The Knight Chimera

Introducing the newest chain in Imperial armored warfare, the fourth generation of the Chimera platform.
35 Years of research and development culminating in one singular platform to lead the charge of warfare.

After the catastrophic early attempts made by the southern technology institutes at the chassis of the chimera platform the contract was given to their rival the Nyrvern Research Institute just 15 years after STI's first experimental chassis were deployed to the frontlines.

Following STI's failure the NRI was amongst the first to work directly with the Ninth Circle of Magic to create the Argent Cockpit to enhance pilot responsiveness and agility, instead of previous control surfaces the pilot is now soul-bound to the Core of the Chimera itself, extending the pilot's consciousness to the entirety of their machine, in return this allows for the physical cockpit to be shrunk down to just a tube filled with nutritious gel and oxygen supply, at the same time this resulted inadvertently in a mild design flaw.
In exchange for advanced mobility and strength beyond what was possible with previous chimera generations there is a small cost however along with feeling every bit of damage that is dealt to the Chimera Chassis, should the pilot over exert themselves beyond their capabilities. Should they go beyond their mental limit, then the machine will take its toll as the mana diesel reactor built into the chimera will slowly pull the soul out of the pilot until there's nothing left but an empty husk.

In only one confirmed case the opposite appeared to be the case, sources linked to this phenomenon are purely based on battlefield reports and the remnants of what is left of the third generation Blitz Chimera Squadron that was allotted as escort of the first knight chimera.

As far as reconstructions go, in one of the earliest battle a knight chimera was a part of during the invasion of the northern crimson pact, the pilot suffered the loss of their left chassis arm and multiple additional hits presumably causing the pilot to lose focus, however because of their intense willpower they managed to merge with their machine instead of being absorbed into the argent flow of the mana reactor.
Reports vary a lot but from what could be gathered there was nothing left of either machine or pilot after having merged into an unholy abomination henceforth referenced as a "Tainted Soul".

There is also a third case, in which a magically adept pilot might receive an additional attachment beyond the chimera platform. A phenomenon called "Uninvited Co-Pilots", as a soul from the Mana Reactor may forcefully attach themselves to said magically adept pilot to stay in the world of the living for a little longer than their original time of expiration.
Such an attachment has been found to be a deal of advantage for both sides, during over exertion the soul co-pilot takes the strain of the mana reactor off the pilots shoulders and is forced back into the argent flow instead of the pilot's own soul.
As this Soul has left their body ages ago already the "co-pilot" is more or less recycled and reattaches to the pilot after some time, current reports estimate the time to be about 8 Hours given the right conditions.

The following is a manuscript of a conversation held between the two Lead Engineers of the Chimera Program, Reserve Lt. Ethrick Eden and Snr. Major Henry Hipheras.

17th Mayrinth of 1880 - 2 Days before the deployment of the 1st Knight Chimera Squad "Apathy" at the Wall of Grace / Nyrvern Research Institute

"Still can't believe they are actually going to deploy "Apathy" Squad over "Justice" Squad, all tests have proven time and time again that the Pilots from the Rythemeerian Pilots are worse in every regard to the ones we picked here in Nyrmarc," Lt. Eden said as he reviewed the data over and over again as if to find any hint as to why the Imperial War Directorate chose a squad from an institute whose chimera program was stamped out 5 years earlier and given over to Nyrvern's Advanced Mechanisms Department. "Nyrmarc's Pilots are only so good because they were purposefully trained in martial arts with steel arms instead of these mediations that the Magia try to enforce. And because the Magia outrank every Imperial in existence - aside from the emperor - the IWD has decided for the safe route and put our guys on "Throne Guard Duties" aka they don't trust them and have them Guard the Border to Yvendhal instead." Major Hipheras countered as he took the documents out of Eden's hands and catalogued them. "Why do we even keep Yvendhal around? Sure officially they are an ally but we could just steamro..." Hipheras interrupted Eden before he could even say another word, "We cannot. Yvendhal sits on one of the largest deposits of Mana Crystals this side of the Blackridge Mountains. A single bombing run could potentially set off a chain reaction strong enough to catapult us back into the stone age and crowning Kard as the Winner of the continental War. Command is very aware of this, so just sit back in your chair and let "Apathy" squad do their job, "Justice" squad's time will come and besides Eden, even if we got our way those damned Magia (°2) of the ninth circle would get you exiled faster than the new boosters we installed on "Apathy" squad.


(°1) Mana is the energy of souls manifested in physical form be it a liquid, gas or crystal.
(°2) Magia is a slur for any magician or sorcerer that is part of the Ninth Circle or those involved with its administration.
(°3) Apathy and Justice squad were among the first of the squads to be officially deployed in active warfare, namely in attacking the Wall of Grace and the follow-up operation of taking down the Skydock G3/9.
Both Squads are named by their Handlers (°4) after their most common representation in civilian and military life.
(°4) Knight Chimera Pilots require handlers that stay in contact with them during missions and afterwards, to receive the care some of them may require after the loss of another pilot or going beyond their mental limit. In addition squad emblems are also designed by the handlers of their respective squad, instead of the Imperial War Directorate commissioning officers to do it for them.