Appearance

When seen on the mortal plane, Daelrion appears as a tall and well muscled elven male with fair bronze skin. He wears his silver hair cut close to his scalp, with a neatly trimmed beard that frames his strong jaw. His face is marked by many scars and his thin, almond shaped eyes are constantly scanning and analysing the people and surrounding environment for strategic value.

The Warlord wears armour wrought from the most powerful transmutation magic, able to change its shape and material to accommodate for any situation on the battlefield. No matter the form, his armour is always of the finest quality. When he leads on the battlefield, the Warbringer dons a helm bearing the face of a hawk, and at his will this helm projects a portion of his consciousness high above to survey the field of battle. Upon his back rest his two legendary crossed blades, rumoured to contain the spirits of two of history’s greatest generals. When the cry of war is sounded and the weapons are drawn, one glows with a dark blue energy that cuts through any mortal material and the other is bathed in black flames that sunder and destroy the spirits of those it slays. In addition to his own swords, Daelrion is capable of summoning the weapons of his chosen who have fallen in battle. These weapons, with the spirits of his favoured contained within, make up his army, should he ever go to war.

Tenets

Five things a Daelrion follower should do:

1. Live life militaristically, on and off the battlefield. When not engaged in battle, one should constantly strive to perfect the art of war.

2. Outside of the tenets of Daelrion, there are no rules or ethics on the battlefield. Use subterfuge and intimidation if the strategy is sound.

3. Be loyal to those who are loyal to you. Sacrifice no soldier unless it ensures victory

4. Always take the lead in battle, unless there is a better choice, and then support them. Victory before pride.

5. Prisoners of war may be necessary for success. Treat them in the manner that is most beneficial to achieving victory.

Five things a Daelrion follower should not do:

1. Show mercy to those who do not fully surrender. Mercy dishonours both you and your enemy.

2. Break rank unless the call for retreat has been given. To die in battle is the greatest reward.

3. Show remorse or regret if you have done your best in battle. Learn from your mistakes.

4. Make war for personal reasons. War should only be made if it benefits society, your leaders, your liege or Daelrion.

5. Betray secrets if taken prisoner. Should you capture a follower of Daelrion, treat them with respect until they are no longer needed, and then give them a clean death.

Celestial Heaven: The Redoubtable Fortress

Daelrion’s Celestial Heaven is perhaps the mightiest and most defensible fortress in all of creation. Every Spirit present within its walls is bent towards its defence in some fashion, and its near-perfect fortifications would give even the strongest of foes pause should they have cause to bring war to the Warbringer himself. Entirely self-sufficient and isolated from all other threats, its defence wants for nothing. Countless shield walls fortified with enchantments ring the Redoubtable Fortress, with the only way through being their even stronger and better-defended mithril gates.

This fortress has multiple fallbacks within and between its divine walls, and a dizzying array of siege weapons sit ready upon the ramparts. Hidden tunnels and shielded causeways are also ready to protect the Warbringer’s faithful should an orderly retreat be called, for Dalerion will not sacrifice his soldiers without good cause. While certain walls have fallen in previous assaults upon his Realm, these defences have ensured that none of his foes have penetrated very far into his Heaven. With each wall that goes crashing down, his enemies find that often the very same soldiers they were just fighting now man a new set of battlements, their war machines loaded for bear and trained on their current positions.

In Between these interlocking layers of fortifications, every available bit of open ground is bent towards all that is required for the continual operation of Daelrion’s armed forces. Smithies take in shipments of steel and forge new weapons, soldiers are trained and sequestered within their barracks, horses are tucked away in their stables, and so on. The Warbringer’s armies want for nothing. When no foes are sighted on the horizon, the sounds of training exercises and mock battles constantly echo throughout these military encampments. Daelrion does not permit idleness from his troops.

In death, those who served Daelrion as warriors man the embankments of his Fortress, ever vigilant. The lay-faithful of Daelrion, those who followed the Warbringer but did not kill in his name, rarely serve as soldiers themselves when they ascend to The Redoubtable Fortress. Instead, they assist in the upkeep of his armed forces, with each Spirit being assigned a role best suited to the logistical skills that they cultivated in their mortal lives.

Realms Within The Redoubtable Fortress

• The Theatre of Operations

Those dedicated to the Warbringer are, in some fashion, defined by their dedication to the arts of war. While many of his faithful are simply the rank and file who pray to the being that has dominion over the most central aspect of their lives, a chosen few celebrate and study the execution of war on a more cerebral level. These Spirits are drawn to the Theatre of Operation, where the promise they showed in life might be cultivated in death. Here they are schooled in, and debate upon, the various schools of thought regarding war and its administration. Those Spirits who have not led warriors in life but that have nonetheless shown promise are generally taught what has brought victory in previous battles across the planes while they learn increasingly complicated combat doctrines and philosophies of war. Those tried and tested in the fires of battle are generally excused from these courses and instead are given leave to debate and develop more experimental theorems and stratagems yet to be pioneered.

• The Tactician’s Arsenal

Within the innermost keep of the Redoubtable Fortress lies the Arsenal of the Tactician. It is perhaps the most holy place in his Realm, for it is here that Daelrion presides over a great table with all of his favoured Spirits, who attend him as ephemeral beings. This table is empowered with a succession of divine enchantments that grant Daelrion a real-time overlay view of wherever he focuses his attention, and its enchantments can be redirected to nearly any plane of existence. While his favoured spirits cannot control this artifact themselves, they do view it alongside their God and suggest various courses of action to him. Festooned upon the walls is a near-infinite parchment that serves as a grand roll of honour, and upon it is written the countless wartime victories of Daelrion and his faithful. Beyond this room is the fabled Armory of Daelrion, where the Warbringer stores the weapons formed from the heavenly corporeal bodies of his followers. Each and every one is entirely unique, and even the Warbringer himself does not know which form a weapon will take when a new favoured ascends to his halls.