| Thermal Weaponry | |
| Faction |  Order of the Talon
|
| Function | Kill it with fire. |
| Brief | Various weapons like flamethrowers, thermobaric weapons and firestorm weaponry. |
"The flame is a good servant, but a bad master."
- - Familiar proverb.
From the very beginning of the Order of the Talon, fire was the most used weapon along with cold steel weapons. Flammable liquids and oils were used to create fire walls both for protection and for archers to light their arrows, flames to burn the stakes with the witches and heretics from the Cult and exploding bombs used in catapults during the sieges of the Cult's strongholds.
This tradition of fire has lived on to this day, having been expanded with a variety of flame weapons to "purify" all who were corrupted by their enemy and foolish enough to stand in the way of the Order. Right now, there are plenty of thermal weapon variations, which use different principles to work, but with the same effect: Heat and fire.
Flamethrowers, Flamers & Flame Projectors[]
"You fell to the maw of evil, and now we will purify your guilt and let your soul once again become clear."
- - Inquisitor before an execution of a few cultists using flamethrowers
The most iconic thermal weapons were first deployed during World War I, and the Talon soon adapted them as their own. These flamethrowers are usually designed with three important parts; nozzle, tanks with compressed air and tanks with a flammable substance.
Releasing compressed air into the other tanks forces the substance to be ejected through the nozzle and into the air, whereupon the flammable liquid is then ignited by an igniter, resulting in a long tongue of flame. Such weapons are extremely effective in confined areas, such as buildings or trenches, but tend to work only at short ranges.
In truth, the Order doesn't use these weapons as often as in the days during World War I and in the years immediately after, but there still are a few units using them.
There exist a few examples of modernised flamethrowers, so-called Flamers or Flame projectors. They work on a similar principle, but with another flammable substance, mostly some kind of rare gas, more pressured air, and a smaller nozzle, such a weapon can "project" flames over a much longer distance, making it more similar to Allied cryobeams.
These weapons are also used in the Order for their higher accuracy, but they have a big drawback: they burn through their fuel quickly. Even flamethrowers quickly run out of gas, and flamers will burn through it even faster; in some cases up to three times faster, so the Order's servants always need a large supply depot of fuel for them.
Thermobaric Weapons[]
"These weapons are gifts from the Order and our God. Their might is indisputable and anyone who will dare to stop us from our final goal will taste the power of the thermobarikos."
- - Templar Lord Joan-Paul L'ebou
In 1944, Germany experimented with a new kind of weapon. The weapon was composed of liquid oxygen and brown coal powder in a three to two ratio. This was supposedly the first test of a fuel air bomb or thermobaric weapon.
The test had unimaginable results. An eight kilogram bomb was able to destroy trees in a 600 metre radius, and the resultant explosion could be heard from up to 2 kilometres away.
According to the data gathered during this test, the explosion was as strong as 30 bar pressure, with temperatures ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 °C.
However, thermobaric weapons are not often seen in the arsenal of the Allies, Soviets, Chinese or any of the major powers, and only vacuum warheads work on a similar principle.
In truth, the alchemists of the Talon had already discovered thermobaric weapons thirty years ago, at the start of World War I, and the first users of the new weapons were the Order of the Temple, who continue to utilize them up to this day.
Unlike conventional explosives, which consist of a mix of oxidiser and fuel, thermobaric weapons rely on the oxygen in the surrounding air, meaning that thermobaric weapons are far more energetic than conventional explosives of a similar weight and produce blast waves of a significantly longer duration. Thermobaric weapons also have considerable advantages in confined areas such as bunkers and tunnels, although such weapons cannot be used underwater or at high altitudes, for obvious reasons. Order thermobaric weapons have the added advantage of being composed of a secret alchemical powder that burns with much more force and ferocity than conventional fuel-air bombs.
Tempest-class vessels, for example, serve as torpedo ships, but when the captain of the ship receives the order or thinks it is the best thing to do, he can activate the "thermobaric jet".
This device works on the same principle as the thermobaric cannon, but with the difference that the Tempest blasts the mix of oxygen in the ship with only one way out. The tank where the vapour ignites is protected by 10 cm thick Talon Steel, giving the crew absolute safety from the vapour.
The pressure on the end of the jet is so great that the Tempest will accelerate rapidly, giving the Captain a option to ram any enemy vessel with the Tempest's bow, also armoured in 10 cm thick Talon Steel.
