Order of the Great Wyrm
| Motto | "Progress through Violence" |
|---|---|
| Parent Faction | Starlit Court |
| Type | Knightly Order |
| Focus | Technological Acquisition |
| Leader | Syr John O’Dule |
| Homeworld | Sihi |
| Colors | Blue, Green, Silver |
| Capital Ship | SCS Jörmungandr |
In the world of technological acquisition corporate espionage is a scalpel, the Order of the Great Wyrm is a sledge hammer. When clients require the swift and decisive elimination and/or seizure of their opposition’s scientific and industrial assets, this mercenary order is the Court’s best answer. The Intimidating and aggressive knights of the order focus on bringing down lucrative targets and profit on the salvage rights of their quarry.
History/Origin
The Order of the Great Wyrm splintered off of a Founding Order, the Order of the Mystic Dragons, to fulfill a niche in the court’s repertoire The resources of the nomadic mercenaries of the court waxed and waned across their journey through the stars hindering the quest at inopportune moments. The Order is an efficient and specialized force tasked with seizing the means to advance Sihi and the Court on their quest for Grail.
The Order of the Great Wyrms splintered from the Mystic Dragons after a core disagreement about morals and methods. The split was mutual, but left a bad taste in the mouth of all parties.
Founded prior to entering Beaconspace, the Order has existed in the Court for much of its history. A belligerent expression of the people. With the opinion that the path cannot be followed if we allow the court to fall behind in technology or resources despite the disadvantages posed by the nomadic nature of the peoples of Sihi. The Wyrms view the aggression they demonstrate as natural extensions of the purpose they were meant for. They harness this to further their goals.
Martial Focus
The Great Wyrm largely focuses itself on contracts of merit when the opposition is technologically advanced and looks to pose a challenge or offer a high degree of sophisticated salvage. They bargain for exclusive salvage rights making their services more competitive than other more traditional orders. They focus on bringing in their prey as intact as possible to better render material for reverse engineering and salvaging. They will also ransom captives for technological transfers and knowledge exchanges to this effect.
The Knights are specialised in rapid assaults, boarding actions, and other types of raids. Their clients rely on the power and force of a Great Wyrm's assault to neutralise threats. The speed and volatility of one of these attacks will leave defenders often stunned and on the back foot. Violence of action and force overmatch are hallmarks of their raids.
If drawn into open battle, the Great Wyrms seek to force breaches into their opponents in such a way as to collapse their quarries' defence and secure them as intact as possible for salvage. They do not hang about and work on attrition.
While ostensibly acting on behalf of a client, the greed of the Great Wyrms lends itself to a unique resolution to conflicts. Stripping vessels and stations of valuables they'll loot it for all that it is worth. Captives are taken for ransom and coerced to reveal technological expertise. The ship hulks may also be towed to the breaking yards of the Maw for salvage with treasure ships delivering the spoils of conflict to libraries on Sihi.
Their avarice knows few bounds and will jealously guard their plunder. Likewise in their contracts, the Great Wyrm will bargain for exclusive salvage rights to provide more attractive offers.
Key Tenants
Core Virtue: I will uphold the Court through any means; all others are resources.
Knights of the Great Wyrm strive to embody the archetype of the fell beast, the greatest monsters. Their deployment is akin to the natural disasters this archetype represents. They are powerful and domineering, avaricious to a fault.
War Footing
In times of grave threat to the Court and Sihi, the Great Wyrm will leverage their might to replenish the court’s fleets and acquire technological overmatch against foes.
This order focuses on raiding military targets and destroying enemy industrial bases to support the Court’s war effort. Civilian technical institutes, research stations, and universities are not objectives without explicit intelligence linking them as threats.
During the latest encounters against the Dominionists over Dachia, the Order of the Great Wyrm has seen the latest change of the guard. Where the previous Grandmaster was killed in a duel by the current Grandmaster over the prior Grandmaster siding with the dominionists. The current Grandmaster used this to politically maneuver himself into the position after purging the order of the Dominionist traitors and securing an ironclad grip over the gathering of masters.
Armament
Mechs of the Wyrm are emblazoned with motifs of dragons, hydras, and other hell-beasts to intimidate their foes. With ready access to top-of-the-line seized gear and technology, Knights are equipped with the latest innovations.
