Happy World Building Wednesday! What are armies/military like in Ehl? Is there a lot of conflict between regions?
Thank you for the ask, ada!! This is pretty late, cause I’ve been trying to think how to word the answer for a few days al;dkjfa;ldkf
Militaries on Ehl are vastly different depending on where they’re from, obviously, but if I’m being honest, I’ve only really thought over how the ones on Maelani work haha. In my head, the Mudskippers, Fairies, and Drenn don’t really... have a use for them. They’re a pretty peaceful bunch, overall, and are anarchist societies, so they don’t have governments to fund a military in the first place. Sharali don’t have the numbers for a formal military any more, and Saythe haven’t had a need for one in millennia, so they’re out of the picture by default. And the city-states of Emarye rely more on drafting than standing militaries, and their leaders are painfully aware that war is a good way to get ousted from power.
However!! On Maelani, there are a lot of peoples with conflicting worldviews crammed into a relatively small space.
For instance, the Goblins and Dwarves have a loooong history of war, mostly because of the Forges and the fact that Dwarves won’t teach just anyone how their magic works, even though it’s entirely possible to learn, and isn’t tied to genetics in the slightest. Both have formidable armies, in their own ways; Goblins have electric guns, hovershoes, and real-time camouflaging gear that make it difficult for anyone without the same stuff to fight against, where Dwarves have traditional-looking medieval weapons that are made and enchanted specifically to fuck over Goblins and their gear. Like, magical EMPs built into their armor, and insulated shields that bounce laser shots back at them.
Humans and Ehlves, on the other hand, haven’t had particularly bad relations with others for centuries. But that doesn’t stop them from keeping a standing military or two.
Human troops are usually specially trained to use Runes, which are basically blood sigils that let them do crazy things with time and space. (Like, teleporting, not time travel. That would take a ridiculous amount of blood.) The difference between the soldiers and the Runesmen, though, is that soldiers do long-lasting ones pre-battle, like giving themselves more speed, and Runesmen just carve the sigils into themselves as they need them. Needless to say, Runesmen are generally more skilled and less expendable in the eyes of the general.
Ehlves tend to set up their squadrons with a good balance of Mages, 3-5 of the more common ones, 2-4 of the less common, at least 2 Healers, and maybe a Light Mage, if they’re lucky. This allows for a variety of skills and fighting styles within the teams, and it’s generally been a pretty good set up, especially for dealing with uprisings and skirmishes. Their Navy generally puts several of these squads on a big ship, so they keep that balance, and probably a few extra Healers and Plant mages, just in case.
Thank you again for the question!! This got really long alskf;alkjf