The Jade Company

One of the Free Companies of Khatovar, it emerged onto the home world some fifteen years before the Black Company. Armed with a Lance of Passion, it was actually the remains of a previous Company that had explored (and been decimated in) another of the sixteen worlds of the Glittering Stone rather early, and was meant to later serve as a scouting force of the Black Company. Stealing north through Taglios and moving far, the Captain neglected to pay heed to the priests of Kina and "accidentally" left them behind in the Dandra Presh mountain range and took off with the Lance, moving eastwards when he reached the Jewel Cities, seeing the ocean then as incrossable, seeking out the fortunes and destiny promised to his men, even if it was to avoid Kina's eye.

As the years passed, new Captains, Lieutenants, Annalists, and Standardbearers replaced the old, and the Jade Company gradually gave way to new blood. Its original green-eyed, fair-skinned warriors began accepting outsiders as part of a Free Company, becoming a small, well-trained group of mercenaries specializing in heavy infantry, but readily adapting to the necessary techniques of the cultures the Company ran into. Although cut off from Kina except through the Lance no one knew how to invoke, and believing themselves to be declared enemies of Kina, the Jade Company continued keeping their Annals and always moved to the east, eventually hitting the eastern coast of the southern continent. There, they remained for the majority of the Black Company's four and a half century tenure in this world, taking various commission for the petty lords before moving back west about a century before the novels began, to seek out the western coast in hopes of finding a worthy cause to fight, and also to see if the rumors of the Black Company's survival to be true. Missing the Black Company’s passing by mere miles, the Jade Company pressed on towards the west, still having fought no major straining battles in three hundred years.

Finally, upon moving through the Jewel Cities, the Jade Company heard tell of a powerful sorcerer known as Emerald that was seeking men of arms to serve. The Captain, noting the dwindling treasury, decided to meet this Emerald and sign on. They eventually did, two years later, and took up their new Standard, a green field with a scarlet circle bearing a green and silver eye. They served Emerald, being his muscle as they exterminated his enemies along the southern continent's western coast before meeting their match in a naval battle fought against a sorcerer known as the Faceless One during the Consolidation Wars of the North, when Emerald attempted to gain full power over the seas.

With Emerald slain and the majority of the Jade Company decimated, the survivors took their Lance and Annals and began the long journey south to return to Khatovar. However, they heard word of the Black Company on the move, and, still desiring to avoid any other of the Companies, they went underground, moving about as a secretive syndicate of assassins and muscle, far from their glory days of Emerald's service. One of the two sorcerers attached to the Jade Company, a sour man named Circle, attempted to go back to the west and see if he could salvage any of Emerald's work to give the Jade Company an edge. He never came back, leaving the Jade Company with some fifty brothers and no magical support save for a dabbler, Morion, in dire straits.

Salvation seemingly came when the fragments of the Jade Company heard of the Black Company's passing back South from the North, apparently on their way to Khatovar. Seeing an opportunity to make a bid for power in a war-weakened world, the Captain rallied the survivors of the Jade Company and moved slowly towards the Jewel Cities, once again bearing the symbol of the Jade Eye and seeking commission. After waiting around and moving between the Jewel Cities, the Captain has found commission at the city of Beryl, serving the Imperial Legate of the Lady's Empire as personal bodyguards and ferreting out corruption in the city. It has been three years of the same, and the brothers of the Jade Company are muttering to themselves, desiring a change, and look to the north, where the Black Company once served...

Characters of Note

The Captain – Fighter 7/Veteran 5/Great General 3 (officer) – Relatively recently ascended to the Captaincy ten years ago, he is a tall, muscular man some fifty years old, but not showing any signs of slowing down except perhaps for a slightly receding and greying hairline. He often dresses in leathers and a breastplate for the showmanship, and is extremely loyal to his men, a careful commander that doesn't squander his men, and is seen by the Jade Company as its patriarch and father to them all. While he doesn't fight much on the field anymore, needing the vantage point of a commander, he still routinely defeats his brothers in mock duels, being a terror with his longspear, although he once preferred the shortsword and shield when he was a rank and file grunt in his youth.

