Siko

“Si-Ko! SI-KO! Lunga vita a coloro che combattono! Si-Ko! SI-KO! Io Sono Siko! SIKO SIKO!"

Referred to by their enemies as Canibus (dogs), the Sikos are the most common type of fighting man or killer fielded by the one who is known as Spezzatore di catene, Veggente di luce, Banditore di bugie (Breaker of Chains, Seer of Light, Banisher of Lies), but known as Cruciarius! (Someone to be impaled on a stake and left to die) to his enemies. The Sikos despite having very limited fighting experience and only passable training, along with minimal equipment, are still very troublesome to face in combat. Equipped with just a simple salvaged shield or field-crafted shield, a simple but effective spear, a sharpened cutting knife (The kind used to carve up a pig), slave or peasant clothing with a yellow tunic over it, and a helmet that covers just the top of the head and the nose; Sikos make up what they lack in experience, training, and equipment with a violate mixture of devout religious loyalty, bloodthirsty hatred, and white cold knowledge that they will either live, die on the battle field, or be impaled on a stake for hours.

Sikos are recruited directly from the slave manors and plantations of the Scaeptrum, speaking only vulgar Scaept and scrapings of other languages, along with single words from the mad rambling language of their prophet. As slaves or slaves in everything but name, many were born shackled into an elaborate and disturbing new hierarchy, fuel for the hunger of cheap labor and a more exciting dog to kick when the Scaeptrum Patrician families were bored. While many of them were before overworked and seemed to have high odds of becoming sickly due to a meager diet, their health has rapidly improved within the ranks of their prophet, and now they are both strong and healthy. They march on foot and setup camp every night, organizing their camps by which manors or areas they were freed from, and generally living a little better then most people of these dark times. There is not a single man of any military experience among their number, and all the instruction they have is from their prophet or men trained specifically by him.

The leaders of units are tribal leaders, men of charisma, or those who seem more connected to Il Fuoco della Saggezza, a rumored being of fire and light that brings wisdom, truth, and freedom. The especially devout, known as Argilla e Fuoco (Clay and Fire), wear small charms made from bone, metal, rocks, or wood. Popular symbols appear to be a four-sided shape that longer on two ends and shorter on two others, an eye, or something that looks charred or like flames. Expressions, stories, and "Man-Ta-Ras", statements of "truth" that are repeated until "the wisdom within becomes one with the person" or "Int-Er-All-Lies".

Before battle, Sikos consume herbs and/or berries mixed with a mixture of water, barley, and oats. Men mash up flowers or dyes, or make do with mud, before smearing it down from their eyes to their chin. Forming into formation, they shout out various "Man-Ta-Ras", with the Argilla e Fuoco remembering or divinely understanding a new one, before others repeat the "Man-Ta-Ras".

A few common ones are:

Se devo vivere, lasciami vivere. Se devo morire, lasciami morire. (If I must live, let me live. If I must die, let me die.)
Lunga vita a coloro che combattono!  (Long live those who fight!)
Sono il tuo strumento per Pluk-Re-Ng! (I am your Pluk-Re-Ng Instrument)

All of this may be well and good, or sick and bad, but what truly is made of metal and earth, is how the Sikos behave in battle. Sikos are difficult to drive back with peppering of arrows, as while some savages or mercenaries may be eager while the arrows are stuck in shields and afraid while they are in flesh, the Sikos are just eager while unharmed and like any professional troops when men cry out. While savages charge when the battle is in their favor and flee when the balance tips at all, or professionals are somewhere in the middle, Sikos are more firm in their positions, unless told otherwise. Sikos are only brought out in battles that appear in the favor of their leaders, and as such Sikos pressure themselves to think of retreat as giving up a victory, and moving back to strike from another area as wise and sound judgement. When told to charge and run down bugiardos (Literally "Lie teller", it's a term used for professional manor troops) or ciecas (Short for Ciecas Bish, literally "Blind" and a nonsense word), at least a few is likely to either charge up from behind and impale the spear deep into an enemy, or toss it forward to impale. After this, the cutting knife that is sharpened often and rubbed with plant oil, adds to the reputation of Sikos as men who consume the flesh of other men.

The bodies of the enemies are placed side by side into a long ditch, after being stripped of anything useful, such as mail, weapons, currency, or rations; before they are buried. If there is time, Sikos place scratch, mark, and stain the equipment of a beloved "Hee-Row", before passing it on to someone the man knew or respected. The man is then put in the ground and burned, while those who knew him scream loudly about how angry they are that he is dead. Afterwards, a higher ranking Argilla e Fuoco of great respect will come and pray of the man's family or loved ones, along with a simple plea to Il Fuoco della Saggezza for the fallen warrior to trusted with the honor of guarding the innocent and abused in the afterlife.

The men are known to drink three types of beverages: wine that is mostly water, vinegar that is mostly water, and beer that is some portion of water added. Overall, the men steer away from wine and towards beer, but men of great valor and respect are given wine, and men of great honor and loyalty are given the vinegar beverage.

The men are known to take up wives or seek out the comfort of special women who move with some units of Sikos. Sikos are very defensive of their Comfort delle donne (Comfort Women), who get a portion of the spoils or pay, and get first pick of anything sweet the Sikos happen to find or earn. Comfort delle donne typically take up secondary positions as healers, cooks, and storytellers. While some savages are more aggressive and some professionals may turn their up nose up at such women within a camp of fighting men, the Sikos are told that such women are vital to help them retain control of their humanity and keep them from becoming the very thing their enemies call them Canibus (dogs).