Out of the distant past marched the ancient company of
soldiers called the Immortals. They were one of the three Legion Companies of the
fabled Ninth “Northern” Legion. This band of men found the world they knew lost
in the dust of time. However, bound together by brotherhood and the discipline
of their training they not only remained together but became a legendary
mercenary company that has fought for Kings and Caliphs over the last 325
years. They are the armed force known as “The Immortal Company”.
THE OATH
Created by the mages associated with the Company and the Elf Queen Hirilith, the oath was developed to encourage esprit d’ corp. as well as bind the men together. Whether it is magic or not, the oath has endured the centuries. Soldiers that have proven themselves in battle usually take the Oath. Anytime there are veterans, they refer to themselves as the “Oathmen”.
The Oath reads:
Eg, (Name) Cum Hoc Sacramentum
Eglen Mar, Destiture Familia
Na-Chaered Palan-Raniel
Tule Lome.Aure Entuluva,
Gimbatu Agh Krimpatu Ish Burzu.
Forsaking our home and
Leaving behind our families
We are alone wandering near and far
For the night comes. Nevertheless, the Dawn returns,
So Bound to the Lance Faranga and the Standard
(Last Line in a Language Unknown)
Ever present is the Immortal Company’s lance. The annals
claim Lady Hirilith of the Galdoran gave the lance to the company just before
their return to the world of man. The various wizards who have been a part of
the company claim that it was much older than even the Lady herself revealed. While
men have long speculated about it, it is definitely a relic from the Great War
with the Dominion. It along with the oath, were gifts of the Eldar queen, and
since then, the lance has carried the standard of the company. First, the
Legion Banner of Allemanni and after the defeat of Nakor, his own death-head
symbol with an added sword driven through it. The Lance is 15" long and
bears a wavy blade above a crosspiece. More like an evil looking Pike the Lance
Faragur appears to have been made by the Tiren Shamans, allies of the Dominion
during the Time of Legends. Dark powers went into the making of this blade, as
it appears to have been formed by hand, with the forgers’ fingerprints still
visible in the dark steel. How this was accomplished, raises the specter of black
sorcery. Some magic appears to have been bound within the point at that time,
in order to use it against the enchanted armies of the Elves and their allies
in the Great War. The fact that Hirilith possessed such an item hints at a
great store of power within Faragur. The Lance seems to contain strong magical
powers, mostly untapped. The combination of the Oath and the weapon appears to
bind the members of the Immortals to one another. For this reason morale is
very high among all units, and certain protections may also occur.
Originally,
the Immortal Company marched under the Imperial Allemanni Banner and the Ninth
Legion Pendent. The Allemanni Eagle flew above the company in the Northern Wars
and is still used by Marius’ descendants in the Republic of Lamon. The men who
returned to the former lands of the Empire felt that the banner was no longer
applicable. Their Empire had long since passed. It lived only in the few
remaining ruins and legends of the people. For those men who remained together
and became the free company that would later emerge as the Immortal Company
they needed a new sigil. Their opportunity came in the war against Nakor the
Abomination, when the Immortal Company fought under contract to the Wickem
King. After the fearful battle beneath the walls of Tartarus, the Immortals
were one of the few remaining companies left. Because of their role in
defeating Nakor both on the battlefield and behind his walls with their team of
specialist, the Immortals adopted his sigil for their own.
Nakor’s symbol consisted of a burning skull on a black field. Under it, the Necromancer of Tartarus had sent his legions of barbarians, Gargun, and undead to terrorize the nations to the south and west. Few remember that the symbol of Nakor dated back even farther in time and has always been considered an image of evil since the days of The Dominion. In an act of defiance and pride, the Immortal Company adopted the sigil as its own, adding a sword through the skull as a symbol of their victory.
THE ANNALS
While the Immortals are bound together by the power of the
oath and lance, if you asked the common soldier it is the traditions of the
company that exert the greatest influence. These traditions are reinforced by
the continued up keep and readings of the Company Annals. For men who have
taken up the blade and forsaken a normal family life, the real immortality
offered by the annals is irresistible. For this reason, every man considers it
his duty to insure that their comrades make it into the books as they hope
others will do for them. The readings take on a quasi-religious feeling as the
battles and faces of the men who fought them are brought to life. These
histories date back to the time of the company’s return from Hirilith. It is
said that the books detailing the original Ninth Legion remained with Marshal
Marius on his journey north. It appears to be an Allemanni custom, to keep
company histories among its legions. Today's scholars find much of the history
of the Allemanni Empire in such text. Those of the Immortals would be priceless.
