Lightning (Commandos)

Elves rarely appear anywhere in large numbers, with most enclaves within larger cities numbering a few dozen at most. Their influence is felt nevertheless, and one spectacular example is in elven warfare. One of their most famed units is referred to simply as Lightning, and the tales of this band have grown into myth and legend over the past few millennia, but surprisingly they don't stray far from the truth.
Elven numbers make conventional warfare with large divisions impractical, and mass combat often relies on large groups of troops who are considered more or less expendable, a repulsive thought for elves. Each has centuries to hone their own techniques and individually just about every elf is more than capable of defending themselves, though a rare few are called to specialize in combat and a lone elven warrior is the stuff of nightmares. Lightning includes twelve such elves on its roster, and they report directly to the Council of Elders, as much as any elf does at least. Though targeted assassinations and small scale combat is well within their purview (and every member is a skilled warmachine pilot, making them unafraid to square off against entire cohorts when necessary), their real talent is destroying cities from within. Lightning uses subtle magics, propaganda, and aggressive recruitment of dissidents to sow enough chaos that cities have torn themselves apart while the elves sit back and pick off a handful of targets amid the chaos. Their magics focus on clouding judgment and stoking rage, and the twelve are all masters of disguise, infiltrating cities and beginning their schemes long before anyone in charge has any idea what's going on.
Lightning has been curiously absent in Bellaron, though the Garden of Night Blooming Flowers has claimed the city as their own, and attempts on the Emperor's life are well documented. Not a few people wonder at Lightning's absence, and wonder what fate the Empire could have in store for it (or how powerful the Emperor must be) to have avoided their attention.