Forum:The Banished Swarm

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The Banished Swarm
Overview

Purpose:

Overthrow the Leadership of the Hive
Create a New Reality for themselves

Champion(s):

Ir Dralcha, the Crownless Queen
Darumel, the Last Wishknight
Haderax, Spear of Ir Dralcha
Arashuiba, Will of Ir Dralcha
Bernukha, the First Stormblade
Arhu-Min, the Fulminmancer
Ir Vicsza, Pontiff of the Storm

Realm:

Wishtouched Aerie
The Stormswept Peaks
Osmium Labyrinth (Invaded)

Affiliation:

Harmony (formerly)

At war with:

Xivu Arath's Horde
Lucent Brood
Vanguard
Shadow Legion

Allied with:

Taken

 
The foremost vanguard of the Goddess of the Jade Storm, these lightning-charred warriors once were the heralds of the War God's wrath until their treachery centuries ago. They were left as nothing more than realm-jumping bandits and thieves of the realms of the Hive Gods... until now.

The Banished Swarm is a renegade brood of Hive allied and loyal to Ir Dralcha. They are distinguished from their loyalist counterparts by their black and ash-gray, asymmetrical and more prominent chitin, jade green cloth and white body paint. They made a brief appearance in Episode: Heresy and play a far more prominent role in the Worlds Beyond expansion.

HistoryEdit

StructureEdit

The Banished Swarm consists of the Hive most loyal to the exiled goddess Ir Dralcha and her court, as well as those outcast or made fugitive by the gods of the Hive. The elders among them were given to Ir Dralcha upon her ascendancy to the Hive's pantheon. The newer generations of Hive, however, are either birthed by many loyal Brood Queens or even abducted by Banished raiding parties.

Due to the brood's precarious status following their defeat centuries ago, they adopted shock and awe tactics in an effort to avoid direct conflict with the loyal Hive in an effort to maintain a sufficient amount of their forces. The result of this was the creation of new weapons and even morphs among their numbers to accommodate for this newfound strategy.

As their numbers grew, as did the strength and influence of their gods, their ranks became subdivided into different groups which specialize in different fields:

MaraudersEdit

The mainline offensive arm of the Banished Swarm, the Marauders are the Hive most encountered among the brood. They specialize in blitz tactics and close-quarters engagements, mainly meant for raiding the domains of the Hive Gods. The chief exemplars of the Banished Swarm's skirmish tactics, much of the unique forces of the Swarm are encountered among their numbers. Among the Banished, they more closely follow the dogma of the loyalist Hive, obeying a hierarchy of strength and often pit themselves against one another in rituals of might and mettle. While Wizards and other practitioners of Hive magic exist among their ranks, they mainly utilize weapons in their raids and battles, believing them to be the most effective and right way to achieve their goals.

Despite their lower ranking among the Banished, and thus propensity to obey the commands of leaders from other branches, they are fiercely independent and despise the leadership of other Hive save for those among their ranks. Nevertheless, they serve as a powerful and loyal assault force for the leadership of the Banished, and happily await a target to be pointed at.

Children of the StormEdit

The Children of the Storm were created shortly after Ir Dralcha and her handmaiden, Arashuiba, discovered Jade Lightning. Since then, the experimental and magical arm of the would-be Banished Swarm would delve into the mysteries of the newfound power, utilizing it as a weapon and spell, imbuing it into existing weapons and even giving rise to new technologies. Handpicked from birth, the Children of the Storm would be imbued with the esoteric power and taught to channel it; those that failed to properly command it were consumed by the power and harnessed for other rituals. Those that survive the conditioning would then go on to ascend to the Storm's hierarchy.

Many paths await the Children of the Storm. Due to the erratic nature of Jade Lightning, many Thrall introduced to this power fail to mature, yet grow to incredible size, becoming the formidable Nameless. Those that can mature, however, go on to become Acolytes, becoming apprentices and assistants to their superiors, still commanding great power as a result of their gift. Once they have gained enough power, they may ascend to Knighthood or Wizardhood, becoming their own masters. However, they may retain their Acolyte form, thus becoming Stormbringers, both scout, field researcher and assassin for the Children. At the very apex, however, lies the Stormblades, ascended from either Knight or Wizard and granted extraordinary powers, rigorous training and handmade spears forged through their own magic.

