Xratinian Weapons & Armed Forces Primer

“Steel Before Silence.”
Filed under: Aegis Department of Tactical Analysis – Black-Level Archive

I. Overview

Xratinia’s military is the oldest continuously standing army on Nova Prime — and the only one that has never initiated a war.
Their philosophy: “War is the duty of the invaded, not the aggressor.”

While their technology may appear primitive compared to Aegis or Daemos weaponry, their craftsmanship and training make them the most lethal defensive force alive.

Every weapon is hand-forged, never mass-produced.
Every soldier carries a blade that bears their own initials and blood burned into the alloy during forging — a personal ritual known as “The Bonding.”

II. The Weapons of Xratinia

1. Plasma Sabers — “Heirblades”

Core weapon of the Knight-Legions.
Constructed from a platinum–titanium composite, honed into a molecular edge and sheathed in a thin magnetic plasma field that burns on contact.
No color glow, no theatrics — the blade hums with a faint static ripple.
Each saber requires a year to craft and must be finished by the knight who wields it.

Functions:

Slices through nearly any known alloy.
Generates a defensive arc when spun rapidly, deflecting bullets or directed plasma fire.
Can be overcharged briefly to release a cutting wave — but doing so overheats the hilt and risks melting the user’s hand.

Combat Use:
Xratinians rely on proximity. They close distance fast, block gunfire with angled rotations, and strike in rhythm rather than flurry — precision over volume.

2. Plasma Bows — “Arc-Launchers”

Designed for rapid-fire suppression and anti-armor roles.
Each arrow is a short-range plasma packet encased in metallic filament.
Capable of firing up to 15 shots per second, depending on strength and stamina of the archer.

Tactical Note:
Elite Arc-Bowmen can maintain pinpoint accuracy at 300 meters while on horseback or vehicle. Their arrows burn through reinforced armor but dissipate harmlessly after 10 seconds, ensuring no long-term fires.

Training:
Bowmen spend six years perfecting firing rhythm known as “The Rain.” Their unit drills are performed to drums mimicking thunder — hence the battlefield phrase:

“When the sky rumbles, the Rain begins.”

3. Mount Combat — “Iron Riders”

Xratinia’s cavalry remains the most respected force in its history.
Their mounts are bred for endurance — massive, armored beasts resembling a cross between horse and bull, plated naturally in keratin reinforced by steel barding.

Tactics:

Knights on mounts can deflect incoming fire by spinning their sabers in synchronized arcs, creating overlapping kinetic fields.
Charges are short, direct, and brutal — entire formations hit with the force of an avalanche.
Each Rider trains with their mount from childhood; both are considered a single soldier under army code.

Notable Feat:
During the last HavenReach incursion (70 years ago), a formation of only 60 Iron Riders eliminated a mechanized battalion in open plains combat — no survivors, no radio contact.

4. Infantry Arms

Despite their blade culture, Xratinia’s infantry is far from archaic.
Standard soldiers carry kinetic-pulse rifles — analog-powered weapons that fire compressed tungsten rounds wrapped in brief plasma bursts. They require manual cooling between volleys, favoring patience and precision over volume of fire.

Secondary weapons include shock-axes, pulse-maces, and titanium-reinforced shields capable of absorbing small-arms fire for up to five minutes of sustained combat.

5. Armor — “Crownplate”

Every knight and soldier wears armor forged from a platinum–titanium alloy, layered over hydraulic under-skeletons for mobility.
Lightweight compared to its density, resistant to extreme temperature, and polished mirror-bright before deployment.
The outer surface dulls naturally in battle — soldiers call this “earning the gray.”

Design Philosophy:
Armor is sacred; it’s repaired, never replaced. Each soldier is buried with their chestplate melted down into their tomb marker.

Technical Specs:

Deflects standard plasma munitions up to Tier II power output.
Absorbs kinetic shock from small arms, dispersing it across the frame.
Minimal cybernetics — all augmentations are mechanical, not digital.

III. Naval Forces — “The Black Fleet”

Xratinia maintains three colossal warships, built more than a century ago and maintained with almost religious reverence.

Fleet Composition

The Iron Crown – Flagship, command vessel.
The Sovereign’s Wake – Long-range bombardment ship.
The Undying Oath – Troop carrier and repair vessel.

Each vessel’s capacity:

400 broadside cannons per flank.
20 forward and 20 rear cannons for full 360° coverage.
Crew complement: ~2,000 sailors, 6,000 soldiers.
Combined fleet capacity: entire standing army (approx. 1.8 million soldiers via rotation).

Tactics:
Their ships function as floating fortresses, not strike platforms. They rarely leave port except during national emergencies.
Xratinians refer to them as “the anchors of eternity.”

Despite outdated propulsion systems and analog navigation, their construction quality is unparalleled — no ship of HavenReach or Arkos has ever breached one’s hull in recorded history.

IV. Command Structure

Every unit reports through the Forge-Marshal’s Line, a direct command hierarchy designed for zero latency. Orders move through verbal code phrases, often transmitted via hammer-click radio pulses, impossible to decrypt by outsiders.

Rank Structure (descending):

Forge-Marshal (army commander)
Legion-Captain
Iron Major
Steel Lieutenant
Warden Sergeant
Line Knight
Field Hand (conscript)

Ranks are earned through craftsmanship and endurance — not politics. A soldier who forges ten functioning blades is automatically promoted to Warden Sergeant.

V. Doctrine of Defense

Xratinia has never invaded, never occupied, and never retaliated publicly — yet its borders have not moved in 300 years.

The nation’s strategy is simple:

Absorb the assault.
Outlast the enemy.
Erase the evidence.

They leave no monuments, no records, no graves of their enemies.
After every invasion, the field is swept clean, steel collected, and melted into new armor.

VI. Reputation Among Other Nations

HavenReach: Fears their silence more than their strength. The memory of the 600-man annihilation remains a national scar.
Arkos: Respects them as “the wolves of the forge,” occasionally trading via intermediaries.
Aegis Command: Labels them a Containment Priority 01-Passive, meaning: “Too stable to confront, too dangerous to provoke.”

VII. Aegis After-Action Summary (Declassified Excerpt)

“We sent drones once. None came back.
The heat signatures vanished ten kilometers inside their border.
Then a package arrived at our embassy — a block of solid platinum, polished smooth, stamped with their seal.
Inside it was one of our drone lenses, and a note that read only:
‘The Crown sees you.’”

VIII. Final Assessment

Xratinia’s army is not built to conquer. It is built to end wars before they begin.
Their weapons are extensions of discipline; their armor is identity; their ships are relics turned gods of steel.

Their message to the world remains the same:

“We fight for nothing — and that is why we never lose.”