The Lieutenant – Fighter 8/Jack-of-all-trades 4/Wizard 4 (aristocrat) – Second in command to the Company, the Lieutenant was actually a very new addition to the Company, having joined only three years prior to the Company's arrival in the Jewel Cities, recommended by nearly all of the Company due to his hardass, no crap attitude. In his late twenties/early thirties, the Lieutenant is a tall, thin man with a hawkish, wild look in his eyes that makes everyone outside of the Company extremely uncomfortable, but he is a well liked and respected man within the unit. A talented commander, the Lieutenant still prefers to be in the thick of battle, wielding his shortsword and knives with preternatural ease. Known to have been a northern mercenary come South to seek his fortunes, he has the bearing of perhaps being a former aristocrat turned warrior, but no one asks. He used to dabble in sorcery, and he has a few surprising tricks up his sleeve like making knives seemingly appear form nowhere, but he still relishes the duel and combat, and has also been known to have excellent tracking and even assassination skills.

Wrench – Fighter 5/Siege Engineer 3 (soldier) – A minor officer of the Jade Company, Wrench seems to be an average person, not tall or short, not thin or wide, of average build. However, his unassuming visage holds a sharp mind keen on mechanics and architecture, and for that he is the Jade Company's head siege engineer, a wizard at figures, calculations, and generally knows how to wreck the hell out of fortifications. When not working on a new machine, Wrench also serves as a scout to the Company, moving with surprising speed and using a specially made crossbow and bolt of his own design.

Needle – Jack of all Trades 3/Thief 2 (physician) – One of Wrench's best friends, Needle serves as the Jade Company’s physician and also as one of the Company's minor officers, commanding a small number of men as a topkick when there are no other competents to handle the work. A small man barely topping five feet, Needle is an expert at battlefield surgery, and nearly every brother of the Company owes him their life or limb for saving them in a nick of time from a gory wound or mixing up an antidote for poisons. His quick hands are well lended to surgery as well as other covert activities, and he has been seen to wield his knife with uncanny skill as well as having been known to open locks and jam traps with nearly as much ease as Wrench.

The Painter – Berserker 11/Veteran 1/Topkick 3 (tribesman) – A black man from the South, the Painter was a Nar of Gea-Xle who left those lands to seek out his brothers that had left to join the Black Company. As warrior-ly as they come, the Painter was ridiculed for his artistic talents in Gea-Xle, as it was not considered manly for members of the warrior caste to paint and create the works of art he did. Fiercely loyal to the Company, the Painter knows he can never go back to Gea-Xle, and so has made the Company his home. The only other passion he carries is battle, throwing himself into the field with the Nar's legendary ferocity, wielding sword and spear with equal skill, often disdaining a shield in favor of two weapons, and his body is covered in scars and wounds to prove it.

Iron – Fighter 7/Topkick 3/Veteran 4 (soldier) – A short and stocky man, his bearded and lined face with deep set grey eyes is as stalwart and trustworthy a man can be. Approaching fifty, Iron has been in the Jade Company since the age of fifteen, a former young firebrand maturing in the Company. Affectionately called the Old Man by his brethren, his rare smile reveals the few silver teeth he's had to take as a result of one too many brawls in his youth. He carries an undeniable presence with him, and that is often enough to break up any disputes; he's rarely had to draw his longsword in the past two years. As a reward to the Old Man (and not to slight his pride at age), the Captain gave him the position of Standardbearer, and Iron often marches tall at the head of his unit, bearing the Standard at the head of the Jade Company.

