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Short description

The most wealthy men in Scythia, these elites form a nearly unrivalled heavy cavalry force.

Description

Scythia is frequently mistaken as a nation comprised of primitive nomads from the steppes North of the Black Sea, who simply swept 'civilised' nations like the Macedonians before them with hordes of farmers on horseback with composite bows, like the Huns. This is a completely distorted view: Scythia was a rich land, and one that had conquered countless tribes and empires. Even Greek historians, famous for their arrogance, all agreed that these men were the best horsemen the world had ever seen. The lands ruled by the Scythian chiefs were rich in natural resources, and Scythians raided all over the Eastern lands for hundreds of years, helping to topple the mighty Assyrian Empire and even receiving tribute from the Pharoah! Not bad for a bunch of 'primitive nomads'.

But this was many hundreds of years ago, and much has changed. The Scythians were less a unified nation and more a collection of similar minded peoples, comparable to the Greek city states of the ancient world. But new enemies like the Parthians, commanding organised empires, have emerged to conquer the steppes themselves, and the Greeks to the south in the Bosporus are beginning to expand northwards. But although the Scythians have retained the powerful warfaring skills that made the world fear them, they have also changed over the generations. These troops embody that change.

These men are the heaviest of Scythia's cavalry, and cavalry is famously Scythia's speciality. Whereas they have become infamous for their horse archers, the unrivalled riding ability of their men comes into play here in forming an extremely effective fighting force. These men consist of the wealthy members of the tribes of Scythia, and it shows in their equipment. Generations of raids in rich southern lands have filled Scythia with gold and iron, which explains much of these men's intricate gilded clothing and armour. Both they and their horses are protected with sophisticated and effective scale armour, and they wear Greek Chalkidean helmets both for posterity and protection. They carry a long lance to skewer enemies too heavily armoured or strong for the horse archers to deal with (unlikely) and an axe with phenomenal armour piercing capability.

Evidence found in tombs reveals that these men decorated their horses with embroidered sattlecloths and ibex horns, for ornamental use. So long as they steer well clear of spearmen, these extremely expensive, dazzling elites will crush any unit, mounted or otherwise, that threatens the homelands of the Scythians!