Iron Company
The Iron Company was, depending who you talk to, either a group of bandits and ruffians or a group of rebels and heroes made up of people whose nations and kingdoms were conquered by King Gautier Oweyn at the start of the era. Their goal was to bring an end to or reverse the tide of conquest.
Structure
The Iron Company is led by a single commander, Aalid MacGawne, who was aided by three subcommanders. These three commanders all had a lieutenant to help oversee their portion of the three thousand men and women who fought under the Iron Company's banner at the height of their power.
Public Agenda
Bring King Gautier Oweyn's conquest to an end and possibly regain their homelands.
Assets
The Iron Company was based out of a ruined tower a few miles from the land that bordered the northern boundary of the Misty Wetlands. The ruin was a circular four stories tall tower that had attached to a fort that had not been used for at least a century prior to the Aryite conquest. The fort itself had fallen apart with its walls nothing more than crumbled masses of bricks that did nothing to provide people shelter or protection. The tower also had a few holes in it caused by time and weathers assault on the stone bricks but, was still quite sturdy and the roof was completely intact. They also laid claim to a few other ruins along what would become Aryia's southern borders. Mostly falling down fortresses and keeps used by long-dead kingdoms.
Most of the equipment, weapons, and horses that belonged to the Iron Company were supplies brought with recruits resulting in a large number of draft horses being used and weapons and armor of poor quality. Sometimes, these weapons and armor could be salvaged by Aalid or another blacksmith and reforged into new weapons and armor but, most of the time they were in bad a shape to make good scrap metal. Fortunately for these troops, there were a larger number of bows available for use thanks to being so close to marshy woodlands and the Iron Company was able to steal armor and supplies from King Gautier's forces more than once.
History
As Gautier Oweyn's warriors and rune casters spread across Thaesia conquering kingdom after kingdom, some of the people in these kingdoms refused to accept their fate and began banding together. Aalid MacGawne, was one of the most vocal and quickly gained a following after word spread that she and her then 30 man band had ambushed and defeated a regiment of Aryite soldiers. The ranks of her small group quickly began swelling with survivors from Tapis, Achad, Brojan, and her home country of Lales and they began calling themselves the Iron Company. The name came from both Aalid's former profession as a smith and because they wanted to be like an iron wall that completely brought the Aryite expansion to a halt.
Quickly, they became too big of a group to continue camping in wooded areas, so the group headed south towards the swamp, where the Aryite forces had steadfastly, avoided in search of better shelter. This shelter came in the form of a tower that stood tall and sturdy and was surrounded by ruined walls. Its proximity to the swamp provided ample protection as if they were attacked they could flee into the swamp. With a base of operations found and laid claim to, the Iron Company began launching more and more raids, ambushes, and guerrilla attacks against Gautier's forces. Most attacks were successful thanks to the element of surprise and them attacking from horseback but, there were enough that ended in defeat that the band of survivors was prevented from feeling overconfident.
Unfortunately, their successes drew the attention of the Aryite King who was growing very displeased with his soldiers not being able to take out a group of rebels and made a plan to lure the Iron Company into an ambush of his own. The next time the Iron Company attacked, their forces were first devastated by the traps laid out by the rune casters and the surviving members, after watching their comrades burn alive, freeze solid, or be catapulted into the sky by earthen pillars, were set upon by the Aryite soldiers. Many, including Aaild herself, lost their lives on the battlefield that day, though a few managed to flee south towards their fortifications and beyond them into the swamps when King Gauthier kept pursuing them. The Aryite army tried to follow after them but quickly became lost in the Misty Wetlands, and it was assumed by all that the rebels would perish in the swamps. Iron Company
The survivors did initially get lost in the swamp but, three days after the massacre of their comrades they were found by the Rushil people who gave them shelter, food, and tended to their injuries. Many remaining company members stayed in Rushil, tired and mentally scarred from the fighting. The few who did not stay left the swamps and found passage to the island nation of Kimiri who were very vocally opposed to the Rune Casters and by extension Aryia.
Despite being long since gone, the Iron Company lives on as one of the few groups to openly oppose King Gautier and his rune casters and be mildly successful in attacking him. The conquest of Thaesia by Aryite kings continued until Gautier's grand-grandson, Gerard Oweyn called an end to it, leaving the continent divided into three kingdoms/countries. Though no one today would openly oppose the House of Oweyn some members of the population have become quite distrustful of the Rune Casters and whispers of the Iron Company reforming to protect average citizens from casters have begun to spread. In Kimiri, the tale of the Iron Company and the horrible things the Aryite army did during their conquest is a commonly known tale and serves as yet one more crack in the image of Aryia for the Kimirian people.
Never forget, never forgive.
Status:
DestroyedNumbers:
~3000
Type
Illicit, Gang
Alternative Names
Iron Bastards
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Leader
Location
Notable Members
Related Myths
An interesting tale! I love all of the detail you gave it, it really reads like an actual article one might have if this world was real.