"Codex: Sardaukar
The Sardaukar are the elite military force under the command of the Sacred Phoenix Emperor of the Septim Dynasty. Compared to the other military units of the Sacred Phoenix Empire, the loyalty of the Sardaukar, first and foremost to the Septim Dynasty, even before that of the nation.
The Sardaukar are known across Azeroth for their fanatic zeal, superior fighting abilities, sheer ruthlessness, cruelty, and deceit to accomplish their goals. The Sardaukar are known as the best Anti-Mage unit in the entire Azeroth, even more than the Spellbreakers of the High Elven Kingdom of Quel'Thalas.
The Sardaukar were officially established by the Fire Lord Aenarion Septim after he got into power in the Fire Islands. The first generation of the Sardaukar were made from the former nobles, officials, and people loyal to the old regime. They were transported to the Salusa Secundus, the most hostile island in the Fire Islands Arpichelago.
Later on, the Sardaukar were conscripted both from the prisoners and criminals of the Fire Nation and from young children. Members of the Sardaukar were raised from a young age in a ferocious natural environment that saw almost half (6 out of every 13) die before the age of 11.
Intense training gave them formidable swordsmanship and espionage abilities and instilled a religious fervor that added to their mystique. All of them were brainwashed with countless methods to ensure their absolute loyalty to the Septim Dynasty.
Sardaukar troops typically wore uniforms of grey-black. Some wore their hair long, which was taken as a sign of arrogance by those who beheld them. They had a distinct combat style, which allowed them to be recognized easily as their swordsmanship was specifically created for a single purpose.
To kill.
And to kill as fast and as effectively as possible.
When in close-quarter, hand-to-hand combat, if they found themselves surrounded, they would group into threes, and adopt a fighting stance with their backs to each other. They would carry weapons on their people that would be ingeniously concealed, such as shigawire in their hair, or a fake toe or two inserted with small stabbing weapons.
Sardaukar were also experts at covert operations, managing to conceal themselves among groups for extended periods of time before striking.
Last, there was the thing that the Sardaukar were the most famous for, which were the Anti-Mage Skills and Abilities that were drilled into every single Sardaukar. The abilities of the Sardaukar were largely attributed to the harsh environment and brutal discipline they were exposed to on Salusa Secundus, the Fire Nation's prison island."
- On the Militaries of Azeroth
***
Asur Island, Fire Island Archipelago, Fire Nation
Aenarion knew Azula hated any administrative and political responsibility, as it wasn't her thing because she considered it boring and useless.
And Aenarion knew that she was very well-versed in politics, as she was the sole heir of the former Fire Lord Ozai, so she received the best education possible within the entire world as the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation.
He wanted someone capable and absolutely loyal to the Fire Nation and, most importantly, to the Royal Family, and there was nobody better than Azula. Aenarion knew that if she were given some responsibility within the bureaucracy of the Fire Nation, she would carry it out with the usual excellence.
And, even though she was the Commander of the Imperial Bending Legion, there wasn't much for her to do with the title of Commander of the Imperial Bending Legion. Aside from the training, spars, and examinations, she was mostly free.
There was no one whom he trusted more than his wives to oversee the crucial development of the Fire Nation, and they were the prime candidates. However, what was problematic was that June, as the Supreme Commander of Onmitsukidō, couldn't be named to any other position.
Supreme Commander of Onmitsukidō was already part of the Elder Council, and she had a hands full with her work in the Onmitsukidō, so that was a big no. Then there was Esdeath, but she was even far more problematic than Azula because she was a total battle maniac.
Azula was the one that he could, realistically speaking, rope into the administrative position and give her a post at the Elder Council. Once she was in, he was sure that she would be fulfilling her duties to the best of her abilities.
At the same time, once Azula was roped in, Aenarion knew that it wouldn't take long for Esdeath to notice it, and it would spark another wave of competition between the two of them once again.
