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The Regalian Military is the apparatus of the Regalian Empire responsible for managing, deploying, supplying, and commanding the tens of thousands of soldiers across Aloria. With origins during the Five Family Rebellion, it has remained ever present since the dawn of the Empire, growing and adapting as the need arises. Today, the Regalian Military is seen as a symbol of Imperial glory and stability, and considered an extension of the Emperor’s might over all Regalian adversaries, though many of its military arms and logistical bodies have become subject to decay and corruption due to bloat.
Becoming a Soldier
Joining the Regalian Military as a common soldier is very simple. Every major settlement in the Regalian Empire has a recruitment office which allows any citizen over 15 years old to sign-up for military service. During the enlistment process, the recruit chooses what branch to join. If they join the Army, they are given directions to the nearest Tenpenny Headquarters, where they will spend a few months training in various weaponry before being given a specialty which reflects their performance. If they join the Navy, they are sent to the nearest port to join one of the many warships, then begin service immediately. It is also possible for one to be conscripted into the feudal levies, but due to the increased presence of the imperial legions and reduced use of conscripted peasants, this is less likely in the last 10 years, and certainly not a good career prospect. Still, many present imperial legion soldiers were once conscripts.
Limitations
There are some limitations to becoming a soldier. While you can write in your backstory that you are a soldier or officer at your discretion, not all characters are suitable for military employment, or would sensibly retain employment in the military. The following rules apply:
- Marken are completely barred from enlistment. Markenism can be hidden, though if discovered, a Marken in the military is executed.
- Demons, Undead, and Vampires are obviously barred form the military. Hiding one's status is possible, but liable for execution if caught.
- Automatons or other forms of artificial life (including Homunculi) are barred from the military, but can serve as logistics staff and baggage carriers.
- Any type of Magically inclined person can enlist, but only limited branches of the military may accept them. Refer to their writing for info.
- Criminals are not usually expelled from the military, but disciplined within. When they breach High Law however, they are expelled.
- There are no Heritage based limitations on joining the military but some choices may be weird, like Death Isldar, and Bralona.
- While all Heritages are welcome, some people like Urlan are funneled to specific branches of the military where they are grouped.
Becoming an Officer
Many branches of the Regalian Military officially have meritocratic officer recruitment based on competency and performance. However, old systems of command are still present in many of the Empire's military branches, and so there are several ways by which to become an officer. It should be noted that there is no strong officer hierarchy, between the soldiers and the generals, are only the officers (who command about 1000 men each in regiments), and the commanders (who sub-divide that 1000 regiment into 100-ish ranks). There is no different distinction between officer ranks, one is either a commander (and engages in front-line fighting with the soldiers) or an officer (who stands back more, but does still occasionally join the melee). There are several ways to rank up:
- Nobles are usually granted officer or commander rank in the military without any official training. While it is possible for nobles to go through officer academies, many never do, and simply "learn on the job", to disastrous results. Nobles do not ever just become soldiers.
- Commoners can go through officer academies, but these tend to be pretty expensive, and the wage of an officer isn't necessarily worth breaking bank over. Still, wealthy to do citizens are able to send their children to officer academies, which guarantees employment.
- Commoners can rank up from soldiers to commanders, and then from commanders to officers out of so-called Battlefield Commissioins. Battlefield Commissions are granted based on performance, often when taking over from a fallen commander or officer.
- Both Commoners and Nobles, and even foreigners, can receive an Imperial Commissions to become officer or commander, when the Imperial family decrees it so based on unclear reasoning. This is often done when they are personally impressed with off-battlefield combat performance.
- Generals are only appointed directly by the Assembly or the Imperial Family. Generals have commission during armed conflict, but while there is no active commission, they are demoted to officer until such a time arrives that they are granted commission again.
- That being said, Generals can retire at any time, even when they do not have active commission, and retire with "purple colors" (in good standing) to be referred to as "General" from that point onwards as a form of respect and deference.
- One does not retire from the Regalian Military as soldier or officer, one is either put on indeterminate leave (to be called up later), or becomes too old to serve and is discharged, or dies. Old soldiers and officers are sometimes called back to service in an emergency.
