The Blackwater Company

"From among the shadows and heather they come: short-sword and axe in hand. Soon, the cry goes up 'Gwerrith! Flame ach Hün!', as havoc and brutality themselves run amoc with reckless abandon, ripping at the strands of meek men's fates." - A passage from the poem, Fate's Flesh, by an unnamed soldier of 1st Hound Corps, Blackwater Company

The Blackwater Company is an elite formation of soldiers raised from villages in the Wandering Territories under Gwendorian control. Since Girith I came east to drive out the ogres and ettins of the Low Moors, the villages of the Low Moors have been staunch supporters of House Gwerrith. In accordance with this, each village and town pledges its finest fighters to serve in Blackwater Company. The Company is not a full-time unit, with it still operating under the customs of old-fashioned levy wherein the Company is raised during times of war, and disbanded on its return. Therefore, the full time workforce of the Company is limited to Heather Corps: the pipe band and logistical arm. The other Corps remain on standby, with every soldier in reserve to be called. In spite of this lack of regular formal military training, the lifestyle that Low Moorlanders lead is preparation enough: hunting, gathering and constant contest with the elements all prime every member of the tight-knit moor communities for combat in adverse conditions, and sets them apart from their brothers in standard formations who spend the year in camps along the west coast, in relative comfort.
Not only this, but as a result of the Company's refusal to reform under Seriticus, they remain held to the customs of levy. This, for the most part, has benefitted the Company by helping it become a sanctuary for military pride and tradition, but has relegated it to an unreliable source of military manpower in comparison to the more modern recruitment methods. However, the levy tradition allows closer bonds to be formed between those who serve together, as each community produces a crop of men who train and serve together. 
Regardless of its insulated nature, the Company operates within the wider structure of the Gwendorian Army as any other unit of its size, recieving orders and participating in military operations as other units do. Yet, questions remain regarding the true loyalties of the Company as only Gwerrithian Lords have been able to call them to arms in times of war, and the oaths sworn and rituals performed honour the relationship between the communities of the Low Moors and House Gwerrith, rather than any more modern concept of military allegiance to an apolitical state. Furthermore, there have been documented frictions between the Company and superiors who belong to other Houses, primarily Dorröchk: Cólbramen often distrusting the judgement of those above them lest they carry the Gwerrith seal, and even then there is sometimes suspicion. 
As they stand now, they have a proud tradition and are commonly seen attending military ceremonies. They almost always attend in full tartan dress, sometimes wearing the black warpaint synonymous with their first deplyoments in the clearing of the Low Moors. Though the Company is not bound to appear at the ordination of a new Lord, they have done so on almost every occasion- bar the ordination of Gwain Broadbane, the Magnate Lord. His commitments to mercentile projects in tandem with his Lordship ruined his reputation amongst the staunch and traditional leaders of the Company, who preferred a martial leader of singular focus. Other than this, the Company has taken part in every major ceremony to which the army was invited or attached. 
As for deployment, the Company has seen combat in many regions, and remains one of the most deployed formations in Gwendorian history. They were one of the only units not to be recalled during the March Wars- serving on the frontline from beginnig to end, they served during the Seige of Dorröhaven, and took part in 2 of the 3 expeditions northwards into the Everwild. The Seige of Dorröhaven is where many argue the Company's contempt for Dorröchk began, as they spent years launching daring and deadly night raids into the beleagued city, often killing civillians and soldiers without distinction. As for the March Wars, their notoriety took on similar forms: the covert killing of whole bands of sleeping guerillias, or the indiscriminate slaughter of refugees so as to quell resistance. 
The origin of the Company’s name is the colour of the water found in the streams of the west-most Territories from which the first company was raised. The water appears a shimmering black as a result of the smooth, black stones that sit in the riverbeds. This rock, Cólbra, has since become the icon of the Company. Others argue that the name is a poetic and flippant retort made by the gods in reference to the ferocity of the Company's fighters, and the black hearts many are rumoured to have.

