The Chosen Battalion

The Chosen Battalion is a faction of Bandosian individuals that follow the Ourg Gorbuk whom they believe to be "the Chosen Commander."

The faction was founded by the self proclaimed Chosen Commander, Gorbuk, during the Fifth Age. They were originally only a small tribe of Bandosian races living in the woods north of Falador and only came to the notice of others after they conquered Goblin Village.

The Battalion are reknown for their barbaric methods, their devotion to Bandos and most of all their favorite sport "the Slave Games" in which they have slaves pitted against each other in an arena in lethal challenges and tasks.

The God Wars
The founders of the Chosen Battalion, Gorbuk and Yokrad served alongside General Graardor during the God Wars, they fought in many battles by his side and were both in his army when they entered the God Wars Dungeon. They fought alongside him for a long time reveling in the bloodshed on offer. However on the final day of the God Wars Gorbuk, Yokrad and a group of Bandosian soldiers were assigned to take part in a battle in the north.

As the Ourg and his forces went to leave the God Wars Dungeon however the Edicts of Guthix were put in place and they along with everyone else were frozen in the dungeon.

The Chosen Commander
In the Fifth Age the God Wars Dungeon thawed out and the battle continued in the dungeon. However Gorbuk and his forces being completely unaware that the God Wars were over continued out of the dungeon. It did not take them long to realize that the God Wars were over and that Gorbuk and Graardor were now the last of the Ourgs.

Upon discovering this Gorbuk started to believe that it was Bandos' will for him to survive and when he heard the legends of the Chosen Commander he began to believe that he himself was the "Chosen Commander." So he traveled to Asgarnia and made a camp in the woods north of Falador with his battalion and so the Chosen Battalion was born.

The Conquest of Goblin Village
It was soon after the birth of the Chosen Batallion that Gorbuk learned of the Thorobshuun and the Garagorshuun in Goblin Village, he also heard of their defeats, their peace treaty with Arrav and their friendship with the treacherous Dorgeshuun and so he decided to lead a march on the Village for the Chosen Battalion!

Gorbuk lead a charge on the village and although the goblins put up a brave fight they were slaughtered. The few survivors were made into slaves and were made to fight for the entertainment of the Battalion.

A couple of humans attempted to combat the Chosen Battalion, one of which a Zamorakian Mage was killed and eaten by Gorbuk, the other human a Saradominist knight was forced to flee by Yokrad.

The Fall of the Asgarnian Chaos Temple
The Batallion soon decided to expand their borders and sought a new temple for the worship of their lord Bandos. They noticed the Chaos Temple a little south of their village and Gorbuk decided to claim it and convert it to the God of War.

The Battalion marched on the temple, slaughtering the monks of Zamorak and shattering the temple walls. After a brutal battle the Chosen Battalion gained control over the building most of the Monks had either died, fled or been captured by the Battalion.

It was now with little of the temple remaining that the Temple Abbot decided to emerge, he fought valiantly however being surrounded by creatures of twice his size and strength he was quickly killed.

With the temple now under their control Gorbuk shattered the statue of Zamorak and had his shaman remove all traces of the Zamorakians from the temple Now it is being slowly converted into a Temple of War.

Allies of Asgarnia
Later after claiming the nearby dwarven anvil and declaring all lands from the Taverley gate to Goblin Village under their control they were offered an alliance by King Varis of Asgarnia. He wrote to the Battalion seeking aid in the Misthalani conflicts to which the Battalion gladly accepted, excited by the prospect of such a big war.

The Chosen Battalion grew a strong alliance with the Kingdom of Asgarnia and also with the Fremennik Province, purely due to their urge to fight.

The Great Dig
Tokka, the High Priestess of the Chosen Battalion, later dreamed of a War Temple buried deep beneath Goblin Village that had been forgotten through the ages. Gorbuk ordered slaves to be rounded up to work for the mines and had his goblins spread the word that the Battalion desired slaves for the mines.

