Golden Company

The Golden Company was a force of mercenary cavalry originating in the Southern Threshold, drawn originally from the ranks of the Southern nomads. What official histories exist set their founding date in RY692 by Acieraz the Absinthian, an illegitimate son of Tri-Khan of Chiaroscuro forced into exile after failed maneuvers at court. Naming his host for the golden sands of the Southern deserts, Acieraz gathered tribesmen from the Delzahn and other Horse tribes, those exiled like himself, and later tempted from their traditional lifestyles by the silver of The Guild and local despots.

The Golden Company claimed a long history of victories, some of which can be confirmed, such as the Suppression of the Fallen Court on the side of Gens Raskali, Guild-sponsored pushes to drive back the Simhata tribes threatening their trade routes south of Varangia (where the leaders of the Company captured several lion-horses), and the Battle of Mishaka. At their height, they numbered a full dragon of cavalry, in light armour with lances and shortbows, officers distinctive in gold-leafed helms and all wearing yellow cloaks.

The Company suffered significant losses in service with Confederation of Rivers during the War of Broken Thorns, with much of the company destroyed in the Battle of Forked Creek. Survivors served at Mishaka in a minor capacity, and following the war moved into the Hundred Kingdoms for several years, though their renown and size never matched its previous heights. The Company was finally destroyed after moving northward seeking to join the armies of Azerban in the Campaign against the Anathema-Voivode. Unable to penetrate the battle lines of Realm forces to reach the Anathema’s armies, the much-reduced Company signed on with the forces of the Great Bear of the Laran Moor, raiding with great success behind the lines of the 4th Imperial Legion until the Legion and a Wyld Hunt detachment out of the Pinnacle of the Eye of the Hunt wiped the last of the Company out in the Hunt for the Great Bear.