Cataphractuhr / Armsmaster

Showing off the most powerful weapon in her arsenal.

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Lore / Cataphractuhr Onores

Unlike many other nations, the Imperial Knights of Creation do not have the freedom to choose their Doctrines. They are all part of a machine that must run flawlessly, and deviations are unacceptable. Instead, every Cataphractuhr is assigned an Onora – a specific role within the Leggio during the Holy Labor. Each is crucial to the mutual success of a precalculated victory. These roles require the study and perfection of specific Doctrines, and wasting time learning others is inappropriate when you could instead be refining your skills in what is expected of you.

Equites form the core of the Cataphractuhr forces, and every newly honored Gardener of Death will be assigned to this Onora. Here, they will get familiar with the Leggio’s tactics and practice their skills. Equites fight as squadrons, launching surprise attacks and flanking assaults on enemy groups, moving without stopping until the music of battle dies down. Since this activity does not require absolute immaculacy, their performance is monitored to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Once an Equite’s stamina adapts to the rhythms of Holy Labor and she gains sufficient experience, she might be given a new Onora, or become a Decurion, leading her own Turma of Battle-Sisters.

Exploratores are scouts elevated from the ranks of the Equites. Tasked with patrolling their Leggio’s provinces, Exploratores are chosen from the swiftest, most sharp-sighted, and most cunning sistren. They are highly esteemed and conscientious, for the planning of every attack and Holy Labor undertaken by the Leggio depends on their reports. Unlike other Cataphractuhrs, whose regular Engifted activities can interfere with electronics, Exploratores are supplied with the same advanced surveillance equipment as their Leggionehr counterparts. This equipment memorizes every branch and stone of every lea and forest they pass through, noticing unusual changes that might betray the presence of an enemy, or even detect them at a distance that even the keenest eyes cannot. But unlike their Leggionehr counterparts, the Exploratores embody the ionization of the air in the premise of lightning: they will stand right behind the Heretic, leave knowing all about her, and the traitor will never know until the entire Leggio arrives to burn the place to the ground. Enemies of Her Light will be revealed, counted down to the last vermin, and exterminated without a trace.

Assassines. These are veteran Exploratores and the most vehement Cataphractuhrs in the Leggio. Besides patrol duties, they have full authority to decide to execute Tyirans if any are discovered in the field, thereby weakening the Envasion and making the coming Holy Labor easier for their sisteren. Regardless, it is the Assassines who will be the ones to slay swarm leaders or Colossal-sized creatures during battle. Most of these Cataphractuhrs wear minimal armor, if any, because Assassines channel all their strength into a single pinpoint leap that pierces the battlefield like a needle. It is a strike so fast and powerful that anything they hit will disintegrate and anything they are wearing might splinter upon impact. Although the Knights of Creation can survive a great deal when they concentrate, this technique, even when executed perfectly, may easily exhaust the Assassines’ muscles, for when they land, they must disperse kinetic energies and touch the ground like a feather. Thus some of them only have a single chance to strike and retreat.

While Equites trample lesser creature and Assassines fell giants, Octates are master duelist, assaulting enemies of in-between sizes. They focus on a single vermin, cut it down, and move on to the next, effortlessly exterminating anything that gets in their path.

Vigilanes patrol around the battlefield, exterminating enemies attempting to escape justice. Of course, it would be far preferable if nothing even had a chance to retreat, but in such a perfect world, it would be preferable if the Alleater did not exist either.

Phalanxes. Like in ancient time, one such Engifted accomplishes what an entire formation of the same name could not. They are menacing ball lightnings, sowing chaos among the enemy – chaos which their allies can then manipulate to create new order. Phalanxes slowly move across the battlefield, blinded by their own light and power, radiating deathly voltaic energies around them, incinerating any creatures foolishly brave to come too close, and instilling terror in those intelligent enough to stay away.

Synthines, formerly known as Cornicines, are the Imperial War Musician who coordinate the entire Leggio’s actions on the battlefield and suppress the senses of Jealous Beastiary. It is a highly honorable Onora, entrusted to veteran Decurions who understand that the execution of a meticulously crafted plan and the following victory depends on them. The battle begins with the first note and ends with the last. Be it is Dark Techno or Industrial Bass, the melody must be perfect, down to the beat and volume, for every swing of a weapon, kill, and reload follows the music.

Optiones. Every plan has an order: one leads to two, and two to three, and nothing should disrupt the count. Optiones, as seconds-in-command, remember every battle plan down to the smallest detail and act as its invisible sentinels – miscalculation-correcting agents, darting across the battlefield, manipulating it to fulfill the pre-written victory. Optiones are skilled master-baiters: they guarding the positions of hidden infantry who have not yet engaged, forcing enemies to skirt what they should not find; they protect Leggionehrs’ lines, ensuring nothing reaches them and that their rifles continue to fire; they taunt and lure creatures into plots prepared for their death. These Cataphractuhrs are chosen not only for skills, but also for looks: the Hellish Spawn hates beauty, it enrages them, and they will hunt the hottest and thickest of the Imperial Knights of Creation, even if it means death.

When the battle ends, the aftermath of the holy slaughter must be cleansed, for it is Her body and Her Thighs that are defiled by the carcasses Umbral Horrors. Consacratrines are the Chaplains of the Leggio, who teach its members how to properly worship the Thighs and how to effectively use their Bottoms; but during the Holy Labor, they preside over cleansing and purification rituals. They remain out of the fight for most of the battle, chanting prayers and conserving their vigor, but planning the actions of each Remedy Engifted under their command. For every second lost on performing holy rituals is an unforgivable second that the Allmother’s Gorgeousness is defiled. But the servants of the Consacratrines work with skillful speed and meticulousness, knowing that their scared work will be rewarded not only with the gratitude of Meora, but also with the Leggio’s finest and most addictive asses – the Consacratrines’. It is why the Imperial forces attack swiftly and vanish just as quickly, leaving no trace.