpets of cleansing barrages into the skies. Effortlessly melting away even the most gruesome of monstrous combatants. Leaving warmachines as smoking piles of scrap and the enemy infantry as aught but torn rags.   And if their cunning means that they shall never see the white of their enemies eyes, then they are doing something right.     The Casteviedan Siegesmiths are taken from a pool of the most precise and mathematically savvy of Quarterhands or sometimes Venatores. These individuals require an extensive knowledge and academic skill in Cartography, Geodesy, Heavy Ballistics, Military Topography and Ordinance Engineering to qualify for promotion.   Those chosen to become Siegesmiths are naturally sent to a military university. Spending two years either in Palmbay or another major city of the Golden Empire - to take the necessary courses that allow them to command precise artillery salvos. They need to calculate the correct angles and how the ballistics are manipulated by the wind, temperatures and terrain - as to avoid friendly fire or civilian casualties on either side of the conflict. Seeking cold, calculative and effective soldiers that follow orders. Not monsters that rejoice in murder.   Hence, a Siegesmith also requires to undergo a psychological test to ensure they are mentally fit to wield the destructive power of artillery.     A tiny but incredibly precise field cannon that has remained in service for two centuries, with only minor upgrades to its firepower. These wheeled cannons are easily moved and can thus be placed at advantage points above the legionaries on the ground. Painted camouflage helps with cloaking them in the woods, simplifying the process of setting up their numbers in the dozen to twentyfive on a chosen battlefield. By unleashing them simultaneously, a penetrative hail of cannon balls will carve through the lines of enemy infantry, which makes them a vital weapon for taking out shock cavalry and armoured troops. This cannon is especially versatile as the miniscule size allows a single trained man to load, aim and fire the cannon once every minute.   A large and stationary mortar loaded with canisters of blessed grenades. These artillery pieces fire at a high angle and with a tremendous force that sends them reeling backwards, often causing damage to the wheels or outright ripping them off - unless placed on supportive platforms. Despite the drawbacks of constant maintenance and repairs, the Bleak Sunrise Mortar is a reliable weapon of the Casteviedo III Revenant Legion.   When fired, the grenades blanket a wide area that bursts into holy flames on impact. Unlike the Little Lads that can be rapidly reloaded, these mortars require at least eight men to load, aim and fire - but leaves absolute destruction in their wake. That the artillery piece can accurately unleash divine rain from three miles away makes up for the costs and maintenance of using them.   The range has also made it possible for most Casteviedan outposts and settlements to have between two to eight Sunrise Mortars located within hidden and well defended fortifications.   Mythologized as Ysand’s divine wrath unleashed upon the battlefield skies. These absurdly massive rocket batteries require up to twenty men to maneuver. Without fastened placements on solid stone or preferably a concrete base, they are at risk of ripping themselves off the ground from the recoil. With the usage of cogwheels, chains and rotary plates - they are turned with levers and the battery is loaded by crane. Just to set the payload within the chamber, an elevated battering ram is thrusted into the barrel until it says stop.   When it fires, the rocket takes to the skies like a flaming star of sanctified might. Splintering into a hundred smaller candles that shatter the skies and warp the weather into a hail of molten steel and ash. A single Golden Dawn can evaporate a dozen dragons or hundreds of smaller avian units when shot, and can be aimed for up to ten miles in distance.   Due to the cost of unleashing a Golden Dawn missile, they are solely used in critical moments. They are also only found within larger settlement outposts, and never number more than one.     The Siegesmith wears a light raiment reinforced with plate bracers and shoulderguards on top of an olive brown casteviedan coat. The garment is woven from oilcloth made out of jungle flax, which their padded and undyed trousers are also crafted from. Their jackboots are made of leather and steel to guard the toes, while their neck and backs are covered in a dark green cloak.   Upon their head rests a feathered hat, with the Siegesmith’s iron crest adorning the ribbon - which takes the shape of one half cannon ball and half a radiant sun. The sun part displays four outstretched rays that dance up and down in short curves.   On their belts they carry tools and bags of gunpowder accompanied by an ornate gladius as their sole instrument of self defence. This blade serves less as a weapon and more as honorific that sets them apart from the ordinary backline troops of the Casteviedo III Revenant Legion.