Armour Tincts – Lords of the Fallen(LotF)

At one point in Mournstead’s history there emerged a trend amongst the kingdom’s nobility to clothe themselves in garb coloured to resemble ancient brass statues, the intention being to evoke a sense of venerable wisdom and prestige.

Colours worn by a famed warrior who once visited Mournstead claiming to have conquered death through sheer force of will, a claim which no one was keen to challenge due to the man’s extraordinary reputation, but one still proven false by a combination of bad luck and a falling chimney.

“As fire recedes to ash and light to darkness, as ******ing recedes to stillness and cacophony to silence, the world will yearn to be shaped anew, but instead there will be only void.”” – Nohuta writings.

One ancient legend tells of a nameless slaughterer of men and Rhogar alike during the war between the Judges and Adyr, a creature supposedly born from the piles of corpses which littered a battlefield, and clad in war garb of congealed blood and rotting flesh.

“To Her glory we commit our minds, flesh and bones, all feeble and transient but relinquished eagerly in the creation of the silent house we will build for Her arrival.”” – Nohuta writings.

Those unfortunate souls touched by the Rhogar corruption inevitably grow
twisted in both mind and body, losing their grasp on whatever humanity they
possessed and succumbing to deranged, violent urges, maiming and butchering
and revelling in the agony of others.

In many branches of Orism, those followers who fall short of expectations are required to perform penance, relinquishing their pride and any elaborate or colourful garb before striving for forgiveness through righteous mortification.

Rhogar are born in fire, their bodies tempered by Adyr’s inferno, the intensity of which would reduce any typical human body to ash. Even so, there are Adyr-worshippers who covet this blessing which the Rhogar receive from their creator.

In some branches of Orism, only the most favoured of blessed warriors are allowed to clad themselves in such splendour, for someone deemed unworthy to do so would be considered shameful heresy.

While all Rhogar are equally obedient to Adyr, those of particular cunning, skill and ruthlessness are recognised and placed in commanding roles in the Rhogar forces, expecting from their subordinates no less slaughter than they are prepared to unleash themselves.

“When faced with annihilation, some choose to exhibit defiance, but such beings are worthy only of contempt, for death is inevitable and the only defiance of any true purpose is that displayed in service to the Putrid Mother.”” – Nohuta writings.

An old Mournstead saying claims that one should beware the man who blackens his garb and heraldry, for his coming marks benighted days in which he will attempt to hide wickedness and blood in the shadows which envelop him.

The Dawnblades were a short-lived, more martial splinter group consisting of former members of the Descriers of the Dawn. Departing Mournstead, the Dawnblades undertook a journey to Breahgaul, only to never return from that cursed land.

During the war between the Judges and Adyr, before battle many of the god’s red-garbed priests and priestesses would sing the Dirge of Devastation, a holy song but one now long lost to time.

The earthen colours of many a vagabond, one who for whatever purpose takes to the road and lives at the mercy of the elements, alone and far from the comfort of a familiar hearth.

Golden war trappings are often bestowed upon only the most devout champions of the Church of Orian Radiance, paragons of faith who have dedicated their lives to the church and whose light inspires others even in death.

Many celebrated warriors throughout history have clad themselves in armour of bronze, including the commanding officers of the Nanheim Guard, one of the most respected fighting forces of their time, renowned for their uprightness as well as their martial proficiency.

While the colour of one’s armour has no bearing on its fundamental efficacy, there is something to be said for the hesitance an adversary might experience when confronted with an opponent possessing enough surety of purpose to clad themselves in armour of brilliant gold.

Silver has proven to be a vulnerability of certain terrible creatures, leading to some hunters of such cladding themselves in armour forged from the metal, their protective clothing remaining resplendent even beneath the blood and viscera of beasts.

Sellswords in the service of an Exacter or in fact any Dark Crusader occasionally garb themselves in black to mark them as servants of the crusaders, thus making the striking of one an offence akin to striking the First Luminary himself.

Some of those terrified survivors fortunate enough to escape Calrath following the Rhogar invasion carried with them grisly tales of Rhogar not only maiming and killing with their barbarous weapons but in some cases tearing chunks of flesh from victims with their own claws.

While those who wield a blade for themselves might occasionally be condemned as being of low character, those who do so in the name of an approved creed or dogma often receive admiration instead, the screams of their victims drowned out by a chorus of righteous endorsement.

Whatever colours they wore throughout their history, there were always Calrath Guardsmen overzealous in their duties in an effort to prove themselves of value to the city’s wealthy and powerful, efforts rarely noticed, let alone rewarded.

The Rhogar take pride in severing the hands of their victims, for while seen as nothing but brutal mutilation to others, to the Rhogar – and certain Adyr-worshippers – it is an act of tribute to their creator and serves as a reminder that Adyr’s reach is omnipresent and eternal.

During more prosperous times, Mournstead enjoyed long periods of peace as few of its neighbouring powers dared to challenge the kingdom’s might, but when the prospect of war did loom, knights in golden armour would serve as heralds of the imminent conflict.