The work continued for weeks on end but eventually they at last reached the mysterious Temple of War! It was a dark place filled with strange undead guardians that bowed down to Gorbuk as he passed. Two guardians however chose to fight the battalion in the final chamber! They were an undead Ourg that many of the Battalion have taken to calling a "skourg" and a mysterious spirit that took over the body of Yokrad.

Gorbuk wrestled with the Skourg whilst the rest of the Battalion group engaged the spirit and after a long and brilliant fight the Skourg was killed by Gorbuk. He then turned his wrath on the spirit, beating it around the area until it was at last forced to vanish.

Within the temple they found five ancient maced and a mysterious war horn that they gave to Muzgutt to examine.

The Departure
Gorbuk leaves to fight in the God Wars Dungeon, taking nearly all of the Battalion with him. Muzgutt retires to the Feldip Hills, and the remainder of the Battalion falls apart.

Within months, Muzgutt returns because his "Spirit Guide," a mysterious man clad in gold, sent him back. Muzgutt promptly gets the Battalion organized and helps reconstruct the Village. And now when the Chosen Commander is gone Yokrad leads the remainder of the battalion.

The Return and Fall of Gorbuk
A few months later, Gorbuk returned from the God Wars Dungeon with most of the men he had taken with him dead, he was not given a warm welcome, in the time he had been away, the Village had become dilapidated and disease, hunger and general lack of leadership had caused the Battalion to fall into disarray, angrily facing Gorbuk, Yokrad and he engaged in battle, whilst meanwhile Drok engaged those few followers the Chosen Commander had.

After an epic duel, that lead to the destruction of most of the Goblin Village, Gorbuk was stabbed in the spine by Yokrad, causing him to fall to the ground, shocked by his sudden defeat, his followers surrendered and with Gorbuk believed dead, the Chosen Battalion hailed Yokrad as their true Chosen Commander.

The Exile of Gorbuk
Whilst most believed Gorbuk to be dead, a small pocket of supporters still remained, a small group lead by the High Priestess Tokka managed to stealthily take his body away, in this time they discovered that Gorbuk was in fact alive, but paralyzed by the attack, from the safety of the woods his back was repaired and he was taken to a cavern in Troll Country to recover.

Meanwhile, things got back to normal in Goblin Village, Yokrad kept the Chosen Battalion mostly within Goblin Village, rarely choosing to leave. His leadership was effective in repairing the Goblin Village and whilst the Battalion did not grow in number, it regained some of its strength and set itself up as a fairly well defended point in Asgarnia.

The Return of Gorbuk
A year later, Gorbuk had completely recovered from his injuries, what he had been doing over the year is mostly unknown but at this point, Guthix was assassinated by Sliske and Gorbuk decided with the upcoming God Wars, it was time to return to the Chosen Battalion.

He appeared around the time the Battle of Lumbridge began, roaring out for Yokrad to face him. He did so alongside his follower Drok and Gorbuk picked them both up and marched straight into the Village, telling all of it's people that he was alive and well and demanding their support.

The Battle of Lumbridge
At the time of Gorbuk's return, Zamorak and Saradomin made their first appearance on Gielinor, partaking in a great battle at Lumbridge, Gorbuk deployed Lieutenant Steeltooth, his hand in the Battalion to lead an army of the Battalion to take part in the battle.

They arrived near the end of the conflict, joining forces with the Zamorakian forces as they attempted to gain control of the town, they met the White Knight forces head on, holding them off well whilst a separate unit of Bandosians and Zamorakians made their way behind the enemy ranks, closing in and wiping the White Knight forces out.

With the sharp defeat of the White Knights, Steeltooth rallied alongside the Zamorakians that had taken control of the castle, from there he had his second in command Garaghak set up a defense around the castle.

This conquest was short lived however as a heavy force of Lumbridge Defenders took up the offensive, with Worshippers of the Dragonkin, Godless fighters, Lumbridge soldiers and soldiers of Monvallis all joining the great march, the Zamorakians and Bandosians were forced into retreat, with the Chosen Battalion being forced to set up a defensive outpost in the Church of Saradomin, where they remained. One week later, still besieged in the Church of Saradomin awaiting their chance to move, Saradomin brought Zamorak down and he was forced to flee with the aide of his servant Moia. The Battle was over, and with nothing left for them in Lumbridge, the Battalion departed.