Imperial Legions
The Imperial Legions, often also colloquially referred to as the Tenpenny Armies, are armies of the Regalian Empire directly controlled by the Crown and the Imperial Family, thus not subject to the whims of the nobles who may supply or withold conscripted levies from the population. The Imperial Legions were popularized as the Tenpennies during their creation by Emperor Justinian II, who decreed a new military tax called the Tenpenny Tax, which levied the tenth penny of every financial transaction as tax to fund Imperial armies. The Empire had become large, too large for the conscripted feudal levies to properly man, and so a standing army became a necessity. The Tenpennies are looked favorably upon the average citizen as career soldiers and an honorable employment to rise in the ranks of, but the reality on the ground is that the Imperial Legions are marred with corruption as noble-blooded officers stimy the rankups of more competent commissioned officers, and generals over-value logistical needs to skim funds off the top of supplies. Many among the Knight priviliged of the Empire see the Imperial Legions as expendable manpower to use as meat shields before the true protectors of the Empire march into battle. Still, Imperial propaganda and symbolism holds the Imperial Legions in high esteem among commoners, who craft or purchase wood or clay figurines modeled after the soldiers and their equipment to paint and use as play-pretend battle re-enactments, is a common past-time.
The Legions
The Imperial Legion has 12 distinct Legions which carry their own banner, have their own fabric color usage, and often also style of equipment or training. Not all Imperial Legions are the same, as they often have different instructors and battlefield philosophies, inspired by the Royal who created the Legion. because the Imperial Legions have been largely under the control of the Imperial House Kade, only three out of the twelve Legions were created during the days of the Ivrae Imperial House. Imperial Legions are created as the military's needs expand. Note, while each Legion has a rough founding year, with nearly half of them being founded in the last decade, it is possible as a career soldier to move between Imperial Legions. The longest serving time possible in the Imperial Legion, is 43 years, as the Imperial Legion was first founded in 272 AC with the Theomarchs.
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The Theomarchs legion was the first legion created under Emperor Justinian II and the foundational legion that set up the structure for all other legions later in time. The Theomarchs are named after the prophet of Unionism and the first Emperor of the Empire, Emperor Theomar, and their deployment during the end of the Red Uprising was a proof of concept to the functioning of the Imperial Legions. There is nothing terribly distinct about the Theomarites as they act more like the unremarkable default and how to structure future Imperial Legions when they are created. -
The Thronewardens legion was the second legion created under Emperor Justinian II that has held a long tradition of acting supplemental to the Violet Order, which is in itself a branch of the Regalian Military that protects the Imperial capital. The Thronewardens have come under fire for failing to protect the capital from numerous incursions, but these accusations are often misplaced. The Thronewardens are stationed on islands away from the capital, and their inability to deploy, is usually a strategic failing and oversight on the generals than the individual soldier. -
The Blackpowder Justicars were once called the Silver Callers, but were rebranded in the modern era to adapt new military technologies. Founded under the rule of Emperor Justinian II, this Legion was created out of Calemberg nobles who wanted to support the Emperor directly, and thus its ranks are very Wirtem. When the musket was developed, the Legion was rebranded to the Blackpowder Justicars, and came under the command of the Calemberg Bundesherzog of the Tiphonos family (Typhonus) and is the only Legion to use pike and musket formations in battle. -
The Immortal Choir is the first legion founded under Emperor Alexander I in 302 AC, which operated as the imperial vanguard during the first Masand War. The Immortal Choir unlike many of the other legions that are mostly made up of career soldiers, is mostly made up of lay clergy and battle-priests who have taken up arms to defend the Empire and extend the influence of the Emperor. The Immortal Choir has come under scrutiny, due to Emperor Alexander I's proclamation prohibiting conversion by force, which the Immortal Choir legion was fond of performing when abroad. -
The Ashen March is the second legion founded under Emperor Alexander I in 303 AC, to commemorate the burning of the merchant district by the Songaskians. The initial recruitment of this legion was mostly made up of dispossessed merchants and those stricken homeless by that incident, giving them stable employment, good meals, and a roof (or tent) over their heads. While the legion has expanded to new recruits over the years, a very distinct trait of the Ashen March is their scorched earth practice in enemy territory, and their penchant for vengeance to answer Imperial humiliations. -
The Pale Wardens is the third legion founded under Emperor Alexander in 303 AC, mostly absorbing the non-Lothar population of the Holy Herebrand Order. When that Order when they were expelled from Drixagh and subsequently had their charter revoked in Girobalda. While many of its ranking members joined the Lothar Order,its feudal levies and civil population had nowhere to go, so they joined the Pale Wardens. The Pale Wardens are famous for using a lot of white in their clothing and favoring spear and lance based weapons, while retaining a pious demeanor. -