- Cutters and wrecking tools
- Powerfist & Claws
- Close quarters guns, shotguns and PDWs
- Breaching and Shaped Charges
- Exo-hands’
- Chemical weapons
- Mag weapons
- Enhanced shrapnel high explosives
Library
Despite their violent and aggressive image, Knights of the Great Wyrm are voracious readers as well as raiders. Consuming tomes and collecting knowledge, they host their hoards of research and technology in the Azure Repository on Sihi. The knights, wizards, and sages in charge of managing and defending this repository of knowledge are affectionately known as “Book Wyrms” by the Court.
When not drilling or honing their blades for battle, the Knights are honing their minds in study. Practical applications of newly discovered and claimed technologies are encouraged. With scholarly pursuits admired and assisting in promotions.
According to the Order of The Great Wyrm, the outside world is a vast space to learn from. Other cultures' insights and technology can provide the tools for the advancement of the court and should not be overlooked. A deep curiosity is present in these Knights.
The Path
The Order of the Great Wyrm follows a unique interpretation of the Starlit Path. “Progress through violence” Values: Curiosity, Honour, Efficiency, Brutality.
These values may manifest as aggression and avarice but are rooted in a noble ethos. These people can be absolute bastards but still operate under strictly held moral codes, perverse as they may be perceived by noble-bright orders of the Starlit Court. Their path may wind along different lanes from their fellow Orders, but they will stick to it.
Honour
The customs of Contracts and chivalry are highly respected by the Order of the Great Wyrm. However, their definition of chivalry may stick closer to the letter than the spirit of the code.
Surprisingly, they will give quarter to their opponents to prevent unnecessary losses. This surrender window is thin and rarely re-opened. In the furious assault, victims of the Great Wyrm’s attention must act fast.
They offer captives the opportunity to duel their way out of captivity, though these duels are to the death. Survivors are granted safe passage home–often escorted personally–rather than being marooned at the edge of space. Slain duelists are granted honourable funerals according to their customs and given the same courtesy as knights
Halls
Hall of Reflection
One might assume that the Wyrms ignore the path entirely in favor of their own pride and ambition. However, acolytes and knights alike meditate in peaceful locations, artificial gardens of stacked stones, running water, gently swaying leaves. Here are places to reflect, to think, to be sure that the actions taken were for the betterment of the court and the betterment of the self. To be a Wyrm, one must have no self-doubt. One must accept their actions, learn from them -or justify them- and continue ever onward.
Membership
Armsmen and sages/wizards would present a very diverse bunch. Many are integrated from captives taken on raids. Some chose to join to continue their research with limited interruption, others promise to serve for better rations and safe transit.
A large portion of the order are Sihian or have filtered from other Knightly Orders, looking to point their aggression at a useful direction or to work on cutting edge tech.
Fae
The order fondly calls their Fae Wyrmlings, for they cannot possibly be the typical ‘angel on the shoulder’ that Fae often resemble spiritually. Wyrmlings exist to further the goals of their bonded partner, to encourage them to achieve their furthest potential.
Dominionist Comparisons
The path of the Wyrms lies not with conquest and domination. To many the Wyrms would have been natural dominionists following the Dachia Crisis. However, the path of the Wyrm does not seek out conquest and domination. Violence and greed exemplified by the Wyrms are treated as simply a response to an equally cruel world.
As with other orders, some Knights of the Wyrm left the path and turned to the Dominion after Dachia. If undealt with, a sect of dominionists Wyrms could pose a significant threat to the sector even with a limited resource pool. These traitors are given no mercy save for the secure return of their sheaths. A fight between the Wyms and the Dominion is a bloody affair and spares no carnage.
A competitive streak exists among Wyrms to acquire as many Dominionist sheaths as trophies, with many order knights painting tallies on their armor for each successful hunt.
“Níðhöggr” refers to the fate of captured Dominonist Wyrms, whom the order delegates to a special form of death. Their sheaths are extracted, and their minds are uploaded to the hunting grounds, Níðhöggr. Eventually, the souls are degraded and corrupted until the saved file is naturally destroyed, unable to be retrieved.
Without their aggressive tactics, the Order believes that the Starlit Court could not have survived and flourished as it has the past millennia. The salvage and booty acquired by the Order of the Wyrm is estimated to have turned the fortunes of the Court and allowed for the successful discovery of Grail. Other orders will begrudgingly accept the Wyrms as a necessary evil, although will maintain a suspicious eye on their activities.
OOC Inspirations
Vikings through an Authurian lens Norse ship naming conventions