KNIGHTS of SOLAR IV
Long ago the first men , the Star Fathers, descended from the heavens to make a home on Solar IV. The Great Civilizations from the heavens cultivated the land, made the air breathable and discovered the secrets of Marthane, the black gift of the rock. Yet, distress in the heavens caused the great Civilizations to collapse and as they warred amongst the stars they abandoned their children on the rugged and unforgiving red planet.
Without Order and Law, the gifts of the Civilizations of the Star Fathers, the denizens of Solar IV suffered at the hands of bandits and Tyrants alike. Until the Knights rose, mounted in their steel warmachines, to protect the people from the evils of anarchy. In exchange for their protection the people in the hamlets and villages swore to accept the Knights as their lords and masters and give him a share if the food, water and Marthane they produce. Great Knights forged kingdoms and other fiefdoms in the red soil.
The Knights ride in armored and tracked tanks which can repel all but the most determined and ferocious bandit raids with their arming-valets serving as loaders and drivers. Each tank is unique, much of it it hand forged and machined with a great deal of care. Tanks are often heirlooms of a Knights family and only great and wealthy Knights have more than one or two in their household. Squires and the men-at-arms ride on lighter tanks and wheeled vehicles as scouts or support for their lords. It is customary that vehicles carry weapons in proportional strength to the vehicle. Tank destroyers are considered dishonorable and disreputable to use.
Not all civilization was lost when the Starfathers departed. Some cities managed to survive by ruthlessly controlling the land around them for the foods and other consumables they required to sustain themselves. Each forming an independent city-state. They govern themselves and raise their own armies to police and control their lands. The needs of the cities grew with their populations forcing them to expand and causing continuous conflict along their borders.
Before the Fall of the Great Civilizations the Star Cavalry served the Interplanetary Republic of Merica. Swearing an oath to uphold freedom, justice and liberty above all the abandoned regiments remained at their post resolving to do good and maintain order wherever possible until the Star fathers return again bringing order, law and justice with them. Until then they continue their ceaseless patrol on the red frontier.
Not all of Solar IV is conducive to sedentary life. Areas without access to subsurface water must live nomadic lives traveling from one Vaporator field and Greengrove to the next for water and food. These nomads and scavengers are anything but uniform, each having their own particular cultures, beliefs and ethics, yet they all share disdain for the massive war machines of the Knights and city states. They prefer to use smaller fast moving vehicles to quickly surprise their opponents and escape with their loot from raids.
When the Star fathers abandoned Solar IV they took many of their secrets with them. Many learned individuals feared that their knowledge would be lost in the ensueing chaos or, perhaps fall into the wrong hands. Therefore they created the four priest hoods of the sacred Mysteries to serve as guardian cults and guilds of knowledge. The Mystery of the Machine is for all sorts of mechanical engineering and electricity. The mystery of medicine studies all healing as well as agricultural sciences. The mystery of Numbers is mathmatics, physics computer sciences and accounting. The Mystery of the Past chronicle events and looks for answers to understand the star fathers and the origin of man.
The sacred Mysteries gained a great deal of power and prestige across Solar IV, preserving the scraps of civilization for the people's if Solar IV, but many have lost the path their progenitors intended for them to take. Nevertheless they continue guard their knowledge jealously. If you need your tank repaired or a crop saved for parasites often times the best bet is to call on a priest of the sacred mysteries.
GLOSSARY
Dark Metal: considered the best material for building armor and weapons but those who use it are often cursed with scars and shorter lives.
Greengrove: a place where the Star fathers cultivated the land and placed a special Vaporators to water grass and other plants in a small area in the Martian landscape. Many greengroves are long failed attempts to farm in areas without access to subsurface water.
Green Zone: Areas around the equator which managed to grow a self sustaining Eco system. Fresh water features, woods and scrubby grassland coexist with red Martian rock and sand. This is where a great deal of food is produced on Solar IV
Guzzleen: the fuel byproduct of marthane used for vehicles and generators.
Lord Nasa, the legend of: Lord Nasa was the greatest of the Star fathers and first to land on Solar IV. He tamed and defeated the monsters which ravaged the landscape. Bits of armor from his tanks torn off in battle bearing his name and heraldry are sometimes discovered and prized as a relic. Lord Nasa had many tanks, two of his most famous are Viking and Rover. The epic poem "The Enterprise" is one of the most famous and beloved works of literature on Solar IV is centered on Lord Nasa as a flawed Protaganist. Lord Nasa's sidekick in battle is the witty and badass Mary Kate.
Marthane: a petroleum found exclusively and in abundance on Solar IV. It comes from the microbes which lived in the subsurface lakes until they overpopulated themselves out of existence millions of years ago.
Saltbugs: Small chitinous crawlers which subsist primarily on salt. They congregate around moist salty ground where they graze. They are potentially dangerous because humans are essentially big bags of salt water and being stampeded by more than a handful could overwhelm a lone and unarmed traveler. They taste alright, but like crawfish it's a lot of work for a little meat.
Star Fathers: A catch all name for the myriad men and organizations that colonized Solar IV.
Wrathmonger: [undecided] a magician who knows how to commune with technological relics know as an Eye of Destruction. If used properly and the stars (satellites more specifically) are in alignment then they rain destruction from the heavens on their foes. They Worship the god of Destruction SpaSurAM. Often they are roaming hermits looking for targets worthy of SpaSuram to destroy. A desperate or particularly dark hearted lord may seek to host one of SpaSurAM's Priests in order to garner favor. Most residents of the red planet live in fear of Wrathmongers and Serve and honor them To avoid their Ire. The many Star Cavalry regiments have sworn to destroy all the Eyes of Destruction. A few city states follow suite yet any place that makes Wrathmongers unwelcome risks the wrath of SpaSurAM.
Vaporator: a moisture collector used in areas with little or difficult to reach subsurface water.
This is this is an example of a Star Cavalry Patrol made with miniatures from Reaper's CAV line.
