Suitov's Army

The Dark Army, with alternative names too numerous to mention, is a coalition of orcs, goblins, trolls, quite a few humans and a handful of ferais, under the command of Suitov Iceheart, and one of the major sides in the Twine Wars.

Recruits and morality

The Army is known for hiring anyone who wants to join, regardless of species, planet of origin or even of sex, and even lets a fuzzbucket become a general. All of this is seen as highly suspect by most of the opposing powers, who naturally declare it an evil army.

Recruits' morality varies even more than their species. The ideology of the Dark Army is not easily categorised, though its overall conduct stands up to comparison with the other major forces in the War. It does, however, cheerfully advertise itself as a terribly vicious, annoying and merciless pack of cutthroats. Its commander believes in the power of good PR.

Branding

The symbol of the Army is a black dog's head with red eyes, in profile facing left, on a red or flame-coloured background. It is based on Iceheart's dog Basaltine, who is also seen as a living mascot.

Uniforms are mainly black with gold-coloured bits, though various kinds of recruit do not wear uniform.

History

The army, in its early days, originates in Applestone on Shade where it is initially a small, highly-trained mobile garrison set up by Suitov Iceheart. The initial circumstances are unclear, since Iceheart is around twelve or thirteen at the time and virtually in hiding.

It is possible that Iceheart actually travelled to a troll-inhabited region with the intention of hiring a particularly fearsome bodyguard for his return to public life. One alternative theory is that he recruited from a group of wandering trolls, several of which are believed to be marauding the countryside at around this time.

It is interesting to speculate on what would have happened had the inception of the Twine Wars not occurred at this time. Before the trouble starts, trollen, goblin and orkin recruits are already turning up in a steady trickle to Applestone (attracted by good working conditions and prospect of craftsmanship/adventure/beating things up). After this, Iceheart scales up his forces dramatically in response to interworld events, once more choosing to recruit heavily from non-human regions.

The rest is history.