Onyx Sabre

The Onyx Sabre is a Fiefdom of the Margan Dynasties. Originally a part of the Pale Mace Dynasty, the founders of the Onyx Blade broke off from the fleet following Matriarch Jisa's heresy and alerted the dynasties to her actions, culminating in the destruction of the Pale Mace and Matriarch Jisa's suicide. Though spared the fate of their brethren, the surviving loyalists were ashamed of their dynasty's actions and reformed into a new fiefdom: the Onyx Sabre. The Sabre strives to atone for the sins of the Pale Mace through unwavering devotion to the Holy Goal and believes that final atonement will come only when the galaxy has been cleansed.

The Onyx Sabre was vocally opposed to Matriarch Hilda's proposal to establish the Warlord Pact, perceiving it as a relapse to the same mistakes which had doomed the Pale Mace. Even after the attempted assassination of High Priestess Massachiah and King Breys and the subsequent outbreak of the Great War, the Onyx Sabre refused to directly support the Pact and instead moved into the neighboring Tomastahl Sector, where they remain to this day. Following the Telkevan Union's defection from the Warlord Pact, the Onyx Sabre has focused its efforts against the traitors.

Origins
The fleets that would form into the Onyx Blade began as disparate elements of the Pale Mace Dynasty. Shortly after aliens began worshiping the Margan as gods, Matriarch Jisa assembled the queens of her flotilla to discuss the possibility of integrating these aliens into the dynasty as servants. Queen Tennyo of the Vengeful Seraphim battlegroup, was among those who dissented, arguing that the Holy Goal had no exceptions and that even mere slaves could corrupt Margan society. Ultimately, Tennyo was overruled, but she refused to integrate any slaves into the fleets under her jurisdiction. Tennyo continued in her efforts to have the decision overturned, but when it became clear that Jisa had strayed from the path, Tennyo gathered her allies within the Pale Mace and reached out to the Holy Dynasty to report Jisa's heresy. As a show of loyalty to the Holy Goal, Queen Tennyo and her forces participated in the subsequent purge of the Pale Mace.

Queen Tennyo was commemorated for her steadfast loyalty, but she and her loyalists were deeply ashamed of their dynasty's sins. Believing the pursuit of the Holy Goal to be the only path towards atonement, the surviving elements of the Pale Mace rallied under Queen Tennyo. These fleets were organized into a fiefdom and given the title of 'Onyx Blade', exchanging the Pale Mace's white coloration for black to further distinguish themselves from their progenitors.

Eternal Penitence
The new fiefdom soon joined its brethren in their crusade against alien life. Despite lacking the strength of the larger dynasties, the Onyx Blade refused any and all offers of assistance, preferring to fight alone. Tennyo compensated by adopting new strategies, developing new weapons, and through emphasizing the mistakes of the Pale Mace to her troops. The Onyx Blade quickly developed a reputation for savage cruelty that surprised even some who followed the philosophy of the Demon. At the same time, their zealous aggression often made it difficult for the Fiefdom to replenish its losses between campaigns. Queen Tennyo, who often took direct command of operations, was herself eventually killed when her flagship was destroyed. Tennyo's appointed successor, Queen Erinyes, then took command of the fiefdom.

Erinyes was just as militant as her predecessor, but she had ambitions to one day rule a dynasty of her own, and turned her attention towards building up the Onyx Blade and fostering a unique cultural identity among its inhabitants. As part of this program, Erinyes began the construction of a new worldship, Remembrance, which would be completed roughly a year before the start of the Great War.

Administration & Organization
The Onyx Blade is organized in much the same way as the larger dynasties, with the worldship Remembrance, from which Queen Erinyes oversees the fiefdom, residing in the middle of the fleet. Notable deviations include a disproportionate number of combat vessels and factory ships and a comparatively small number of dedicated food-production ships, a consequence of the proliferation of cybernetics within the fiefdom. Additionally, unlike other worldships, Remembrance was designed specifically to be able to participate in major combat operations as Erinyes plans to use the vessel as a 'battering ram' in the event that lesser methods fail and felt that using the worldship for this task would embody the Onyx Blade's devotion to the Holy Goal. Despite this, the Remembrance has yet to see combat.