He would then be able to convince Esdeath to be part of the government, and he would have two of the most trusted people in some of the most important positions in the governmental structure of the Fire Nation.
Like Azula, Esdeath, as the Commander of the Khaos Brigade, too, wasn't doing much aside from training, fighting, and once again training and then more fighting. So, in his eyes, it was another wasted potential because he just needed his wives to take the official roles and spend a few hours per day doing something aside from training or fighting.
"Ts... what do you have in mind?"
Seeing her ask was already a good sign in his eyes, as she didn't reject him outright, while Esdeath completely ignored their conversation as she was focused on tracking her prey.
"Secretary of the Domestic Affairs or Secretary of the Territorial Management. It's your pick."
Both of them would be the new Departments that would be split from the now greater Department of Domestic Affairs. Obviously, both Departments would have many sub-departments that would be headed by the Vice Chairs, but that was once the re-structuring was done.
"So what's a more boring thing?"
Azula asked because she could clearly see that her husband was really insistent on the fact that she needed an official place within the government. Being the Queen meant that she was without much executive power in the structure of the Fire Nation.
"Well... the Department of Domestic Affairs would be handling a variety of things ranging from Healthcare, Education, Police, and handling Crime to areas like Commerce and such. Meanwhile, the Department of Territorial Management will focus on the development of all lands of the Fire Nation existing already or those which the Fire Nation will obtain in the future, while also including areas like Agriculture, Manufacturing, Housing, development, and so on..."
Both of the choices sounded pretty troublesome for Azula and rather boring. If she had the choice, she wouldn't choose either of them, as they sounded like something made for an old man who spent the whole day sitting and pushing his pencil.
"Don't you have anything more interesting there?"
She asked as she would have preferred something with more action on the table.
"Can you two be silent already? Don't you see that we already found the target..."
Esdeath shouted at them as they finally found a suitable animal to hunt. It was a wild deer, though it looked a bit different from the ordinary deer, because it was mutated by the Magic and a bit by the abundant Chi in the Fire Islands.
The greatest huntress of the Partas Tribe created an ice dagger, which she swiftly and precisely threw at the deer, hitting the animal in its neck. With one move, the deer went down as it was killed instantly, as they finally had their dinner.
Aenarion then walked up to the killed deer, picked it up, and put it over his shoulders as they headed back to their camp, where June was finishing with the campfire and some other things.
"So, what the two of you were talking about?"
When they arrived back at the camp, Arcturus dropped the dead deer on the ground as Esdeath started skinning it apart. She was an expert huntress, so most obviously, she would also be doing other activities related to hunting, like skinning and dissecting the deer.
"Well... I was talking to Azuala about her possible participation in the government of the Fire Nation."
Esdeath frowned a bit as she cut into the deer and started pulling out its skin. She knew that Aenarion wanted to rope them into the administration duties, but neither she nor Azula were people for it.
He could already see the sparks forming between them because right now, aside from June, neither of them had a spot on the Elder Council. Though not like June attended the meetings of the Elder Council in most of the cases, as she sent someone in her stead to represent the Onmitsukidō.
"Now, I was going to tell Azula that I was pondering about creating a new Department by cutting out a few competencies of the future Department of Domestic Affairs, Department of Justice, Imperial Military, and Office of the Grand Chancellor, and establishing the Department of Homeland Security."
He was taking inspiration from the US Department of Homeland Security because, with the growth of the territory of the Fire Nation and the population, they would need to pay a lot more attention to internal security and policing the population.
Right now, the Fire Nation actually has a Police Department, but it is really small, and it mainly consists of the Benders who retired from the Imperial Military and chose to still serve their Nation in a milder manner.
"Now I see that I got your attention."
Arcturus said as he knew that this would be something that would catch their attention, as it had something to do with the fighting and strength.
