Enemies of Solaria - The Heralds of Lightning · 5:36pm Nov 22nd, 2022
“Lightning strikes in the sky,
Thunder peals on high,
While we sail the sea of clouds,
There is glory to be won,
Before the setting of the sun,
Let the storm be our call!
Our call!
Let the storm be our call!”
-The first stanza of the Heralds of Lightning shanty “Let the storm be our call.”
Arriving from across the sea in their fleet of ships, the Heralds of Lightning came to Impraecordia to plunder and conquer. Led by the powerful Storm King, the Heralds first struck Muir Nan Speur, the kingdom of the selkies, violently subjugating its people before turning their attention to Solaria and its vast resources, initiating the War of Storms. The Heralds were not a single people, but the remnants of many peoples assimilated into the Storm King’s army as part of his conquests.
Homeland:
Though the Heralds of Lightning hailed from the continent of Ekaitzlura, their home was not the land of their origin, but their vast fleets of airships and naval vessels. Each fleet was akin to its own private state, ruled by the admiral, who in turn paid fealty to the Storm King. The Storm King himself occupied a great warship known as The Eye of Sacanas, from which he commanded his forces to go forth and plunder in his name.
Composition:
The Heralds, being comprised of mixed species from Ekaitzlura, did not have a uniform appearance. However, there were three species that made up ca. 90% of the fleet’s population.
One species, known as the kanamanu, resembled humanoid birds, and made up the majority of the Wind Ripper and Storm Sailer fleets. Most kanamanu shared features with tropical birds such as parrots, honeycreepers, hawks, pheasants and corvids. Unlike sky-runners or selkies, kanamanu wings were integrated into their arms, rather than separate appendages. To compensate, they had high dexterity in their feet, allowing them to wield weapons in their lower limbs while in the air. Among the kanamanu, the most feared were the rare individuals born with cassowary features. While incapable of flight, they more than make up for it in power, size and natural armor.
Another species that was well represented within the fleets were the blitzkobolds. Unlike the kanamanu, the blitzkobolds were short, stocky creatures with long, hound-like heads, black fur and powerful clawed hands. Making up the core of the Lightning Slicer and Thunder Breaker fleets, blitzkobolds were the most powerful magic users within the Heralds. What made them particularly dangerous was their penchant for magical and technological innovation. Many of the Storm King’s most deadly assets, including the deadly lightning lances and chaostorm drop pods were created by blitzkobold science.
The final species that had a major presence within the Heralds were the moubet. Like the kanamanu, the moubet were beast people, but instead resemble predatory mammals, with felines, canids, herpestids and mustelids making up the majority of their number, with a small number of insectivores like shrews and moles. Moubet made up the majority of the Wave Rider and Deep Delver fleets. Moubet had features that were very similar to their animal model, such as feline moubet having retractable claws and excelend balance, while hyena moubet possed powerful bites and excellent senses of smell.
In addition to these three main races, there are numerous, other minor peoples that were members of the Heralds’ crews. Many of these were people that were kidnapped by the Herald’s press gangs and forced to fight for the Storm King. This included sun-gazers and selkies taken during the War of Storms, or those that willingly joined the Heralds.
The most unique individual within the Heralds was the Storm King himself. A tall, powerful biped, the Storm King’s upper torso resembled a great, white-furred ape, his head topped with a pair of black horns and iron crown. His irises were pitch black, while his sclera were electric blue. Large tusk like fangs protruded from his lower jaw, giving him a bestial appearance. His legs were strongly unguligrade, with his feet tipped in a pair of cloven hooves. His tail is long and bushy like a wolf, and is also covered in white fur. The Storm King’s body crackles with the raw power of the storm, arcs of lightning dancing across his skin and periodically jumping to objects nearby. The king was never seen without his Staff of Sacanas, a powerful artifact that bore a fragment of the primordial living storm. This weapon could act as a conduit for the primordial's power, and gave the Storm King unprecedented control over air, lightning and weather.
Aspect: Harmonious
Despite their rapacious nature, the Heralds were and are beings of Harmony. However, they did not follow the Siblings. Instead, they venerated Sacanas, the living storm, a primordial being created by Harmony before the birth of the Siblings.
