The Special Service Legion is the elite special operations force of the Clavic military, widely known by their moniker: Greybacks, derived from the muted grey cloaks they wear in place of the standard Clavic orange.
Formed at the onset of the Clavic campaigns, the SSL was designed to execute high-risk, high-value operations unsuited for conventional military forces. Their missions are classified, their identities protected, and their reputations steeped in myth and fear.
Purpose and Origins
The Legion was commissioned to serve as a scalpel where the main army is a hammer. Reconnaissance, sabotage, assassination, and unconventional warfare are all within their purview. It is commonly believed that less than a hundred Greybacks exist at any one time, though the exact number is classified.
Many believe the SSL’s selection process was inspired—if not directly stolen—from the Sundown Sisters and their whispered trials.
Selection & Training
Candidates are accepted on a volunteer basis only, drawn from both the Clavic Army and Navy. However, volunteer numbers remain low due to the SSL's infamous "washout clause":
Any candidate who fails the training is executed—as part of the training of those who do not.
Because of this, every Greyback has killed, even before being officially inducted.
Phase 1: The Cauldron
Training begins at Camp Hearn. Twice a year, volunteer candidates are sent on a forced march known as the Freeway of Sorrow—from Derth to Broadlan—a stretch of lawless territory prowled by raiders who take special interest in Legion selections, treating them as sport. The military does not interfere.
Those who survive are paired up and begin a wilderness survival program across multiple biomes. This ends with a death duel, deceptively framed as a random drawing. In truth, every candidate is always assigned to fight their own survival partner. Only one may move on.
Phase 2: The Micro Phase
This phase includes intensive training in:
- Close-quarters combat and small unit tactics
- Weapons mastery
- Stealth, sabotage, and infiltration
- Intelligence gathering and interrogation
- Counter-interrogation resistance
Groups of candidates rotate roles—interrogators, detainees, and observers—over the span of several brutal weeks. Those in the observer role are allowed limited rest, but never the illusion of safety.
Phase 3: The Macro Phase
This final stage shifts from physical to intellectual:
- Military history and battlefield psychology
- Macro strategy and logistical sabotage
- Guerrilla warfare theory
- Psychological operations and destabilization tactics
Greybacks are expected not only to execute, but to understand warfare as both art and philosophy.
Operational Status
Greybacks are deployed in teams of 2–5 for operations deemed too sensitive or lethal for regular forces. Each wears a grey cloak with no insignia. They answer only to the highest military authority—or directly to the Emperor himself.
Their legal status is ambiguous, and many are presumed dead after completing missions deemed politically inconvenient to acknowledge.
Notable Members
- Captain Bor Lerich – Highly decorated SSL officer. Credited with ending the Siege of Dron’s Hollow via an unconfirmed solo operation. Allegedly killed three of his own men during Phase 1.