Letter Bee
Fish of Oblivion
AndyC
Noctis
Bartimaeus
Gastó Canalis, Grand Duke of Saqquar
Physical:
Gastó Canalis stands at 1.87 meters tall. He has a strong physique and body that conveys a lot of inner strenght. His muscles can be seen stretching the exquisite drapes of his dress, somewhat hiding his true strength: intelligence. He has a brownish skin like the other people from the deserts of Saqquar. He also has plain brown eyes like most other Southerners, and has a similarly dark hair color to match the whole picture. His facial features cannot betray his Saqquar blood, and he is the perfect image of a strong, healthy man from the south, curtesy of the Royal treatement.
Equipment:
A combination of lamellar and chainmail covers most of Canalis's body, with a large steel breastplate over his chest. Above these, he wars some garbs as per the traditions of Saqquar dictate. These offer little protection, and serve to differentiate the commander from the rest of the troops even in the middle of the battle. A damascus steel shortsword is the main close quarters armanent of the Duke, which has many ornamental gravings on it's blade. Along these offensive and defensive items, Calanis carries other utility items, including a compass, a high quality spy-glass and a Saqquar made Sextant to use for navigation.
Background:
Gastó Calanis was born and raised as the child of the Sultan of Saqquar to be his heir. From a young age he was interested in the Saqquar traditions and engineering, and he was able to learn a lot about these thanks to the many books avaible to him at the royal library. He was trained in the arts of sword combat and archery as per Saqquar traditions, but he was always more interested in the inventions. The Sultan would let him learn about these in his free time, if he continued his studies in the areas required of him. Calanis would go and learn from the best inventors of Saqquar and would go to visit the biggest foundries and workshops in the kingdom. He was also teached by great inventos and military philosophers from other nations, teaching him about the neighbouring cultures. By the time he was 23, he could set up an entire siege without the need of any engineers to give him plans.
He would defeat his father in mock battles using defensive tactics, and the smart use of ranged attacks from archers and catapults. The Sultan always cherished over this fact, and was happy tosee his son further the Saqquar inevntions, as well as live up to his expectations. But as the Slyver Empire approached the Maw, the need to mobilize a defensive force became more and more important in the kingdom, and the Sultan tasked his best generals to make battle plans for the defense of the Maw, and to recruit troops in case the Empire broke through. After weeks of planning, the grand battle plan was born, which drafted up a war of attrition with the forces of the Slyver Empire in the unforgiving desert of Saqquar that formed it's natural barrier. Calanis however, who was appointed as a Duke by this time, wanted to help the Allied forces prolong the invasion at the Maw. After consulting with the Sultan, he took a small portion of his Royal Guards and a few hundred of his special combat sappers to help the Allied forces by constructing and bringing Saqquar inventions to the Maw.
Faction: Saqquar Kingdom
The Southernmost kingdom to the west of the Maw, the people of Saqquar established a thriving economical and technological powerhouse, following a rapid shift of ideology in the last century. In a hundred years they have elevated from nomadic tribes roaming the desert to a massive kingdom with many riches. They control many ports on the southern coastline of the continent, and are protected by untreadable deserts on the fringes of the empire. During this last century, the once famous Saqquar cavalry was demoted to nothing more than parade sensations, and the rise if heavy infantry and archers supported by siege equipment became their main streght. There are many technological wonders in the kingdom that cannot be found elsewhere, and the pursue of knowledge is supported by both the rulers of the kingdom and the faith of the Saqquar people.
The people living here are hardy men and women used to living in the schorching desert heat. They treat outsiders like their own, and this is the philosophy that enabled them to become excellent traders and merchants. They are also vigilant, and most of their people value the Kingdom above their own lives, making them fierce warriors in battle. Faith is an important aspect in the life of those living in Saqquar, as their twin dragon gods watch their every action. The god of night, aggression and death, and his sister, the god of day, knowledge and life. They make up the turbulence of the real world, a grey mess of both of their aspects. Neither of them is considered stronger by the people of Saqquar.
Command:
300 Combat Pioneers
Recruited from the ranks of the common Saqquar men, those with talent for engineering and carpentry are recruited by Duke Gastó Calanis into his Combat Pioneers. Many ordinary soldiers from the ranks of the Grand Army who proved their skills were also recruited. Thought the primary purpose of this detachement is to construct defenses, traps and siege equipment, they are also trained with bows and arrows and shorswords so they can help out once there is nothing more to build. However, they are primarily craftsmen, so they would rather stay back and operate the machines than to fight anyone.
Their equipment consists of padded leather armor and small wodden bucklers they wear on their sleeves. They often have no helmets, and wear simple turbans. These offer minimal protection, but they don't hinder the mobility of the wearer. For weapons they have a shortbow and a shorsword for both long range a close quarters engagements. They all carry a simple wrench/hammer that they use for construction and repair.
Most of these 300 men operate the machines they they bring or build, whilst the rest are usually tasked with building fortifications and traps.
100 Royal Saqquar Scaleguards
The Scaleguards serve as the protectors of Royal family, and their ranks are filled only by women between the ages of 20 to 35. They are all bonded to the Sultan by an oath, and they are expected upkeep this oath under any circumstances. They are morally unshakable and fiercely protect the Duke and the Sultan in battle, never wandering from their sides. They are trained in close combat and marksmanship with the bow. Above this, they are known to serve as assassins and spies, and as such, they excell at stealth.
