Myrmidons of House Vyre

GUTS AND GEARS — THE BEASTS AND MACHINES OF THE IRON KINGDOMS

Myrmidons have been a staple of the Iosan military since House Shyeel constructed the first Manticores in 315 AR. It was not long until Shyeel’s rivals within House Vyre also mastered the fabrication of their own myrmidons, approaching the task from a very different perspective and creating their own unique designs. The myrmidons employed by House Vyre have changed and evolved over the years, particularly after the War of the Houses, but certain fundamentals remain. House Vyre considers their machines every bit as powerful and capable on the battlefield as those built by House Shyeel, if not superior in some respects. Regardless of their respective merits, the Retribution of Scyrah benefits from the war machines of both houses as they join the sect’s soldiers in battles abroad.

Both Shyeel and Vyre myrmidons are powered by long-standing arcanikal principles, forgoing the simple and grossly inefficient steam power of human warjacks. Instead, myrmidons rely on a self-sustaining power plant that utilizes an arcane condenser to siphon latent energy from the surrounding environment. This naturally occurring energy is accumulated into powerful storage cells, which are distributed throughout the myrmidon’s frame. This energy can be released as needed to drive the myrmidon’s limbs or to power its weapon systems and other devices. This, however, is where the internal similarities between the myrmidons of House Shyeel and House Vyre end.
House Shyeel specializes in protective field generation systems that use the myrmidon’s stored energy to create and shape powerful energy fields. These energy fields serve primarily to provide ample defense but can be manipulated to create bursts of offensive firepower. House Vyre looked to utilize a myrmidon’s power reserves to augment its unusual and innovative weapons systems, considering a defensive power field an unnecessary waste of energy better turned to offense.

One major drawback of the Shyeel field dependant design is the delicate apparatus required. The bulk and space required for these complex systems leave little room for system redundancies or heavy armor plating. Once the protective field of a Shyeel myrmidon is breached, its systems become quite vulnerable to sustained enemy attack. Vyre myrmidons, however, contain none of the delicate field generator mechanisms of their Shyeel counterparts. This allowed Vyre arcanists to build a more robust machine, utilizing the space saved for increased armor and system redundancies.

The durability of this design over the Shyeel myrmidons remains a hotly contested issue between the two houses. Shyeel arcanists are quick to point out that their field technology often eliminates the need for post-battle repairs on myrmidons that suffered light fire, as damage to the field can simply be recharged. Conversely, Vyre myrmidons exposed to similar levels of enemy fire may require extensive maintenance and the replacement of parts or armor plating. Despite the debate, both designs have proven to be deadly and effective in the crucible of combat.

While the difference in the internal mechanisms of Vyre and Shyeel myrmidons is substantial, it is the external differences that are most immediately apparent between the two chassis. The Vyre myrmidons’ asymmetrical shoulder casings house specialized mechanisms designed to generate the unique distorted energies that empower their weaponry. By creating an imbalance within the stored arcane energies, a variety of warped fields can be produced, each with unique destructive capabilities and secondary effects. Rather than projecting these fields at range, Vyre myrmidons imbue these fields into the physical projectiles fired from their shoulder-mounted cannons.

While those among House Vyre are loathe to admit it now, many of their unusual field projectors had their start in the occult studies of their former Lord Ghyrrshyld. By expanding upon the principles of the earliest Vyre myrmidon designs, Ghyrrshyld and his cohorts crafted devices that could create energy fields to enhance a projectile’s physical damage and even distort the fabric of reality. As Ghyrrshyld fell deeper into madness and the study of forbidden occult lore, the weaponry of House Vyre became more incomprehensible to their peers yet also more effective, capable of producing effects that seemed to defy all predictions and expectations. Only a few of House Vyre’s most intelligent and talented arcanists could claim to understand the principles behind these weapons.

Following the end of the War of the Houses, the once influential House Vyre found itself in disgrace. There was nothing that did not bear the vile stain of its disposed lord. As part of the reconciliation following the brutal conflict, House Vyre underwent a massive purge to rid itself of the worst criminals and dark occult apparatuses. It was also required to deconstruct its existing colossals by order of the victorious houses. In addition to deconstructing these great machines, House Vyre willingly submitted its existing myrmidons to extensive redesign. While motivated primarily by a true desire to rid themselves of dangerous occult influences, the effort also answered a real political need. It was vital that House Vyre demonstrate a concerted effort toward expunging any remnants of Ghyrrshyld’s legacy. At the same time, secretly and privately, House Vyre sought to preserve as much of their existing lore and technology as possible, albeit taking certain measures to secure this information so it could not be abused.

