Grey Wind Company
The Grey Wind Company, or the Grey Wind, is a military organization of monster hunters, catchers, and trainers who service the continent from various forts across the continent's regions. Largely made up of uninherited high family members, peasant volunteers, and criminals.
Structure
Lord Commander
The Grey Wind Company is run by the Lord Commander, a ruler who has no higher authorities as far as any political entities are concerned. They are also the highest commander of the Grey Wind Mercenaries. Upon each Lord Commander's passing a new one is chosen by vote of the Fort Commanders, held at Stonehollow Fort.
Hierarchy of Company Forts
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Officers
- Fort Commander -- Leader of all the members station at the fort they are in charge of.
- First Captain -- Head of the fighting men of the Grey Wind Mercenaries stationed at the keep.
- First Maji -- Head Maji advisor and representative of the Order of Maji
- First Ranger -- Head of the scouting unit assigned to range into dangerous territories during convergances and rooting out monster nests.
- First Trapper -- Head of unit asigned to trapping and capturing cratures for taming and study.
- First Trainer -- Head of group assigned to training captured creatures for riding, fighting, and selling.
- First Builder -- Head of group assign to maintain the upkeep of the castle.
- First Cook -- Head of the cooks.
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Occupations
- Rangers
- Trappers
- Dragon Catchers -- Members who capture dragons to be tamed and sold.
- Trainers -- Members who train dragons and other creatures to be sold.
- Guards
- Rookers -- Members who run the rookery and communications for the castle.
- Cooks
- Builders
- Stewards -- Attendants, servers, stable hands, cleaners, etc...
Assets
- Stonehollow Fort -- Headquarters and fortress in the eastern Ventosh region built in 1060. Can house 10,000 Company members.
- Frost Grave Fort -- Fortress in the Frost Plains region built in 1093 by Lord Commander Lukus Iron Will. Can house 5,200 Company members.
- Treeth Fort -- Fortress in the western Ventosh region. Built in 1120 by Lord Comander < Wendi Rendolin >. Has the largest dragon pen in all of Aenia. Can house 6,500 Grey Wind Mercenaries and members.
- Black Ice Fort -- Fortress in the Highland Peninsula that can hold 5,500 men at full capacity. Built by Lord Commander Nail the Ferocious in 1176.
- Perilean Fort -- Fortress in the Avil region, can house 4,200 Grey Wind Mercenaries and members at full capacity. Built in 1200 by Lord commander Ingrid Kell.
- Bloodsands Fort -- Fortress in the Whispering Desert that can house 3,800 soldiers at full capacity. Built in 1253 by Lord Commander Fyodor Chykov.
History
Founding
Was started in 1060 by Lukus "Iron Will" Vangian, a second son of the Vangian Royalty, who, at the age of 26, gathered 280 men and rode to kill a wyvern plaging the city of Vince. Known as the Battle of the First 280. Lukus used his Vangian family ties to build Stonehollow Fort on the eastern slopes of the Frost Fang Mountains and began a fulltime organization focused on fighting, capturing, and training monsters and beasts.
At first recruitment was a volunteer basis, and few people joined up. Lukus struck a deal with the local that for a yearly fee they could give the option to send thier criminals to the Grey Wind Company instead of imprisoning them. As their numbers continued to grow the organization expanded the keep and created a military structure hierarchy. Their numbers and financial contacts continued to grow as more humans dealt with the monthly Convergence cycle and monsters began moving closer and closer to growing human towns and cities. They built more keeps around the human relam of the continent and expanded their area of operation.
First Lord Commander
Lukus Iron Will took on role as Lord Commander and assigned role of Vice-Commander to run the dealing of the keep while he ran the organization as a whole. He also, as part of the title, took on the role as head of the Grey Wind Mercenaries, where he administrated things like creating the Frost Claw Rangers. When Frost Grave Fort was established in 1093 to open up operational abilities in the north Lukus assigned the first Fort Commander to oversee the fortress dealings who went on to create the specialized unit of skole hunters the Icy Hammers. Lukus died in 1117 at the age of 83, the Company had lost their founder and first Lord Commander and needed to replace him. A voting system was established where the Vice-Commander, Fort Commanders, and Grey Wind Mercenaries captains cast tokens for candidates to the position. They elected Wendi Rendolin who only held the title for five years before being killed on a wyvern raid when she got caught in a jet of fire. However, dispite her time in the role being short, she managed to found Treeth Fort in 1120 on the western slopes of the Frost Claw mountains in Ventosh.
Rain of Dragons
In 1174 Lord Commander Nail the Ferocious was offered a large donation sum by the Jarldom of Elin if the Company would help deal with a large dragon nest problem in the Ice Forest of the Highland Peninsula, the creatures had been burning barns and pastures to get at livestock. Nail agreed and within the next year had sent out a force of more than 8,500, and included the elite dragonrider unit the Sky Igniters as well as a siege's worth of artillery and support.
Nail the Ferocious lead the largest raid the Company had seen to date against more than 230 dragons in an event that has since become known as the Rain of Dragons. They were able to capture most of the dragons, bringing them down with scorpions so the dragon catchers could incapacitate them; however, they killed quite a few before the nest was fully dealt with. But after a twelve day fight with the dragons the Jarldom of Elin was deemed safe.
Soon, in 1176, after Nail got permission from the Great Jarl of Elin and used the funds from the donation to build Black Ice Fort in the Highland Peninsula region, further expanding the Company's scope and reach. This was also the beginings of the eventual start of the unit known as the Black Ice Wranglers.
Teal Scarves
In 1213 Perilean Fort got word of a large pack of skole seen coming down from the mountains and harrassing villages north of Osha. Fort Commander Rience Barron ordered Eirlok Medvidev to sort out the menace. The young captain rounded up 250 volunteers and marched east toward Osha, no dragons or maji, just soldiers with their weapons. They arrived to find the skole in a frenzy, a group of more than 30 were destroying a farm house, tearing the building down to its foundation stones. Eirlok, wearing a teal scarf of his family colors, charged in on horseback, riding by and swinging his massive warhammer at the much slower creatures as he passed. He'd turn after each pass and charge again and again at the beasts. And each time the hammer connected it brought with it chunks of rock and stone, torn from the skole's body and covered in the silvery liquid they had for blood. The skole fought back; standing their ground they grabbed and ripped apart any horses or humans they could get their hands on, or they swung their massive fists hard enough to knock a head off or cave in a man's chest with a single blow. The fighting lasted for three days, and left nealry half the soldiers and horses lay dead or dying by the end. But despite their losses the volunteer group was vicorious. Eirlok survived, and from then on had the moniker Eirlok Rock Biter, weilder of < Skole Kisser > After they returned and gave an account of the battle Eirlok asked Commander Barron for permission to make a special task force, specifically for fighting the skole of the Ketyat mountains, the Commander agreed and the Skole Crushers were founded.
Manticor Encounter
In 1272 Sand Demons
Military
The military arm of the Grey Wind is known as the Grey Wind Mercenaries, a fighting force skilled in battling monsters. The military force is made up of localized forces stationed at each of the Company's forts throughout the continent's various regions.
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