Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Cleric Track

"Sigmar's Cavlary ready for battle!"

-...

The Cleric Track is the standard Medium Tank for the Grey Steel Order, based on the old Hawke war-era Mark I. This unit is planned to be voiced by

Tactical analysis

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History
"Better to be dead than a chaos worshipper."

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During the Hawke War, Gaiaterra saw an invention that revolutionized warfare forever. The Tank. The invention of the tank was actually an accident. When Ferelden officer Major Walter Gordon Wilson saw an experimental tracked tractor designed by William Tritton, a modified tractor able to move naval guns, Wilson was impressed with the tractor and envisioned a similar design with armour plates and guns, rumbling across the mud and trenches. He shared his idea with an eager Ferelden command, which led to the design of the "tank".

Its first action was in the Battle of Bruhl in 1915 V.C. Aselian soldiers were horrified and started running when these metallic beasts rolled over the trenches. With cannons mounted on each side, the tank had enough firepower to take out any position their enemies held. The Ferelden Mark I tank, as it was designated, led to the eventual mechanisation of warfare.

Following the war, the creation of faster, stronger and more advanced tanks led to the Mark I's becoming obsolete. As such, the Mark I's were retired from Ferelden service entirely, consigned to the scrap heap and others brought by the Theocracy. This was not the end for the Mark I, however. During the Hawke War, Order agents had been present at the Battle of Bruhl. They had seen the deadly effectiveness of these new weapons in action and reported on their observation. Having heard about the lethality of these new weapons and realizing the obsolescence of horse mounted cavalry, the Order came to a decision - they must acquire a working tank.

Eventually, after much manipulation and manoeuvring on the part of Order agents, several Order loyalists in the Ferelden Army found themselves as part of the crew of the same tank. The Order plants quickly dealt with the rest of the crew while the tank was out in the field, and the Order was able to succeed in making it look like the tank had been destroyed by a Aselian artillery barrage.

Reverse engineering the captured Mark I was not too difficult, and the Order craftsmen were able to improve on the design significantly. The new and improved design, christened the "Cleric", proved way and far superior to anything else on the battlefield at the time. Over the next few weeks, several more Mark I tanks disappeared under mysterious circumstances, presumably destroyed in action. The tanks were brought to Order craftsmen for total conversion. The craftsmen disassembled the tanks completely. Taking only the frames and tracks, they armoured the tanks with Order Steel plating far superior to the original steel armour, and added a Order Steel steam engine more powerful than any engine then in use. The two side cannons were replaced with a single turret mounted six pounder, and numerous other minute improvements were made. As a final touch, the tanks were repainted with the colours and insignia of the Order. The result was a battle tank surpassing anything else then in service.

The new "Cleric" tracks only appeared in the last week in the war, and were very few in number, for the Order had only managed to get their hands on a few of the Mark I tanks. However, wherever they went, they struck fear into the hearts of soldiers who saw them. This led to several rumoured sightings of monster tanks, with glistening steel plating, massive guns, and steam coming out of the back, which dominated the battlefield against all opposition, decimating even other tanks. The new tanks were most effective in hunting down Herald members, but there were too few of them. The Order needed more.

So after the war, when Ferelden decommissioned the Mark Is, the Order saw it as an opportunity to acquire more tank frames for conversion. The Order exploited every possible source, in order to acquire as many examples of the Mark I chassis as they could, even turning to tanks that had been abandoned on the battlefield but were still salvageable. In addition, the Order had begun a small production run of Cleric tracks by this time. The result was that the Order arsenal of Clerics was greatly expanded following the Hawke War.

Over the years, various improvements have been made in order to keep the Cleric a viable opponent on the battlefield, though the basic design has remained unchanged. Most notably, two "Priest" electromagnetic generators have been mounted on the back. The electromagnetic generators are meant to boost the armour plating of the Clerics, although they require large amounts of power to operate. Though it no longer has the unparalleled dominance it had in the Hawke War, especially with the introduction of more modern tanks, it is still deadly. Before the "Chosen One" had reached maturity, Clerics were often used in raids against the Heralds, where they proved superior to Chaos-fallen Medium tanks types.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * Crusader/Laser Crusader (Aquila)
 * Coyote/Stryker MGS
 * Centurion Hovertank/Enforcer Hovertank
 * Grizzly Tank (Alliance)
 * Cavalier Tank
 * Liberty Tank
 * M1 Predator (ADI)
 * Type 74 MBT/Tsunami Tank (Protectorate)
 * Leopard 3 (Andora)
 * Guardian Tank
 * Panther
 * Battlemaster Tank (Empire)
 * Nuclearmaster
 * Cadillac Stingray (Community)
 * Bushmaster Tank (Wolf Clan)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Kodiak Tank (Voshkod)
 * T-64 Rhino
 * Ursa II Tank
 * Tick Tank (Brotherhood)
 * T-62
 * Type 59 (Horde)
 * Looted Lemia Russ Tank
 * T-72 "Scarab" (MLA)
 * Lasher Tank (Collective)
 * T-55 (Encantadia)
 * Ch'onma-Ho (Hathoria)
 * M15/42 (Lireo)
 * Devourer Tank (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * Predator Destructor (Coalition)
 * Sicaran Tank (Heralds)
 * Cleric Track (Order)
 * M48 Patton "Mastiff" (Survivors)
 * Talos AFV (Syndicate)
 * BMPT Terminator (Conglomerate)
 * Lemia Russ Tank (Legion)

Bonus Faction

 * MBT-52 Kuma (ASA)
 * OF-40 "Takhar" (Bastion)
 * MBT Creep (Rangers)
 * AAV-7 (Pirates)
 * PT-76
 * KPz T-62 "Hammer" (Ascalia)
 * White Shock Rhino Tank (Alfheimr Shock Corps)
 * Rama Tank (Elona)
 * Lion of Babylon
 * Predator Walker (Dominion)
 * M60 Sabra (Security)
 * Dandelin Armoured Rover (Ascendancy)

DLC

 * Bison (Federation)
 * Qilin Tank (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * AAT (Skynet)
 * Sd. KS 78 "Isegrim" (Elemental)
 * 2-M (Autocracy)
 * 59-Patton (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * TAM Tank (Confederation)
 * Oaxaca Tank
 * Tyrian Leopard 1D
 * Strv 103B (Kingdom)
 * Strider (Goo)
 * Panzerwagen (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * T-44 (Warlords)
 * Abomination (Cult)
 * Bison Combat Tank (Raiders)
 * Mark V (Theocracy)
 * Panzer IV (Reiksgard)
 * T-55AMV (Insurgents)
 * Conqueror (Guardians)
 * Phase Tank (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * T-62M (Ecumene)
 * Centurion (Concordat)
 * Cromwell
 * Cantha-Panzer
 * M60-2000 (Contingent)
 * PL-01 (Eden)
 * Edenfire Crusader (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * M47-Mod (Commune)
 * Type 61 (The Uncorrupted)
 * Vickers (Clique)
 * Chi-Ha (Guild)
 * ... (Threat)
 * Gallagher Outlaw Mk. II (Traders)
 * CS-63 (Entente)
 * Mancubus (Oblivion)
 * ... (Corporation)
 * ... (Covenant)
 * H.I.S.S. Tank (Institute)
 * TT77 Nosorog (Eremite)