The changes in CoK25 inspired me to play a Sylvan kin list centered around their pretty amazing stormwind cavalry. I didn’t want an actual wood elf army, but got inspired to add another sub-army to my Old World project, the “Brethren of Taal”.
The Brethren of Taal are a Templar Order dedicated to God of nature, Taal. While Taal is not a major god in either The Empire, Kislev or Bretonnia, his followers are found all over the Old World, in those places where people live closer to the wild forests. There, surrounded and forced to live off the dark and dangerous woodlands, the power of Taal is more helpful than Sigmar, Ursun or the Lady.
The Brethren maintain modest chapter houses and outposts in several of the large forests covering much of the Empire, Bretonnia and Kislev. The main chapter house, a large wooden keep situated at the peak of a large crag, is deep in the Forest of Shadows, but they have outposts and hunting lodges as far north as the Troll Country. Compared to the grand castles and keeps of the richer orders, their holdings are meek, mostly consisting of fortified forest camps and timber palisade keeps.
Because the order is much poorer than most templar orders, the knights are less armoured than most templar knights. The knights instead prefer to rely on increased agility and talismans of Taal instead of steel plate for protection. Instead of ponderous long lances, useless in heavily wooded areas, they fight with shorter twin-bladed spears and war tridents, better adapted to the forests they patrol.
The most experienced brethren eventually leave for a pilgrimage to Athel Loren itself. Those that return ride to battle on great stags captured deep in the mysterious forest. These few knights form the inner circle. Veteran warriors with a profound bond with nature and their god. The beasts of the deep forests of the Old World know to fear these men.
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