The Falkheim Deeps
The discovery of Falkheim Deeps became a major turn point for the Chosen Battalion, a network of caverns in the mountainous Troll Country, Gorbuk had come across it during his exile and ordered Yokrad to lead a team of Battalion soldiers to explore the caves. It took almost a month to complete the exploration, dealing with mutations, H.A.M attackers, and other strange creatures, they at last made it to the end of the Caves, a mysterious portal that looked like a wall of shimmering diamond surrounded by holy symbols of Bandos. Gorbuk was called in at the time and lead the men into the portal.

What he found beyond, was a surprise to all, the Bandos Throne Room in all it's glory, a stone chamber filled with statues of Bandos' races. It was shortly after their entry that the Statues came to life, assaulting all of the Battalion soldiers present. Gorbuk himself was caught wrestling an Ourg statue. The Battle concluded shortly and Gorbuk took his place upon the Throne of Bandos. Claiming that they had not appeased the Big High War God, he believes that the time of the Battalion hiding had to end and that war was soon to come at the Battalion's hands.

The Conquest of the Trolls
The Battalion made their first move to take Troll Country, by attacking a small pass through the cliffs in the Wilderness known as Axe's Pass, this attack force lead by the Goblin Rumblegut, was met by the forces of the Troll General Axe, whose forces made short work of the Battalion forces, and with minimal casualties on the side of the trolls, brought the Battalion into a retreat. The forces of the Battalion returned to Goblin Village performing small operations in the Wilderness and in Gielinor, including a failed assault on Rock the Troll.

Their second attack, orchestrated by Lieutenant Steeltooth was much more successful, whilst the initial plan to bring the trolls down with rope was unsuccessful, the Battalion grouped together and organised, picking off the trolls one by one. The final survivor was General Axe who was eventually defeated by the bulk of the Battalion force. The Battalion met at the Battle's conclusion to feast and celebrate their first victory in the Conquest of the Trolls.

Religion
The Chosen Battalion are primarily Bandosian, however they differ greatly from most Bandosians as they not only worship Bandos, but also Gorbuk as his Chosen Commander. The Religion is also much more organised to unite all Bandosian races under one banner.

The Religion is headed by a High Priest or High Priestess, who is a capable and efficient warrior, as well as being adept in magic and having the ability to read the Ancient Texts of Bandos. The Church also has numerous Priests and Priestesses.

The Battalion tend to despise all other Gods, they believe they are just lesser beings too caught up in their weak politics and greed to enjoy the pure beauty of warfare. None the less, like in the God Wars, Gorbuk has been known to arrange alliances with the forces of the Gods provided it provide a battle to which the Battalion can win, or gains the Battalion some kind of benefit.

There are numerous shrines devoted to Bandos throughout the lands of the Battalion, each one controlled by a Priest or group of Priests charged with maintaining and protecting the shrine as well as performing Sermons and Rituals to the Big High War God.

The Military
The Military is fairly organised considering it is a Bandosian organisation, with a basic structure of ranks and a set of positions designed to aide the Battalion greatly.

Ranks

 * The Chosen Commander: The Chosen Commander is naturally the leader of the Chosen Battalion, his role is explored more in depth elsewhere but primarily he is the leader of the military.
 * Mace Bearers: The second most valued rank in the military, Mace Bearers are those who have received an Ancient Mace from the Chosen Commander Gorbuk, they are the most active and respected leaders.
 * Lieutenants: Devoted soldiers usually in the service of a Mace Bearer or the Chosen Commander as their hand, they are usually sent to do the bidding of their superior, often leading smaller military groups and heading up smaller battles.
 * Sergeants: Sergeants lead over teams of Grunts, their job is to organize their grunts to fulfill certain goals and to do the bidding of their superiors.
 * Grunts: Making up the bulk of the Chosen Battalion, Grunts are simply common soldiers, being anything from Shamans, to archers, to warriors, and many more! They are essential and despite being of lower rank, they are valued greatly.

