The Iron Squire

A Fisher of Hell constructs an Iron Squire

Iron Squires are a form of undead created for Armadeus by one of his mortal servants. Some say that it was the Baroness of Averoigne, who is well known for having created many other forms of undead. Still others say these creatures predate her, as they are not found in her demesne, and while there is evidence of the Sword Brothers conduct rituals for their creation they seem unconnected to her presence. Some even rumor that their creation was first done in ruined Acheron before that terrible city was destroyed. Whoever the mortal creator was, they were certainly inspired by Duke Valax, the Master of Things Hidden and one of Armadeus's chief lieutenants.

The creation of an Iron Squire requires a man who has never known or renounced the Law - including satanists, heretics, and pagans - to be sealed completely in a suit of iron filled with spikes, blades such that his flesh is slowly destroyed and his blood drained. The victim may be willing or unwilling, and some maddened human servants of Armadeus have committed themselves to undergo the ritual. At the end of the ritual, all that remains is a skeleton sloshing around in its own blood and viscera inside an iron suit of armor it cannot remove. They are animated solely by the will of Armadeus, his lieutenants, or the peerage of Hell that serves fealty to him. The victim's will is utterly destroyed.

Iron Squires are often in the service of Knights of Hell. Perhaps this is the origin of their name. In combat they wield longswords with deadly accuracy and also may spit up their own steaming viscera, heated to boiling by the fires of the Pit.