"Now the primary mission of the Department of the Homeland Security would be the public security in the territory of the Fire Nation, including that of the anti-terrorism, border security, immigration, and customs, cracking down the dangerous criminal elements, protection of the important governmental buildings, protection of the coasts and a few other things. It will also be tasked with monitoring all the potentially dangerous Mages, Chi Masters, Benders and dealing with the threats against the Fire Nation that came from within."
Its duties were pretty similar to those of the US Department of Homeland Security because Aenarion knew later the Fire Nation would need to invest a lot into its own public security.
Now, it wasn't much of a problem as the territory of the Fire Nation was relatively small, and its population wasn't exactly that high.
Yet, even in their previous world, it was proven to be rather problematic because the Fire Nation had a lot of colonies in the Earth Kingdom and other territories, and there was a serious need for the policing of those territories.
And the task couldn't be really given to the Imperial Military because the purpose of the Military was to conquer new territory, wage wars, and defend against the enemies of the Fire Nation.
The primary purpose of the Military wasn't to police the state and maintain public security within the nation. In the colonies, these aspects were handled by the Military, and even after the reforms, the performance of the Imperial Military wasn't exactly that stellar.
While with the establishment of the Onmitsukidō, the situation became much better, especially when it came to anti-terrorism and handling various domestic threats, rebels, and other individuals, it was still far from the ideal situation.
So, Aenarion has already been thinking about establishing a specific Department for such a thing for some time. However, that also brought him to another problem: to whom to give such an important position.
Once the Department of Homeland Security was established, it would become one of the most important and most powerful Departments in the government of the Fire Nation literally overnight.
It was a decision between Esdeath and Azula.
He knew that the two of them could and would fit the position perfectly because the Department of Homeland Security would be the power component of the government, and it would be classified as an armed force.
Mainly due to it overseeing the various aspects of the Fire Nation that needed armed forces like Police, Border Guard, Anti-Terrorism, and so on. This would be especially crucial in the future when the Fire Nation expanded to the continent of Azeroth.
After the rampage of the Undead Scourge, large swaths of the territory in Lordaeron would be free for them to conquer, and it would be tasked by the Department of Homeland Security to maintain law and order there.
Not to mention, their greatest responsibility would be cracking down on various Cults.
Organizations like Cult of the Damned, Twilight Hammer, Shadow Council, and many other cults and organizations that were worshipping Old Gods, Void, Demons of the Burning Legion, Undead, and other Evil Gods and entities.
Such was the mission of the Department of Homeland Security in this world.
Aside from that, the Secretary of Homeland Security would need to handle the extensive cooperation with the Onmitsukidō, Imperial Military, and other organizations in the Fire Nation that already exist or would exist to carry out their duties.
So that would also require a lot of administrative work, not just handling combat operations and so on. Due to that, both of his wives were uniquely suited for it, though from different points of view.
Esdeath was Hunter, a very good one, and if there was someone who would be best at cracking down and eliminating the terrorists, cultists, and other elements from the Fire Nation, then it would be here.
On the other hand, Azula was the perfect administrator to handle the enormous Department and keep it going without many problems. Because the Department of Homeland Security would be an enormous colossus of bureaucratic administration office.
"It would be best if you could decide between yourself who would assume the position. However, there is also the position of the High Justice that needs to be filled. The High Justice would be overseeing the Courts, Law Enforcement in the Courts and outside of the Court, working together with the Department of Homeland Security, overseeing the Prisons, and also overseeing the Sardaukar for the time being, so the position of the High Justice also needs to be someone from our family."
The High Justice was the highest position in the Justice Branch of the Fire Nation's government, and it would also be a very important part of the government, especially with the growth of the Fire Nation.
More people, more territory... more of everything would mean more courts, more laws, and more criminals that needed to be handled in some way.
Prior to Aenarion's ascendance as the Fire Lord, the Justice System was in shambles; while there were a few courts, the Law didn't really work as everything was corrupted and worked in favor of the Fire Clans.
Whose members were now enjoying their time in the grave or on Salusa Secundus.