Positions

 * Chieftains: Usually either Lieutenants or Mace-Bearers, Chieftains lead over certain sums of land, they are required to maintain that territory and make use of it on behalf of the Chosen Battalion. Chieftains come in three tiers, Higher Chieftain, Common Chieftain and Lesser Chieftain, Higher Chieftains rule over huge sums of land, usually countries, Islands or just major sums of land under the control of the Battalion. The large city settlements within these lands are ruled by Common Chieftains and the lesser villages, outposts and resource sites are under the control of Lesser Chieftains.
 * Champions: The greatest warriors in the Chosen Battalion, acclaimed for their prowess as warriors and for the great deeds they have done in battle, Champions come in three tiers, the greatest Champion is the Grand Champion, the most critically acclaimed member of the Battalion besides the Chosen Commander. Next there is the four Common Champions and the five Lesser Champions who make up the other more acclaimed warriors of the Battalion.
 * Warriors: Warriors are the most common force of soldier fighting for the Chosen Battalion, skilled in whatever melee weapon they please, warriors are the ones that charge head on into battle, and face their enemies blade on blade.
 * Brutes: Brutes operate in a similar way to warriors, but are chosen for their great strength, usually made up of Ogres, Orks and Trolls Brutes are one of the most feared groups among the Battalion, with a size and strength unmatched by most outside armies.
 * Shamans: The Magical portion of the Chosen Battalion, Shamans are a very small secretive group known to work on their magic and their experiments in secret, their magical ability ranged greatly and whilst some can barely create a light breeze, some of the higher tier Shamans are some of the greatest magic users in Gielinor!
 * Archers: Likely the least effective group in the Battalion, Archers take advantage of ranged combat, however the general stupidity of most archers and the lack of patience usually means that they attack quickly and with a barrage of arrows, not usually having any kind of precision. None the less, archers can be very potent upon the battlefield, able to bring down large groups quickly and efficiently.
 * Priests: The most religious among the Battalion, still keen warriors and effective soldiers. Priests are also tasked with defending shrines of Bandos, performing Sermons and Rituals and providing a spiritual support to all those around them. On the Battlefield they operate similar to Warriors, however they also provide a morale boost to all those around them. They are lead by a High Priest or High Priestess, who leads the religion on behalf of the Chosen Commander.

Gorbuk
An Ourg from the Third Age, Gorbuk was a formidable warrior that served underneath Bandos, taking part in numerous battles and conflicts, his skill as a soldier was renown and when the Battle of the God Sword began, he was chosen to serve under Graardor. It is during this fight that he was frozen in what became known as the God Wars Dungeon.

When he later emerged, he returned to the surface world and came to learn of all that had changed, he learnt from a passing surface Goblin a little about what the world was like today and learnt of the Chosen Commander. Assuming that his being frozen in the God Wars Dungeon must be fate, Gorbuk proclaimed himself Chosen Commander. Thus, the Chosen Battalion was born.

Now Gorbuk leads from the Bandos Throne Room, making his presence in the world known via the use of his Mace-Bearers and his Battalion, he continues to reign supreme as the Chosen Commander.

Mace-Bearers
Gorbuk: Read above...

Yokrad: The human second in command of Gorbuk, Yokrad is a formidable warrior and talented tactician, he is well known amongst the Battalion, serving as the Grand Champion, the High Chieftain of the Goblin's Line and the only member of the Chosen Battalion to ever beat Gorbuk in battle. He recently commited suicide after hearing a prophecy detailing the possible death of Bandos.

Drok: Another Mace-Bearer and former right hand man for the Grand Champion Yokrad, Drok is a Hobgoblin famed among the Chosen Battalion for his skill in battle and his loyal service.

Speartooth: A Mace-Bearer found and recruited by Gorbuk during his exile in Troll Country, a gifted Hobgoblin with a talent for warfare, Speartooth currently serves as Gorbuk's hand within the Battalion.

Tokka: The High Priestess of the Chosen Battalion, Tokka leads the religion of the Battalion alongside Gorbuk and is a famed leader, tactician and loyal servant.

