Breezeriders: Deepkin have a natural distrust for things that fly. They are earthborn creatures through and through, and flying creatures look unnatural to them, while what would repulse a human, like slithering creatures of the deep, evoke no unpleasant feelings in them. Still, the lords of the Under-Kingdom follow a strict pragmatic way and the potentialities of flying troops were too great to let insticts bar the way. So, at their urging, the Leagues worked to unlock the secrets of the sky. The result of their efforts were the Breezeriders.
Soldiers chosen for their skill, high reflexes and deep patriotism, the Breezeriders are furnished with taumathurgic-based harnesses through which large leathey wings are attached to their backs. They form into large formations of clanking and chugging swarm of flyers, acting on the battlefield as a flying force. They don't make for a fierce sight, their harnesses looking patchwork and wings looking fragile, but they pack one hell of a punch thanks to the advanced weapons furnished directly by the Leagues: large Flameguns that shoot fireballs that explode on impact, sending shrapnel shredding anything close to the point of impact, or wicked Deepstone lances and swords to cut down enemies both in the sky and walking on earth. Their harnesses and wings are made of tremendously strong alloys and are powerful enough to allow them to wear enclosing heavy armors produced by the Leagues. Many a swarm of deamonic Harpies thought to have their preys caught, only for the swarmed Breezeriders to cut their way free in a dervish of blades, their armors and wings impervious to their claws.
Breezeriders are figures of awe amongst the Deepkin, who wouldn't admire how they soar into the sky?, and are deeply admired as true patriots to the cause of the Under-Kingdom. Still, in their hearts, Deepkin are creatures of the earth and seeing these brave flying soldiers exhibit into even the most simple of maneuvers is enough to make the everyday Uncorrupted flinch. This has led to the widespread fame of the Brezeeriders as reckless daredevils and unconventional ratmen. But, however they are seen, the vast majority of the Breezeriders don't care: being able to fly and soar is for them recompense enough for any strange gaze thrown their ways.
Their use down the centuries has been limited to the larger caverns, but with the surge of the Ur-Kot they have seen more and more appearances, especially in the rising number of above-ground battles, that allow them freedom of movement unprecedented. Their patriotic streak has only been further fueled by this and amongst them one can find the most enthusiastic followers of the war.
Of the Mother
The Great Root, The Unsullied, Unsmothered Ember, The Spark That Knows No Death, Mother of Mercy, She That Returns, the Radiant Goddess possesses multiple names amongst the Deepkin but she's given the highest honors no matter how She is called. Her domain is hope, defiance, affection, strenght of soul and mind, mercy, sacrifice, memory, sadness, forgiveness, purity, humbleness, death and rebirth. She shines upon the oppressed and the miserly, the corrupted and the lost, the pure and the brave, the children and those that protect the weak. She's a beacon of light amongst the darkness and her favor goes to those that keep hope even in despair. Her symbols are the crescent moon, the stalagmite raising from the water, the crowned fire. Albino rats are her sacred animals.
Church's lore says that when the Exodus began, the Goddess invoked a tremendous power from the beyond, so that Her children remain hidden by the evil Gods' gaze, in particular the Horned Rat's. Such was the might she brought into being that her own body and soul were set afire and the Goddess became a pure, bright flame. Terrible pain gripped her, but her will was greater and in that form she held guardianship upon her children. For centuries she endured, but even gods have limits and eventually She waned, her mighty flame turning into a small ember and then into cold ash and nothing more.
But that wasn't the end. The Goddess had held guardianship of death in the world of old and her nature flowed amongst both sides of the grave. Death could hold her only for a brief period before She returned, the ash setting aflame once more into a great flame of hope.
And so it had been for millennia, the Goddess waxing and waning but never relenting in her ceaseless vigil. Held into flame, her voice became only the rustling of the fire and the Shaskar have to labor to decipher it, but her presence shines all the same amongst her children and they have never stopped honoring her eternal sacrifice. Such God of mercy they worship, singing and dancing and praying to alleviate her pain, laboring to make a time come when She hasn't to suffer anymore.
The Goddess honors those that respect family, the elderly, children, one's superiors, the social order, if not unjust, and peace. Singing, music, poetry, meditation, prayer, fasting, training, peaceful work, assistance to the needy, all are activities that met her favor. She urges her children to live as brothers and sisters, working to ensure that security and prosperity are spread as much as possible amongst them and that society as a whole advance. Individuality must not be sacrificed, for it would mean to surrender one's soul, only the baser instinct, like selfishness and arrogance, greed and unreasonable lust for power. The Deepkin are already alone amidst a sea of enemies, they must stand together to survive. Her champions are those that sacrifice themselves for the good of the many and, no matter where they are, she sees them and remember their sacrifice. Every act of valor, of generosity and kindness and selflessness, no matter how small or unacknoledged, she sees it and remembers. None can be taken by her memory, she remembers the face and name of each of her children and loves them all without exception. She cannot be deceived, her bright gaze can peer through actions and directly into heart and soul, and no illusion and no lies, be it woven by Daemon or God, can find purchase upon her. She holds guard upon her children's lives and, when the time comes, leads them to their eternal rest.