THE SPECIALIST OF THE IMMORTALS
While the band is home to some of the most ruthless and
deadly soldiers in Kemen, it is unique in their acceptance of magic and its
practitioners. Most likely, this feeling comes from the company’s emphasis on
strategy over strength. For the Immortals, a battle is won with wit and guile
more often than not, and the arcane arts lend themselves to misdirection and
subterfuge. Dabblers in magic as well as engineers and spies all work to keep
the company alive. During the Allemanni Empire, it was common to have Priest,
healers, and magi all working among the troops. However, with the decline in
magic and the Caldensian Prohibitions, this practice is quite unusual. The magi
who returned with the Immortal Company from Hirilith had the added bonus of
extra training with the Eldar. They have also found magi from the Jeweled
Cities and other places. It is also common for the Company have in its hire
several Siege Engineers as well as a Physician or Healer. The present Engineer
is Canto of Eye, who replaced the recently slain Jungin Dunhill the Dwarven
Engineer and brother to Freudin Dunhill, the Company Annalist. Also the Immortals
have a physician Roarch "Chopper" Collo, a Leech and Gambler from the
City of Eye. Other Present Specialist include the Priest of Illior, Volle' of
Tyrolach and the Llynerian Kyrenn Bracken of Uisce na Blath. The Elf-Mage Tinwe
has attached himself to the Company but his goals and intentions are ever
unclear.
COMPANY ORGANIZATION
At the time of the Immortal’s arrival in the Outlands, the
band was organized into three platoons. With the Captain at the head Lieutenant
Lance and Sergeants Yeardley and Jalal led the platoons. Each platoon was then
made up of four squads of six to ten men each led by the officers above and
their corporals. In addition, the Engineers Dilly and Filly Heb Been led a
separate squad of twenty, as did the quartermaster. They take the field as
mounted heavy infantry At present the Immortals are trying to rebuild their
forces under the Leadership of the new Captain, Tuttle of Eye.He has been
reunited with Sgt Yeardly, who is now Tuttle's Lieutenant. The three squads are
led by the Seaumus "Moe" of Abinger, the Ji-Hassa Ruby, and Momombo
Dehlack of the Ji-Hassad.
COMPANY HISTORY
Origins
The mercenary company now known as the “Immortals” was once
the Third Company of the Ninth Legion of the Allemanni Empire. During the last
dynasty of Allemanni Emperors, horse tribes from the north and sea reavers from
the south ravaged the Allemanni lands. The world was slipping away from the
Allemanni Empire. Their civilization blended the worlds of classical art and
military might, and it was falling into a state of decadence. The Empire fell
into despair and a feeling of hopelessness. Fearing the worse, the rulers
sought advice. Finally, the seer, “ PASLOUS “ came to the Emperor with a vision
of Death and Destruction for both the Empire and the world all originating in
the “far north, in the land of darkness beyond the peaks of iron”. The Emperor
Toranus decided that this was something that needed to be addressed and so he
sent the Eighth and Ninth Legions on a mission that would change history. Over
four thousand strong the force marched north, through the border nations now
controlled by the tribes from the north, past the Ceoltric Sea and into the
Plains of Culdi. Much of the Eighth Legion was lost to a shipwreck in a terrible
storm, the few survivors joined with their fellow Allemanni on their march.
Eventually they arrived in a land known as the Ice Moors, a
frozen place where the sun truly shines for only half a year. The Legions
battled hordes of Tribesmen as well as Creatures of Darkness, beings long
thought to be only folktales. A withdraw southward and the need for security
and supplies led the men under the command of Marshal Marius into an alliance
with the Galdor nobles now living in Linder. This led to an entanglement in the
Elven-Wot Karachi War, with its series of wins and losses and the final betrayal
of the Legion at the hands of the Eldar employers. The surprising and opportune
rescue by the Elf Queen, Lady Hirilith, and the removal of the surviving legion
to the land of the same name would lead to the company’s eventual ill-timed
return. After only a short time in the faerie realm, Marius lead his men back
into the world of the living. While a majority of the Legion remained in the
northlands, later founding the Republic of Lamon, those who wanted to return
with the Third Company marched back to the former lands of the Allemanni Empire.
They arrived only to find the world had changed in their absence. Those in the
other two companies, the “White & Red” who wanted to return with the third
were allowed and so they marched south. Following the coast, they marched back
into “the world”. However, it was a world over three centuries past from when
the left the shores of the north on Hirilith’s ships. The Allemanni world was
gone, the empire replaced by dozens petty kingdoms and city-states. New greater
evils were on the rise. The reaction to the men marching under the banners and
in the armor and dress of the people’s ancestors was one of shock and
confusion. Called the “Immortals”, the King of the Wyckem hired the company to
join the battle against the Necromancer, Nakor the Abomination. The company
captured the enemy’s Standard, a white skull with flaming eyes on a black
field. In an act of irony, they added a sword through the top of the skull and
made it their own standard for the Immortals.