Goblin Village
Goblin Village has evolved greatly since the occupation of the Chosen Battalion, once a dilipidated Goblin stronghold, it has been improved by Battalion Slaves and turned into a great fortress, with huge iron gates, a great stone gatehouse, big stone buildings and at its head, a mighty fortified longhall.

Captured Temple
The Asgarnia Chaos Temple was claimed as an expansion to the Battalion's territory, since its repairs, the Captured Temple has become a fully functional Temple of Bandosian worship, the building is covered in brown and grey tapestries, as well as carvings that depict tales of the Chosen Battalion. There is a finely made altar at the head of the temple, with a stone symbol of Bandos and a fresh sacrifice usually found upon it. Blood is sprawled all over the walls, making the Captured Temple a place of great fear for the slaves and outsiders to the Battalion. Also, an underground cellar has been made for the Temple, equipped with a bed chambers and torture chamber, this is where the Priest or Priestess lives.



Doric's Anvil
Occupied early in the Sixth Age, Doric's Anvil has been put to use as both a gatehouse, keeping enemies from entering Battalion territories, and slaves from escaping. As well as a Slave Pen, with the underground forge and mining areas set up as an unclean, disgusting yet functional living area for all the slaves. The forge and anvils remain so that the slaves can still make basic equipment for the Battalion.

Underground Temple
A large Temple discovered deep underneath Goblin Village, it is a devoted Temple of the Big High War God that was built in the Fourth Age by Drogokishuun Goblin Tall-Pike, forgotten by the Goblins in their many disputes,it was uncovered by the Chosen Battalion in the Fifth Age. The Temple now serves as the centre of religion in the Goblin's Line, as well as a place of storage for the holy Battalion Relic, the Horn of Yu'Biusk.

Falkheim Deeps
A set of caves in Troll Country that lead to a portal to the Bandos Throne Room. The Falkheim Deeps are a religious centre for the Chosen Battalion, they are completely occupied by Priests, Priestesses and Mace-Bearers of the Battalion.

Axe's Pass
A passage through the cliffs that border the Wilderness and Troll Country, previously occupied by a tribe of Trolls led by the Troll Axe, it was recently captured by the Chosen Battalion and the Troll tribe within were wiped out. It now serves as a point of access into Troll Country for the Battalion.

Day to Day
The Battalion members live a very simple life, when not away for battle they can largely do as they please, only needed for training exercises which are arranged by the Sergeants and hunting trips to keep up the Battalion's food supplies. A lot of their days are spent enjoying the Slave Games which is their favorite sport and past-time.

Every Gullday is a religious day among the Battalion, remembered as the day Gorbuk ascended from the God Wars Dungeon. It is celebrated by spending time at a Shrine of Bandos praying to him. During such religious ceremonies a priest or priestess will read from the Book of War beating a sacrifice to death and blessing all of the attendants of the church with the victim's blood.

Another important role of the Battalion soldiers is guard duty, this usually involves patrolling near territories, standing around in watchtowers, at gates or at key points providing protection and capturing or killing anyone who causes trouble.

During times of war, makeshift shrines are set up in the war-camps and the general lifestyle remains largely the same.

Youth
After birth, youths are put in nurseries where they are cared for in groups, whilst the mother is slowly trained so that she might rejoin the ranks of the Battalion. Within these nurseries, children are raised and taught common tongue as well as being brain-washed into supporting the Battalion from a very early age.

At the age of six, the children leave the nursery and are enlisted in training, from there they are taught a certain skill, that differs depending on which group they have been chosen for. At the age of thirteen, they are considered adults and enlisted into the Battalion's ranks.

Retirement
At the age of sixty, it is proclaimed that ones days of service to the Battalion are done, at this point the elderly partake in a final ritual, they take all of the belongings they desire to keep in the next life and march into battle, they then fight until they die.

/Slaves/
Slaves make up the Battalion's entire labour force, kept in line by the use of brute force and great fear. They are a sizable group and are essential to the Chosen Battalion, a small number of Battalion members have been chosen as slavers to keep them in line. Their job is to maintain control over the slaves and stamp out uprisings and attempts at escape. An act they usually perform violently and with nightmarish violence.

For more information, read the Slave article here.