Magic source:
Despite the disparity composition, the three primary species that made up the Heralds all wielded a form of body-aspect magic derived from Sacanas. Unlike the sun-gazers, the Heralds did not draw power from an inner flame. Instead, their power came from what they called their “inner storm.” Like the flame, the storm had to be fed with emotion to generate magic, though the emotions that feed the storm most effectively were not positive emotions, but negative ones like anger, fear, aggression, greed and lust. Unlike the flame, the storm was not refined through dance, but through acts of violence. Though not as flexible or varied as sun-gazer flame magic, storm magic more readily lent itself to warfare. Even the blitzkobolds needed to use violence to channel their magic when enchanting, but got around this restriction by inflicting non-lethal violence on prisoners, crewmembers who are being “disciplined”, or if such are unavailable, breaking disposable objects, though the lightning refined from such is not nearly as potent as that which was refined by harming another living thing.
Society:
Like a locust swarm, the Heralds of Lightning swept across the land, sea and sky, devouring everything in their path. Bound together by their fanatical devotion to the Storm King and the primordial Sacanas from which he draws his power, the Heralds reveled in plunder, carnage and conquest.
The nomadic society of the Heralds was centered around their fleet of fortress ships. The largest of these ships, called galeons, were effectively cities, housing thousands of Heralds at a time, including children. Galleons rarely entered battle directly, as they were the heart of their respective fleet and far too valuable to risk. Everyone living aboard these ships was considered part of the crew, and were expected to pull their weight. Even children contributed to the running of the ship as soon as they were capable. It was a hard, taxing life, but one that the Heralds relished, for it afforded them the opportunity to partake in the sacred violence and plunder that Sacanas demanded of its followers.
The galleons were led by the admirals, the most ruthless, cutthroat and vicious members of the crews. Admirals were appointed personally by the Storm King, and each bore a piece of his power in the form of a fraction of Sacanas’s lightning. Though this gift made the admirals formidable, it bound them to the Storm King, as he could withdraw this gift at any time, or, more cruelly, revoke their protection from the lighting, causing Sacanas’s power to consume them from within.
Below the galleons were the frigates, which acted as the raiding arm of the fleets. Frigate crews numbered up to a hundred, and often changed between raids as members were offloaded to the galleons. Whereas the galleons acted as the body of the fleets, the frigates were their swords, striking out to raid and pillage, before vanishing back into the sky or sea.
At the heart of the fleet was the Storm King, who reigned supreme as the absolute ruler and master. His airship, the Eye of Sacanas, was easily twice the size of a galleon, and was crewed by the most fanatical of his Heralds. Entire sections of the Eye were dedicated to the spoils of the Storm King’s conquests, including sacred statutes, works of art, and even the preserved corpses of heros and rulers that died in battle against the Heralds.
Life aboard the fleets was brutal, with each crew member looking to rise higher in the ranks to earn a better share of the plunder and greater power within their ship. As a society that reveled in and depended on violence and plunder, the Heralds are held together by the strength of their admirals and captains, and their worship of their master the Storm King. Discipline aboard the ships was harsh by necessity, with floggings, rationing and the like used to keep the cutthroats that made up the crews in check.
Government: theocratic cult of personality
The Heralds organize themselves around the worship of Sacanas, and its chosen champion, the Storm King. Within the Heralds, all power stems from this singular figure, who could make or break his subordinates at a whim. Every member of the Heralds, from the lowliest sun-gazer abducted and press ganged into service to the highest admiral lived and died at the whim of the Storm King.
Below the Storm King are the six admirals, who each control one of the fleets. Like the Storm King, these individuals wield absolute power within their ranks. All six admirals form a council that exists to enact the will of the Storm King.
Next down on the ladder were the captains, who controlled the individual frigates. These men and women were appointed by the admirals, and were their hands in the field. Through the admirals, these Heralds were granted a sliver of Sacanas’s power. A captain’s word was absolute aboard their ship, and they were capable of killing crew members with impunity should they step out of line or disobey orders.
Below the captains were the officers. Unlike the captains, the officers do not have the authority to kill crew members with impunity, only doing so at the orders of their captain. They also lacked the gifts of Sacanas and the Storm King.
At the bottom are the rank and file crew members of a given frigate. Of these, the “true” Heralds held a higher position of power within the crews, while recent recruits and kidnapped victims pressed into service made up the very bottom of the pecking order. Crew members were expected to obey their officers without question, with disobedience leading to severe punishment, even death.
Military and warfare:
The Heralds as a whole live to fight, plunder and conquer.
