Under construction

Thornatus V9

During the Core War, Perditus designed the heavily armed Thornatus V9 and rode it into battle. He became something of a legend among his foes, using his vehicle to shatter lines of troops.1 Fast, powerful, and heavily armored, the Thornatus V9 was originally built using technology cast off by the Great Beings. Perditus held a high rank in the army of the Element Lord of Fire and so had access to caches of equipment, much of which was left over from past experiments. Inspired by some old plans he found along with the gear, Perditus built his vehicle. One of the most important additions Perditus made to the finished Thornatus was the four mounted force blasters. These were the only non-Thornax ranged weapons in Bara Magna as of story year 2009. Since they drew on the same power source as the engines, Perditus had to slow down to use them. After Perditus designed the Thornatus, a number of inferior copies were made based on his work. These were still in use in various places in Bara Magna as of story year 2009, though only for transport, not arena combat. The biggest difference between the copies and the original was the force blasters, which were absent on the copies, and the heavier armor on Perditus's vehicle. Among those who used a modified Thornatus was Kiina. The Thornatus V9 was the most heavily armed vehicle in use in any of the Agori villages. Four blasters were mounted at the rear of the vehicle, along with a top-mounted Thornax launcher. The wheels of the Thornatus were protected by razor-sharp metal armor, to frustrate attempts to damage them in combat. Perditus chose wheels over tracks because tracks were more vulnerable. Perditus was able to combine fairly heavy armor on the Thornatus without sacrificing too much speed. While it was not as fast as the Kaxium or Cendox, it was much faster and more maneuverable than opponents expected. The forward blades were plated with exsidian. The center section featured a pure exsidian ram. The Thornatus lost to the Kaxium in the previous year's tournament, but Perditus spent several months afterwards practicing maneuvers to counter the cycle.2