The Border King’s Army
Where the Desert Legion is the Emperor’s hand, Hardsand’s Spear Host is his extended reach—an army born not from doctrine, but from unending war. Stationed in the Border Marches, they are not meant to hold cities or enforce law. They exist to advance, break, and erase.
Hardsand’s soldiers are not legionnaires. They are march-born, forged in constant raids, ambushes, and counter-invasions where formations die and only discipline survives. They do not fight for spectacle or rank—they fight because stopping means extinction.
If the Legion is iron, the Spear Host is pressure.
Color & Materials
Armor lacquered matte black-bronze, treated to resist rot, moisture, and mud.
Accents of deep red cordage, tassels, and wraps—never cloth banners.
No polished surfaces. Everything is dulled to kill glare under sun or swamp haze.
Helmets
Open-faced or half-visored.
Narrow eye slits or brow guards shaped like spearheads.
Veterans often carve tally-marks into the cheek guards.
Cloaks
Short, tattered, and functional.
Many are stitched from enemy banners or broken spear-shafts, a cultural practice begun by Daurades himself.
General Impression
They look less like soldiers and more like a moving execution line—quiet, compact, relentless.
(Hardsand Archers / Spear-Archers)
Role: Ranged dominance, suppression, precision killing
Weaponry: Heavy war-spears designed to be thrown repeatedly; short backup blades
Armor: Light black-bronze scale with reinforced shoulders
These are not “archers” in the common sense. Sun-Piercers throw spears in disciplined volleys, trained to rotate ammunition from the ground, from fallen enemies, even from embedded impacts mid-battle.
They are drilled to:
Fire in endless rhythm
Target officers instinctively
Shift from ranged volleys to spear-wall without breaking cohesion
Enemies don’t fear their first throw.
They fear the third hour, when the spears still haven’t stopped.
(Shock Cavalry)
Role: Breakthroughs, pursuit, flanking annihilation
Mounts: Armored desert lizards or steppe-beasts (non-elite); Darkhan ride kangaroo
Weaponry: Long lances with weighted spearheads, sidearms for close work
Armor: Reinforced chest plates, thigh guards, heavy greaves
The Lancers don’t charge blindly. They slide along the edges of battle, waiting for formations to waver before crashing through weak points like a thrown spear through cloth.
They are infamous for:
Never stopping after a charge
Riding through broken units rather than turning back
Cutting supply lines before main engagements even begin
The Hundred Spears
Elite Formation — Only 100 Exist
These are not just soldiers.
They are desert knights, chosen personally by Daurades.
Each Darkhan is issued a kangaroo mount bred for long leaps, endurance, and sudden directional shifts across dunes, jungle-edge, and broken terrain.
Every Darkhan also owns a war camel, armored and trained for long campaigns, logistics, and brutal close-quarters combat when dismounted.
The kangaroo is for war.
The camel is for survival.
Blackened plate layered over flexible scale
Red corded tassels marking kills and campaigns
Cloaks short, split, and weighted to avoid lift during leaps
Helmets fully open-faced—Darkhan are meant to be seen
Signature heavy spear or lance
Secondary throwing spears
Short blades or maces for grounded combat
Darkhan fight as mobile execution squads:
Rapid insertion
Shock elimination of command units
Immediate withdrawal before counter-engagement
They do not hold ground.
They erase purpose, then vanish.
“The spear flies once. The man stands forever.”
Cowardice is not punished—hesitation is.
Every soldier is expected to retrieve or replace their own weapon mid-battle.
Promotions are earned through endurance, not heroics.
Spears are named only after surviving ten campaigns.
The Host reveres discipline, not rank. A veteran Sun-Piercer may command fresh Lancers without ceremony.
The Legion enforces law. The Spear Host prevents rebellion before it forms.
Legion soldiers see Hardsand’s troops as brutal and unrefined.
Hardsand’s soldiers see legionnaires as softened by walls and arenas.
They respect Buranti-types.
They distrust politics.
If the Desert Legion is order,
and Achilles is destruction,
then the Spear Host is inevitability in motion.
You do not beat them in a single battle.
You realize too late that the war started months ago—
when your roads vanished, your officers died in the night,
and the horizon filled with spears.
The Spear Host does not mirror the Emperor’s Legion. Its hierarchy is lean, brutal, and battlefield-first. Rank exists to maintain momentum, not ceremony. Orders are short. Authority is absolute while in motion.
(Daurades Hardsand)
Supreme commander of the Spear Host and lord of the Border Marches.
Final authority over all campaigns, formations, and executions.
Personally selects Darkhan and senior commanders.
His presence overrides all rank traditions.
Insignia: None. His spear Skyfang is his only mark of command.
Senior campaign commander; only three exist at any time.
Oversees entire fronts or multi-province operations.
Coordinates sieges, invasions, and long-term pressure warfare.
Can command Darkhan detachments directly.
Insignia: Black-bronze gorget etched with a broken horizon line.
Host commander; typically controls 5,000–20,000 troops.
Leads major armies and invasion forces.
Responsible for discipline, logistics, and battlefield doctrine.
Often former Sun-Piercers or Lancers who survived decades of war.
Insignia: Red cord mantle worn over one shoulder, weighted with spearhead charms.
Formation commander; leads 500–1,000 soldiers.
Maintains formation integrity under extreme pressure.
Issues volley timing, advance cadence, and withdrawal orders.
Failure to hold formation is punished without appeal.
Insignia: Red-lashed vambrace on the spear arm.
Unit commander; leads 100–300 soldiers.
Direct battlefield leadership.
Controls engagement tempo and kill priority.
Expected to fight in the front rank.
Insignia: Red leather spear-wrap on personal weapon.
Elite knight of the Spear Host — exactly 100.
Answer only to the Spear-King or Marshals.
Act independently or as shock detachments.
Each Darkhan commands respect equal to a Spear-Captain.
Insignia: None worn — their mounts and armor mark them unmistakably.
Volley commander among the Sun-Piercers.
Controls spear and arrow cadence.
Trains soldiers in endurance throwing and retrieval.
Failure to maintain rhythm is considered dereliction.
Insignia: Bone whistle worn at the throat.
Senior Lancer officer.
Leads cavalry strikes and pursuits.
Chooses breakthrough points and withdrawal paths.
Responsible for mount readiness and battlefield mobility.
Insignia: Red cord braided into mount tack or reins.
Veteran squad leader; commands 20–40 soldiers.
Maintains discipline in movement and camp.
First to enforce punishment.
Often serves as executioner when needed.
Insignia: Single iron ring worn through a leather cord on the wrist.
Fully proven soldier of the Host.
Completed three campaigns without retreat.
Trusted to fight independently if separated.
Insignia: Personal spear notched with campaign marks.
Active soldier still earning full status.
Has survived first engagement.
Allowed to carry standard weapons.
Insignia: None.
Newly inducted recruit.
Performs logistics, perimeter duty, and retrieval work.
May fight only under direct command.
Insignia: Ash-marked cloak, replaced after first kill.
Rank is situational. The highest-ranking survivor commands.
Challenges for rank are allowed only between campaigns, never during.
Orders are expected to be obeyed immediately — questioning happens after survival.
Retreat without command is grounds for execution unless it preserves the Host.
“Stand until thrown. Rise until broken.”
Legion ranks are institutional.
Spear Host ranks are earned scars.
Legion officers command obedience.
Spear Host commanders command belief.