Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/The Grey Steel Order

The Grey Steel Order are one of the twenty-one core factions in Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict.

History
"We have stained our hands red. So that no one else has to."

-Creed of the Grey Steel Order

The Grey Steel Order was formed in the aftermath of Nagash sealing. The original goal of the Order was to silence a cult in Delia, though after some minor encounters, a full-out battle erupted and (insert) was forced to send out a call for help. Their answer was the First Crusade, a war that was made to cover up the Order's first failure. Ignoring their orders from the Pope to return to Gilneas, they continued their hunt for the elusive cult, a hunt that would last for nearly 800 years.

At first, the search was fueled by a desire to regain their position within the high ranks of the (insert) military, though over time they became obsessed with their foe, sometimes killing ruthlessly in order to gain the slightest of hints. For hundreds of years they chased their quarry down across the entire world, frequently engaging in battles against them, always one step behind their elusive leader. After (insert) ransacked their headquarters in (insert) and disconnected all their ties to the Pope, their Order became an exclusive, independent group, though as more and more of them were sent to their graves, they were forced into the practice of abducting skilled military candidates from other armies to form their officer corps.

In 1914 V.C., they were the closest they ever came to meeting their foe. With many of their members having infiltrated the Gallian National Guard, they set up a meeting with a cult member wishing to defect. While the Order interrogators began the questioning, a shot sounded through the streets of (insert), and started the Hawke War. The Order had failed to see that the whole situation was a carefully orchestrated trap. The world descended into a nightmare war, and the cult was at the center of it, many of their members were the officers that ordered the war forward on both sides. The Order was convinced the cult was using the war as a cover for something else, and throughout the war they captured thousands of officers from both sides, men and women with cult connections, attempting desperately to discover their enemy's plans while becoming more and more involved in the war itself. But in the end, the Order had failed, and never discovered the purpose of the war.

Reeling from the shock of a second failure, the Order retreated to Gilneas where they set up a new headquarters. Shortly before his death, the Order's then-leader had a vision of a woman who would end the conflict with the mysterious cult once and for all. Her name was Lady Maria.

Since the 1920 V.C.'s, the Order have changed very little, still operating with the same equipment from the Interwar period. Though at first glance they appear to be powerful, with flaming battle tanks and connections to many major military organizations, they are only barely struggling to survive on limited resources and constant firefights with a local group calling themselves the Moonlight Liberation Army. Their method of inducting new members is failing, as the nations they recruit from have drifted towards atheism and godless science. Even in some of their more remote outposts, the Lumeris Syndicate (whom the Order despise) and their shadowy leader keep a close watch over the Order, making sure their threat to the corporation is minimized.

However, in 1948 V.C., a young girl was born into the Order who would forever change the future of the Order, and the future of the world. As she reaches closer to her maturity, the Grey Steel Order prepare their battle tanks, rekindling the ancient flames their ancestors used to overthrow the evil that plagued the Gaiaterra. Soon, the Order will be back on the hunt.

Lore Articles

 * Who Are The Order?
 * The Crawlers
 * Kul Tiras
 * Ambriaric Force
 * Talon Steel
 * The Apple Of Eden
 * The Force
 * Origins Of The Grey Knights
 * The Coming Horrors

Relations

 * Heralds of Chaos: At War
 * Minutemen Survivors: ???

Tactics
* TBA*

Notable characters

 * Vakir: Order EVA
 * Yoda
 * Mace Windu
 * Han Solo
 * Jaina Proudmoore
 * Agravain
 * Selena Agna
 * Antonidas
 * Ectar
 * Messinus
 * Leia Organa
 * Adrastia
 * Uther the Lightbringer
 * Mordecai Toth
 * Kaldor Draigo
 * Connor

Legendary Generals

 * Saint Celestine: General of the Sisters of Battle
 * Vardan Kai: General of the Grey Knights
 * Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad: General of the Assassin Order
 * Obiwan Kenobi: General of the Jedi Order

Commandos

 * Lady Maria: Sisters of Battle Commando
 * Castellan Crowe: Grey Knights Commando
 * Ezio Auditore da Firenze: Assassin Order Commando
 * Luke Skywalker: Jedi Order Commando

Sub-factions

 * Sisters of Battle:
 * Grey Knights:
 * Assassins Order:
 * Jedi Order:

Arsenal
Main Article: Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Order Arsenal

Specialties
Each speciality is part of the Order tech tree and unlocks new units and protocols. Unlike other tech-trees, Order players are able and expected to upgrade down all the trees in time, but prioritization is important.

