Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Hawk

"Sqwaaaak!

-Hawk when attacking

The Hawk is the primary animal scout of the Grey Steel Order.

History
"GET IT ORFF OF ME!"

-A rather unlucky engineer

The original Grey Steel Order, a genuinely innocuous enough crusading order of knights, took its name and insignia from the numerous falconers among its ranks. Falconry was a popular sport and a mark of nobility in medieval Eorzea, but the first knights of the Grey Steel Order took it a step further. Most falconers used their birds only to hunt game, but the Grey Steel Order learned to teach its birds to spot and cry in alarm if they spotted enemy soldiers, the source of the original Order's reputation for hunting down enemies in the most difficult terrain, which in turn led to the Order's deployment to Delia in the 11th century. Although the Order failed at that task, falconry endured both as a sport and a vital tactic for the Order.

Over time, the Order tried numerous breeds of hawk, falcon, and eagle as allies in their hunt. Eagles, they found, were ideal for military purposes. They had much greater endurance than their smaller brethren, and could seriously injure a man with their talons. Until the late 18th century, golden eagles were the bird of choice for military use, being the largest and heartiest bird of prey the Order could find. Falconry with smaller birds for non-military use persists to this day as a popular sport among the Order, whose members dominate falconry exhibitions and competitions throughout the world, but for the past century, a species that the rest of the world doesn't realize exists has taken over the golden eagle's mantle as the Order's frontline combat bird.

The isolated environments of Gilneas and New Zealand have given rise to animal species like nothing else on the planet. However, there is one island in the region that doesn't appear on any maps or charts, and in fact, mariners in the region know not to enter the area due to shallow, rocky waters and extremely dangerous tides. The truth, of course, is less mundane. The Black Isle, as the Order calls it for being erased from public knowledge, is home to an ecosystem unremarkable save for one very unique species of bird known as the Great Harrier, though most prefer to call them Hawks for convenience.

Lacking any ornithologists in the Order, the name is inaccurate - the Great Harrier has no relation to that subfamily of hawks, and is most likely a uniquely gigantic offshoot of the already formidable Encantadian Eagle. If the Great Harrier was known to the world scientific community, it would shatter all existing records for the largest bird of prey in the world, with an enormous fourteen-foot wingspan and a weight of over two hundred pounds, putting it within striking range of the largest bird in the world, period: the ostrich. Great Harriers require a substantial amount of food to maintain that weight and feed on virtually anything they can take - even small sharks, and wide-ranging Great Harriers are the true reason why sheep in southern New Zealand tend to go missing on occasion.

Under the protection and cultivation of the Grey Steel Order, the Great Harriers have been thriving despite their use - and frequent deaths - on the battlefield by the Order. Large enough to drag an Astarte screaming into the skies and clever enough to spot disguised Spies for the fakes they are, Great Harriers have fought in battles around the world since their discovery by the Order. Outside of active military use, villagers throughout the Middle East have begun to develop a superstitious dread of these enormous birds, often called rocs after the giant mythological eagles.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * K-9 (Aquila)
 * Attack Dog (Alliance)
 * Battle Cat (ADI)
 * Burst Drone (Protectorate)
 * War Lion (Asur Command)
 * Halfling Wolf Rider (Andora)
 * Tiger (Empire)
 * Atomic Tiger (Castanic Nuclear Division)
 * Gorilla (Community)
 * Merlion (Serpent Clan)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Attack Bear (Voshkod)
 * Giant Scorpion (Brotherhood)
 * Squig (Horde)
 * Alshain (MLA)
 * Long Legs (Collective)
 * Cold One (Cult of Pleasure)
 * Hippo (Encantadia)
 * Buzzers (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * CORV Drone (Coalition)
 * Fenrisian Wolf
 * Ice Wolves (Heralds)
 * Hawk (Order)
 * Mutant Hound (Survivors)
 * War Wolf (Syndicate)
 * Giant Rat (Skaven Horde)
 * Kroot Hound (Tau Merchant Guard)
 * Exo Scout (Conglomerate)
 * Cougar (Legion)

DLC

 * ... (Federation)
 * ... (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * ... (Skynet)
 * ... (Dominion)
 * ... (Elemental)
 * ... (Autocracy)
 * ... (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * ... (Pirates)
 * ... (Elona)
 * ... (Ascalia)
 * ... (Confederation)
 * ... (Kingdom)
 * ... (Goo)
 * ... (Security)
 * Giant Centipede (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * ... (Warlords)
 * ... (Cult)
 * ... (Raiders)
 * ... (Theocracy)
 * ... (ASA)
 * ... (Insurgents)
 * ... (Bastion)
 * ... (Guardians)
 * ... (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * ... (Ecumene)
 * ... (Concordat)
 * ... (Contingent)
 * ... (Rangers)
 * ... (Eden)
 * ... (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * ... (Commune)
 * ... (Clique)