Helios Swordmasters
The Swordmasters of Helios are the greatest and best-trained warriors of all the Protectorate. Having been trained to fight against the Vulcast Empire's machine armies, they have learned to fight with unique weapons and a unique fighting style. Through years of intense training, they have learned to hone their senses and reflexes to a level that seems superhuman.
Since the beginning, the warriors of Helios have always sought to perfect the art of swordsmanship. Using almost all bladed weapons to train with, the swordsmen have dedicated themselves to mastering everything from the longsword, katana, rapier, estoc, and knives alike. By collecting swordsmen from all the Twelve Cities and their different styles they have succeeded in training each member with deadly precision. Yet they didn't stop there, using powerful methods of meditation and chemical compounds to increase their strength and reflexes to three times that of an ordinary man, they became the most feared warriors in all of the Protectorate.
Composition
Equipment
One of the most valuable pieces of equipment used by Helios Swordmasters was the strike class battlesuit which offers ample protection, especially against machines. All swordsmen are given a battlesuit upon graduation modified to the wearer's specific fighting style and choice of swords. The suit is arguably the most advanced model ever created by the Protectorate military and is capable of feats the original assault class worn by the Guardians Force is incapable of. The armor is capable of jumping more than several times the wearer's height like the assault class and generates the same hard light shields which regenerate much faster and can withstand greater damage. The armor is capable of storing multiple-bladed weapons while also making room for several firearms at the same time. One of the greatest features of the suit is its ability to respond to the wearer's thoughts making them fast and more agile, should they suffer any injury like bullet wounds or broken bones it can move at their will while simultaneously healing their body.
Weaponry
The vibroblade is an offensive weapon that can vibrate at high speeds when activated and can shred through an enemy's armor. It was one of the most common weapons given to a Helios swordsman.
The pulse sword is an offensive weapon that generates an electric pulse through the blade making it an effective weapon against machines. Though it is not designed for battling against humans it is still a highly effective weapon capable of sending electric shocks that can kill a man if strong enough.
The crucible glaive is the signature weapon of any Helios Swordsman and especially a Swordmaster. It is an ultra-high carbon steel blade folded over a thousand times and honed to a monomolecular edge thus making it the sharpest blade ever fashioned by the Protectorate more so than a vibroblade. With an ornikyte crystal at its core, it can channel high amounts of magic allowing it to send slashes of energy that can cut through steel and armor as though using the blade itself.
Structure
Many outsiders naturally assume that everyone who graduates the School of Swordmastery is a swordmaster but this is false. All graduates become fully fledged swordsmen but only the greatest and the elite actually take up the title of swordmaster upon completion of their training. It is the swordmasters who are in charge of the Helios Schools, training the students, and issuing assignments for graduates.
Training
The Helios School of Sword Mastery is one of a kind with all of its instructors and students located only in Helios. It stands as one of the most heavily guarded locations in all of the Protectorate. Students from all across the Twelve Cities travel for miles for a chance to train and become a Helios swordsman and one day a swordmaster. In the school students are not just trained to fight with swords, but they also undergo a series of tests with serums and other chemical compounds to strengthen their bodies and reflexes. Only in the city of Helios is the knowledge of how to do this successfully kept hidden and regarded as one of the Protectorate's greatest secrets.
Many who come to Helios seeking to train in the sword schools and become a master are from across the Protectorate. They are all given a series of tests to see a student's potential. If they pass they are then taken in for training with both hand-to-hand as well as armed combat.
All students begin training with hand-to-hand combat, strengthening their physical abilities first before training with a sword. Once this is done they begin training with bladed weapons, for each student, the starting weapon is different and depends entirely on them. A student's training can last anywhere up to seven if not ten years. Each student upon graduation is gifted with a suit of armor and a pair of swords to take with them. Despite what many think only a select few students are given the rank and title of swordmaster.
Logistics
Recruitment
Recruits can come from anywhere across the Protectorate, many tend to be the children of nobles and venerated military officers from the Guardian Force. Others are actually hand-selected from the Guardian Force itself who show great potential. There are rare times when a swordsman or even a swordmaster will personally take up an apprentice from anywhere whether it be the Protectorate or even the far reaches of the Outlands regardless if they are highborn or lowborn.
History
The Helios Swordmasters have existed since the dawn of the Protectorate acting as bodyguards and elite soldiers. It was only when the war with the Vulcast Empire that they truly became the fabled warriors that they are now. When the Empire began experimenting not just with their machines but also with their very own soldier to find ways to enhance their physical prowess they slowly began to dominate their enemy forces on the battlefield. The Protectorate needed a way to fight against the Empire on equal footing and began experiments of their own, they didn't have access to the same machinery and resources however they did have magic and a science that only they could utilize. The goal was to create a soldier that was highly effective in fighting not just enhanced soldiers but at the same time their machines.
It began with gathering the greatest warriors across all of the Protectorate from across all of the Twelve Cities and having them take their greatest strengths and skills to be put into one single training regimen. After several years they have finally settled on how this process would work they set about to find members from the military and put their training to the test. This training began with teaching each soldier to fight hand-to-hand and then moved to bladed weapons so that they could fight against humanoid opponents. Only after they mastered the necessary skills to fight against any humanoid opponent did they move to fighting advanced combat machines and using highly advanced weapons and armor to do so.
Although a success at first, the Protectorate wanted to go further in its research and training program for the swordmasters by also enhancing their physical prowess. They chose to do so by using their medical research to create serums and potions with magical substances to permanently alter the subject's body resulting in increased strength, enhanced reflexes, heightened senses, and faster reaction time that was three times that of peak human capability. It was then and only then was the project considered complete and a total success. Since then the swordmasters have acted not just a bodyguards, but also military advisors and commanders as well as elite commandos in times of war. They stand as a prime example of what humans and their science are capable of.
Overall training Level
Professional
Assumed Veterancy
Veteran
Parent Formation
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