It is the task of the Children of the Storm to constantly push the bounds of Hive magic and understand the esoteric properties of Jade Lightning. It is these cunning and gifted Hive that create the many constructs, abominations and magics that much of the brood uses. From Lightning Spindles, Hollowed Godslayers and other terrifying weapons and creatures.

The DrakeswornEdit

When the pact between the Banished and Harmony was struck, many among the Hive grew bonds with their newfound Ahamkara allies, both "domesticating" each other to their wills until death. Such was the bond between Bernukha and his Ahamkara compatriot, Aishj, that the grief-stricken Knight, empowered by the last wish of his old friend, built a throne world for them all, the Wishtouched Aerie. Following the great treachery during the Hive-Harmony war, this new Ascendant Realm would serve as a home for the surviving Ahamkara and a choice few Hive who followed them.

Though many Ahamkara have passed, the Hive that followed them continue to honor their memory through the application of their still-active bones, more often than not grafting them into their own bodies. These are reserved for only the eldest and zealous of the Drakesworn, however, as much of the fodder beneath them remain unchanged by the gifts of the fallen dragons. Those that are granted such boons, however, are capable of fusing both Wish and Hive magic and channeling them together to unleash powerful attacks and debilitating spells.

Years have passed since the esteemed Dragonriders of old lived in their prime, deprived of their companions. When Ir Dralcha finally came into the possession of the Echo of Obsession and was able to create the Desecrators with her newfound knowledge and powers, this once formidable and esteemed order resurged into prominence, now riding the Dread copies of their ancient allies into battle with terrifying efficiency.

Now with newfound Dread bolstering the ranks of all the Banished Swarm, the Drakesworn have finally returned to their prime, swiftly turning from mourners to formidable marauders. The Drakesworn are on the path to ascendancy, now forming the elite of the Banished, perhaps rivaled only by the discipline of the Children of the Storm. Nevertheless, despite their distance from the Stormswept Peaks and incredible power, they still remain fanatically loyal to their goddess, the first exemplar of Hive-Ahamkara unity.

Cult of the False ShadowEdit

With the Banished's treachery, the Swarm sought a way to redirect their tithe away from the loyal worms and to the pantheon of the renegade gods instead. With the aid of the heretical sorceress Ir Vicsza, the brood was able to alter the course of the tithe to the Pontiff's artificial worm, Orma, the False Shadow and, by proxy, the pantheon of the Banished. Thus solidifying a position in this new hierarchy, a new arm of the Banished emerged to serve this new Ascendant Hive.

The fanaticism of the Cult is unmatched by any sect of the Hive, sworn to obey the madness-laden words of the young Pontiff; even the most ambivalent among them would subject themselves to their deranged master's experiments. Much of the Cult is mainly made up of standard Hive, distinguished by the chains binding them and the scars marked across their bodies. Few among their number, however, are the results of air Vicsza's experiments with her false worm and the unstable, caustic magic emanating from it. Many do indeed die from the excruciating rituals and tests, but many more emerge changed by the exposure to the false worm, with many among them ascending to Unclean Knights and similar forms.

Despite the cult's role in redirecting the tithe of the Worm gods, they are met with severe distrust by the other sects due to their experimentation and the ambitions of their leader. And with the Banished now bolstered by Dread and Taken forces, the Cult is on the path to becoming a whole other threat not just to their enemies, but to the Banished as well.

The CoronatedEdit

MembersEdit

Jade Storm's PantheonEdit

Court of StormsEdit

Chosen ScourgesEdit

ChampionsEdit

Hive
Turncoat Hive
Taken
Dread

Unique ForcesEdit

HiveEdit

Thrall Variants
Cursed Thrall Variants
Acolyte Variants
Devotee Variants
Adherent Variants
Outrider Variants
Knight Variants
Vanquisher Variants
Tyrant Variants
Darkblade Variants
Stormblade Variants
Wizard Variants
Ogre Variants
Shrieker

TakenEdit

Taken Thrall Variants
Taken Acolyte Variants
Taken Knight Variants
Taken Wizard Variants
Taken Ogre Variants
Taken Vandal Variants
Taken Captain Variants
Taken Goblin Variants
Taken Hobgoblin Variants
Taken Minotaur Variants
Taken Wyvern
Taken Psion Variants
Taken Phalanx Variants
Taken Centurion Variants

DreadEdit

TechnologyEdit

List of AppearancesEdit