Mercy – Jack of all Trades 4/Academician 4 (scholar) – As the Annalist of the Jade Company, it is Mercy's job to know the Company's history and to remember its traditions, giving immortality to the brethren and keeping track of things that were and things that are. Another of the Annalist's duties is to remind the Captain that he is not a god, something that has not come up. Some twenty five years of age, Mercy has a gift for languages and is one of the few literate people in the Company willing to actually update the Annals. He has been in a few scuffles, drawing his sword every now and then, but he has yet to experience a full blown battle. Having joined the Company to see the world, this uprooted Taglian is surprised at his sudden appointment to the Company's officer core.

Saga – Wizard 15/Artificer 2 (magician’s apprentice) – The remaining true sorcerer of the Jade Company, he is also one of the few to have served in Emerald's campaigns. He is a modestly accomplished sorcerer with a decent understanding of battle tactics, although his passion still lies in magic and the acquisition of knowledge. As a self appointed head of supernatural affairs in the Jade Company, he is often swamped with the difficult work that the brothers throw at him, but he has always managed to pull through. He dresses in black leathers under his dramatically flowing black robe, and covers all of his body except for his head. At his side is a long, gleaming dagger with a jade stone in the pommel, and it was he who created the 'second generation' Jade Company badges that every brother wears today.

Braids – Wizard 7 (magician’s apprentice) – Saga's understudy in the magical arts, Braids is notable for her fearsome illusions as well as being one of the few women who have been truly sworn into the Jade Company. She signed on with Saga's recommendations and his belief that she will turn out to be a fine sorceress someday (also pointing to the fact that with Circle gone, the Company could use more magical talent), but the brothers joke that he just wanted a girlfriend. Braids has managed to pull together a few excellent battlefield illusions in recent years, and she dresses in scarlet robes with her Jade Company badge reworked into a jade choker at her neck. Of the Jewel Cities, evident with her almost Forsberger appearance, with slightly tanned skin and reddish brown hair and blue eyes, she is not happy to be back in the Cities, aching for a change in environment.

Drake – Weapon Master 7/Swordmaster 7 (priest)– Named such for the writhing dragons tattooed on his arms and face, Drake has been with the Company for some ten years and has spent nearly every minute of it training his ass off. A shorter man than even Iron, Drake is one of the displaced Nyeung Bao who was born to a couple that left the swamps on pilgrimage. Inheriting his father's blade and armour, Drake signed on with the Jade Company to further test his skills and techniques that originate from the Path of the Sword. Every morning he is seen training his peculiar technique with his sword, named Blue Snake for its waving blue damascus lines, and a few of the brothers go to him to polish their fighting skills before times of conflict. Respectfully called "Uncle" by most of the brethren due to his slightly older look and wisdom, he is a fearsome and implacable warrior with steel is drawn, and a good friend and teacher.

Hyena – Ranger 4/Berserker 3 (tracker) – Whenever a particularly loud and nearly mad laugh rings out from the Jade Company's camp, you know Hyena is near. A tall man with hunched up shoulders and a long goatee and mustache, he even looks the part, and dresses in studded black leather armor always. Ever the joker of the Company, he's the guy who chatters while the tonk games are going on, the loud bragger at taverns, and the one telling stories at the campfire. His sharp wit and personable nature endears him to much of the Company, and his amazing talent for tracking, hunting, and foraging served the Company well during the trek to the Jewel Cities, and his double shortsword style has saved many a brother in battle. A Company man to the core, he has been practicing his reading and writing skills and is one of the few brothers who has read through the Annals. Those who have seen him fight worry about his sanity, but for now, his grinning face just keeps staring off into Tomorrow.

Golden – Noble 2/Fighter 8 (aristocrat) – A dispossessed noble turned landless knight, Golden was financially ruined due to his foolish older brother's mismanaging of the family estates, digging a grave that claimed not only himself, but the entire household when impatient creditors torched the manor. Golden, who was serving under the Imperial Guard at the time, was transferred to the far eastern frontier to keep him from knowing, but he eventually found out and took revenge on those who had murdered his house. In mourning, he strapped on his greatsword and plate armor, and left to seek his fortunes eventually getting exiled from Forsberg. He sailed south and worked as a guard, picking up the name "Golden" for his blonde hair and sparkling yellow eyes, which he kept when he signed onto the Jade Company a mere two years ago, with his martial skill and knowledge and connections with various merchants greatly aiding the Company.

