Hand of Vhagar

This article refers to The Hand of Vhagar, not to be confused with The Chancellor's Hands The Hand of Vhagar is the primary military and religious order of the Church the 14 gods of Draconism. It is commanded by Lord Commander Dusk Synderys. In addition to serving as protectors of the faith, the Hand of Vhagar also serves as a mercenary order with many past contracts. In the lands of Daelyria the Hand of Vhagar is renowned for their skilled and brutal fighters and their armed zealousy. They honour and venerate the draconist god Vhagar by proving their skill in combat and cleansing the world. It is lead by Lord Commander Dusk Synderys.

Organisation
The sole head of 'the Hand' is the Lord Commander, since its founding being Dusk Synderys. The Order is divided into two main forces: the Fist and the Palm.

Palm
The Palm consists of the Jaeseryn of the Draconist church, or holy men who keep castles or cities for the gods. They are not necesarily warriors but have all allowed their keeps to be used as fortresses of the faith if the need arises. The Fist serves as the hireable offensive force.

Fist
The Fist is divided into five Claws, each led by a Claw Commander, though the First Claw is customarily held by the Lord Commander. The Claw are all trained to work interchangably with each other, though they are divided by skill, ranging from the most skilled in the First Claw to the least skilled in the Fifth Claw.

Contracts and achievements
The Hand of Vhagar has held many contracts, though several of them have been cancelled. While usually acting as a mercenry company only fighting for a pay, there are also cases where the order fights on own behalf, usually because of the interests of the faith. Examples include the Goonguard-Alamayn war where the Order fought as part of the Daelyrian forces supporting Goonguard in their invasion. The battles with official contractors below are marked with a *.

Notable wars

 * NERP-Veldski war
 * Fought with Veldski
 * Battle of Nausicaa: decisive victory
 * Ecclesian war
 * Fought with Kartek
 * Battle of Jamestown: victory
 * Battle of Kranga: victory
 * Squattistan war
 * Fought with Squattistan
 * Battle of Asalath: decisive victory
 * Goonguard-Alamayn war
 * Fought with Goonguard
 * First battle of Meteora-Arkalis: victory
 * Second battle of Meteora-Arkalis: tie
 * Hordien-Haven Federation war*
 * Fought with Haven Federation
 * First battle of Antler's Rest: defeat
 * Second battles of Antler's Rest: victory
 * Paradise-IAU war*
 * Fought with IAU
 * Battle of Maxstadt: decisive defeat

Traditions
The Hand of Vhagar, as a religious organisation, has several rituals and traditions. One of them is that before each battle, prayer is held where they implore their heavenly master, Vhagar, for strength, courage, rage and victory. They also kneel and receive a stripe of blood across their foreheads, all from the same animal (or person) to imply their connection with each other as an army and as brothers of the faith. Combat and battle itself is considered a type of veneration and prayer in Draconist tradition, colloquially called a 'Sermon of Swords'.

Appearance
The Hand of Vhagar dresses in full plate armor made of painted red armor with golden inlay, all but the Claw Commanders who either wear gold coloured armor or pitch black armor with red markings. Their helmets are fashioned in the shape of dragon faces and distort the wearer's voice in such a way that when screaming it becomes an inhuman roar or screech to lower enemy morale. This armor is also highly heat resistance, which serves the order well in its Hellraids where they prowl the nether like demons.