Soldiers of the Lord

The Soldiers of the Lord are known primarily as the military wing of Nathanite Catholicism. Officially, they are the army of the Nathanite Patriarch and an elite group of soldiers within the Birean Empire, but outside of Birea and Birea's immediate allies within the Virtue Family, opinions about the organization are mixed. Rome and their allies have officially branded the Soldiers as a terrorist organization, as have Casara and Oman, with Rome believing that the Bireans are funding their operation.
Little is known about the organization, as the Soldiers shroud most of their history with legends and mysteries. The first attested record of Soldier operations came in 1961, when the Romans arrested David Milwall after thwarting an attempted assassination of the Pope. They are a highly secretive operation with little information released publicly, though it is believed that they have operatives working worldwide.
== David Milwall ==
Main article: David Milwall
David Milwall is the first attested member of the Soldiers of the Lord, and is widely seen as the organization's founder. Much of what is known about him came about during his trial in Rome, where he was convicted of plotting to assassinate Pope John XXII. He is the source of many of the legends that surround the Soldiers and their origins, and he is attributed for bringing Soldier concepts- chief among them "1777"- into greater global consciousness.
== 1777 ==
"1777" redirects here. For other uses, see 1777 (disambiguation).
1777 is the code for the Soldiers' official slogan and motto. It refers to two parts: the Seventeen Words that is used as the Soldiers' rallying cry and the Seventy-Seven Words that are used to outline the Soldiers' personal responsibility to the world.
Both terms entered public consciousness upon the trial of David Milwall, the first attested Soldier within the public record, who made frequent references to the terms in his journals. Although scholars agree that Milwall likely didn't coin either phrase, they do agree that Milwall's accounts for their origins is likely apocryphal.
=== Seventeen Words ===
"We must strive to ensure the primacy of man and to maintain his dominance over the world."The Seventeen Words were said to have been coined by an unknown man the Soldiers refer to as "The First Soldier", used to bookend his speech prior to "The First Battle". In his journals, Milwall stated he was going to utter the phrase upon trapping the Pope in his quarters, an assertion he repeated at trial, and it has continued to be used a symbol of his defiance. Many other Nathanite writers have picked up on the phrase as their own personal slogan, where many have used it in rituals where Nathanite men reaffirm their superiority over their wives or their sisters.
=== Seventy-Seven Words ===
"God created man to rule in His image and thus rule on His behalf. Not once do we acquiesce in our assignment, and we must accept and embrace this challenge in full. For while God gives us immense power, He reminds us it is our duty to be fair and just with this power, and not to abuse it. Because we are only given one world, so we have the choice to maintain it or destroy it."First appearing during Milwall's trial inscribed inside a pendant he was wearing, Milwall asserts this was a message given to him by the man who recruited him into the Soldiers, a man he does not identify. Because of its similarity to the Seventeen Words, it is believed that the Seventy-Seven Words were derived from the former. It is said to be a reminder to Nathanites of their obligations, that, despite being bestowed with immense power and prestige, it is up to the Nathanites not to abuse it.
Defenders of the Nathanites, such as Patriarch Jesse XII use the Seventy-Seven Words to counter accusations that the Nathanite ideology is "inherently abusive", asserting that the Words still indicate that even when one has absolute power, they cannot wield it indiscriminately or in a willfully intentional manner. Critics (such as Casaran Empress Psia Gydunk), believe it is just a mantra the Nathanites have "deluded themselves into believing" so that they can pretend that their abuses do not exist as they are really "fighting for the greater good".
=== 777 Variant ===
A variant of "1777" is a prominent display of Nathanite desecration, where the word "Acquiesce!" is written above the numbers "777", a prominent feature of Soldier ideology as it is the antithesis within Christianity of the Number of the Beast (666). In this variant, "1777" represents the One Word ("acquiesce") plus the number 777, a symbol telling the reader to submit to 777 or, in other words, to submit to the Lord.
== Major attacks ==
For a complete list of known Soldier attacks, see List of incidents involving the Soldiers of the Lord.
* September 14, 1961: David Milwall is arrested after his plot to assassinate Pope John XXIII is foiled by Roman authorities. First known incident involving the Soldiers.
* August 2, 1966: Assassination of Caroline Wilhelm when Wilhelm led polls to become the Netherlands' first female Chancellor.
* May 22, 1969: Luanda Massacre sees the death of over 1,000 people when the Soldiers surround a downtown square during a pro-feminist protest. Some believe the Carolinian government (who controlled the area as "New Dixieland" at the time) arranged for the Soldiers to show up.
* July 19, 1971: Muscat nightclub bombing claimed the lives of 192 revellers, many of which were trapped inside the club by the Soldiers.
* 1975-77: Killings in New York City of David Berkowitz, "the Son of Sam", a lone wolf Soldier operative, leaving 6 dead and 7 injured.
* February 28, 1986: New Life factory shooting leaves 79 dead at an irrigation facility near Tepitilan, Casara.
* December 6, 1989: Montreal Massacre by lone wolf Soldier operative Marc Lepine sees 28 wounded and 14 women dead.
* June 16, 1993: Copacabana Massacre leaves 145 dead at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
* March 19, 2002: Moscow subway shootings kill 45 people.
* June 5, 2010: Dehli coordinated bus crashes leave 345 injured and 170 dead.
* October 24, 2013: Kidnapping of Swedish university women sees 1,244 women taken by the Soldiers, all of whom are still missing.
* October 21, 2015: Assassination of Illinois President Seth Marks.
Category:Extraterritorial organizations of Vicendum