Each speciality is built from a separate tab in the Master Crawler.

Crusaders: The shield arm of the Order war machine, the Crusaders use plates of the valued Order Steel, giving them large amounts of health and many ways to grab the enemies attention. They draw in enemy fire, lock enemies into combat, distract enemies, defend home bases, and lead assaults, giving their fellows more time to attack.

In addition to their regular heroic upgrades, Crusaders gain half their starting health again with each experience level gained.

A Crusader Mini-Crawler is armed with massive slabs of Order Steel and will draw fire away from others. When fully upgraded, the Crusader speciality transforms the Mini-Crawler in the the Shield of Faith Ultimate Weapon.

Crusaders are made up of the Templar Order, whose destruction was faked in order to fold them into the Order.

Inquisition: The sword arm of the Order, the Inquisitors strike suddenly and unexpectedly from the shadows or from behind the Crusaders, purging the enemy with flame and steel. Among the tools at their disposal are damage-dealing, stealth and disguise, flanking, garrison-clearing and assassination.

In addition to their regular heroic upgrades, Inquisitors weapons do +25% starting damage with each experience level gained.

An Inquisition Mini-Crawler is armed with an increasing array of deadly weapons. When fully upgraded, the Inquisition speciality transforms the Mini-Crawler into the Firestorm Generator Ultimate Weapon.

The Inquisitors of the Order is made up of the members of the Priests of Judas, a controversial sect with roots back to pre-Chronicle gnostic sects. They seek death on the battlefield, to die as unrepentant sinners in order to battle the forces of darkness beyond death.

Evangelicals: The heart of the metaphorical Order soldier, the Evangelicals use subtler means to sway the battle. They heal and inspire their fellows, poison and dishearten their enemies, harass enemy resource-gatherers, destroy stubborn defences, and turn your foes against themselves with hypnotism.

In addition to their regular heroic upgrades, Evangelicals will grant +10% stat buffs to nearby allies with each experience level gained.

An Evangelical Mini-Crawler radiates a healing aura. When fully upgraded, the Evangelical speciality transforms the Mini-Crawler into the Ambiaric Cannon.

The evangelical forces of the Order are made up of the Soldiers of Ignatius, a militant break-off of the Jesuits which took up arms against the suppression of Catholics in Elsword-era Lurensia and was disowned by the Church.

Crawlers
The Order's entire army is built from the Master Crawler, a giant machine and literal moving castle that serve as a self contained base. Crawlers cannot gain experience on their own. They (except the Forge Crawler) can, however, be globally promoted in the respective queues of the Master Crawler up to four times, one rank at a time, each time consuming more time and money. Besides benefiting from normal veterancy bonuses and distinctive veterancy upgrades, a leveled up Crawler also upgrades all protocols it controlled to its level, i.e. level 2 protocols for veteran crawlers, level 3 for elite, level 4 for heroic. Divine Crawlers, however, do not upgrades their protocols to a fifth level. Instead, mini-crawlers will unlock the Ultimate Weapons of their specialty, while the Master Crawler starts spawning foot-mobile anti-tank guns crewed by Pawns. Do notice that the Order has no tier system: all units can be accessed without any promotion to any Crawler.

Veterancy
With every rank an Order unit gains, it gains some form of function upgrade similar to heroic upgrades for other factions. This can be new weapons, extra health bonuses, armourtype changes, or even brand new features that change or expand the unit's role.

Whenever a combat unit ranks up, it immediately gives experience relative to it's worth to all non-combat units nearby. Additionally, Inquisitor units that rank up apply this bonus to nearby Crusader units. This encourages the commander to keep their forces tight-knit; the Tanks will rank up if they enable the DPS to score kills, and the support will rank up by doing their jobs around the combat units.

Amphibiousness
All Order vehicles are amphibious. When on territory they were not designed for, they move slower, have lower defences, and cannot attack, but they can cross that terrain.

Structures
Basic Structures Defense and Support structures