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History
Due to their written history being sketchy at best, numerous tribes came together to form what we now know as the natives of the planet Eldar sometime between a thousand and two thousand years ago. In the beginning this tribe, made up of twelve of the remaining Eldarian natives, banded together. The history before this was eradicated in what is written as ‘A hundred-year war between the feuding nations’. Based upon their numbers, more than five hundred-thousand perished during this series of fighting. Their society was mainly hunting and gathering while they migrated across the planet during the differing seasons. After the first hundred years, the varied cultures of the twelve tribes had finally meshed together.
Despite the lack of opposition, there had always been a warrior sect in the nations. While every member of the populous learned how to fight and survive from the age of twelve, only a select few were chosen to be members of the elitist Rangers. Following the joining of the twelve nations, the most skilled of each style of warriors came together to create a new training regime. In all honesty, an entirely new combat system. Over the years, a number of vessels crash landed on their planet. While most, if not all members of the respective crews had perished, the damaged technology was salvageable. Rather than sharpened rocks and volcanic glass for the majority of their weaponry, the Natives learned by trial and error how to melt and mould the metals of the vessels into new weapons of war.
One of the things the culture was good at, if nothing else, was evolving with the ever-changing situations. Experimentation with the less damaged of the melee weapons found in the aforementioned vessels helped these warriors decide upon the model of weapon they would prefer overall. While the short daggers had served them well for the last several hundred or so years, they weren’t all that good until the fight was within two meters of their opponent. The long-swords were, however elegant and well-balanced, far too bulky for proficient use in combat, after a long debate from the experts. It was decided that they would use a weapon design of a short sword, only dual-wielded. Another half-century passed before the slugthrowers would be introduced. Until then, the long-range weapon of choice was either the crossbow or bow and arrow, dependant upon the preference and skill level of each individual warrior.
Those few chosen by the experts to be the Rangers would train normally from age twelve until they reached their fifteenth birthday. On that occasion, the highest ranking members of the Rangers would approach their families and give them the opportunity and the honour of becoming one of their elite warriors. It was rarely, if ever, declined. The individual would then travel to one of the more secluded areas of the planet Eldar and train for five long years. By this time, the new generation of fighters had grown far more proficient than the experts had believed possible. With this in mind, they separated their elite fighters into three ranks: The Rangers, The Wayfarers, and The Elder Rangers.
Before their five years of initial training was completed, the warriors held no title. If they survived, they would be granted the title of Ranger. They had to wait and learn for another two years before they could request testing to be granted the title of Wayfarer. If the request was approved, the individual would have to face and defeat three Wayfarers of his or her choosing. These fights were until the other was either disarmed twice or yielded to their opponent. If the one seeking the title of Wayfarer lost in any single bout, they had to wait another six months before they could request the testing once more. Once approved, they would have to fight as though they hadn’t won the previous battles, while choosing different opponents. The only way to become an Elder Ranger was to be chosen by one of them. They would then train you personally for a year or more, until they deemed you worthy of the prestigious title. To be deemed worthy, you would have to face your mentor in individual combat and last twenty minutes. In the extremely rare case that the learner defeat the mentor, the learner would take the mentor’s place, while the mentor retired into an advisory position.
The introduction of projectile firearms caused further evolution amongst the Rangers of Eldar. The bows and arrows of past ages were put to the side as family heirlooms, though they were still utilized in training to build the warrior’s upper-body strength. It also aided in training the warriors to hone their sense of accuracy and precision to within half an inch. The true masters of the bow of past ages could shoot a fly off of the head of another warrior at a hundred yards. Even with the new advances in technology, their fighting blades remained the same. The only change was the quality of the metal work and better materials to work with.
It was during this time that a tradition was introduced. In order to prove that they are a true ranger, the individual would have to travel alone to a different remote mountain region to collect a small blue flower, which they then pin on their armour as a mark of their proficiency. Also known as Viper’s Bugloss, this small plant is actually poisonous to humans if ingested.
During the ensuing years, their ranks both diminished and flourished as battle took place between the natives and outsiders who sought to change them irrevocably.
Over the last two centuries, they would prepare a ritual where they would invite outsiders to add to the gene pool of new generations. In most cases, they were warriors of high esteem or the most well-known scholars of their age. This was the solution discovered, as inbreeding had become a worry as the numbers of the original clans dwindled at a geometric rate. The introduction of new blood saved the natives from becoming lost to the dusty pages of history.
As of the 35th year, following the Battle of Yavin, only one hundred sixty-five of these elite warriors remain. Though, if rumours are to be believed, over a hundred more live in one of the more remote areas where they train the next generation of warriors.
Armour/Weapons
As soon as the remainder of the company of Eldarian Rangers were assigned under the command of Captain Edraven, he put their primitive firearms on the shelf. Within days, with the help of Templar Vahillus, the Rangers were armed with a prototype bowcaster, which each Ranger handcrafted using the same unique process designed by the Wookiees of Kashyyyk. The bowcasters were to be used as a symbol of the Rangers, as unique to the unit as the blue thistle, with the Rangers being one of the only organizations aside from the Wookiee species themselves to use the weapon. The Rangers’ version of the bowcaster is smaller and lighter than the traditional wookiee variant, and fires a unique energy wrapped projectile. The magazine of the bowcaster can hold up to thirty-two shots, which can be fired at a distance of up to a mile and still retain its accuracy.
Although their bowcasters are fully functional, many Rangers prefer to use a more practical, and less ornamental, weapon in the field. Many used to carry an antiquated DC-15x sniper rifle, having acquired many of them during the Galactic Civil War, as the rifle was outdated. The DC-15x has a six shot capacity and medium range, which made it an effective, if outdated, weapon for the Rangers for many years.
When Captain Edraven assumed command, the Rangers were outfitted with the newer, more powerful E-17d sniper rifle. The E-17d has a far superior magnification range, although it can only carry four shots. The barrel of the E-17d is perforated along the entirety of its length, giving it a rather distinctive appearance. Others, however, have grown fond of the custom made Sniper Rifle that Spectre Cell utilizes, the E-MMAR (Erinos Miniature Magnetic Accelerator Rifle) which was created jointly between Captain Edraven and the weapons specialists of the Erinos Mandalorian Clan.
Before being integrated into Spectre Cell, the Ranger’s armor consisted of light, leather covered steel over dark green dyed cloth. The only real armor to this set was the leather covered steel gauntlets, chestpiece, and greaves. While this allowed the Ranger’s with free and unhindered movement, Captain Edraven knew that in the type of battle they would likely face with Spectre Cell, this traditional armor was outdated.
The Ranger’s new armor is a lightweight blend of polymers and durasteel weave, designed to look similar to Phase-V clone scout armor and is painted a variety of greens, browns, and greys for camouflage. The armor is lightweight and does not hamper movement which still allows the Rangers to be quick on their feet as per their reputation. Many of the Rangers have customized their armor by adding symbols to either the helmet, breastplate, or both.