Steam Knights
| NPC | Charles Lynch | Enemy | Trivia |
The Steam Knights of Victoria are an organization in Arknights. They are first mentioned in Episode 07 and Ceobe's Fungimist before acting as an antagonist in Episode 11.
Background
The Steam Knights were an elite branch of the Victorian Army composed of their most esteemed soldiers chosen to pilot massive, steam-driven powered armor. Considered to be a paragon of Victoria's military strength, their immense might is considered synonymous with the peak of Victoria's geopolitical power where they exerted their dominance across half of Terra. True to their name, the Steam Knights are made up of elite soldiers chosen through rigorous recruitment system, and their highly-advance armors are so expensive that only Victoria possesses such capacity of production; as a result, they are no more than fifty Steam Knights throughout history.[1] They solely answer to the aristocrats of the Parliament who vows to protect both the king and the country, and their might are often praised as great heroes to the common folks through folklores and exaggerated rumors.
Despite their zenith, however, the number of Steam Knights decreased drastically as Victoria's power wanes due to its unrestrained expansionism, with only around thirty-two Knights left by the year 1072 prior to the popular uprising against the previous Aslan king. In 1094 during the coup started by the Duke of Stafford in Londinium, the Steam Knights were ordered by the Parliament to protect the Mausoleum of Kings where the "Sighs of Kings" is sealed. Little did they know, however, that the Steam Knights were betrayed by the Parliament from the very beginning as they view them as potential threats against their power. They eventually became baits for the Sarkaz soldiers of the Military Commission of Kazdel led by Yulie who were invited by the Duke of Cavendish, and the Steam Knights fought until the last man to protect the empire's last hope.[2][3]
The downfall of the Steam Knights has become a mystery to the Victorians as they were puzzled why they suddenly vanished and never returned. With their threats removed, the nobles are able to discredit the Steam Knights by selling off their armors and melting them down as scrap metals for other uses. Even then, the common folks continue to venerate them and blindly believe that they will return someday.
In addition to their towering stature and physical abilities, Steam Knights are armed with heavy weapons such as thermal energy blades, piledriver/pilebunkers, back-mounted rocket launchers, and thrusters that grant them limited flight. They are also able to temporarily "overclock" their steam propulsion systems to greatly increase their own mobility, although this often comes at the cost of the armor being temporarily immobilized to cool down after. The armor also appears to have life support mechanisms that could keep the pilot alive even after prolonged periods of isolation.
Story
Episode 11
Siege and Allerdale finds out that the Steam Knights' disappearance comes from the Victoria's betrayal, more specifically, from the Dukes, as they travel through the Mausoleum of Kings in search for the "Sighs of Kings". The reason being that since the Steam Knights were extremely loyal to the now-deceased Aslan king, the Dukes see that the Knights are no longer needed, destroying and forsaking them in the Mausoleum.
Miraculously, when Siege recovers the "Sighs of Kings", Sir Charles Lynch awakens as the only survivor of his order. Forgetting his very own name and the betrayal, and mistaking the "Sighs of Kings" to be what they fight for to protect – Victoria herself, Sir Lynch attacks Siege and co.. Allerdale, relieved to finally see a surviving Steam Knight and guilty at her betrayal, uses her Arts to forcefully take the others out of the Mausoleum and causes the statues in the hall to collapse, sealing the Mausoleum in the process and leaving her and Sir Lynch's statuses unknown.
Notable
- Sir Charles Lynch: The last appointed Steam Knight in the year 1072 before the popular uprising that toppled the previous Aslan king.[4] Following the deathtrap in the Mausoleum of Kings during the coup d'état, Sir Lynch was left as the only surviving member of the Steam Knights, and due to a loss of memory over the years stuck inside the mausoleum, he has long since forgotten his identity and only utters "Victoria" due to mistakenly believing that the "Sighs of Kings" is the country herself.
References
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