House Vyre could not afford to sacrifice its tremendous trove of accumulated occult knowledge. The house’s status among the hallytyr and their very essence as a people was defined by their mastery of the arcane. Surviving leaders knew that not all the knowledge gained during Ghyrrshyld’s reign had been tainted by madness. Even lore that was the direct result of Ghyrrshyld’s studies had provided unexpected gains and insights, and many believed it could be cleansed and made useful. House arcanists saw the need to maintain certain arcanikal weaponry that might prove vital to the defense of Ios. After a review, only lore determined unredeemable was destroyed. The remainder was locked away in a great forbidden library vault where only the most powerful and trusted arcanists would be allowed access. Armed with this knowledge and driven by the need to redeem their house, a new surge of innovation began in the years following the war, made evident with the next generation of Vyre myrmidons.

The Daemon is an older myrmidon design from House Vyre, and was the first machine to challenge the monopoly of the Shyeel in the early days of myrmidon development. The original Daemon’s vortex cannon imbued its projectile with crushing forces that hindered targets caught in the blast. Utilizing breakthroughs in the understanding of metaphysics and the nature of the veil that separates Caen from the Veld, the original technology of the vortex cannon was refined and its effects amplified. The discordant energies produced by the Daemon’s shoulder mechanisms imbue its ammunition with the power to actually warp reality for a brief moment and create an intense gravitational pull.

Little is understood about the processes that take place in the immediate area where this weapon strikes. Some have postulated that lingering energies from these explosions could have lasting and unforeseen consequences. Given the cataclysm that happened after the collapse of the Bridge of Worlds, Iosans are sensitive to the perils of meddling with the barrier between the Veld and Caen, and if this weapon was better understood it would likely invite censure. Lord Arcanist Ossyan has dismissed this risk as miniscule, having thoroughly tested the distorting energies used by the weapon. Despite this, he continues to refine the vortex cannon as more first-hand data is collected from its battlefield use. The undeniable power of the Daemon will likely see it become one of the foremost weapons of the Retribution of Scyrah now that House Vyre has joined the sect.

Oldest among the current Vyre myrmidons, the Sphinx remains a visible reminder of the dark past and the horrors unleashed within Ios during the civil war. When war broke out between the houses of Ios, the Sphinx was deployed at the forefront of nearly every major engagement. Thanks to the ingenious nature of its runespear cannon, the Sphinx was a perfect complement to Vyre arcanists. By creating a trail of latent magical energy, a runespear’s projectiles acts as magical conduits to guide arcane attacks. Easy to produce and maintain, the Sphinx is an elegant testament to the effectiveness of Vyre principles.

The newest myrmidon to emerge from House Vyre after the redesign effort was the Banshee. The Banshee was the first with weaponry that actively utilized theories established under Ghyrrshyld’s reign, redesigned to disguise that origin. During Ghyrrshyld’s experimental attempts to understand elven souls, it was discovered that proper application of arcane force could create a field that was anathema to any creature’s metaphysical essence. The Banshee empowers its void blades with this soul-shredding field. The few living creatures that survive a blow from a void blade are left with horrific wounds that are extremely slow to heal and suffer from a deeper malaise that may arise from damage to their very souls. Many senior arcanists among House Vyre whisper that the power of the void blade could sever a soul from its host without killing the target, leaving the unfortunate victim as the Soulless. However, like many of the new Vyre myrmidons, the Banshee has yet to see extensive time on the battlefield, and the arcanists of House Vyre have every reason not to explain the theories behind their weapons to outsiders. That they are devastating to enemies of the Retribution is enough.

While the destructive potential of its blades is impressive, they are not the Banshee’s only weapons. By focusing discordant energies through a specially designed arcantrik relay, the Banshee can produce a deafening sonic wail. In addition to making verbal communication nearly impossible, the unique magical frequencies achieved actually disrupt the shaping of arcane power by enemy spellcasters.

This breakthrough in arcanika was developed by Lord Arcanist Ossyan and his peers shortly after the great purge. Ossyan was working on the arcane device to empower the next generation of Vyre myrmidon cannons. Fascinated by research done by Ghyrrshyld on the nature of magical energy and his theories on how specific types of energy could interfere with the working of magic, Ossyan began work to create a magical dissipater. After several months of work, Ossyan created a sonic field generator. As power began to flow into the device, a low hum became audible before building into a high-pitched wail that shattered every window within thirty feet of his laboratory. He and several other arcanists immediately discovered amid the sonic aftermath they could not manifest their magic as spells. Satisfied with these results, Ossyan worked to refine the apparatus and turn the sonic energies into an offensive weapon. After several more months of refinement, the myrmidon that would become known as the Banshee was completed.

While still haunted by the shadows of its dark past, House Vyre has already begun to prove itself as an invaluable asset to the Retribution of Scyrah. As the Retribution’s influence within Ios continues to rise, the stars of those houses aligned with it will ascend as well. The arcanists and mechaniks of House Vyre are determined to rebuild and redeem their house and eventually stand preeminent in Ios for their lore, arcane power, and technology.

Fonte: No Quarter 42

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