Bullock – Zealot 5 (priest) – As his name implies, Bullock is a huge, strong man. He easily tops six feet, and his dark brown eyes barely conceal a nearly fanatical desire to fight and kill. A former Shadar Gray from Taglios, he took up his battle axe and left that land during the Protector's reign, believing that Taglios had become an irredeemable spiritual cesspit, and began waging a one man holy war in the mercenary line. It was by chance that he stumbled into Hyena, a man he had known before the Jade Company, and he too took the oath to join in Hyena's adventures and to also spread his faith. Wielding his huge, gleaming axe, Bullock throws himself into every battle fully expecting to die in the name of his gods.

Finny and Mudd – both Thief 4/Fighter 2 (con artist) – These two men are twins from the plains and steppes of the North, nomads from the Plain of Fear that decided the world needed some exploring after being outcast for their tribe (which believed twins to be bad luck for the People). They were forced to grow up quickly, adapting to new customs and languages everywhere they went. Their appearances didn't help them at all; both had mismatched eyes, with Finney's green/gold and Mudd's gold/green. In addition, Mudd was relatively short at about five foot five, and very stocky (nearly fat), while Finney was very tall, at almost seven feet and as thin as a rail. Both have, in their years, learned tricks of larceny and deceit, not to mention working well with the mercenary line on the sidelines, helping with negotiations and to acquire supplies. While no one has seen the two fight, each wears a short sword and dagger, and verbally defend one another with such incredible ferocity and near preternatural knowledge of the other than some brethren wonder if they are one soul in two men.

Blackhand – Jack of all Trades 4/Scout 3 (entertainer) – A traveling poet and bard, Blackhand was once quite the musical talent through the Jewel Cities, often welcome at any tavern or street corner. Now, however, he wears a black glove over his left hand at all times, and whenever he strings his lyre, it is often to sing tales of great and tragic heroes and times tales of the Domination, of the Lady and the Ten, and of the White Rose. No one knows why he wears the glove or what happened to give Blackhand such a haunted look to his eyes, but no one voted against his joining the Jade Company, knowing his talents at finding information and being to go virtually anywhere would be greatly valued by the command. He often dresses in shades of grey, from his slightly tatted cloak and boots, to his worn vest and hat. Since joining the Company, he's taken to wearing a sword, but those who have seen him know the deadly accuracy of his throwing darts and knives.

Patches – Fighter 7/Topkick 6 – As far as the Jade Company goes, the one who leads the hardest missions and is the tip of any spear thrust and commando team is Patches. A missing eye, several maimed fingers on the left hand, and a limp to the right leg are testament to the life under fire that he has taken up, and years of close calls and near misses has led him to seem the grizzled old veteran at the age of merely thirty. He is often the one that new recruits are sent to for early training, and it's considered a rite of passage if someone can pass his obstacle course and training regimen that forces a student to think fast and punishes anyone that tries blundering forward with brute strength. Humorless on the outside, Patches is secretly proud of every member and the legacy of the Jade Company, and hopes to see one last great adventure before he finds the arrow or blade with his name on it.

Shepherd – Scout 3 (commoner) – Just as his name implies, this farmboy turned mercenary used to be a shepherd and farmer before leaving the farm for the Jewel cities. Merely a boy of seventeen, he's the "little brother" of the Company, only admitted after impressing the assembled brethren with his skill at bow and sling. His rustic features and drab style of dress also got him a job with spying and scouting, something a Company with Lieutenants, Mercy’s, and Patches' could never accomplish. Indoctrinated to the Company mystique and full of youthful immortality, Shepherd is expecting to grow up a great man and leader, and to name a dramatic new name.