She's the main divinity of the Deepkin Skaven and the only whose cult is both permitted and held as state religion in the Under-Kingdom. While worship of various demigods are allowed, no other divinity can be venerated inside the borders of the Under-Kingdom, on pain of death. But such severity is only nominal and it had never need to be enforced. The Deepkin share a connection to their Goddess that nothing can break, forged upon and going over simple love and gratitude. The Goddess' light has a place in each Deepkin's heart, without exception. They wouldn't ever forsake her, no matter what. This devotion manifest as the omnipresence of the Goddess in Deepkin society. Places of worship thickly dot the Under-Kingdom, from statues at crossroads upon which travelers leave their offerings to massive cathedrals raised into the Great Burrows, which cerimonies attract tens of thousands of faithful. Each Lodge host at least a chamber given to religion and its members will regularly convene to celebrate and pray together, with the eldest female of the family acting as priest.
Following this popularity, the Church of the Goddess wields massive political and moral influence upon society as a whole. The Church's upper ranks are composed exclusively of Shaskar, but, while they hold sole possession of the most esoterical knowledge and higher mysteries, the knowledge needed to host basic cerimonies is shared amongst all the ranks of the priesthood, that on turn initiate to it the eldest females of the Lodges, so that they can host simple cerimonies at the family level. No matter the level, singing and music always hold a predominant role.
Prayers and celebrations divide the time of a typical Lodge, with the priesthood holding larger cerimonies each seven days. The calendar is also thickly dotted with religious occasions of any kind, culminating with a holyday celebrating the Great Exodus and another celebrating the Lasting Promise. During these events, all the Under-Kingdom will come together, with processions, masses and public banquets. The Deepkin truly are a religious people, right to the bone!
It's not to a absent god that they give their devotion. The Goddess speaks costantly with her children, the Shaskar acting as her voice, and costantly watches over them. Countless times, warriors beset on the battlefield have felt Her gaze, aching limbs regaining strenght like under a soothing caress. The faithful revering her name feel heavenly light shine over them, oppressed and miserly begging for succour see the darkness around them pushed away by divine light. Her light shines brightly where the Shaskar thread, their songs calling Her might and love into great miracles of mercy and unyelding strenght. No matter where they will be, no matter what dangers they will face, the Goddess watches over her children.
When they returned to the surface, the Deepkin saw the image of their Goddess into the Moon. Unsullied and pure, dying into the darkness and returning in light each time, they saw Her eternal sacrifice wrought into the sky, and started to celebrate it, according their cerimonies to the lunar cycles. Today, the lunar symbology is accepted by the Church, but not the wide-held credence that the moon is the Goddess herself, shining upon her children from the night sky. Still, it's not condemned either, being a powerful symbol of the sacrifice of their Divinity that all the faithful can see, and take succour from.
Patriarchs: A single Patriarch is a terrifying opponent, large enough to tower over a troll, strong enough to smash a shield wall and tough enough to take the charge of a Minotaur without losing ground. When battle comes, Patriarchs and Matriarchs form into squads, their combined might, further augmented by advanced weapons and armors furnished by the Leagues, making them the bane of any enemy.
A Patriarch is no mindless Chaos Spawn or savage Minotaur. His brawn is backed by intellect and skill honed through centuries of training and battle, making each spear thrust as deadly as a cannonball. Each movement is made with economy of effort, pointed to reap lifes as efficiently and quickly as possible. A Patriarch and his brothers and sisters lock shields, march and fight just as disciplinately as any formation of soldiers and this makes every phalanx of man-sized opponents thinking to take them on like children trying to fight brawny adults.
But most of all, a Patriarch's strenght lies in his soul, tempered by the rebirth that he has passed through. The Mausoleum burns away any fear or hesitation, leaving only the laughter and the cold steel. When Patriarchs stand their grounds, their are as easy to dislodge as to unroot a forest of weather-beaten oaks. Their tempered souls gain strenght from each other, the supernatural sliver left in them by their rebirth reacting simpathetically one with the other. If the need calls, they won't budge, no matter the odds. Wounds that should feel them will be nullified by their supernatural physique, spells that should pierce their minds will smash themselves to pieces against their supernatural will.
To the battlefield, Matriarchs and Patriarchs bring the darkness that stand behind the grave and the light of ferocious life. To defend their children, they will fight on and on, forever, until the dawn rises again.
Daemon Daemon, you better beware
The old old rat will come for you
Daemon Daemon, you should shake in your shoes
The old rat will come to give you your dues
Daemon Daemon, you better leave
Or at the count of five
The old rat will roast you alive.
He's old, scratched and beaten
But his fur is shiny and his whiskers straight
Of the deep deep places,
where mushrooms and shadows go to sleep
Daemon Daemon, come no more
Or he will knock you down at the count of four
Old doggerel sung by ratlings
Gunpowder siege weapons: Gunpowder is a staple element of Deepkin military and the Leagues adapted its use to a multiple number of weapons along the centuries. The lords of the Under-Kingdom have imposed a standardization upon them and now a number of main categories can be easily distinguished. Cannons are the most widespread. Long tubes of metal, capable of shooting explosive projectiles with a strenght, precision and explosive power that put catapults and ballistas to shame. Secondly, Mortars. These are larger tubes that shoot high-power explosives into high parables, especially aimed to shred large group of infantry with massive explosions and clouds of shrapnel. Larger of both, the Bombards. These are especially used to bring down fortifications, their massive caliber and the terrible devastations of their projectiles compensating for the slower rate of fire.
While inventiveness is appreciated into the Leagues, the Deepkin commanders wanted for their main armaments to be composed of simpler weapons, easy to repair and use, and producible en masse with relative low cost. This management decision makes the vast majority of these weapons sturdy but reliable, even if lacking the Leagues' most advanced technology.
Smaller, lighter cannons are used for infantry support, pushed into battle by weapon-teams or even used as oversized handguns by Patriarchs, that use them to unleash devastating barrages at close quarters.