Philosophy & Culture
The culture of the Onyx Blade stems from the consequences of the Pale Mace's heresy and subsequent destruction. The fiefdom is xenophobic even by Margan standards and avoids interactions with alien life, even their Pact allies, at every given opportunity, going as far as to abstain from Pact meetings and instead deferring to the larger dynasties when necessary. As a result, even the Margan's allies know little of the Onyx Blade's culture outside of what can be observed on the battlefield.

Testament
Testament is a relatively new philosophical teaching that emerged within the Onyx Blade shortly after its creation. Testament perceives the universe as a sentient, gestalt entity comprised of all of the organic life within it, including even the Margan themselves. This entity embodies the natural order, and was thus responsible for the suffering the Margan endured on Marga. The Holy Goal is therefore both a physical battle against the species of the galaxy and a righteous revolt against the cosmos, which opposes the Holy Goal as the destruction of all life would see the entity transform into a new being comprised wholly of the Margan's essence. Rather than waging war, the cosmos instead subverts Margan society from within by tempting vulnerable souls to turn against the Margan's cause. In their own avarice, the Pale Mace unwittingly fell into the hands of the entity, bringing about their downfall and serving as a dire warning that all Margan, even the matriarchs, are vulnerable, and that the completion of the Holy Goal will only come about through both physical and spiritual purity.

Priest Tulma is the leader and founder of Testament. Initially a follower of Chronicle, Tulma found it and the other philosophies unable to wholly explain the circumstances that had brought ruin to the Pale Mace. Tulma and his closest companions secluded themselves for several weeks as they poured over Margan texts and debated the nature of their existence, the end result of these talks becoming the teachings of Testament. Tulma's ideas quickly spread across the Onyx Blade, revitalizing the fiefdom's demoralized spirit and becoming a core element of its identity. To ensure the purity of his ideals, Tulma forsook his own organic body, his mind ultimately being installed within the Remembrance itself, where Tulma continues to preach Testament to followers new and old and provide counsel to the fiefdom's leadership.

For most of Testament's followers, the uncompromising pursuit of the Holy Goal and the rejection of all foreign ideals is sufficient to protect them from the impurity of the cosmos. However, a growing minority under the leadership of Priestess Zahli have taken Tulma's teachings to an extreme, believing that their own flesh is of the enemy and that purity is found only in the Margan's mental and spiritual essence. These zealots wholly convert themselves into mechanical beings. Incapable of reproducing, these cyborgs extract samples of genetic material during the augmentation process and use it to birth new Margan in artificial vats. Tulma himself has commended Zahli's dedication, but has stressed that such extensive procedures be optional, arguing that not all would be willing or able to take the leap.

While Margan of other dynasties have adopted Testament, the philosophy remains largely confined to the Onyx Blade due to the controversy it has generated. Testament's strict refusal to cooperate with aliens under any circumstances became a point of contention in the days leading up to the Great War. The fiefdom considered the very idea of the Pact to be blasphemous, and while it ultimately submitted to the High Priestess' will, the Onyx Blade avoids directly supporting Pact operations. Additionally, while Margan society embraces cybernetic augmentations, some are troubled by the tendency of Testament's followers, particularly Priestess Zahli, to antagonize the organic Margan form as a cursed entity.

Military
Lacking the numerical advantage held by the larger dynasties and subsequently unable to overwhelm its foes through brute force, the Onyx Blade has developed its own military doctrine centered around producing durable, versatile units and eliminating the enemy's ability to fight as quickly as possible. The Onyx's arsenal of armored units is comprised chiefly of mobile anti-gravity vehicles, battlesuits, and walkers, some of which are equipped with powerful jump-jets. Infantry primarily employ ranged weapons, with the fiefdom's few melee units filling specialized positions. The fiefdom takes advantage of the cybernetic nature of its forces by utilizing Marganite on an excessive scale not commonly seen among other dynasties which still have to avoid contaminating their own troops. Onyx soldiers are notorious for storing inert Marganite within their body to be released upon death for the sole purpose of increasing the risk of an infestation.