"Now, the last thing that I want to say."
Aeanrion said as both of his wives looked at him intently, the fight would erupt between them at any moment, as both of them wanted to get the position of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
"Decide on these posts based on the capabilities and not just on the aspect of brute power. Though if you are interested in my opinion, Esdeath would be more suitable for the Department of Homeland Security and Azula for the Department of Justice as the High Justice of the Fire Nation."
With that being said, he returned to the tent to check on June, who was either reading or brewing tea, while leaving Azula and Esdeath to figure things out. He knew that they were always competing for everything, and even in this case, the most probable outcome would be to fight for the position that they wanted.
But that wasn't something that he wanted, as he would prefer to place them on the posts based on the competency for the role.
"So what now?"
The first one to break the deathly silence between them, which lasted for several minutes, was Esdeath, who started dissecting the killed deer.
"Do you want to fight it out or decide based on the husband's suggestion... In truth, I feel that he may be right. With all of this being said, I know that you would be better suited for the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, as your experience in hunting down the Insurgents and rebellious elements would be invaluable in the Department of Homeland Security."
Azula knew that even though she, too, wanted the position of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, she knew that Esdeath was better suited for that position due to her expertise in the hunting of various rebellious elements in the Fire Nation and their colonies.
Even though it was the area of the Onmitsukidō, it was Esdeath and her Khaos Brigade that was most often cooperating with the Onmitsukidō and providing them with the manpower and numbers to handle the large-scale operation.
"I am of this opinion, and I feel that you would be better as the High Justice of the Department of Justice, as you are far more knowledgeable about the laws and the system of governance of the Fire Nation than I. Not to mention, the High Justice also requires more patience... something that I don't really have in this aspect."
Esdeath said to Azula that they understood each other's strong and weak sides, as they had been sister wives for some time already, and both of them were participating in the governing of the Fire Nation to a certain degree.
And Azula, too, felt that she would be more suitable for the position of the High Justice of the Department of Justice. Not only because of their natural predisposition of hers but also because there was a really serious need for someone from the Royal Family of the Fire Nation to take up the position.
Both of them knew that Aenarion was rather picky about handing over the important positions within the government of the Fire Nation, and he preferred to keep them in the hands of the most capable people, yet at the same time, he needed to be sure of their loyalty to the Fire Nation and most importantly to the Royal House of the Fire Nation.
That was a slightly complicated matter because there were only so many members of the Royal Family of the Fire Nation. There were only a few of them... Aenarion, two of them, and June, who were his wives, and Iroh and Lu Ten.
It was also clear that Iroh's son would receive a position within the government, most probably the position of the Secretary of the Finance and Treasury, as that was one of the most important ones, and there was a severe need for someone from the Royal Family at the position.
When they sorted the things between themselves, Esdeath returned to the dissection of the deer that she had hunted because it was already close to the evening and time for dinner and mark the end of their camping trip's first day.
Today was a very beautiful day, and Aenarion really appreciated that they finally had some time of peace. During the past two months, everything was filled with chaos and haste due to the Great Shift and the appearance of the Fire Nation in Azeroth.
During the past months, he didn't have much time to spend with his wives, as they were all too busy.
Aenarion was busy with all of the duties of the Fire Lord, Azula was very busy reorganizing and adjusting the Imperial Bending Legion to the rise of the Chi Levels and the effects of the transportation to Azeroth, Esdeath was busy with the Khaos Brigade, and June was extremely busy with the Onmitsukidō.
She was probably the busiest among all of them because she was carrying out all purges within the Fire Nation and disposing of the remnants of the old regime permanently. And everyone who was a target for the Onmitsukidō was dealt with, because Aenarion realized that the Fire Nation was in a really precarious situation.
And he wasn't going to let anything or anyone threaten the safety and development of the Fire Nation, even though he still had some use for many people who were either killed by the Onmitsukidō, imprisoned, or sent to the Salusa Secundus.
