Yaanari Slave Forces

*"If you are not smart enough to be in the palace, we will take you to the fabrics. If you are not skilled enough to work in the fabrics, we will send you to the fields. If you fail to bring us crops we will take you to the levies. If you are to weak and stupid to operate a gun...you can take shots for those who do.*

*One way or another, you will be useful for the league"*

**-Kelissen, Yaanari master of slaves "greeting" new arrivals.**

While slaves mostly work as the backbone of the Yaanari League's economy, and a great part of their administration, it is not uncommon to see small squads or whole regiments of slaves fighting under the banners of the league. The Yaanari consider them to be second rate forces, auxiliary at best and thus mostly give them those missions and jobs that they do not want to waste time doing themselves.

## Fecibum or "Death Devourers"

Not all slaves fighting for the league have been chosen because of their skills or health. Many times, barons and baronesses want to get rid of useless, weak or rebellious slaves and so sell them to the army. There, they will be organized into regiments of Fecibum, cannon fodder to be used against enemy fortified positions and heavy guns.

Armed with cheap weaponry and light armor, the Fecibum can only hope to overwhelm their foe with sheer volume of numbers and mad courage. Divided in squads of twenty or more, they are expected to follow each and every order of their Yaanari officer, often an old, bitter slave master who has somehow fallen from grace and must now command the League's worst. Should a member of the squad not comply or try to retreat, the slave master will activate the explosive collar of both the rebellious slave and the rest of his or her company, killing them all in an instant.

Even so, there is still some hope for the Fecibum. Yaanari worship martial prowess as much as they value cruel cunning, thus a slave who has managed to survive a fight and impress its masters might be given the chance to leave these squads and go to other, less expendable slave regiments.

As said before, most regiments of Fecibum are led by former slave masters, angry individuals who hate the troops under their command and are thus hated in return. Alir adventurer, Moorutu Kirtan, learnt some stories of their cruelty from the high lords, and ladies who attended his host's palace:

*"A former officer by the name of Shrizz told me one particularly-horrid story of how little the Yaanari cared about their Fecibum regiments. He did not specify the date, planet or enemy their armed forces were facing. Basically, their foe had managed to dry a river out of its water, leaving a deep, long trench of mud between the Yaanari army and their foe's powerful defenses. Most Yaanari forces refused to send their troops forwards, arguing that they would just get trapped in the deep trench and be kllled without problem by the defenders. Hearing this, the Yaanari commander sent her Fecibum forces instead, promising a pleasant job in her palace to all those who managed to reach the other side."*

*Two hours of constant attacks later and only a dozen out of two thousand slaves had manages to reach the other end, only to be cut down by the defenders. When the last Fecibum fell, the commander turned to her officers and pointed to the sea of corpses which now covered the river "There is no hole now and the enemy has wasted half of his ammunition. Strike now!" The Yaanari did, earning a great victory..."*

After the former officer finished telling this story, Moorutu's host baroness Izill, revealed that there was little reality to this story. Instead of being used to create a bridge of bodies, the Fecibum had been sent upriver to take and hold the dam used by the enemy to dry the river. A bloody battle ensued in which the dam was blown up, taking half of the two thousand slaves with it. The number of bodies which then flowed down the river were so many, some Yaanari joked that they could build a bridge to cross.

## Lutumani or "Mud Hands"

Not all slaves serving the Yaanari army fight at the front line. A big number are tasked with dealing with such thing as supplies and construction, tasks which not all Yaanari soldiers seem to enjoy. Since some of those captured were engineers and architects before being covered in chains, they sometimes do an even better job at building fortifications and infrastructure than their cruel masters. Some of the brightest even end up becoming an integral part of a Yaanari commander's staff, organizing resources for their offensives and defenses.

While not Fecibum, one should not think that the life of a Lutumani is an easy one. They are the one's who bring ammunition and supplies to Yaanari forces when under heavy artillery fire, or build bridges and trenches under the watchful gaze of snipers.

## Pratores or "Bound Shadows"

Apart from the soldiers and staff members which will assist her or him during the battle, a Yaanari officer of high rank is usually followed by at least one extra bodyguard, a trusted slave which will keep his master safe in and out of the battlefield. Chosen amongst the best fighters or trained from their youth to respect, fear and love their master while they learn the art of death. The weapons and armor they carry are those given by their master and they will use them without a second doubt to slay whoever tries to lay a finger on their beloved overlord.

Many from higher up Leagues even have a Knightly gathering of admittance to the ‘caste’, resulting in revelry as well as the ritual burning of the League’s symbol in molten gold or silver into the arms or legs. Particularly favored members are allowed at the occasion to bare a child with any other of the caste, this is almost as rare as a Commonwealth Cipher earning the Kanstanz badge of diplomacy.

Of course, the relationship between master and slave varies greatly from one couple to another. Moorutu was able to meet and even share a few words with those bodyguards bound to serve their lady:

“*Piotr the Patricide", a tall human of pale skin and eyes colder than the void of space. Abandoned by his pirate father, after a skirmish with Izill's forces, his determination impressed the baroness so much she gave him weapons and training that he needed to not only find his elusive parent, but also bring his head back to her. Since then, he has taken part in many similar assassination missions. One I bumped with him while he carried a Karthemas head into the palace. I knew that it would take only a few words from my host's mouth and my head would be added to the collection.”*

“*Elvaneth The Smiling One."I do not know how a member of the Thadrakosi managed to end up as a slave for Izill, much less a member of her chosen bodyguard. She is always at her shadow, always smiling, always looking at you with those same, beautiful yet starving eyes. From one of Izill's slaves I learnt that the baroness managed to win her loyalty not only with promises of wealth or power, but fantastic meals instead. At first I thought it was funny, then I heard why nothing remains of Elvaneth's victims.”*