Metvardia

Armed Agents of the Red Clergy

After the passing of founding fathers Nikolas and Radomir, The Red Clergy of Nechestivy fell into the pit of desire that all leading powers are susceptible to. They began to seek more power, establishing themselves not only as a political force throughout their nation but as a military one as well. A recruitment order was issued, and their most loyal and capable candidates were chosen and put through rigorous training to develop their own private militia. Favoring the citizens with beneficial mutations of Nechestivan Taint, the Metvardia was formed.
The Metvardia, commonly referred to as the 'bear guards' of the Red Clergy, are the elite guards dedicated to protecting members of the Red Clergy and enacting their will throughout Nechestivy. In the millennia since their inception, they have evolved from a small, private guard to a veritable military regiment with an approximate force of over five hundred individuals. They have been carefully selected, trained, and bred to favor raw power and resistance to arcane influence to the point where their overwhelming strength is only matched by their undying loyalty to the Clergy. These specialized soldiers serve their masters without question as they create order through fear in the Nechestivan populace.
Metvardian uniforms are assembled out of layers of polished steel plate and red-dyed leather trimmed in bear pelts. Plate sections of their armor will be intricately detailed with bear motifs, with roaring chest plates and clawed vambraces. Officers will have red stripes painted on their vambraces and each section of fur to denote their unique status. The most notable piece of armor in their uniform would be their trademark three-headed bear helmet to match the iconography of Nechestivy. Their faces are present inside the open, roaring mouth of a bear with an additional bear face embossed onto each side of the metal helmet. A bear's fur scalp runs down from the top and drapes real paws over the shoulders of the soldier. Striking colors and iconography help them stay easily readable amongst crowds and the snowy landscape of the countryside.
Standard armaments for the Metvardia are non-existent. As the Nechestivan Taint is so common amongst members of the force, they typically utilize whatever weapon seems to match their unique abilities. Swords, staves, hammers, and crossbows are all common among their members. Individuals that have their Taint present in physical abnormalities may even fight unarmed with natural claws or even the rare tentacled appendage.
Training focuses less on the proper use of weapons as each Metvardian soldier bears a different aptitude, and more on mental and physical fortitude and loyalty towards the Red Clergy. Although the specifics of training remain a mystery, prospective recruits have been seen in the middle of the night on naked marches through the snow and bearing the marks of past tortures on their bodies. Apathetic faces and voices from the Metvardia accompanied by feverish devotion belies mental conditioning and brainwashing to be present throughout the recruitment process. The methods that the Clergy uses to train their forces are known to be brutal yet effective. Many recruits will not survive the training process, but all families will receive a jar of ashes meant to be their children.
Even for those who survive the process, this marks the death of their previous self, being reborn into a new entity; a tool for the Red Clergy.

Loyal Soldiers, Born and Bred

Although the brutal training regimen for new recruits of the Metvardia is widely acknowledged and feared, a new, more sinister selection process has been spreading via hushed whispers throughout Korona.
The Red Clergy has been accused of making deals with families in the capital, not only for males with promising variants of the Nechestivan Taint but for clean and untainted daughters as well.
These families receive a staggering amount of gold and food supplies in exchange for their silence and cooperation. If the family they are offering in exchange proves to be fruitful, they are promised even more. Successes and failures alike will never again be seen by their families.
What determines success and failure is currently unconfirmed. Still, the implication in searching for particular traits of the Taint or for 'clean slates' holds obvious in the eyes of the people: the Red Clergy is conducting a breeding project for the Metvardia.
This has resulted in a stock of Metvardian soldiers with only positive traits of the Taint present, enhancing their physical and mental abilities to serve their role even better.
Soldiers growing only to know life inside of the Clergy's service proves to be the most fervent followers of all.