The military machine of Cross is the second apparatus in scale after the Curia — in some periods (the Age of the Forge, the Age of Stagnation), it is the largest. It defines the everyday face of the Clerical Order more than any other element. Every city has a garrison. Every frontier has a trench. Every tale may touch the front.
"The uniform is the soldier's first prayer. Whoever wears it badly, prays badly." — Manual of the Knight of the Seal, 1862 edition.
I. Canonical visual aesthetics
- Snowtroopers (the Star Wars aesthetic) — a dominant white + a closed helmet + geometric symmetry + red lenses in the visor.
- German WW2 uniforms — a severe cut, a high collar, shoulder boards with insignia, long black boots, a leather belt + a buckle with a symbol, a steel helmet.
Combined, it produces the canonical aesthetic of Cross:
The private and the low ranks — Lineage of the Choir
- Base colour: bone white (winter uniform) or steel grey (field uniform).
- Helmet: dark closed steel with circular red lenses + a Choir-Cross stamped on the brow.
- Coat: a high collar, buttoned at the side, the length reaching mid-thigh. Shoulder boards with rank in gold braid. Lapels with the insignia of the House — the seven Houses of the Knights of the Seal, one per Seal: Limes, Twilight, Solar, Lava, Pit, Cold, Insular. See The military orders.
- Trousers: tucked into black boots reaching the knee.
- Belt: broad black leather + a buckle in Choir-Iron with the Choir-Cross engraved.
- Cloak: optional, long, blood red, fastened by a cross-hook at the left shoulder.
- Gloves: black leather. On a Seal front, gloves with braided Choir-Iron threads (protection against demonic contact).
- Pack: a Wehrmacht-analogue type, in leather with the arms.
- Identification: an oval metal plate on the left breast with a serial number + House + rank.
The officer — Lineage of the Vigil
- Base colour: bone white + details in blood red or black.
- Officer's coat: a double high collar, gold embroidery on the sleeves (the volume of embroidery = the rank).
- Ceremonial helmet: polished black steel with a red plume (captain and above).
- Officer's cloak: long, blood red lined with gold, with a Choir-Cross embroidered at the nape. Length to the calf.
- Ceremonial sword: a Choir-Iron blade, the hilt inlaid with gilded Hashmalite. Every officer receives one at ordination.
- Holster: a Chrism pistol on the right hip, fastened by a buckle with the arms.
- Rank insignia: a double collar with strokes in gold thread (1 stroke = lieutenant; 2 = captain; 3 = major; 4 = colonel; 5 = general; 6 = marshal).
The Commissary — Military Canon
- Subordinate to the Reformed Inquisition + the Lord of Salvation.
- A long black coat to the ankle, a high collar, a double closure at the front.
- A broad peaked hat in black with a central Choir-Cross in gold or a skull of Holy Ash (the horror variant).
- A black cloak with a blood-red lining.
- A Chrism pistol always visible at the hip + a ritualistic whip coiled at the belt.
- Function: the executor of morale in the field. He may execute a soldier for cowardice, desertion, heresy, contact with a pactuary man without trial. His own decision. He reports directly to the Lord of Salvation or to the High Clergy.
- Aesthetics: a terror of its own. The troops fear the Commissary as much as the demon.
Marshal and General
- Dress uniforms: white with heavy gold ornamentation, red silk sashes crossed over the chest, medals in groups over the left heart.
- A bicorne hat or a ceremonial kepi with a plume.
- A decorative ceremonial sword + a baton of command in gilded Hashmalite.
- Winter cloak: the fur of the white wolf of the north (Königsmark supplies it in trade).
- In the field: an operational uniform similar to the officer's, but with full distinctions + a personal escort.
Special cases
- Knights of the Seal (the Clerical Military Order): Choir-Iron armour over the uniform. A closed helmet in a medieval-modern style (a mixture of a WW2 helmet + a Templar's). A blood-red mantle. A Choir-Cross with the numeral of the House (I-VII) on the shoulder.
- White Swords (the female armed corps of the Order): a white uniform with a black veil over the helmet. Long blades + a Chrism pistol. They operate in small platoons of 6 nuns.
- The Navy: a similar uniform but in navy blue instead of white. The insignia of Maritima Coronata.
- The Reformed Inquisition (in the field): black robes like the Commissary's, but with no peaked hat — they wear a low military cap + a Hashmalite lens on the chest (an instrument of demonic detection).
II. Military hierarchy
The complete chain of command
From lowest to highest, in ascending order:
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