This war ended with the defeat of the Dark Lord and his undead legions, but also signaled the dominance of the new power centered on the ancient city of Rel Alla.From the ruins left by the war the High Empire was founded and the company found itself on the opposite side of this new conflict.
After the Return
The Immortals under the command of Captain Artelus took service under the King of Palandryd, but the city-state eventually fell.By year 12 AF (After Foundation of the Caldensian High Empire), the Immortals were on the loosing side. The High Emperor Verdis or Verdril in the local dialect had conquered much of the former Allemanni territory including the capital Rel Alla. Under constant attack, the company along with the surviving troops of the former rulers of these lands withdrew slowly to the west. Through the Highlands north of Rel Alla, they escaped into Magdaland. During this retreat, the company raced through Captains, as elections became a frequent occurrence.Eventually they held back the High Empire, who then moved against the lands to the east and eventually the south. In the west, the Immortals found a few decades of employment for the Tower Keepers of Magdaland in wars against the White Council of Olach and the odd valley Kingdom of Assentia.
The Exile
After their tour of the west, they found employ across the
Dunrach Sea for the Captains of Tyrolach.This former colony of the Allemanni
was the last bastion of that lost culture, and so many of the Immortals thought
of this as a homecoming. Of course, none of the original Allemanni legionnaires
was still alive, but the tradition that every member adopted thanks to the
annals offered the promise of family. Nevertheless, they were sadly
disappointed. The Tyrolach of the first century is much like today. Quarrels
among the five ruling factions each represented by a Captain made the city
weak. Tyrolach had degenerated into a city of pirates and privateers and the
company became part of the realm's defense against reprisals.
The Ji-Hassa invasions of two centuries before had further
weakened the realm of Tyrolach. Now the fire towers of the Ji-Hassa god stood
taller than the temples of the Allemanni gods, (Sakor, Illior, Dalna and
Astellus). Eventually the Immortals found themselves taking part in pointless
battles with local chieftains in the desert as well as being used as pawns in a
political game among the Captains. At one point the company faced almost total
annihilation when they were ordered to expand the corsair's territory inland
into Pahna held lands.
After this, they found service to the east on the Gold Coast. This put them into battles against the Caldensians around Philoman as well as an expedition back to Tyrolach on behalf of the City of Amethyst. They served several of the Jeweled Cities, the last of which was Topaz before returning to the land of the company’s forefathers. Since then, they have been in the employ of different nobles with interest in the civil war plaguing the Kingdom of Hammoth.
The Company’s Stock Rises
A Hammoran Noble initially employed the Company’s with
holdings both in the Kingdom and in the Eyen Republic. After victories at
Mestalanz, Channelbridge and Knightshelm, the defeat of the Immortals at Vaiden
nearly ruined the company. The few survivors fled the keep of the Paladins and
returned to the south in order to provision them, acquire new men and discover
who their true employers were. Since the return to the island city, the
Immortals returned to Hammoth and vigorously pursued the war until an eventual
settlement was reached between the rival parties, brokered in a large part by
Annalist Freudin and the Immortal Company. The only caveat was that the
Immortals would never return to the land they had ravaged on behalf of their
employers.
It was also during this period, that the leadership of the Company discovered the Lady Hirilith had manipulated them. Upon their release from her shores, she intended to keep track of the company. The Queen and her advisors crafted a geas spell that bound the members of the Company to one another and at the same time to the Lance Faragur. In addition, they bound the lance to an elfin relic, a pearl known as the “Tear of Edhelbrith.” This was to be kept by men living near the gate of Hirilith’s Farie realm. However, the world conspired against the queen, the precious jewel was lost from invasion and war. Eventually it became part of the royal jewels of Palandryd but was again lost during the Caldensian conquest. Only with the arrival of the Elf Wizard Tinwe, was this revealed to the company, who then pursued the capture of the pearl along with their official contract. The Captain and his specialist determined that possession of the pearl would insure the Company’s control over their own destiny.
Since arriving in the High Empire, the Immortals have continued to pursue the evil plots of the Moredon leader known as The New Prophet. Sending a recognizance team deep into the Protectorate, where no native has ever traveled, the Company uncovered the secrets behind the realm and their cult of religious warriors and assassins. This group was led by Corporal Yzer and unknown to all involved it also included Captain Tuttle disguised as a common soldier.
Banner design by St. John Colon.