The Union's Wrath legion was the fourth legion founded under Emperor Alexander I in 303 AC, and much like the Theomarchs is a generally unremarkable legion. It was founded due to an immediate need to expand the Imperial legions. Even though the Emperor created the Ashen March and the Pale Wardens in the same year, the Empire still needed more soldiers, and so the Union's wrath legion was created, mostly to act as garrison in many of the Empire's far flung regions. This legion became instrumental in the takeover and occupation of Arlora after the Bone Crisis. -
The Veilrend Cohort Legion is one of the few legions created in Emperor Alexander I's absense mostly by Princess Shelia-Manon of the Imperial House. It is a small legion by pure number of professional soldiers, but also the only legion to widely allow the usage of Magic in its ranks, so much so that they are sometimes also called the Mage Cohort as nearly half are mages. One of its regiment's soldiers are infamously called the Anatherines, about 300 soldiers who all look like copies of each other and wear the same armor, but never speak to anyone but the officers. -
The Emperor's Apostles legion is the first legion created under Emperor Cedromar I during his intermission rule in 305 AC, out of a military organization called the Bronze Horns. The Apostles legion is entirely made up of Urlan, either recruited from outside the legion, or from non-Urlan who join the legion and voluntarily undergo Symbiosis to become Urlan. The Emperor's apostles are known as some of the heaviest hitting soldiers, as Urlan are able to wear much heavier armor than the average soldier, allowing them to charge through enemy ranks and cleave them with ease. -
The Sidrine Wall is the second legion created under Emperor Cedromar I during his intermission rule in 305 AC, to act as the vanguard in the second Masand War. The Sidrine Wall was originally made up of disgruntled Blackmark mercenaries and other assorted ruffians as well as press-ganged criminals made into a large and ill-tempered legion. While they started out undisciplined, the Sidrine Wall has become one of the most well organized and obedient legions, with its soldiers and officers holding their founder in great esteem, and always trying to out-do other legions. -
The Dukecrown Heralds is the third legion created under Emperor Cedromar I by the urging of the Absolutist Crown faction by the Dukes of the Ravenstad and Drachenburg families. The Dukecrown Heralds are all about dignity and monarchic sentiment, fervently loyal to both the crown and the concept of blue-blooded peerage. The Dukecrown legion is exclusively staffed by Ravenstad and Drachenburg officers in the highest ranks, though lower commissions can be reached by meritocratic providence. The Dukecrown Heralds are known to have the cleanest well organized camps of all. -
The Ironwake Host is the final legion created under Emperor Cedromar I, mostly out of his non-Ailor supporters. The largest portion of the legion is made up of Eronidas, Dwarves, Asha, and Isldar, the former three notably who specialize in the usage of artillery and development of new war machines. The Ironwake Host is chiefly responsible for the deployment of new experimental war machines, and teaching the other legions how to use them when they become universally approved. The Ironwake Host is the only legion that has two battlefield land-ships made of iron and furnace.
Feudal Levies
The majority of the current military structure is dominated by the Imperial Legions and the Imperial Armada, but the Empire technically still has Feudal Levies and conscripts from the peasant class that can be called to war. The Empire is largely a bureaucratic centralized state, but it has a lot of holdovers from its more feudal past, including the feudal government structure of the nobility. While most noble realms are managed by bureaucrats and the nobles instead live lavish lives in the capital, they do still have the right to call upon the local population to contribute conscripts. This is usually done by calling upon the leased peasantry (peasants who live on monastic or manorial farmland) to contribute one son per family, or the cities who are usually given a quota of conscripts to fill from their population.
Feudal Levies, unlike imperial legions which all have formal uniforms and equipment paid for by the state, often go to war with whatever they can afford or buy, with those purchases often being what keeps them alive or hurries along their death. The poorest of tenant farmers can barely afford cloth padded armor and farm equipment for weapons, while the cities are usually wealthy enough (and proud enough) to have pre-made equipment at the ready for its citizen-militia. Feudal levies are generally considered lower in quality than the professional soldiers for obvious reasons, but the peasants are by no means any less competent on the battlefield at killing enemy soldiers. Especially the peasants form the strongly autocratic cultures fight with great loyalty and dedication to their lord, who nonetheless does not know they exist, and sips expensive wines in the capital while they bleed.
It is far less common to be pressed into feudal levies in the modern era, but still very much possible. While the nobles mostly ignore military conflicts or are actively part of the military branches like the legions, some nobles still see it as their patriotic duty to contribute levies to any military conflict, and do so out of a sense of obligation, pride, or just to show off that they can. Nobles are never obliged to do so, but conscripted feudal levies often act as supplemental reinforcements. Under the rule of Emperor Cedromar I, these feudal levies were re-designated mostly as garrisons, with the Emperor reasoning that the disproportionate death of the peasant-class in military conflicts as front-line soldiers was bad for the economy at home and supplying the soldiers after the war war over. As such, in the last 10 years or so, most feudal levies rarely see front-line combat even when called up to war, and are often left behind in occupied territory to act as fallback line.
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