The Zygbari Infantry
LEGO by: Justin R. "Saber-Scorpion" Stebbins

The soldiers of Zygbar: Heavies, Higlanders, Grunts, Guards, some Regulars, and even a Fanatic). All standing around on one of my favorite baseplates, which I have never built anything on just because I love the baseplate itself too much.

 
While most soldiers of the "Big Four" Human countries (Victory, Xarkon, Yavakaro, and Zygbar) wear duranium alloy plate armor, with mesh underneath, which has the ability to change color on command... Zygbari soldiers aren't able to afford such expensive luxuries. They wear simple bulletproof vests with cloth camouflaging. Notice how some have pulled the cloth around their neck down to cover the orange Zygbar emblems on their shoulders.

The grunts are Zygbar's lowest-ranking troops, and they usually get the dirtiest jobs, such as digging the trenches, carrying the extra supplies, and a lot of much worse things that needn't be detailed. Many grunts are criminals who chose life in the army over prison time. The only rank considered in the universe considered more humiliating than a Zygbari grunt is the rank of "Scum" in Grimm's Army (usually the mercs who are pretty much slaves, working only for food).

Unlike the grunts, Zygbari regulars are rigorously trained and highly disciplined. Conscripted into the army at a young age and educated with 100% propaganda, they fight with fierce patriotism for the Flag of the Sun Dragon, but are considered little more than machines by their superiors.

In the early days of the rebellion against Xarkon, Zygbari soldiers were like a brotherhood, all caring for, and willing to die for, each other. But once the rebellion gained power and became a government, those days ended, and now they very much resemble the thing they fought against: the Xarkon Empire.

Some Zygbari soldiers still get into the spirit of the thing, however. Their actions are inspired less by loyalty and more by hatred of the enemy, which is drilled into them from a young age in Zygbar's propaganda institutions. These men are the Fanatics, and they are more than willing to die for their country, so long as they take out as many enemies as they can along with them. Hundreds or thousands of Fanatics had to be either sent on suicide missions or executed when Roscoe allied with Xarkon, because all of their hate was trained toward that country, which they considered Zygbar's blood enemy. Fanatics are low-intelligence soldiers with very short lifespans.

Zygbar may be the poorest of the Big Four, but it still has money, and some of its soldiers do wear full Duranium Plate armor like those of other nations (though ever so slightly inferior in quality). Only the best soldiers earn this privilege. Because of their armor, they are referred to as "Heavies" by the rest of the army. Heavy armored soldiers are most often seen in high-security compounds and on the few large starships in Zygbar's limited Star Navy.

But by far the most loyal and highly-trained soldiers in Zygbar's army are the Chancellor's Guards. Roscoe O'Donnell (shown here in the center) is no fool; he knows that the only way to keep his guards from being bought is to buy them himself. The Guards are among the wealthiest citizens in Zygbar, living in huge mansions, enjoying all the luxuries of life when not on duty protecting their benefactor, Roscoe, from harm. They are referred to with the title of "Sir" and are required to be shown respect. Roscoe is all about money and power, and he holds no illusions that anyone else is any different.

The traditional spears carried by the Guards are capable of emitting large energy shields from the spear heads. Thus, when crossed over their leader like so, they protect him from harm.

Still, the Royal Guards are not deployed in the field, and their training concentrates exclusively on protection of the Chancellor. So the best true "soldiers" of Zygbar are actually the Highlander Guerillas, usually just called the Highlanders. The Highlanders started out as a small group of Victorian soldiers that left victory and started training mercenaries for Zygbar, in exchange for high pay. They did their job well, learning the ways of the desert and working out the absolute best strategies to use in order to win a battle with as little loss of life as possible. They are known for setting up elaborate traps in order to gain as much advantage over their foes as they can. Trained in all types of weapons and combat, a single Highlander can hold off an advancing army, so long as he is able to set up the terrain beforehand.

The overall skill and enthusiasm of the Highlanders has been decreasing ever since they were officially declared part of the Zygbari army. Now known as the "High Desert Division," they receive slightly less pay and have less choice concerning their missions. Many of the original Victorians in charge of the group have left for better job offerings, including Nick Wolfe, who is now a major leader in Grimm's Mercenary Army.

The Zygbari army standing ready for battle. Roscoe *would* be standing up front, but it's just much too dangerous up there... and him such a large target, what with his "big bones" and all.

By the way, Roscoe doesn't really wear a monocle (although I'm sure I could come up with some kind of excuse for him to do so); I just couldn't stand to choose a different head for him, since this has been his head ever since I invented the character in early LEGO games with my brother and sister.

For the Sun Dragon! The Army of Zygbar may be a motley crew, but together they are a force to be reckoned with.