Maximilian-class Knight
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days… They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”
New Syncretic Orthodox Bible
Maximilian-class armour is the heaviest personal protection used by the Crusader Knight Orders. This armour has seen extensive use in sieges and battles, as it excels in confined spaces where manoeuvrability is less important than extraordinary protection and devastating melee power, along with the ability to bring their long-range heavy machine gun lances to bear against powerful foes and armoured Heretic vehicles.
Each Knight wearing Maximilian-class armour is supported by a cadre of lay brethren Men-At-Arms, who deal with enemy anti-armour troops and act as spotters for the Knight, whose vision on the battlefield is limited. They also maintain the immense engines that power the suit, which is prone to all sorts of malfunctions and overheating. These engines have a voracious appetite for fuel, requiring constant feeding to allow these hulking battle towers to fight for any length of time.
Although it follows the same technological principles as the machine armor used by standard Faithful forces, Maximilian-class armor has a unique design. Its origins lie in a military pilgrimage made into the Levant based on a dream of the stylite monk Giorgi, who was granted a vision of the Pillar of Life. A major expedition combining the forces of several Knightly Orders was sent to find the location marked out by the holy stylite.
The story of the heroic expedition of ten thousand Crusader Knights is a popular subject of books and plays to this day, even though the story is shrouded in much mystery and legend. The Crusader Knights who undertook the pilgrimage each took a vow of silence, to ensure that the truth of the matter would never be revealed. What is known however, is that the expedition returned with fragments of ancient armour, as well as some extraordinarily large bones found atop a great rock pillar, which holy Giorgi had seen in his vision. The origins of the bones is the subject of intense speculation and debate, with some saying that they once belonged to the nephilim, titans mentioned in the oldest surviving holy books. From these fragments the artificers of the Order of the Aurelian Angelic Knights of Saint George developed the blueprint for Maximilian-class armour, combining their immense bulk with engine technology developed for machine armour.
Standard machine armour is seldom modified, but Maximilian-class suits and their weapons, due to their rarity, are modified when their previous wearer is killed or too badly wounded to continue their service in combat. A careful process of testing and spiritual questioning by the Church overseers determines which of the sword brethren is granted the honour of wearing the suit. It is then modified to fit its new wearer and their fighting style, armaments and assigned role in combat. Each such suit can have all sorts of customization, such as vermiculite layers that protect the wearer against flamethrowers, or a self-contained breathing apparatus that shields the Crusader Knight from gas weapons.