π± BANNERMAN TIER: THE BIRDMEN
We leave the discipline of the legions to enter the lands of Tiberium. In this region, where everything is bought and sold, the ability to assault walls under the cover of night commands a high price. And there is no one better to collect that fee than the Birdmen.
These engineers and skirmishers, equipped with mechanical wings and crossbows, offer a lethal tactical alternative for mercenary generals seeking to dominate the verticality of combat. Depicted atop ruins and beams to emphasize their elevated position, they are the perfect unit to harass enemy flanks and mock defenses from the sky.
βοΈ ADVENTURER TIER: CATALAUNIAN PLAINS (451 AD)
We move to the decisive moment where Attila was halted. General Flavius Aetius, the "Last of the Romans," has been sculpted holding the Scipio Eburneus in his hand, the ivory staff topped with an eagle that identifies him as Consul and Patrician, symbols of the authority that still held the Empire together. Marching beside him is not a mere escort, but a soldier of the Scholae Palatinae, the elite guard, who reverently carries the general's own helmet, allowing Aetius to command the battle bare-faced to instill courage in his troops alongside the Visigoth King Theodoric I, prepared for his final charge.
As the historian Jordanes wrote regarding the brutality of this clash:
"For the battle was ruthless, manifold, immense, obstinate... a struggle such as no ancient time has ever recorded. He who failed to see this miracle has lost much of the marvel of life." β Jordanes, Getica (XL, 207).