The Exemplars
| Faction | Trivia |
| “ | We make miracles. | ” |
| —The Exemplars' motto |
The Exemplars, also known as the Paragon Army, is one of the protagonist factions in the Shadow of a Dying Sun story arc of Arknights' Main Theme. It was the name of a division within the Victorian Army under the control of the Victorian Parliament that, following a series of mishaps, was reorganized into the Tempest Platoon. The name itself was later adopted by Alexandrina Victoria for a Victorian partisan movement under her leadership.
Background
Operation Black Heart
The Exemplars formerly obeyed the order of the Victorian Parliament by carrying out special duties assigned by them. The founding members were graduates of the Royal Guard Academy, hence its ties with many military schools, and one of them is the Count Skamandros, the famous "White Wolf Count" who has a say in national military.[1]
However, the turning point of the Exemplars' loyalty was the devastating Battle of the Four Emperors. During a battle in County Bernard in the autumn of year 1031, the military landship of Duke Gododdin, Lady Saxon, encountered an advancing Gaulish Veux Vanguards, and the chief engineer of the ship, Dunken Kurz, was ordered to take control of it. It resulted in the malfunction of the ship's mobile engine which in turn led to countless soldiers contacting Oripathy. At first, the Grand Dukes showed their mercy by promoting Kurz to be the captain of Lady Saxon as well as promising medical compensation for the Infected soldiers. However, during the grand final battle of Lingones, Lady Saxon was dispatched together with another warship named Blue Lord — a ship named after a humiliating title meaning a robber baron — to face a small Gaulish fleet at the frontline.[2]
It was from this moment the crew realized that they were treated as mere cannon fodders by the Grand Dukes. Many of them died of Oripathy spread by an advancing Catastrophe cast by the Witch King's Arts. Worst of all, the accompanying Blue Lord suddenly fired upon Lady Saxon as the ship tried to avoid the Catastrophe, and the crew deemed it was intentional because the Grand Dukes did not wish to publicly honor Infected soldiers.[3] Nevertheless, it the midst of the Catastrophe, around a thousand Infected soldiers from the four nations, be it Victorians, Ursi, Leithanians and Gallians, allied together on Lady Saxon to turn their attack on the traitorous Blue Lord.[4] In the meantime, a legion of the Exemplars quietly let lose from the Parliament's control, sacrificed themselves in the Catstrophic storm to infiltrate Lady Saxon, and aided the crew to repeal the Blue Lord, an important operation later known as "Operation Black Heart." The munity ended tragically by Captain Kurz ending his own life and Lady Saxon being ordered to be decommissioned in the battlefield.[5]
In the aftermath of Lady Saxon mutiny, the surviving crews and soldiers were recruited to the Exemplars, and the Exemplars themselves reorganized into the Tempest Platoon, named after the Catastrophe that they suffered. Being upset of the Parliament's cruelty, the Platoon completely broke free from their control and became a relatively independent military force who devotes themselves fully to Victoria, not her government. While the Exemplars themselves became a history, their heroic story still lives on which even inspires many paramilitary Infected organizations, including Reunion.
Resurgence
The Exemplars' echoes rang once again during the Victorian Crisis as the Tempest Platoon completely defied the order of the Parliament following the County Hillock atrocity by the garrison soldiers; they deemed that the it was the Grand Dukes who allowed the soldiers to persecute the Tarans and nourished the rise of Dublinn. As a matter of fact, the Platoon has to act underground in Londinium to avoid capture by the Kazdelians.
Later on, out of her anger on the Grand Dukes' lenience over Londinium's occupation by the Military Commission of Kazdel, Alexandrina Victoria aka. Siege decides to organize those who followed her, including her Glasgow mates, refugees from Norport Borough, and Victorian soldiers who previously served the late Duke of Windermere led by Lieutenant Shearer under the Exemplars name, immortalizing their legacy. The reformed Exemplars liberated the township of Brentwood from the Sarkaz occupation amidst a Vampiric ritual that costed the life of many Brentwood citizens and later provides a distraction for Hoederer, Amiya, and co. to infiltrate the "Lifebone".
Organization
Tempest Platoon
The Platoon is divided into six sections with each containing two operational groups formed by usually five soldiers. Originating from its foundation, the Platoon choose their members based on capability, and many of the recruits other special forces units or even the Royal Police. Due to their ties with the Royal Guard Academy, the Platoon often recruits its members from the RGA. But to join the Platoon, new recruits have to undergo tedious and harsh trainings. The Tempest Platoon not only equip with strong physical might, but also cutting-edge military technologies and intelligence services, making them one of the best soldiers across Victoria.[1]
Notable members
Tempest Platoon
- Triangle†
- Oboe†
- Snare†
- Bass†
- Mandolin†
- Cello†
Of the above characters:
- Horn is the lieutenant and commander in-charge of the Tempest Platoon's 2nd Division.
- Bagpipe would leave the 2nd Division after serving for three years, following the County Hillock incident. She would later join Rhodes Island under Ch'en's recommendation.
- Cello, Triangle, and the other aforementioned soldiers would die at the hands of Dublinn during their uprising in County Hillock.
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References
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