“Many adherents blessed enough to have glimpsed the Umbral realm and its starving denizens choose to clothe themselves in the purest black in an effort to mimic the infinite, hungering shadow into which they have peered.”” – Nohuta writings.

The majority of the people of Kinrangr held a healthy respect for tradition without allowing it to stand in the way of progress, one example being wearing garb of colours commonly found in their ancestral home of Udirangr.

The role of Chief Justiciar once existed in Mournstead, until it became occupied by a man whose astonishing greed, deluded ambition and ruthless corruption led to his execution and the complete termination of the position itself.

Colours worn by a small group of Calrath citizens who held surreptitious meetings in which they plotted against the crown, seeking freedom from a rule they considered unjust, their plot ultimately failing when they were betrayed from within.

Pilgrims who have proven themselves to be martially apt are allowed to wear these colours as they commence their rigorous training to determine if they are qualified to be ordained as members of the Hallowed Sentinels.

“Festering ire can be found at the heart of many momentous acts of war, bringing death on a wondrous scale for which we must be thankful, while never forgetting that hatred can also be a tool employed against us by unbelievers.”” – Nohuta writings.

“Hope is a most persistent delusion often found in the eyes of those on the brink of the void, and there is no malice in divesting them of it.”” – Nohuta writings.

Sanguine tabards and robes can signify a righteous willingness to shed heretical blood while also serving as a reminder of one’s own blood, whether spilled willingly by one’s own hand in Orius’ name or by the blade of an impious adversary.

“The young gather before the death sites of ancestors consumed before them, bestowing words and trinkets of reverence as is proper, their eagerness to beckon the Putrid Mother and enter Her embrace a joy to behold.”” – Nohuta writings.

Any soldier of Mournstead who broke the oath he had sworn to defend his kingdom was branded a blackguard and traitor and offered no clemency, whatever former honours he might have received.

Silvery war garb could be said to be reminiscent of Orius’ lightning, piercing the heavens and smiting the heretical, speaking to righteousness beyond reproach, swiftness of body and clarity of purpose.

Many pilgrims choose clothing of plain colour and design for their journeys to Mournstead, a representation of the abandonment of their former lives and a show of the humility they seek to exhibit before the light of Orius and Judge Cleric.

Contempt for those deemed lesser than them has incited the carnage of many a warmonger, taking pride in their bloody conquests, and even in the ruined kingdom of Mournstead there exists no shortage of such prideful and contemptuous killers.

“The ignorant living cling to the ephemeral, insisting that what they deem of importance will not wither, die and be forgotten, unwilling to accept the everlasting peace known by the fortunate dead upon whose dust they tread.”” – Nohuta writings.

To take up arms against another solely for money is one of the most ancient trades and one which has lost none of its prevalence over time, from a handful of battered coins passed beneath a dirty tavern table to chests of riches bestowed upon a mercenary company by a king.

While many of the more violent Adyr-worshippers revel in engaging with an enemy head-on, others find greater pleasure in more subtle methods, garbing themselves in black and stalking their prey from the shadows, prolonging the anticipation of the eventual killing blow.

“The Putrid Mother feeds ceaselessly, for the blind, insane, mewling chaos that is existence ever strives to continue its idiocy and must be returned to its natural state.”” – Nohuta writings.

Long ago, in the city of Malhiric, from the sweat, dirt, steam and clamour of a blacksmith’s workshop emerged a number of sets of armour of gleaming white, commissioned by a group of warriors who shared a powerful bond and a quest they deemed of the utmost purity and righteousness.

Across Axiom there exist like-minded groups of beings who have found purpose in Umbral, and in dank cellars, abandoned ruins and shadowy back rooms they gather, breath steaming in the numbing chill which often accompanies spaces where the presence of Umbral looms keenly.

The belief that pain brings with it great clarity of mind is one shared by some worshippers of Orius and Adyr alike, the dedicated subjecting themselves to prolonged bodily anguish in an effort to dispel all pretences and distractions so that only single-minded devotion remains.

Humble colours often worn by those considered to be of low calibre but who, hoping to better their station and find purpose, nonetheless submit themselves to the tribulations necessary in becoming an Orian knight.

“On occasion, that which is relinquished in this transient realm reappears in Umbral in a familiar but altered state, given a second, purer period of existence as a harbinger of ruin before its final obliteration.”” – Nohuta writings.

Colours sometimes favoured by Orian servants assigned to hunt game or carry out other tasks requiring skulking and cunning, necessary duties nonetheless often regarded as low work by these servants’ superiors.

Allows you to change the colour of your armour.

“At night he comes a-creeping, a-scratching at your door, Look into his stitched-up eyes and oh your blood will pour, For that scrawny, ragged devil has no soul behind his grin, So pray to the stars for mercy, as you’ll get none from Pumpskin.” – Old Mournstead rhyme.

The colours of the jagged black rock and churning red skies of the desolate dimension known as the Rhogar realm are often adopted by those who live by the exiled god’s dogma, particularly those focused on a path of war and bloodletting.