The Velzyrae Principon, sometimes called Imperial Velzyrae, was a military unit in the Zannyr Empire. It took orders directly from the Tyrana, and was also unique in its hierarchy, flexibility, uniforms, roles, and missions.

History

The Zann'Elth Tyranaen made huge conquests in the Orc Wars and thereafter became the empire. Suddenly, the largely unchanged administrative system of a single city was used to rule a whole empire. This worked admirably well overall, but in one important aspect - that of maintaining the respect, fear and obedience of petty rulers before Tyrana authority - it failed. Matrons of outlying houses (though not powerful imperial officials, who had gone through military academies and were fully devoted to the ruler) sought for more independence, like their Khali peers outside the empire had.

In order to deal with this problem, the Tyrana created a new military unit, the Velzyrae. Their name was similar to Khalisk for "Velvet Ones", and they were unique in many respects.

Military Context

The Velzyrae were technically a principon, a unit of 64 soldiers divided into 8 foot-units. These were the absolute smallest possible size for an independent unit in the regular military. But the Velzyrae had a hundred soldiers, divided into a dozen velze (foot-units), although these numbers varied over the years. Velzyrae were renowned for forming 9-soldier foot-units. These velze were all independent, meaning that they did not have to move as a single fixed unit. Often, the velze were spread far and wide across the whole empire.

Also, the principon did not stand under the command of a principa as was common, but under an arachness (a much higher rank). They stood outside of the chain of command, meaning they answered directly to the Tyrana herself. Uniquely, all Velzyrae stood under Yauntyr Protection, making them legally unkillable.

The initiation ritual was difficult and deadly. Pretendants had to prove themselves in a number of tests, promising their loyalty to the Tyrana at the same time. About half who tried died. This ritual was introduced nearly simultaneously with the banning of extremely similar religious rituals to initiate clerics.

Personnel

Reforms reducing the size of noble offices in houses, and a full staffing of both the clergy and military officer positions, meant many young females found themselves without a calling. The Velzyrae, meanwhile, were uniquely constituted solely of females.

An additional prerequisite was that all Velzyrae have some spellcasting ability. Most were sorcerous rather than clerical casters because of growing problems between Lolth and the empire. The necessary power for common soldiers wasn't high, but they were still all able to use minor spells very effectively in melee combat.

Equipment

Velzyrae were melee fighters. The few needs for ranged weaponry they had were covered by spells. Instead, they used two swords, enchanted with various boons to improve their cutting power.

They didn't wear armor; to some extent, this was justified by their ability to create magical force fields to defend them instead. However, they also did not wear standard military uniform, but quite the opposite. They went against proper clothing, instead wearing what was essentially red loincloth. The idea was that they contrasted sharply with the usual imperial dress, demonstrating their importance and power. This was perhaps a leftover from Drakana fashion.

It was common for Velzyrae to use oval opals as spellcasting foci.

Roles

To some extent, the Velzyrae served as the Tyrana's honor guard. At major events, where the Tyrana met with nobles from outside the administration, they often stood by her side as attendants. This was more for political ends than actual protection; the Tyrana had her Crimson Guard for this.

Mainly, these elite soldiers served as political influencers among independent-minded nobility. Velze of nine soldiers would visit houses seen as disobedient, warning the matron mother and staying in proximity for a while, intervening directly if necessary. They had a huge prestige and much power, communicated not to a minor extent through their exhibitionist red uniforms, so often their mere presence in a city sufficed to remind everyone who was the boss.

Sometimes, the Tyrana needed a delicate mission accomplished, such as getting rid of a domestic threat or blackmailing other influential nobles. While the Velzyrae were her go-to tool for any problems that required strong action on a small scale, she never sent them on operations outside the empire, and rarely even used them for prestige when meeting outsiders, opting instead for a traditional pompous entourage. They did occasionally restore obedience among the Tsseh, however.