Ostrot Riders

MOUNTED CAVALRY OF OLD VIRIDIA

A vestige of the glory of the ancient Viridian Empire, the ostrot riders are now little more than a ceremonial group of mounted cavalry patrolling the crumbling roads of the Viridian Hinterland. Long ago, soldiers of the Empire tamed the flightless ostrots, saddling the massive birds and armoring their feathered bodies with gleaming plates of steel. Today’s ostrot riders generally ride their mounts unarmored, wearing antiquated state regalia consisting of high-collared, tasseled jackets and tall stovepipe caps. During the Second Great Schism, scores of ostrot riders rode against each other on the field of battle. Of the original twelve regiments, only seven remain: the Ist Imperial of Old Viridia, the IInd Dominants of Gran Valeyra, the IVth Sentinels of Treboa, the VIth Bannermen of Limerot, the IXth Rearguard of Yverdon, the Xth Golden Flock of Camisado, and the XIIth Oceanic of Briston. Though they hold little power, children of the Hinterland look up to the riders and aspire to join their ranks. In Old Viridia, the Crown Prince holds an annual parade through the dusty, ruined avenues of the once great city. Though sparsely attended, the remaining ostrot rider regiments proudly lead the great procession of arms from the steps of the Tabarin in the old capital to the Electors’ Round in Limerot.

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