Thermobaric weapons are by far the most destructive weapons in the hands of the Order, with the notable exceptions of the Firestorm Generator and the ambiaric cannons of the Eden Superheavy Tracks.
Thermobaric Lances[]
When they were introduced during the Second World War, high explosive anti tank warheads revolutionised anti-tank warfare. With the development of HEAT warheads, a single infantryman could effectively destroy a tank with a man-portable weapon, altering the nature of armoured warfare drastically. HEAT weapons work by using a shaped charge to project a stream of metal at high velocity. As the stream of metal moves at extremely high velocities in solid material, it is able to erode away the armour material of a tank, allowing it to punch through solid armour with ease.
As far behind the times as the Order of the Talon may sometimes seem, the organisation too makes use of the same--or at least similar--principles as those used by HEAT warheads, though it has put its own twist on it. Like conventional HEAT warheads, they rely on the extreme velocity of the jets of molten metal. Unlike conventional HEAT warheads, these jets of molten copper are fired out of lances. These so-called thermobaric lances use a fuel air explosion to drive the copper bolt out of the barrel and superheat the bolt into a molten state. The idea of trying to contain the explosion inside the weapon seems absurd enough--however, the remarkable tolerances of Talon Steel has allowed the Order to successfully pull it off.
When first introduced in World War I, the thermobaric lance proved exceptionally effective against the armour of the then newly introduced tanks, the metal jets punching through the thin armour plating of the early tanks effortlessly. The Talon Inquisition took to the idea of thermobaric lances quickly, and thermobaric lances became a prominent feature in their arsenal. Up to today, thermobaric lances are still used extensively as an anti-armour weapon by the Talon, from man-portable lances carried by Crimson Cardinals to the relatively large bore thermobaric lances used by Lucifer Tracks.
Molten Lead and Oil[]
Closely adherent to the flamethrowers, oil and molten lead have been used ever since the founding of the Order. Molten lead was used as a way of torturing the cultists, cauterizing religious symbols onto their bodies, and as a way to defend castles, in addition to being launched from catapults during sieges of Cult temples.
As for oil ... it would suffice to say that without oil, a good number of the Order's thermal weapons would be useless.
In the present day, the most iconic vehicle using this kind of thermal weaponry is the Consecrator Track. It uses mostly oil to great effect. The Consecrator can spray oil on enemy forces, making them more vulnerable to flamethrowers and flame projectors, or spray oil behind it and ignite it to deter anyone in pursuit.
Phosphorus[]
Weapons using this element are utilized by the Order since the date from the discovery of it in 1669 by the German alchemist Hennig Brand. Thought he tried to make a mythical philosopher's stone, he created something from urine.
It was a white, waxy substance that glowed in the dark, so he named it Phosphorus, giving it a name from Greek mythology, Φωσφόρος meaning "light-bearer", or in Latin Lucifer. It was later discovered that phosphorus can be categorised into two different forms; white and red.
White phosphorus is a highly reactive element, highly toxic and pyrophoric. In darkness, it phosphorescent as its vapour oxidizes with oxygen in the air. Red phosphorus is more stable. White was sometimes used in weaponry due to its properties.
The Order of the Talon, after this discovery, bribed the scientists and learned how to create phosphorus, arming a few of their military vehicles with the substance. Phosphorus is used in missiles and shells, making them excellent against unprotected infantry the phosphorus tends to stick to exposed skin and is very difficult to extinguish.
Superheated Melee Weapons[]
"My Sword Protects the Innocent. And can melt through steel.
- - Unofficial Templar Motto
Swords, spears, lances and the like are the most basic weapons Order hase used since their founding, but superheated ones are rather new, dating from the 19th century. The mechanics are simple; a coil of wire around the base of of the weapon reached such temperatures when heated that it would boil water.
The hot steam would collect in canals etched into the blade, heating it. The resultant weapon was more effective than normal swords, capable of scorching flesh with ease.
The development of superheated weapons was furthered over time, and these days, Fanatics carry backpack batteries and chargers around, which are wired to their swords. The steam channels have been eliminated with the invention of more powerful portable Ambiaric cells (car batteries). Their swords can gain temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius, making them effective against even armoured vehicles.
Superheated melee weapons quickly spread into the Order, and now most of the Crusaders, Archbishops, Cardinals and other high-ranking members of the Order wield them. Should they be attacked, they are capable of defending themselves with these weapons. Numerous foot soldiers of the Talon also wield superheated weapons, using them to melt through both tank and body armour.
