Formation

**Formations** are a specialty of the Kel military, which arrays ships and infantry into precise geometrical formations to produce exotic attacks and defenses. Formations are used in Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, Revenant Gun, and the short stories The Battle of Candle Arc and Extracurricular Activities, and are mentioned in Calendrical Rot.

## Overview

Formations, used in the heptarchate, hexarchate, and surrounding realms, rely on the topography of their native calendars to channel exotic effects. Under the high calendar and subsequently the revised calendar, the Kel channel defensive and offensive effects by combining formation geometry with Kel discipline. Thousands of formations are listed in the lexicons of the Kel infantry library. Formations may also interfere with scans, obscuring or maximizing the apparent size of a swarm.

Formation instinct makes it difficult for more brittle Kel to use heretical formations, even under tactical and calendrical conditions that require them. Outprocessed Kel lose their formation instinct and can no longer channel formation effects. Without the necessary indoctrination, most heretics are unable to channel formations. However, some foreign calendars allow their own analogues for formations, and some heretical weapons, such as amputation guns, are deployed in formation.

Formation simulators stored on mothgrids, usually managed by Doctrine officers, carry baseline assumptions and conditions for simulating formations.

### Formation geometry

Formation geometry, a type of mathematics taught at Kel Academy, covers the mathematical underpinnings of formations, including coefficients and formation keys used to modulate within a specific class of formations or under a specific calendar.

A **skeleton formation** is comprised of the fewest possible individuals able to construct the formation's geometry. As numbers decrease, the number of formation keys and size of available formations decrease.

### Modulation

To reduce the time taken to modulate from one formation to the next, or to modulate subformations to activate exotic effects, the Kel use drills to practice formations and transitions, refusing the primary pivots to prevent their effects from activating. Formations may also allow vulnerabilities in certain pivots to allow for speedy modulation.

### Subformations

Subformations, or component formations, are formations whose geometries are part of a larger formation. Subformations can be modulated within the greater formation to produce exotic weapons such as kinetic lances and the traitor's lance.

### Formation neutrality

Servitors are formation-neutral under the high calendar, contributing negligible effects to formation geometry. This is not necessarily the case under other calendars.

## History

The Kel discovered formations early in the heptarchate's history. The first formation they discovered was a suicide formation, a fact which colored Kel use of formations throughout their history.

The hexarchate instituted formation instinct to control soldiers' state of mind, making it compulsory to maintain both formations and Kel hierarchy. Although Kel discipline allowed use of formations before formation instinct was devised, Kel dependency on formation instinct led to a pervasive myth that the Kel could not operate without it.

The Kel under the revised calendar challenged this myth and proved that Kel could serve voluntarily with enough discipline to channel formation effects.

## Kel Formations

### Lexicon Primary

Around 100 formations are taught in Lexicon Primary.

### Unknown lexicon

* First Formation
* One Thorn Poisons a Thousand Hands
* Pir's Fan
* Rising Tiger
* Thunder of Horses

### Shield Formations

Shield formations have short windows of effectiveness. The Nirai have not been able to discover shield formations whose effects last longer than a few minutes, and fading formation shields weaken and leave the formation vulnerable. These largely short-lived shield effects are regenerated or compensated for by swift modulation between shield formations, usually in a sequence of two or three.

Under fire, formation shields may radiate visible effects, depending on formation and weaponry involved.

The gaps in protection left by shield modulation can be exploited to slip fast-moving small vessels or projectiles through.

### Grand Formations

Many citizens may recognize grand formation from their frequent use in dramas.

* Carrion Strike
* Glory of Roses
* Skyfall

## Trivia

* Kel Naraucher drilled a grand formation for a parade, but it did not end up being used.
* The null swarm used heretical grand formations during the Siege of the Fortress of Scattered Needles.

## References

1. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 1
2. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 7,8
3. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 1,13
4. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 2
5. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 1,16
6. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 6
7. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 16
8. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 15
9. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 13
10. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 21
11. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 1
12. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 8
13. ↑ Raven Stratgem, Chapter 6
14. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 1
15. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 15
16. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 23
17. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9
18. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 31
19. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 22
20. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9
21. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 19
22. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9
23. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 22
24. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 10
25. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 18
26. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 17,18