Istari psionic infantry

*"Do I believe in magic? After all humanity has discovered over this past few decades, I might do"*

-Sarman Radovich, 23rd Istari of Redamon Prime-

## Istari psionic infantry

Like other regiments in the Commonwealth army, the Istari wear the eagle as their symbol

### Battlecry

"Mind over bullets"

It is an unwritten rule in the Commonwealth  army that those soldiers able to wield psionic  powers should not form regiments like other infantry units do. Instead, those specialists are sent as individuals to support the different platoons of an assault army. While they use their gifts, the non-psionic soldiers busy themselves with keeping the enemy from killing their secret weapon while he or she is busy casting illusions, levitating objects or throwing balls of fire.

Still, as time went on and more and more psionic soldiers were trained in the planet of Redamon Prime, the possibility of creating specialized regiments made of mostly psionic users began to seem more and more intriguing to the Commonwealth's high command. Tests performed during war games only added more fuel to the idea, as regiments made of trained psionic users were always able to predict and counter any strategies performed by their foes. Finally, in 2250, the first regiments were created, each one led by a veteran of previous conflicts. Taking the name of the mages of one of the most beloved fantasy books which had survived Earth's destruction, the Istari were thus born.

Working mostly as support units to later, more heavily-equiped regiments, Istari are still a force to be reckoned with in the battlefield. Those who face them in battle will find the Istari are always one step ahead, scanning the minds of their foes or filling them with all manner of useless data to distract them while they perform an attack from where the enemy least expects it. Due to their highly-specialized nature, Istari infantry are seen mostly in swift operations which require more infiltration and information-gathering skills than they do brute force and superior firepower.

## Regimental Organization

   Even compared with other specialized regiments like artillery or tank troops, Istari regiments are always low when it comes to numbers. A standard regiment never numbers more than 500 hundred troopers with psionic powers.

As a way to counter this, the Istari always have a larger number of allied forces to support them, both infantry, artillery and tanks. To use psionic powers in battle is a hard thing to do which requires a well-trained mind and even then there are very few Istari who would be able to read the minds of their foes and drive a heavy, 40-ton tank at once.

## Regimental Combat Doctrine

### Spec Ops

The most common duty of Istari infantry is also the most complex. Working in small teams, they get close to the enemy without being detected and try to read and father as much informationas they are able to before they are discovered by their foe. Whenever they, or an ally regiment, captures a foe, they will read his mind from top to bottom while their squad mates scan the surrounding ground with their mind in search of any possible attacks or ambushes.

"Terror" tactics are also a tool used by the Istari, especially during siege operations. Using their mental projection, then can fill a defender's dreams with nightmares, make a guard hallucinate that the foe is coming from an unexpected flank and even yank guns from turrets before the soldiers manning them can think of firing (the latter requires a well-trained and experienced mind and is seldom done without great effort).

### Front line operations

During battle, the Istari are often keep in reserve and only used when a breakthrough is needed or an enemy force slowed down until more reinforcements can arrive. Just the vast array of powers they can deploy is reason enough for many foes to think twice before carrying on with the fight. Tank crews who mistake friend from foe, officers who suddenly drop to their knees just as if someone had just punched them in the head, Commonwealth soldiers melting through armor and flesh with a single touch of their flaming hands...facing just one soldier able to do such thing is hard enough, but 500 of them? For some foes, retreat is preferable to that.

## Notable Regiments

**-1st Istari psionic infantry "the charmers"-**The most experienced regiment of psionic users in the Commonwealth army, made mostly of veterans of previous wars. Performing well for nearly three decades, the survivors were disbanded after the destruction of Voice. Many joined later the nation's secret service.

-**13th Istari psionic infantry-**Saw action both during the battle of Thrus-Sanguur and thebattle of Frishac against the Yaanari league. Their psionic powers allowed them to force whole regiments of Yaanari to surrender without firing a single shot.