Composition

Manpower

At full-strength, the Company fields 6 corps, each 80-men strong. Heather Corps is included in these calculations, but is not often deployed to front-line service. In addition, it is uncommon to see Corps maintain full numbers, or see full recruitment to begin with, so while the official strength of the Company stands at 480, the last time the Company saw action, under Seriticus, it never exceeded 400, 75 of whom were Heather Corps.

Structure

The company has retained the corps structure of the pre-Seriticus period, and therefore remains outlined in terms of 80-man groups, each accompanied by 8 beats of burden, whether they be mules, donkeys or oxen. These animals are looked after by the 80 men, and are traditionally provided by the units Rear-Corporal (second in command) from his own homestead or farm. This is in accordance with the tradition of levy where soldiers would have had an occupation during peacetime, and be called to fight only on occasion, then returning to their profession. 
First, three were raised by Girith I during the Gwerrithon Wars: Hound Corps, Hawk Corps and Heather Corps. The Company then saw no combat until Seriticus' demand for specialist troops meant that during his campaign three more corps were raised in addition to the calling of the original three: Hill Corps, Stag Corps and 2nd Hound Corps, recategorising the original Hound Corps as 1st Hound Corps. 
As it stands, the available corps are two sections of shock troops in 1st and 2nd Hound Corps, two scout sections: one horse-mounted (Stag), one foot (Hawk), and Hill Corps represents the Company's all-terrain fighting ability in being a dedicated detachment of mountaineers, terrain specialists and engineers.
Each Corps- excluding Heather and Stag- adheres to the same structure: a leading Captain from whom the orders come for the rest of the unit, followed by a Rear-Corporal whose role is enforcement and discipline. Below the Rear-Corporal is a group of 3 Hünhelots, whose role is to recruit men and organise them into their sections based on cohesion and teamwork. Each of the 5 sections per Corps is made of 25 men, 5 of whom informally act as the field lead of the unit, making decisions on the ground during battle, and leading the men as peers. These 5 are chosen through a variety of unofficial methods such as rituals, ceremonies or displays of strength and endurance, but must always garner the respect of the men they lead to remain in command, and cannot be elected on the grounds of recommendation from any senior command. 
As for overall command of Blackwater Company, the formation does not have a one single, formal leader, but instead one of the Captains, traditionally one in Heather Company, would hold larger sway over Company and external affairs. This Captain is not given a rank within the Company, but is often called the Cólbraman by his contemporaries in recognition of the experience and prestige required to be nominated leader amongst equals of the Company.

The most trusted weapon of any Blackwater corpsman is his Cairagh (Keír-ark-ch), a short-handled axe with a flat hammer-like head on its other side. A classic Cairagh is hardly over a foot long, and worn on the thigh. Historically, Cairaghs were simply small handaxes used by hunters and loggers of the Low Moors to trim timber and prep food, but their use as weapons of war was realised as soon as the Company saw action: the same rugged simplicity that made the axe such a good travelling companion made it an ideal secondary weapon for shock troops who often found themselves in uncomfortably close-quarters with the enemy, and even more commonly living off the land. The axe head is most commonly made of local iron: its blade sharpened on Cólbra, its poll tempered as a hard and flat hammerhead. The stout hatch-style handle almost always made of local Short Pine, a species of pine native of the Low Moors renowned for its hardy grain. The use of the Cairagh epitomises the strength of the Blackwater Company: simplicity, utility and tenacity.

Type

Shock

Overall training Level

Semi-professional

Assumed Veterancy

Decorated/Honored

Used by

• Gwendorian Territories
• House Gwerrith

"Men often take up the cries of vicious animals in battle: wolves, bears, great dogs. The men of the Company need not take up the cries of any animal- they are themselves vicious and animal enough." - quote attributed to Colonel Angus Raker, Crow's Butcher, supposedly concerning the Company's actions during the Purge of the Marches.