Yet the desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Well... we finally have some time for ourselves."
Aenarion was lying on the grassy ground, hugging his three wives. He heard Azula mutter as all four of them were watching the stars falling and the cosmic theatre unfolding before their eyes.
"It would get better now... we finished most of the things, and the Fire Nation is cleaner, stronger, and more unified than ever."
What Aenarion said was really true because of the unity and power of the Fire Nation. The last time it happened during the start of the Great War by the Fire Lord Sozin and the industrial revolution that he had started.
And now, one could say that the new Golden Age awaited the Fire Nation.
"Well... hopefully, this would be the new start of the Fire Nation that would be free of waging war with every single neighbor in our vicinity."
Even though Azula was fond of war, at the same time, she understood that this wasn't their old world where they could behave unbridled and do what they wished. Azeroth was a very powerful world, filled with literal Demigods and even Gods, Mages wielding the power to reshape reality as they saw fit, and many more powerful people and individuals.
And this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Azeroth was not Earth.
And most of the people in the Fire Nation were already tired of the seemingly endless war without any prospects or gains. This was something that even Aenarion was aware of because he understood that the hundred-year-long war, the Great War, had far more severe consequences than they could have imagined.
"It would be nice to have some time of peace to come also to the Fire Nation... at last..."
Peace...
Such a fragile thing.
Yet, he knew that there was no such thing as peace in Azeroth.
Especially in the coming decades when it would only be a war.
War for the very survival of the nations of Azeroth as one.
Suddenly, Azula straddled him and sat on his stomach as she leaned over to kiss him passionately. As his other two wives saw this, everyone knew that it was time for some night fun among the married couples.
***
Evening, Fire Nation Archipelago, Island Asur
Their dinner was consisting of the roasted dinner that Esdeath caught during the hunt, which was roasted above the fire and with salt and with aromatics. It wasn't great by the standards of the gastronomy of the Royal Palace of the Fire Nation, but at the same time, it was rather good.
Esdeath was in charge of cooking, as she was rather good at this compared to him and Azula or June. At least what she made was pretty much edible compared to Azula's attempt to make something that could be eaten, and June wouldn't even attempt it, as she wasn't really that interested.
"Look... it's the starfall..."
Aenarion said as he pointed at the starry sky at night as he looked up.
***
Azeroth, Eastern Kingdoms
The return of the Explorer's League from the new landmass that appeared east to the continents of Lordaeron, Khaz-Modan, and Azeroth created huge shockwaves across the Eastern Kingdoms and their nations.
The event known as the Great Shift created a huge upheaval in the Eastern Kingdoms and the appearance of a new player in the politics of Azeroth. The nation of humans did not originate from Azeroth but from a different world.
For Mages, the existence of the other worlds or other planets wasn't anything new or world-breaking information. Yet, at the same time, it seemed that the Fire Nation that got somehow transformed into this world was a very powerful and technologically advanced nation that was, in their invention, even ahead of the Dwarves.
The human nations of Lordaeron were observing these happenings with a certain degree of uneasiness because the Fire Nation was far more militarily oriented than Stormwind.
Another fact about the tensions was that, despite being the human nation, the Fire Nation chose to align itself with the High Elves of Quel'Thalas and the Dwarves of Ironforge instead of the other human nations.
This was something unacceptable for many old nobles in the Lordaeron, Stormgarde, Alterac, and Gilneas, where human supremacism was rather widespread among many of the Noble Houses, yet in the end, the might and advances of the human nations were far inferior to the advances of the Ironforge and Quel'Thalas.
Just a few months after the return of the Explorer's League, the Ironforge, Gnomeregan, and Quel'Thalas sent officials diplomatic envoys to the Royal Capital of the Fire Nation, Wei-Jin, where they signed several agreements with the Fire Nation.
