Faction Profile
Founded: Estimated 1320
Governance: Decentralized
Spokesman/Public Information Officer/Figurehead: The Spearbearer (Unknown Identity Spokesman)
Primary Function/Purpose: Anti-Republic Insurgency Group
Estimated Numbers: Unknown, estimated to be above fifty thousand to one hundred thousand active members
Republic Influence: Low
Republic Disposition: Rebellious
Citizenry Reputation: Respected to Beloved
Military Strength: Low, but highly effective in areas of concentrated numbers
Seat of Operations: Unknown
Common Ranks/Titles:
- Spearbearer
- Warden
- Corollary
- Adjunct
- Preponderant
- Fellow
- Errant
- Recruit
Post-Torment State: Thriving
Presence in First Province: Moderate, believed to control Orespod.
History
The Forlorn Hope is an affiliation composed mostly of former Republic military service members from all across the three regions of Vitaveus. Thought to have been originally founded by defectors of the Church Templar, Venerated Inquisition and the Republic Legion, the Forlorn were former service members who became disenfranchised with the Church’s tactics in responding to the civil disorder and anarchy following the wake of the Torment. The organization’s namesake, Forlorn Hope, references a common military term used to describe soldiers responsible for being the “tip of the spear” in a military engagement, of whom are expected to suffer high casualties due to the inherent danger of their assignment. Thus, it is assumed that the Forlorn Hope had chosen their namesake to pay homage to the often futile attempts to reclaim lost territorial holdings of the Republic from the Torment and the Blacklands of the Western Territories, as ordered by the Venerated Church of Decus.
The Forlorn Hope gained much of its prominence and recognition during the period that has been dubbed the “Great Abandonment”, a point in the Republic’s history in which former Archbishop Karl Anslem withdrew all major military operations that had been underway to reclaim the Western Territories from the Torment in the 1330s. While the former Archbishop’s orders to withdraw from the Western Territories were eventually proven to be influenced by sinister forces, the subsequent abandonment of hard-fought land blighted by plague and anarchy had resulted in a staggering loss of life within the troubled land. While the vast majority of Legionnaires and Templars assigned to the Blackland front-lines had followed the Church-issued orders and made their laborious retreat from the front lines of the Western Territories back to the Eastern Baronies, a handful of Church Templar Chapters, Inquisitor Clergies and Legion Patrols had summarily disobeyed their directives. These rogue elements of the Republic instead took to occupying deserted forts and forward operating bases in an effort to provide aid and defense to the local populations, populations in which they had developed strong obligations to over the decade long campaign to reclaim the Western Territories from blight and chaos. While these defectors’ efforts had indeed been valiant and chivalrous, it was often also in vain, for the lack of logistical support from their respective factions resulted in many of these brave defectors being overwhelmed by brigands, blight or other perils. Yet for those scant few Legions, Clergies and Chapters that had managed to “hold the line” in their respective pockets of the apocalypse had in time become renowned throughout the abandoned provinces of the Western Territories as saviors and benefactors. Word of these men and women who defied the Church’s orders to lay life and limb upon the line in service to their fellow Decusians spread like wildfire, and thus, the Forlorn Hope had been born.
The organization's namesake, Forlorn Hope, references a common military term used to describe soldiers responsible for being the “tip of the spear” in a military engagement, of whom are expected to suffer high casualties due to the inherent danger of their assignment.
Modern Times
Originally composed of an affiliation of former Legion forces, Templar Chapters and even Inquisitor Clergies, the Forlorn has in more recent times expanded to include additional paramilitary elements into its fold. Foundry members, Apothecary Corps. members, and even the occasional mercenary company have found its way under the Forlorn banner. The hierarchical structure of the Forlorn is decentralized and indicative of an organization that values autonomy, adaptivity and survivability above all else. Forlorn elements, referred to within their own ranks as “wards”, are based regionally and are identified by their jurisdictional responsibilities. Wards comprise anywhere from a few dozen members to forces numbering in the hundreds, depending on regional needs, mission objectives and availability of logistical support. Wards are mostly para-military in nature, often using standard Legion ranking structures to denote hierarchical importance of their members, with the exception of the chief commanding officer of a ward who is always bestowed the title of Warden. Wardens, in turn, comprise the network of commanding elements of the Forlorn, and are responsible for holding those under their command to the ethical and moral code of their fellow Warden peers. Whilst not explicitly existing as a physical charter or edict, the code of the Forlorn is quite simple; those who are able through strength and willpower shall protect their fellow man whenever possible, for serving the people of the Republic should always take precedence over serving the interpretation of Decus’ will.
Due to the Forlorn Hope’s inherent nature of being founded by defectors and dissenters of the Republic’s military, the Forlorn sentiments towards the Republic are jaded at best of times and treasonous at the worst. Yet despite this, many within the Forlorn ranks consider themselves patriots to the Republic, for most of their ill-will towards the Venerated Republic is not held against the country or its citizenry, but is reserved for the ruling caste and governing agency of the Republic, the Venerated Church of Decus. Many within the commanding hierarchy of the Forlorn look upon the Church as bearing the responsibility of the emergence of the Torment and the Resolve, and anti-Church sentiment is rife within the Forlorn due to the loss of life and land resulting from the Great Abandonment. It goes without saying that due to these strong views and treasonous philosophies, the Forlorn are considered enemies of the state and the Faith. However, due to the Forlorn ranks being composed of many disenfranchised and dissenting members of the Legion and Church, their criminal status is often gone unchecked in all but the most policed and populous areas of the Republic. Lack of Forlorn member prosecution is also due in part to the nature of the Forlorn activities being centered around areas of the Republic that have been left abandoned or too lightly defended by the Legion or Church. While this lack of prosecution is often beneficial to the Forlorn efforts as a whole, it has also led to unforeseen issues as of late; unsavory individuals, criminals, anarchists, and usurpers of the Republic often attempt to find their way into the Forlorns folds.