The Crimson Gate Company is an band of mercenaries for hire, and collaborated its forces in 4E 28 to be hired by one of the Kingdoms of High Rock, or even a smaller organization, durring the events of Of Princes and Power.
Origins[]
Created in the wake of the Oblivion crisis by an Imperial Legion veteran who fought at the battle of Kvatch, who now goes by the alias of “Angel Killer”, the Crimson Gate Company forged its beginnings of war torn Cyrodiil as a small band of roughly a dozen warriors, mostly misplaced war veterans. The small band worked for Counts and lesser noblemen of Cyrodiil, eliminating bandits, marauders, and any other hostile malefactor that the legion had no time to deal with.
By the time the empire had reverted to a state of Civil War, The Crimson Gate Company was a powerful company of roughly 1,000 men, fighting for squabbling warlords across Cyrodiil, getting rich off of the conflict. After double crossing too many warlords, the Crimson Gate found itself hated by the majority of the power figures in Cyrodill, which gained them no business, only unnecessary battles. They fled north into Skyrim, adopting a more business-like policy that strictly forbid double crossing, so long as payment was made.
In the homeland of the Nords, the Crimson Gate fought in the civil war, their ranks swelling out of proportion as new refugees and veterans joined at the war’s end. A war with the Malak Orcs in High Rock also provided many skilled and experienced soldiers to The Crimson Gate Company. Most recently, Crimson Gate vets have returned to Cyrodiil to fight, as well as the hellish province of Black Marsh. Those who have returned from the swamps of Argonia are changed men, and few in number.
Now, as High Rock sits upon a ripened powder keg, The Crimson Gate Company is ready to reopen its services as an army, and not just a company that accepts small jobs. In the past year, the mysterious Angel Killer (reported to still be alive) and his company has been founding many secret underground bases in the nation of Wayrest, and drawing all of his forces together again, preparing for another profitable war.
The Army[]
The army of the Crimson Gate Company numbers to four thousand men (not including the naval vessels, the Engineers of Colovia, or the huge support staff), and is rarely all seen in the same province at one time, unless a large war is to be fought. Listed below is the breakdown of the army and its units.
The Rangers(800): Trained in the arts of trapping, tracking, and bushcraft, the Rangers are near excellent
The Rangers of Crimson Gate
woodsmen, able to track anything from a child to a deer through various terrains. With the ability to silently maneuver through woodland and set up ambushes, the Rangers have been used to great extent in the past to turn the tide of battle, as well as preform simple raiding and/or highway man operations. The Rangers are solid marksmen, and often carrying longbows and iron arrows into combat, and the occasional dagger and shortsword is not uncommon. They are outfitted in thick fur armor, with the Crimson Gate insignia emblazoned on the chest.
A high ranking officer of the light infantry. Normal troops have downgraded versions of this armor.
Light Infantry(1,000): Fast, powerful, and numerous, the Light Infantry of The Crimson Gate Company are a force to be reckoned with. While they are not too terribly protected, wearing only boiled leather armor, the light infantrymen are swift and nimble, often used to outmaneuver and outflank enemies on the battlefield, and also used in lightning raids. War axes, spears, and crude metal cleavers are their weapons of choice.
Heavy Infantry(1,000): The Heavy Infantry of The Crimson Gate Company are
A heavy infantryman
the dominant force of the battlefield. Equipped with chaimail armor reinforced with a steel chestplate and greaves (the most veteran troops have their own plate armor, perhaps of Dwemer origin, but only steel armor is made for them. Newest recruits wear only iron armor until they prove themselves in combat) and a variety of powerful melee weapons (maces, claymores, battle axes, longswords). Taught to move, fight, and reform ranks in their heavy armor, the Heavy Infantrymen have been known to [seldom] outmaneuver their opponents, though their strength lies in straitforward fighting. Most useful on the battlefield.
The Horsemen (300): The Crimson Gate Company’s Cavalry, simply referred to as “The Horsemen”, are your average cavalry force- riders with standard length steel lances, outfitted in soft leather/chainmail armor. Like any other cavalry force, they are fast, powerful, and able to shatter enemy lines with their deadly charges. Though the Horsemen are small in number, they have been used to great effect in the past.
The Wildmen (900): The Wildmen are the The Crimson Gate Company’s force of raiders and pillagers,
A horde of Wildmen charging the enemy.
composed mainly of subjugated wild tribsmen and bandits of Skyrim, Cyrodiil, and High Rock. The Wildmen are rarely used in large military confrontations, instead used as a pillaging force that terrorizes and raids selected areas, storming small strongholds, villages, manors, and anything else the enemy holds, bringing plunder back to the The Crimson Gate Company. The Wildmen are never outfitted in uniform, always donning armor and weapons of their own choosing, and organizing their own ranks without a higher officer’s orders.
Naval Forces (50 Galleys): The Crimson Gate Company is currently in possession of fifty Galleys, each requiring sixty men to properly man, but have no naval bases in High Rock. Until then, their navy is effectively useless.
Engineers of Colovia (100): The Engineers of Colovia are a close-knit society of scientists, engineers, mages, and spymasters, working personally for the upper echelon of the Crimson Gate. They craft various tools and devices of war, such as siege engines, and weaponized corrosive substances to melt gates and portcullises. The extent of the Engineer’s abilities are unknown, as they only appear on the battlefield to construct siege engines, and stay in The Crimson Gate Company’s secret bases, crafting and plotting. Some say that they are the remnants of the Mages Guild, or the Cult of the Black Worm, but no one knows for sure where they came from, only they they're there.
