The ancient and the modern Military of Shurima (Part 4)
The Soldiers Of The Empire
“We are your family now.“ - Magnus, Division Commander of the Lions.
Of course, not every soldier is the same. Depending on his weapon and his abilities, the soldiers were divided into the different divisions: Hawk, Lion, Jackal and Crocodile for the infantry, Horse for the cavalry, Snake for the mystics and Sand for the Sandsoldiers.
I. The Sandsoldiers | Animi saburrae
The first thing that comes to one's mind when one thinks about the empire are Azir's personal soldiers, ghosts of warriors who once fought bravely for the empire and stayed with the emperor until his death and revival. Their bodies are mostly made out of sand – as their name suggests – and thus, the spirits need Azir to give them a body to act. Their armor and weapons however thicken upon their rise, becoming pure metal. No one has ever seen a sandsoldier acting on his own, and it is questionable if they even can do that, or if their body only moves after Azir gives the order. Because Azir has to be near them to sustain their bodies, they are mostly used as a private guard than a general one. They don't wear much armor, because of the climate and the amount of Securis it would have cost to equip every warrior with a bronze armor. For most people, they all look the same, but if one would look closely, they would see the different faces of the warriors.
I.I. The Footsoldiers
One of Azir´s most used kinds of Sandsoldiers. The Footsoldiers are armored with two-handed spears which are used to stab the enemy. If positioned correctly, those spears are either a big advantage or a giant disadvantage in the narrows streets of the capital. They are also the biggest part of Azir's army in general.
I.II. The Shieldcarrier
The Shieldcarriers are special Sandsoldiers that carry a shield with them which is almost as big as the soldier it belongs to. The shield are – obviously – not used in close combat, but rather as a protection for the emperor himself. They are well known for their famous Phalanx-Formation, in which the soldiers form a line to push the attack in front of them away while everything behind them is protected. Some Shieldcarriers also have a sword with them besides their shield, which allows them to attack their enemys once they pushed them away with their shield.
II. The Infantry | Peditatus
The Infantry consists of normal human people who travel and fight by foot. They are the largest part of the army next to the Sandsoldiers, and far more diversive when it comes to their choice of weapons. The Infantry has 4 divisions for themselves, named Hawk, Lion, Jackal and Crocodile.
The Hawk division is known for keeping a clear mind no matter the situation, scouting the battlefield and being the most felixble of the Infantry troups.
The Lion division perfected the art of teamwork, staying and fighting together and destroying the enemy by simply rolling over them like a pack of hunting lionesses.
The Jackal division was known for their defensive stance, dragging the battle out and weakening the enemy soldiers through that.
The Crocodile division is the equivalent of the frejlordian berserkers, attacking the enemy with the might of brute force and less strategical thinking.
II.I. The Recruits
As the name says, recruits are new soldiers that joined the military – most of the time volunteerly - and are still learning the way of the blade. Once a recruit enters the shuriman army, his skills will be tested and he will join one of the platoons of the four infantry division. The question of which division he will join depends on the needs of the divisions, his overall skill and the attitude of the recruit.
II.II. Trained Soldiers
The normal soldiers one has in mind when he thinks of the shuriman army. The trained soldiers have different weapons depending on their preference. Most used weapons are axes, bows, swords, spears, sometimes in combination with a shield. One is seen as a trained soldiers after one year of military service to the empire.
II.III. Shock Troopers
Shock Troopers are a special sort of soldiers, almost like an elite team, mostly light armed. They form the front line of the army and are the first one to strike the enemys, thus, they are mostly accompanied by the cavalry. They are sometimes called „The Bravers of the Emperor“ because of the said task. A soldier who belongs to this rank has had to proof his bravery and loyalty to the shuriman empire, so they won't run away the moment they feel the fear within them.
III. The Cavalry | Equitatus
Shuriman soldiers didn’t only travel of fight by foot though. Although the cavalry was one of the smaller parts of the army, they had the same strenght as the infantry. They were faster than most of the other divisions and normally rode a horse or drove by chariot into the battle, earning their only division the name “Horse”. Their choice of weapon was not as diverse as the one of the infantry, but still deadly.
III.I. The Recruits
The new soldiers who joined the Horse division were mostly from rich familys and had to undergo a different, special training. They had to own their own chariot to sign up as a soldier of the cavalry, thus, they had to be from wealthy familys. While the ancient empire gave them their horses, it was normal that a horse was accompaning his owner until it or said owner dies, and not be replaced everytime the charioteers needs to fight. In modern times, the empire has very little horses, and most people signing up for the cavalry have their own horse (or mount) with them.
III.II. The Riders
In the ancient times of the empire, rider's didn't exist. It was tradition to have a horse pull a chariot to demonstrate that the animal was following the orders of the superior human. Thus, the charioteers were used instead of riders. With the rise of the empire from the sands, that fact has changed. Riders are now the almost only type of cavalry used. They normally carry either a shortsword called Gladius or a lance with them instead of the curved sword the infantry uses.
III.III. The Charioteers
The more common use of the cavalry, at least in ancient Shurima. Years ago, the shurimans didn't even ride on the back of their horses, and used warchariots instead. They were quite flexible and mostly carried two soldiers, the one actually controlling the chariot and an archer, who fired from the chariot. If he ran out of arrows, he used shortspears which were stored in the chariot. Today however, the charioteers have been strongly reduced in their numbers. It is easier and cheaper to ride a horse normally than to buy a whole chariot. Though there are a few exceptions, which are wealthy enough to support that style fo fighting, most rather ride the horses themselves.
The few soldiers of the army who were blessed with the gift of magic, but also scholars and especially traditional healers were put into the Snake division, named after one of the more smarter animals, at least by ancient shuriman standarts. They were both admired and feared for their power that could destroy a platoon singlehandedly if used correctly. However, the mystic in question was only accepted into the army if he had a power that was useful for the empire, which was the case more often than not.
IV.I. The Recruits
A recruit fo the mystics had to undergo a special trianing according to their kind of magic, if they have one. Most of the time, if the user could control the power of nature and elements, he was bound to become a Combat-Magician, while aspiring Healers normally controlled magic in general or used their knowledge of the human body and the wilflife of Shurima.
People who controlled an element could still become healers if they wanted to. Especially mystics which controlled water more often than not became healers instead of combat-magicians.
IV.II. The Combat-Magicians
Combat-Magicians were users of the elements and the surroundings. They could create eartquakes and storms with their pure mind and enough training. Although they had a small rivalry with the other, „regular“ soldiers, they were a great addition to the army. However, they also had to be very precise with their magic, or they could hurt their own army more than the enemy one. They mostly carried very light armor, if any, and stood as far away from direct combat as possible. If the mystics needed it, they carried some kind of focus, a book or staff, to enhance their power. In modern times, very little has changed, besides the number of the mystics.
IV.III. The Healers
The biggest part of the mystics, in modern times as in ancient ones, are the healers. While medics existed and were also part of the army, the healer were most of the time faster and needed to carry less material with them to do their job. Of course, they didn't take part in actual combat, but stood away from the battle in seperate tents, healing the injured soldiers. Becoming a healer is now more time consuming than it was in the ancient times, because the humand body is now known in more detail and Healers need to study it in order to place their spells correctly. Healers are not always Magi, as the title would imply.
[Part 1 - General Information]
[Part 4 - The Soldiers Of The Empire]
[Part 6 - The Imperial Codex]
