"Aye, I fought the Grobi in the High Pass with some of those horsemen with the feathered wings on their backs. Even though they looked as fancy as Elves, they're good fighters, them boys. Noisy as a Mannish steam engine when they charge, but you oughta seen the Grobi keck their loincloths when they heard them coming!"
A squadron or rota of Winged Lancers fighting in defence of their Motherland.
The Winged Lancers are the core of the Kislevite military's heavy shock cavalry.[4]
Every ethnically Gospodar stanitsa (town) in Kislev that is large enough will support a rota (squadron) of Kislevite Winged Lancers, a heavy cavalry squadron of hardy, well-trained warriors who form the offensive heart of almost every Kislev army. [4]
They are also a potent psychological weapon, for at full gallop they cause the very air to shudder and roar. Becoming a Kislev Winged Lancer takes dedication and effort...and a great deal of money to afford the thoroughbred steed, heavy mail coat, steel breastplate and helm. Only skilled warriors are accepted into their ranks, for a stanitsa can ill-afford to equip layabouts, cowards or dolts in such a manner.[4]
Role[]
"For the Queen, for Kislev, for glory -- we fly! And damned be he that first cries hold!"
- —Anonymous Winged Lancer[2a]
The Winged Lancers of the Godspodar
The famous Winged Lancers of Kislev are mostly made up of young sons of boyars from all across the Motherland. Even though they are themselves of only modest rank, the Lancers enjoy a great deal of respect from the people of Kislev for their role in protecting the nation. It is their duty to always be prepared for war, as invasions of Mother Kislev are an all-too-common occurrence to simply ignore. [1b]
Concept art of Winged Lancers created for Total War: Warhammer III.[4]
The Winged Lancers are part of a Gospodar tradition, and most Gospodar stanitsas, or settlements, in Kislev support a rota, or squadron of them, often consisting of nearly all the men of the settlement. Each stanitsa is expected to provide a force of Winged Lancers for the mutual defence of the realm, which are often the focus of great civic pride.[1b]
The Winged Lancers of Kislev charge the foe.
Their standards have usually seen many battles and their loyalty to the Motherland is fanatical. They are, however, not full-time soldiers and often seem more loyal to their home than to Tzarina Katarin Bokha. Nevertheless, they fight bravely against Chaos, and so the Ice Queen is more concerned with other political problems.[1b]
Warfare[]
"Many is the regiment who has broken and run rather than be crushed beneath the thunderous hooves of Kislev's legendary cavalry."
- —Description of Winged Lancers in Total War: Warhammer III.
As depicted in Total War: Warhammer III, the Winged Lancers of Kislev charge the Daemonic foes that threaten the Motherland from the Chaos Wastes.[4]
These mounted warriors are famed for their elaborately decorated plate armour, most especially the large, feathered "wings" mounted on their backs that make an eerie sound when they charge. These famed feathered wings are the invention of the great historical Kislevite warrior, Tzar Alexandr Njevski, whose winged back banner emanated an eerie howl that no Chaos-worshipper could endure.[1b]
As depicted in Total War: Warhammer III, the Winged Lancers of Kislev charge the Daemonic foes that threaten the Motherland from the Chaos Wastes.[4]
The rest of the Winged Lancers' armour is decorated as richly as the local stanitsa can manage as a matter of pride. The warriors only don their impressive armour immediately before battle to avoid damaging it in everyday use.[1b]
Unsurprisingly, the Winged Lancers' primary weapon is the lance, but they also use swords for close-in fighting, often discarding their lances after an initial charge. While not as manoeuvrable as the Ungol Horse Archers, they are still a highly mobile force and the most important units in most Kislevite armies.[1b]
Initiation[]
"Come out, young man! The spirits sing and see what war has bred. The grave mounds of the living and the Riders of the Dead!"
As depicted in Total War: Warhammer III, the Winged Lancers of Kislev charge the Daemonic foes that threaten the Motherland from the Chaos Wastes.[4]
Every ethnically Gospodar settlement in Kislev annually raises a rota (squadron) of Winged Lancers. Each spring, eager young men muster alongside veterans and don armour at their rotamaster's command. To the sound of weeping womenfolk, they ride, their winged banners fluttering behind them. Until their return, they are known as the "Riders of the Dead," for they are mourned as if already deceased.[2a]
Every rota of lancers has a different character. Where some southern examples are like Imperial knights, sporting colourful pennants, intricately decorated plate armour, and great animal pelts, lancers from beyond the River Lynsk are more akin to the Ungol nomads of that region, having heavy moustaches, top-knots, and fur-lined charms to ward against evil.[2a]
Slaying the Eagle[]
The Winged Lancers of Kislev are always vigilant for threats to their frigid Motherland.
The royal houses of Kislev have held the eagle to be a sacred bird for time immemorial, and this is commemorated in a secret ritual that every would-be Winged Lancer must complete. Armed only with a bow, five arrows and a knife, the young man leaves his settlement and ventures into the wild. His mission is clear -- he must return within five days with an eagle that he has slain. The eagle's feathers will be used to decorate his distinctive back banner and will mark him as worthy to ride with the Winged Lancers.[2a]
A Winged Lancer
This is the tradition. Alas, that in many Gospodar communities of Kislev it is now mostly practiced in the breach. Some richer families hire professional hunters to accompany their sons into the wild. The youngster must still take the shot himself, but he is aided by the hunters, who are expert in the location of nearby nests. While not technically a violation of tradition, grizzled veterans derisively call such practices "cheating the eagle".[2a]
Rumours circulate that some Kislevite noble sons even let the hunters take the shot, plunging an arrowhead into the eagle's corpse only after the veteran huntsmen have brought it down. If such an allegation were ever proved, the Winged Lancer in question would be drummed out of his rota in disgrace.[2a]
Notable Winged Lancers[]
- Maxim Zakharov – Maxim is a young man but already his career as a Winged Lancer has been distinguished. When it was his time to slay the eagle, he brought back a dead Griffon instead, towing it behind a wild horse he had tamed.
- Ivan Radinov - Ivan Radinov is the younger brother of Tzarina Katarin Bokha and cavalry commander of the elite Gryphon Legion, the greatest forced of Winged Lancers raised by the Motherland.
- Vaslo Kruld - Kruld is a former Winged Lancer who fell to Chaos, becoming a servant of Khorne.
Notable Units[]
- Gryphon Legion - The Gryphon Legion is an elite force made up of the greatest Winged Lancers commanded by Ivan Radinov, brother of Tzarina Katarin Bokha.
Miniatures[]
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Videos[]
Trivia[]
The Kislevite Winged Lancers are based on the historical Polish Winged Hussars, a primary heavy cavalry force in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between the 16th and 18th centuries.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realm of the Ice Queen
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Career Compendium
- 2a: pg. 227
- 3: Rider's of the Dead (Novel) by Dan Abnett
- 3a: Ch. 1: "Demilance"
- 4: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
Gallery[]
![A Winged Lancer as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.[4]](/wiki/File:WingedLancerTWWIII.webp "WingedLancerTWWIII.webp (25 KB)")