Soon enough, the High Elves' Magisters were dispatched to the Fire Nation to teach the humans of the Fire Nation Magic, and the Fire Nation dispatched several of their Chi Masters and Martial Artists to teach the High Elves the arts of Chi Manipulation and Martial Arts, which were highly developed in the Fire Nation.
Even though the Fire Nation lacked Magic, due to the fact that nothing like Magic existed in their old world, their entire culture revolved around mastering Chi or the Life Force and Bending Arts.
Benders were able to bend the elements to their will and use them to their will.
The Fire Nation also invested a lot into the trade with the Quel'Thalas, Ironforge, and Gnomeregan, and through the ties with the Royal House of Bronzebeard, the Fire Nation also established some ties with the Stormwind, which was the sole human nation on the continent of Azeroth.
Even though the development of the Fire Nation during the past two years was something very pleasant for the Aenarion and the Fire Nation, not everything was actually going that well.
That was something that he had already anticipated and predicted a long time ago because even the relationship of the Lordaeron humans towards the other species wasn't really the best one around.
Especially when it came to the High Elves.
The High Elves of the Quel'Thalas were ageless beings due to the presence of the Sunwell, and it was also supplying them with limitless Magic, which around a great deal of envy from the humans of the Lordaeron because of the seemingly eternal lives of the High Elves and their Magical prowess.
Even though they had Dalaran, it wasn't really the same thing. Dalaran, in the end, was met with a good degree of suspicion from the human nobles and fear from the side of the peasants who were influenced by the Church of the Holy Light to be suspicious of the Magic.
And Aenarion knew that this would be a problem because the relationship with the human nations of the Lordaeron would be rather bad. However, he didn't really care about them that much because, in the long run, they would all perish to the Scourge.
So, they were inconsequential from the long-term perspective.
The only human kingdom with which they maintained a relationship was Stormwind.
The Stormwind was the mightiest of the human kingdoms of the Eastern Kingdoms, not because of their size or popiulation, but because they had the strongest military of all human nations, and they were, technically speaking, the true inheritors of the Arathi Empire that once ruled all of the human tribes in Azeroth two thousand years ago.
Such a glorious time for the humans of Azeroth.
The Fire Nation and Stormwind actually got along pretty well due to their joint friendship with the Dwarves of the Ironforge and the militaristic nature of both nations. The Stormwind didn't have it easy in Azeroth, mainly due to the presence of the Gurubashi Troll Tribes, who were a constant threat to the Stormwind.
During the past two years, Orbal Technology was being developed at a staggering pace that even surprised Aenarion to the core. Yet, when he thought over the thing logically, it shouldn't be that surprising, considering the amount of resources and people who were working on it.
The brightest minds of the Fire Nation, Quel'Thalas, Gnomeregan, and Ironforge, were working together hand in hand to create the Orbal technology that he had envisioned, and while more development awaited them, they successfully developed the Orbal Engines for their Navy, Airships and Tanks of the Fire Nation.
This was already a staggering achievement, and now they were working on minimalizing the devices to make them much smaller to develop more portable uses of the Orbal Tech, though it didn't seem to be many problems.
It wasn't just the Fire Nation that profited from this.
The Dwarves and Gnomes were able to overhaul their own defenses in their cities and started pushing back their local enemies, including the Thraggs and other pesky creatures. Ironforge and Gnomeregan were being fortified with the Orbal Technology that had proved to be very destructive if installed in weapons.
Meanwhile, the High Elves of the Quel'Thalas were working on creating miniature Orbal Cores that they would use to empower Arcane Golems. However, the greatest gain was that the High Elves had a rather favorable impression of the Fire Nation, and they were keen on working with them.
Which was nothing short of a miracle in itself.
The arrogance of the High Elves when dealing with the "younger races" was legendary on its own.
Yet, the High Elves stood for their part of the deal, and they indeed sent their best and most powerful Magisters to teach the humans of the Fire Nation as they promised so Aenariion could enact his plan and establish the Psijic Order.