Overall, the Heralds preferred lightning raiding tactics to protracted battles. Against land based enemies, two to three frigates would rapidly descend upon an area, using their storm-canons and bombs to soften up their target, before inserting their troops via chaostorm drop pods. These devices, which resemble massive tethered flechettes, were fired from the ships. These drop pods would target key areas, such as any military garrisons or defensive fortifications, hoping to catch any defenders present off guard. Upon impact, they would violently burst open, sending slabs of metal flying through the air while releasing a dozen blitzkobold and maubet raiders. Simultaneously, kanamanu descend from the skies to deal with any enemy fliers or corral any victims that are attempting to flee. Once the defenders are subdued, the raiders will sac the town for food, useful materials, and precious metals to take back to their fleet. Depending on the nature of the raid, they would occasionally abduct survivors to press them into service within the Heralds. Otherwise, every sun-gazer present was put to the sword.
The War of Storms:
When the Heralds first arrived on Impraecordia’s south-eastern shores in 1266 SC, they first encountered Queen Novo and the selkie island Muir Nan Speur. Though the selkies fought valiantly against the Storm King’s forces, they were eventually overwhelmed and subjugated. Those who escaped, including Queen Novo and Princess Skystar, fled beneath the sea where the Heralds couldn’t reach them. Having claimed Muir Nan Speur, the Storm King turned his attention to the mainland, and Solaria.
When the Heralds first made landfall on the Solarian shores, they initially overwhelmed the coastal defenders. Emboldened by their success, they pushed further inland. Solaria’s retaliation was swift, with Lieutenant Commander Spitfire leading the charge against the invaders.
The results were catastrophic.
Losses were severe on both sides, with many Herald frigates lost along with hundreds of sun-blades. Unfortunately for the Solarian defenders, the fanatical devotion of the Heralds, and the Storm King’s desire to punish Solaria for their defiance, only drove the Heralds to redouble their efforts. Soon, the sun-blades and the Solarian defenders were being pushed back. It was only through the timely arrival of General Sentry and Lady Inkwell with reinforcements from Heliopolis did they repel the first wave of invaders.
So began the War of Storms.
Over the course of the decade-long conflict, southern Solaria was left devastated, with neither side able to gain a decisive advantage. While the Solarian defenders could never decisively pin down the Heralds or take the fight to their fortresses on Muir Nan Speur, even with the aid of the rest of the Solar Alliance members, the Heralds could never manage protracted incursions into Solaria without taking devastating losses to the fleets. Solaria’s unwillingness to break drove the Storm King mad with rage, as no foe had ever dared defy him or Sacanas so effectively. Though advised by his admirals that the continued war against Solaria was unwinnable, the king’s ego would not allow him to retreat.
In an effort to break the stalemate, the Storm King himself began to take to the field. With the king’s presence, the tide once again turned in the Herald’s favor, and they began to push the Solarian defenders back. But, by leaving his base in Muir Nan Speur, the Storm King sewed the seeds of his defeat. With the king gone, the selkies, intent on throwing off the shackles of the Heralds, managed to smuggle Princess Skystar to Solaria, where she told the sun-gazers everything she learned about the Heralds, including about their dependence on the Storm King. With this information, Lady Inkwell and General Sentry concocted a plan to remove the head of the snake, and hopefully break the fleets’ morale.
Using intelligence gathered by the Eyes of the Sun, Princess Skystar, and captured Heralds, General Sentry and Lady Inkwell determined where the Storm King would next strike. Pooling together the best of the best of the sky-runner sun-blades as well as plumed serpents and colaurata, Spitfire waited in ambush for the Eye of Sacanas. As soon as the ship began its attack, they struck. Though the casualties were high within the Solar Alliance, they managed to cripple the ship’s rudder and engines, preventing its retreat. It was then that General Sentry and Lady Inkwell’s forces emerged, surrounding the ship and scuttling it. The Storm King, enraged at the loss of his throne, joined the fray, seeking revenge for his humiliation.
This was the opportunity Lady Inkwell and General Sentry had been waiting for, as exposing himself allowed Lady Inkwell to play her trump card. Using her most powerful amp, Raven’s Quill, Lady Inkwell managed to seal the king’s magic away, robbing him of the majority of his power. The battle that followed was fierce and bloody, nearly costing Lady Inkwell, Commander Spitfire and General Sentry their lives. But, in the end, they emerged triumphant, the Storm King’s severed head held high in the General’s hand.
The effects of the King’s loss were devastating on the Heralds, for when the King was slain, the magical feedback through his link with the admirals and captains proved lethal. Without their commanders, the rest of the crews quickly fell into disarray. What followed was a slaughter as the Solarian forces rallied and retaliated against the fleeing Heralds, destroying nearly all of their ships, including five of their six galleons, and sending the survivors fleeing back across the sea to Ekaitzlura.