Their equipment is the finest Saqquar can offer. They wear a thick gambeson that provides excellent protection. They wear many garbs over it, but they also wear an extra layer of scales above this to offer further protection. Their main armanent is their recurved shortbow that shoots barbed arrows, which they can use with unparalelled accuracy at short to medium ranges. They also wield a one handed sword that they can use in close quarters to fend off attackers.
War Machnies:
The Pioneers are tasked with the construction and operation of many machines that can turn the tide of a battle. They are focused on maintaining these machines, and every single one of them have their blueprints stored in their memories. Most are built using some pre-assembled parts, but the Pioneers can often create shoddy versions without those parts that can still function to some degree.
5 Salamander Mangonel
These mangonels are compact in size, but have much larger weights on them than usual. They can be quickly packed up, and their range is similar to that of a conventional mangonel thanks to their increased counterweight. Reloading is done by using two large cranks on the side of the machine to quickly raise the weight back up, so another shot can be loaded. The machine usually fires rocks weighting about 70 kilos that are hollowed out, and filled with oil and other flammable materials that are set ablaze when the projectile bursts. The range of these machines is about 400 meters, and 10 of these machines used in a rotaion can fire a shot every 3 seconds. Their firing anlges are quite steep, and they are best suited for battles on plains or even ground.
0 Drake Slingshots
A more mobile artillery piece that throws rocks at much higher angles than the Mangonels. They are used to provide support for allied troops at shorter distances, but can deliver varying payloads with quicker intervals. The standard projectile is the same 70 kilo flaming rock that the Mangonels fire, but these are often replaced by lighter rocks for better range, or even pots of combustible oil to cover the enemy troops. The average range is around 150 meters, and 10 of these guns could fire a shot almost every second.
10 Wyvern and Dragon Ballistas
The standard missile artillery system used by the Saquuar.
The smaller version is the Wyvern ballista, a lighter version of the smale desing, which can be easely reassembled and carried by troops. It fires light bolts over 500 meters that can easely kill several unarmored men at once. The reload time is considerably faster than the Dragon Ballista, and one bolt can be reloaded in roughly 8 seconds, and ready to be fired in 2. These are usually wooden, or steel tipped bolts, and they rely on pure penetrating power. However, what they lack in pure power, they make up in utility. They bolts are hollowed out inside, and act as a whislte in the air. When ten or more of these ballistas fire in unison, or in a cycle, the battlefield is filled with a shrieking that resembles the sound of dragons from the legends.
The Dragon ballista is the big brother of the Wyvern that is capable of launching heavy bolts over 1000 meters (//Legit data//), that could kill an elephant in a single hit, or tear down loose stone walls. They bolts receive a heavy barbed steel tipping that is very effective at piercing, whilst the size and weight of the projectile conveys a great amount of force upon impact. Thought the construct is quite big and strong, it is not as bulky as it seems. It has a relatively fast reload rate of 15 seconds, whilst the bolt is ready to fire in 5 seconds. Upon transport, 4 wheels can eb attached to the base of the machine, and can be pushed by infantry, or be pulled by horses. The projectiles include the basic heavy bolts, but are not limited to this, and many other variants are made. There are bolts similar to that of the Wyvern's whistling bolts, but these emit a much more oinous sound, and are often tipped in oil and set afire when launced. There is also a varint that uses 4 ropes that are tightly secured around the shaft, and then erupt after launch thanks to the tension, spinning around eratically and hitting multiple targets on impact (//think hobbit battle of the 5 armies//).
5 Two Headed Dragon Ballista
This interesting piece of missile artillery is a trademark of the Saqquar battles. Instead of firing a single bolt, this ballista fires two bolts at once, which can be configured in a variety of way. The bolts themselves are even heavier than those used in the Dragon ballista, and can be fired up to 700 meters. By default these bolts are tied together using a strong piece of cloth, that can extend up to 10 meters in width and 10 meters in leght. The bolts are fired at a slight angle to assure that the cloth opens up mid flight to it's full extent. This cloth is covered in flammable oil, which can be set on fire by other ballista shots or by flaming arrows. They can also be used individually, acting simply as a ballista that can independently fire and reload 2 bolts.
1 Dragon Spine Tower
These large wooden towers are used as mobile archer bases in battle, or as reinforced entry points during a siege. They can be as tall as 40 meters, greately extending the range of the Saqquar archers. They house 8 different levels connected via ladders, and each of them have openable wooden slits from which archers can fire from. These levels also house ballistas that are operated by the crew inside. The front side is covered by leather and metal plates, so the enemy cannot set the structure on fire easely. The insides are reinforced with steel beams so that enemy catapults cannot demolish the superstructure. Archers can fire up to 500 meters from the top of this tower. Naturally, the size of this monstrocity requires a rack and pinion system to move around, and is crewed by around 150 Pioneers that operate the ballistas and the movement system.
1 Lizard Tounge Flamespitter
Saqquar is a country rich in many natural resources, with many equatorial rainforests giving the nation acces to all the wood it needs. However, these sites of ancient nature can be often found faraway from the lush forests in different, preserved forms. Crude oil has been used by the Saqquar for decades now, in lanterns, foundries and siege warfare. One of the most fearsoe and complex weapons of the Saqquar is the Lizard Tounge Flamespitter that fires a volatile mix of burning liquids at the enemy, which cannot be extinguished by water alone. This machine can spit oil and resin combination at temperatures near or above 1300 Kelvin, up to 20 meters. The launch of the burning liquid is accompanied by a savage roar, caused by the discharge of pressurized air that is used to propell the liquid. Traditinally these machines are put inside the top levels of the Dragonspine towers, as they can prove to be excellent offensive measures against stubborn defenders on the walls.
