The Ghost Brigade

In the fourth year of the War of Human Attrition, an unknown faction entered into the conflict from parts unknown. They held no open allegiance, nor did they march under any banner. Their troops faces were masked behind the helms of their white armor and the unknown woman who led them was tenacious and skilled beyond compare. As if by some uncanny power they seemed to arrive at the edge of every skirmish and every battle, watching for a time as the opposing forces fought and then riding in at a crucial moment to sweep the field without prejudice, wiping out the troops of both sides and leaving few to retreat and go on to tell the story of the Ghost Brigade's merciless victory over them. For the better part of a year their actions undermined every military offensive that was put into play, and despite their activity, not a single member of their cadre was ever captured, nor a single identifiable body found after the fact that could be associated with them. Their appearance, motivations, and purpose remained a mystery until in the winter of that year, as the opposing forces began their talks of peace, they vanished without a trace.

Composition

Manpower

The exact numbers of the Ghost Brigade's forces are an unknown, as the information about them exclusively comes from hearsay and eye witness accounts of the handful of survivors that faced off against them and lived on to tell of the encounter. It is expected that they numbered approximately three to five thousand troops, but are suspected to have been more based on the success of their operations in opposition to the existing factions that were at war during that time.

Equipment

Famously the Ghost Brigade wore shining heavy armor with white tabards. They generally wielded traditional weaponry of the time including swords, spears, halberds, shields, and crossbows. Some accounts tell of other aspects of weaponry implemented ranging from flintlock rifles to cannons, but these claims remain unsubstantiated. 
The main repeated fact seems to be that they were well equipped, better than most of the smaller factions which suggests that there was substantial funding and unseen logistic support behind their endeavors.

Structure

From the accounts that remain, a common thread is that the Brigade was led by a woman who directed their movements from the front line of battle. She was said to have been at the head of every charge herself and fearlessly took part in every engagement. While it is possible that there may have been a deeper command structure that worked from behind the scenes, no actual trace of such a thing exists.

Tactics

The most effective and simple tactic often repeated was simply to wait until an engagement was already underway and then use the confusion of the ongoing battle to flank and divide the troops on the field into confused and smaller groupings, often including soldiers from both sides of the initial encounter to further weaken the grouped units. From there it was simply a matter of whittling them down in the mayhem. This tactic was extremely effective, especially in the earlier days of their involvement, before news of their presence and assessments of their tactics could be examined and attempts made to counter them. 
By the time command elements of the other factions attempted to prepare for their involvements in ongoing skirmishes, the Brigade changed its tactics, almost as if they had inside knowledge somehow. They were able to counter every attempt to goad them into tricks, traps, and ambushes, much to the frustration of those that tried. As these attempt grew more bold, the Brigade only grew more lethal and vicious, their changing tactics singling out key command elements of the opposing forces in night time raids on sleeping camps, battlefield manipulations that would consume vast ranks of troops involving oil and fire, concealed spikes, and even buried explosives on more than one occasion.

Training

The Ghost Brigade fought with a before unseen strength and coordination that was impossible for the rag tag factions of the smaller groups to keep up with, and even the more formal armies of the Becht Nation found themselves outmatched at every turn. They worked cohesively on the field, and communicated with an uncanny precision allowing quick changes in movement and strategy when the enemy attempted to catch them off guard with more unorthodox maneuvers.

History

So little is known about this military outfit that most of what remains is pure speculation. Many suspect that a powerful master of the arcane must have been behind their efforts, as this is the only thing that could explain their consistent inside knowledge of the enemy's whereabouts, movements, formations, and tactics, as well as their seeming perfect success ratio. While no part of this has any type of proof to substantiate the claims, there are even fewer arguments in opposition of it that make equal logical sense. Even the name, the Ghost Brigade, is a name granted them by rumors and survivors of encounters, as no name was ever given by them, nor any communication offered at any time during their campaign. Their entire goal seems to have been to sabotage all war efforts on all sides, and to this end, and in retrospect most would even say thankfully, they were successful. 
The final confrontation on record was a fierce battle on the northern plains of the Bechtlarite territories. A contingent of Hiversteadian Fusiliers numbering close to a thousand were in a pitched battle with Bechtlarite Dragoons of equal number. The fighting had already been going on for approximately an hour when a charge of a mere four hundred came out of nowhere, flanking both sides of the engagement as they came. The Dragoons struggled to turn their heavy firepower away from the Hiversteadians and were overcome quickly, forced to engage in melee with the oncoming troops and being quickly cut down in the process, but the Hiversteadians reacted much more quickly, firing an initial barrage into the oncoming force with such precision that it is believed that a large number of the Brigade fell before they could reach them. The Hiversteadians, much more adept in martial combat engaged and fought fiercely. As the remainder of the Dragoons were cut down, the remaining force from that sortie rejoined the smaller force entangled with the Hiversteadians, and for a moment it looked as though the tide might turn entirely, but in an unexpected twist, a small handful of Dragoon that had retreated returned and turned their larger guns upon the fight, firing without concern for what they hit, and creating large pockets of destruction in the mass of fighters. The leader of the Brigade and a small group of her troops is said to have broken away from the main conflict and moved around the Dragoons unseen, gaining the upper hand and defeating them quickly, however eyewitness accounts claim that she and her small contingent did not come out of the encounter unscathed. By this time, the Hiversteadian forces had been whittled down to less than a hundred, but the remainder of the Brigade's forces numbered less than twenty. Over the next hour, their backs to the Dragoon encampment, they fought hard as the Hiversteadians pressed their advantage, and according to the spotty reports, the Ghost Brigade members fell to the last, even their leader taking a mortal spear wound to the chest, but as the final tattered remnants of the Hiversteadian force closed in to finish them off, something happened. The accounts of these final moments are vague and come from a single surviving Hiversteadian who was horribly wounded and suffering from a mortal head injury that potentially hindered the recollection, but it seems as though an unseen reinforcing contingent or agent swept in and released a weapon of immense power, or possibly arcane elements that wiped out the remaining forces. 
Not a single member of the Ghost Brigade, alive or dead was recovered from the field of battle, but the remains of the fallen Becht and Hiversteadian troops were untouched aside from the carrion birds and other wildlife, their gear in tact and nothing stolen from the fallen. The only odd thing about the silent blood soaked plain was the unnaturally large number of ravens that seemed to be watching over the site.

Type

Mercenary

Founding

Cortus 4 PR (Assumed)

Dissolution

Frigus 4 PR (Assumed)

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Decorated/Honored