Legacy:
Though the Heralds had been bested and were unlikely to ever return, the war against them changed Solaria and Impraecordia forever. In the wake of the war, thousands of sun-gazers and selkies were dead, with many more left homeless. It took decades to rebuild, and much of the southern region of Solaria still shows the scars of the war.
The biggest change to occur in the wake of the war was the selkies formally joining the Solar Alliance. Prior, they had been a trading partner, but had refused formally allying with Solaria. After the Heralds were driven off, Queen Novo realized that a formal alliance with Solaria would provide her with the sort of protection and resources she would need to rebuild after the damage done by the Storm King’s followers.
While there were attempts to reverse-engineer much of the Herald’s technology, the nature of their inner storm based magic prevented most of their magi-tech from being properly replicated. They still provided inspiration for several key innovations in Heliopolis, including the sky-rail system and the defensive blaze canons and lightning spires that now line and top the walls of the Corona and Rays. While General Sentry recognized the strategic value of airships, their development was permanently put on hold by Queen Celestia herself, who considered the vessels an affront to the proper order of the sky.
Realizing that they had never previously faced a foe that could match and even best Solaria in aerial combat, Commander Spitfire petitioned for the creation of a special elite task force to counter any new foes in aerial superiority. This initiative eventually gave rise to the sky-strikers. Learning from the strengths and weaknesses of the Heralds, the sky-strikers have shaped themselves into one of the deadliest aerial combat forces ever seen on Impraecordia.
Interesting
Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m siding with Sentry on this one. Those sky ships are way too useful to just refuse to utilize
5699397
i suspect the 'afront to the proper order of the sky' logic was just a reason that she knew the people would acept and it was more she did not think her children were 'ready' for that kind of technology yet...history has shown us time and again that when a society's technology advances faster then the people useing it, tragidy is ineveitable.
It's important to remember that those two may disagree on many political issues, at the end of the day, they're both working for the sake of Celestia and Solaria.
Fascinating stuff, both the twists on the familiar magic system and Celestia personally standing in the way of a potential area of innovation. I have to wonder how often that's happened...
*long whistle * fanatics, those are the worse. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Raven is as much a warrior (if not more so) than Sentry. Still, wonderful world building.
5699366
Hopefully in a good way.
5699397
Celestia has her reasons. Mind, they aren't reasons entirely understandable to her mortal subjects, but they are her reasons.
5699407
That does play a part in it. But there's more too it.
5699413
When they're on the same page, they're a devastating team.
Celestia has intervened with things she views as too dangerous or blasphemous before. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
5699420
Yup. The Heralds are basically a pirate religion, in that they're a religion that espouses and is based around the act of piracy. And remember, these people were allied to Harmony, not Chaos.
Regarding Raven, I'd say she's more of a soldier. Of the three martially inclined phoenix-born, Spitfire is probably the most warrior like, Raven is the most soldier like, and Steel falls in a sort of middle ground.
5699443
It must be hard for celestia, dispite her vast knowledge mortals can be hard for her to understand at the best of times but still she finds herself having to balance protecting them, while not stifling them...i wonder how many times thru the ages shes made a choice she thought would be for the best but the way mortals reacted to it caused it to have the oposite effect she intended....
Which still leaves a nation of pirates or traders with some tech that equal to Solaria.
or Ferngee?
So are they Klingons
I love these little expansions on the story :)
5699461
Without going into too many details about it, something like what you're describing was one of the inciting incidents that led to the War of Shadows and Umbra's transformation into Sombra. Though, it was both Luna and Celestia in that case.
5699474
The remaining Heralds are definitely still klingons (the real ones, not the debased "we don't like fighting anymore" Bad Robot ones). They just got beaten so badly that they're unlikely to try another incursion into Impraecordia for a long time, if ever.
5699479
Thank you. i try.
5699542
are there ever refugees from the heralds? birds cats ect and otherwise that at some point decided 'this is 'so' not he life for me and sought something a bit more peacefull?
and if so where do they tend to live, i'd imagein they would be placed somewhere isolated and mostly keep to themselves if they do exist cause ya know, bad blood and all.
5699479
this is less part of the story itself more lore of the world as while it helped shape the world sunset lives in, these events probly happend before she was even born.
that said world building seems to be voice in the water's bigest strenght....fitting considering a good chunk of most worlds is 'literaly' shaped by water *smirk*
5699545
Not so much. Anyone trying to abandon the fleets would usually end up killed by the rest of the crews for betraying the Storm King. Even if they managed to escape, they were hunted down and executed.