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Description

So I've got a new story starting. It's a cross of the Saga of Tanya the Evil (youjo-senki) and House BlackSky.

In short: Tanya defeats Being X but what then? What another cosmic entity sees how Being X violated the rules with mortal free will and offers to re-balance the scales. Tanya ends up in a world that is familiar to the Empire, but also one where being the "Devil of the Rhine" has nowhere near as much stigma.

The draft of it can be read here. As of this post there are 5 chapters up.

One note is that this image is set in the future after Tauria/Tanya has gotten a Polyxo model and is in command of well... spoilers.
To her annoyance, even as a teenager she's short.

Daywalkerrl did some great work in rendering all 7 of the main types of House BlackShy ritual plate.

And I've got this info dump just laying around so let's put that in with some links to other pieces of specific model.

Common types of Ritual Plate:

Harmonia: Air superiority and interceptor suit. Agile and high speed. Often used for defending fleet assets against air strikes or for attacking enemy fighter assets. They can also run escort for Torpedo Boats and other air assets. Some of highest thrust to weight ratios requiring strongest Zephyr, and Pilots capable of managing such spirits and extreme maneuverability.

Telephe: Strike unit and Fighter-Bomber. Suit is a bit more solidly built has strong Lace battery projectors in gauntlets and capacity for arcane energy storage in armored flasks around waist. Powerful ranged offensive unit, each suit has a couple shots that can take out large vessels or targets. Lances can work in a high explosive or armor piercing role depending on the nature of the target. Air to air capability, but not as much as a Harmonia. Also requires Pilots with the skills in Evocation to manage the extreme power of Lance strikes.

Sarpedona: Ground Support unit. Has strongest warding and armor. Focuses on air to ground weaponry, both for anti-personnel and anti vehicle. They also run escort for landing zones and VTOLs. Can also function in an air defense role as well as a ground attack. Capable of more maneuverability at lower speeds. Ideally requires Pilots who can interface with ground troops to provide direct support and manage relatively close combat with manifold weapons and targets. Very intense operational tempo. Suits can be customized for types of arcane load-outs and if they are primarily in an anti-infantry, anti-armor, or anti-arcane role.

Polydora : All around unit. Has more modularity than other suits and is built to work in any of the preceding roles, but not as efficiently as a dedicated suit. Squadrons of these are often used by smaller carriers, either as a full compliment or part, to add tactical flexibility depending on mission requirements. There is also the requirement of a Pilot being able to work in a multitude of roles.

Less-common types of Ritual Plate:

Occultia: Low observable, theater-grade surveillance and recon suit. Less offensive power but more scrying, stealth and veiling. Pilots typically use special Zephyr of a more inquisitive bent to help with the data collation and collection. With minor reconfigurations: stealth versus scrying suits can be used for intelligence collection on over flights of enemy airspace or near real-time target data over a wide frontage.
Requires specialized pilots given the mental requirements to run the veils and the Euryale Scrying system and able to process a mass amount of data. This is one of the rarer suits. To where a RP Wing may have one Surveillance Squadron with one Flight's worth of Occultia Pilots.

Polyxo : An Advanced multi-role Suit. It has more capability and modularity, but at a higher unit cost and greater maintenance complexity. They also require greater Pilot skill and power to use effectively. However, for a select high-skill Squadrons they are useful. These are typically assigned as a flexible multi-role squadron for an advanced, but small, strike Carrier. Or as a higher-tier reserve reinforcement multi-role squadron for a full Ritual Plate Wing.

Svalinna : A heavy defensive warding suit thick with extra enchantments and replaceable sections. Operating similar to the Ogun or Indra Aerial Torpedo the Svalinna projects a powerful and large ward. All Ritual Plate Pilots are required to be able to power a defensive ward, however, Svalinna Pilots have to be able to project them much further out. This can work for persistent patrol, reusable, and lightweight fleet screen, or even ground protection. Given the limited time the Pilot can keep such a war shield active.
However, miniaturizing the wards enchantments to something that can fit on a Ritual Plate suit makes this an exceptionally expensive, and relatively bulky suit that has 3 times the fuel cell requirements. Several ward projector components also burn out and need replacement after multiple uses in one mission. Further the Pilot must be especially skilled in wards to operate the suit itself. An RP Wing often has a Ward Squadron with at 1 to 2 flight's worth of Svalinna Pilots with the other RP pilots Harmonia acting in an escort capacity.

Specializations:

A flight 4 RP units will typically have some modular specialization. Typically the Flight Leader will normally have a suit with some extra maneuverability and weaponry to counter enemy air assets.

1 Member of the Flight will have a Gorgon Rig, a crying system (a smaller, less intense, and shorter ranged sibling to the Euryale) to provide extra targeting info, battle-space awareness, and backup comms. This is less difficult to use than a Euryale but does get the most benefit from a Pilot who is skilled in such things.

The two remaining members of the Flight will have extra offensive systems. For a Telephe Flight this means extra evocation capacitors for more Lance strikers. For a Sarpedona this is further capacity for various flame, lightning, and other attacks on ground targets.

The layout of a flight can be modified if required. A more tactical surveillance or patrol oriented Flight may have 2 Gorgon-equipped pilots and 2 with the Flight Leader package. This means that each Flight can be broken up into 2 Pairs where 1 operates the Gorgon Scrying rig and is protected by her wing-woman.

Also with the tradition of a Legionary or Fleet Soldier purchasing their own equipment, there are some who either by Patronage or wealth will supply their own Ritual Plate suit that is at a grade above that of standard Fleet or Legion service.

