The Knights Templar
The Knights Templar
A strongly Catholic nation of Stevid is home to the old relics of the medieval times of the Catholic faith. The days of the Crusades that were ordered by the Pope are long over and now independent crusades are being declared by the other “Catholic” nations. Crusades, in the eyes if the monasteries in Stevid, have to be declared by the Pope himself or less are ignored by the devote nations of the faith. However in this day of social acceptance, racial integration and human rights, a Crusade is unlikely to be declared- the holy wars to be launched are usually Jihads by very radical Muslims belonging to terrorist cells.
Terrorism is a very, very grave threat to society and when declared as a Jihad the Catholic faith in Stevid reacts badly. For centuries, a huge cathedral sits a top the spire of a dormant volcanic mountain in Stevid, St. Malleus. It is claimed to be the most holy place on the blessed soil of Stevid. The mountain is black, sooty and in the middle of a vast wasteland of barren cool volcanic pumas rock. The cathedral is massive boasts to be the largest in the region with a colossal great hall and large crypt below the cathedral and tunnels deep into the mountain where the most zealous of man and women are buried, forever honoured and remembered for the eternity that the cathedral stands.
The Cathedral is home to the most zealous of soldiers known as the Knights Templar, protectors of the faith in Stevid. Twice they have been called to duty by the government and once by the Church. The government called upon the Templars to suppress violent uprisings in Stevid when most religions were expelled from the nations. This was nothing compared to the first calling, their first action. The Holy Roman Catholic Church in Stevid called upon the Templars to conduct an investigation into St. Malleus itself for any trace of corruption. It was during the time when Stevid was home to the terrorist group Red Cell- follows of Satanism and performed foul rituals of daemonic proportions and other satanic rituals. They were in no way breaking the law by performing the rituals or believing in that faith but the bombs they had planted in the past within Stevid made them a wanted organisation. St. Malleus had been listed as a hot spot, as reason unknown really to the majority and still isn’t known today. The Templars conducted their investigation into the vast cathedral in the name of God. To root out the heresy within the cathedral was their goal, they never expected to find anything in the way of satanic rituals and mythical daemonic possession in such a faithful building.
Deep in the darkest depths of the crypt, a single eight-man squad went down to explore and investigate the last parts of the cathedral. Holy cardinals from St. Malleus and other military officials of the Templars haven’t relieved much detail on the subject. Sketchy reports say them did find Satanists belonging to Red Cell in the crypts. Dismissed reports of daemonic possession and manifestations were indeed dismissed but not denied in anyway. This unnerved the local population greatly and congregations in the cathedral dramatically became reduced. The local church took daemonic infestation rumours seriously and exorcisms and Holy Inquisitions were performed on and in St. Malleus. The righteous fury on heretics that the Templars performed that day were not denied and they were multiple arrests as well, the detainees did belong to the Satanic Church and spoke of the downfall of St. Malleus and Catholicism. To this day, the Knights Templars are ordered to patrol their own home within the cathedral in which they are based. CCTV is in the crypts and the Templars and Holy Guards patrol them as well just in case these “farfetched” rumours are indeed true.
The Templars are still used today in warfare against the odds but now always in the name of God and for the Church. It is never normal for them to be called upon to do anything that isn’t for the Church but it isn’t unknown.
The Knights Templar have access to some real equipment that wouldn’t usually be seen in the field of combat. The Knights are adept at city fights and room storming and so have weaponry that can adequately accomplish this goal. Recently they have been granted the SAK-20 Assault Rifle for their use and have stated that they prefer it to the SA-80 Mark 2 and rejected the offer of the M82/M16 Carbine variant. They are also equipped the H&K P90 handgun for closer engagements in more confined spaces. Time and time again, the P90 has proven to be a brilliant semi-automatic handgun with a slender and beautiful shape that make the H&K P90 a wanted weapon throughout the world. The most amazing and unusual thing about the Templars weaponry is their sword, The Sword of Penitence. Rumoured that the blade is made of solid, sharpened silver, it is very unusual weapon for any solider to have. The Templars High Command has admitted that they are not just for ceremonial use but they are frequently trained to use them often in combat. During the times when other religions in Stevid were expelled, the Templars were known to have killed fifty people with their swords. The swords are unlike broadswords themselves, broadswords are far too bulky to have, the hand guard on the Templars weapon doesn’t exist so allows it to be a little more lighter than one would expect from a sword. Traditional grenades are also used by the Templars.
The Templars are armoured troops and the proven elite choice in the Stevid military. Armoured bullet proof plates provide an almost guaranteed protection against most handheld weaponry that fires convention bullets at medium rate of fire. The plates surround the vital areas of the body but are separate from one another to provide more mobility to the user. The plating protects the chest and abdomen. The shoulder blades back and lower back around the kidneys. A lightweight mould that isn’t as tough as the rest of the body armour but provide protection from knifes and other assault weaponry, if the enemy get that close, protects the thighs. The upper legs, knee and shins are protected by the same mould that the thighs have. This sounds like a lot but a mix of light but resilient carbon composites make the armour very lightweight. This doesn’t in anyway make the knight impervious to damage but it makes them far more resilient to enemy fire and assaults than other troops.
The Templars combat training takes on heavy weapons training (missiles, mortars etc.), light weapons training (machine guns, light machine guns, snipers etc.), small arms fire (handguns, sub machine guns etc.) and CQC (Close Quarters Combat). The CQC was developed across the world in it’s own different forms but the USA first developed it professionally for their own elite forces in the 70’s to 80’s. The Templars are training intensively in this, more so than the SAS. The Templars can perform disarming moves to otherwise remove the enemy’s weapon or injury the enemy themselves by breaking arms, legs, necks and backs. This also means that they know how properly use their swords (no matter how heavy) with stunning effectiveness and swiftness. The ability to shift body weight to take down enemies in CQC and use such a heavy sword in such a manner takes incredible training in the gym. The Templars take on vigorous exercise and training to build up impressive amounts of muscle and stamina so they can out perform any foe in fitness and capability. With this training, the Templars are extremely well built and powerful men that can easily overwhelm lesser troops or even other nations’ elite troops in combat. The Knights Templar are some of the most lethal troops in the region which Stevid sits in and are feared within Stevid. They aren’t well known enough around the world for their reputation of brutality in CQC and long-range fire.
The Templars are usually infiltrated via APC or transport helicopter or even by submarine. The SAS may be the official Special Forces unit in Stevid but the Knights Templar are the Zealous of special units and can perform tasks equal or greater to the SAS. The Knights Templars brethren are numbers to be feared and respected; those in combat who don’t respect them, rarely live to change their minds on the subject- at their own risk.