Description

So I've got a new story starting. It's a cross of the Saga of Tanya the Evil (youjo-senki) and House BlackSky.

In short: Tanya defeats Being X but what then? What another cosmic entity sees how Being X violated the rules with mortal free will and offers to re-balance the scales. Tanya ends up in a world that is familiar to the Empire, but also one where being the "Devil of the Rhine" has nowhere near as much stigma.

The draft of it can be read here. As of this post there are 5 chapters up.

One note is that this image is set in the future after Tauria/Tanya has gotten a Polyxo model and is in command of well... spoilers.
To her annoyance, even as a teenager she's short.

Daywalkerrl did some great work in rendering all 7 of the main types of House BlackShy ritual plate.

And I've got this info dump just laying around so let's put that in with some links to other pieces of specific model.

Common types of Ritual Plate:

Harmonia: Air superiority and interceptor suit. Agile and high speed. Often used for defending fleet assets against air strikes or for attacking enemy fighter assets. They can also run escort for Torpedo Boats and other air assets. Some of highest thrust to weight ratios requiring strongest Zephyr, and Pilots capable of managing such spirits and extreme maneuverability.

Telephe: Strike unit and Fighter-Bomber. Suit is a bit more solidly built has strong Lace battery projectors in gauntlets and capacity for arcane energy storage in armored flasks around waist. Powerful ranged offensive unit, each suit has a couple shots that can take out large vessels or targets. Lances can work in a high explosive or armor piercing role depending on the nature of the target. Air to air capability, but not as much as a Harmonia. Also requires Pilots with the skills in Evocation to manage the extreme power of Lance strikes.

Sarpedona: Ground Support unit. Has strongest warding and armor. Focuses on air to ground weaponry, both for anti-personnel and anti vehicle. They also run escort for landing zones and VTOLs. Can also function in an air defense role as well as a ground attack. Capable of more maneuverability at lower speeds. Ideally requires Pilots who can interface with ground troops to provide direct support and manage relatively close combat with manifold weapons and targets. Very intense operational tempo. Suits can be customized for types of arcane load-outs and if they are primarily in an anti-infantry, anti-armor, or anti-arcane role.

Polydora : All around unit. Has more modularity than other suits and is built to work in any of the preceding roles, but not as efficiently as a dedicated suit. Squadrons of these are often used by smaller carriers, either as a full compliment or part, to add tactical flexibility depending on mission requirements. There is also the requirement of a Pilot being able to work in a multitude of roles.

Less-common types of Ritual Plate:

Occultia: Low observable, theater-grade surveillance and recon suit. Less offensive power but more scrying, stealth and veiling. Pilots typically use special Zephyr of a more inquisitive bent to help with the data collation and collection. With minor reconfigurations: stealth versus scrying suits can be used for intelligence collection on over flights of enemy airspace or near real-time target data over a wide frontage.
Requires specialized pilots given the mental requirements to run the veils and the Euryale Scrying system and able to process a mass amount of data. This is one of the rarer suits. To where a RP Wing may have one Surveillance Squadron with one Flight's worth of Occultia Pilots.

Polyxo : An Advanced multi-role Suit. It has more capability and modularity, but at a higher unit cost and greater maintenance complexity. They also require greater Pilot skill and power to use effectively. However, for a select high-skill Squadrons they are useful. These are typically assigned as a flexible multi-role squadron for an advanced, but small, strike Carrier. Or as a higher-tier reserve reinforcement multi-role squadron for a full Ritual Plate Wing.

Svalinna : A heavy defensive warding suit thick with extra enchantments and replaceable sections. Operating similar to the Ogun or Indra Aerial Torpedo the Svalinna projects a powerful and large ward. All Ritual Plate Pilots are required to be able to power a defensive ward, however, Svalinna Pilots have to be able to project them much further out. This can work for persistent patrol, reusable, and lightweight fleet screen, or even ground protection. Given the limited time the Pilot can keep such a war shield active.
However, miniaturizing the wards enchantments to something that can fit on a Ritual Plate suit makes this an exceptionally expensive, and relatively bulky suit that has 3 times the fuel cell requirements. Several ward projector components also burn out and need replacement after multiple uses in one mission. Further the Pilot must be especially skilled in wards to operate the suit itself. An RP Wing often has a Ward Squadron with at 1 to 2 flight's worth of Svalinna Pilots with the other RP pilots Harmonia acting in an escort capacity.

Specializations:

A flight 4 RP units will typically have some modular specialization. Typically the Flight Leader will normally have a suit with some extra maneuverability and weaponry to counter enemy air assets.

1 Member of the Flight will have a Gorgon Rig, a crying system (a smaller, less intense, and shorter ranged sibling to the Euryale) to provide extra targeting info, battle-space awareness, and backup comms. This is less difficult to use than a Euryale but does get the most benefit from a Pilot who is skilled in such things.

The two remaining members of the Flight will have extra offensive systems. For a Telephe Flight this means extra evocation capacitors for more Lance strikers. For a Sarpedona this is further capacity for various flame, lightning, and other attacks on ground targets.

The layout of a flight can be modified if required. A more tactical surveillance or patrol oriented Flight may have 2 Gorgon-equipped pilots and 2 with the Flight Leader package. This means that each Flight can be broken up into 2 Pairs where 1 operates the Gorgon Scrying rig and is protected by her wing-woman.

Also with the tradition of a Legionary or Fleet Soldier purchasing their own equipment, there are some who either by Patronage or wealth will supply their own Ritual Plate suit that is at a grade above that of standard Fleet or Legion service.