Subject: The Imperial Legion Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:18 am
The Talibarian Legion
The Imperial Legion is currently the most successful military force of the civilised world; they are the envy of every nearby nation. While the strength of each individual soldier is no greater than any other army, it’s the equipment and discipline that forms the backbone of the Legion.
The current Legion was founded since the birth of the Talibarian Empire. The fledgling nation required a single, united fighting force to defend it’s sovereignty against any and all aggressors. Thanks to a influence from Elves they were able to effectively raise a standing army.
The Imperial Legion consists of about twelve "Compages" which is made up of fourteen "Pillars". Every Pillar has roughly eight thousand soldiers, though during times of peace where a exact count can be held, they are kept at exactly eight thousand, not including support units, giving the Empire a total of one million, three hundred and fourty four thousand soldiers, which when added with support units brings it to over one million seven hundred thousand. These men are then further split into a hundred cohorts, cavalry, mages and other support personnel are once again excluded. A cohort is a unit of eighty men with identical armour and weapons with three officers in command: the “Rector” who acts as the commander of the cohort and two “Labecula Rectors” who play the role of junior officers. Further still, each Field commander, or “Imperator” commands a mixed section of twenty cohorts, they in turn report to the “Diligo” also known as the supreme commander. Along with the cohorts comes the support "suscipio". This comprises of cavlary, battle mages, siege equipment and any other forms of auxilery unit. The numbers vary, depending on the situation, as suscipio troops are usually switched around alot between the pillars, depending on where they are needed most, but typically a suscipio unit will comprise of anywhere from five hundred to a thousand men which is increased should the piller be preparing to lay siege to a city, or defend a important position and subsequently lowered to anywhere as low as a hundred should the pillar be a garrison or otherwise.
There are several different types of cohort, the main infantry cohorts consist of the following…
Legionaries: The Legionaries are the backbone of the Imperial Army, making up the bulk of it’s forces. They are well trained and equipped with the finest the Empire has to offer. They act as the primary footmen of the pillars, wielding a spear, short sword and clad in Legionary armour, topped with a crescent shield.
Spearmen (Telum): These men form the first initial wave against an enemy force. Their training is similar to that of the Legionaries, though somewhat more focused on group movement and efficiency. They are armed with long pikes and somewhat lighter armour than their Legionary brothers.
Crossbowmen: Quite self explanatory, armed with crossbows and little to no armour, trained to fire for speed as opposed to accuracy.
The typical strategy of the pillars is to advance towards the enemy in a staggered line, legionaries in the front with shields raised, followed by the spearmen and then the crossbows. Upon reaching the enemy, the line switches once they near the foe, pikes taking the fore and legionaries taking the back seat, all this time the crossbows will be holding back providing support for the advancing troops. Once the battle-lines meet, the spearmen drive forward, attempting to disrupt the enemy formation with their pikes, soon following this, the Legionaries will sally forth through the gaps, crashing head on into the enemy formation. Of course this strategy is liable to change depending on the situation, or what support troops are on hand, but the strategy is the core of the army and is often one of the first lessons taught to aspiring commanders.
One pillar worth mentioning is the jewel of the Empire, despite what those that claim Surna to be the Empire’s prize will have you believe; The Crepidoinis. They are the elite of the empire, unmatched by any other military force in the known world. The Emperor keeps them at arm’s length at all time, for this reason they primarily play as the defence force of Imperia, more specifically, the Emperor’s citadel, who’s defences rival that of the city it’s self. These men are feared for their prowess in battle and fierce loyalty towards the Emperor. Never before in the long and bloody career have this Pillar suffered a defeat on any large scale. They are equiped with unique armor, comissioned by the Emperor himself, they are laced with gold and imbuned to resist magic on a lesser scale, while still offering incredible protection. The price of a single loadout for a member of the Crepidoinis could easily bankrupt a moderatly wealthy family, to this day it is unsure of where the gold used to buy these extravagent suits of armor was obtained.
Finally...above all others, even the fabled Crepidoinis is the First Royal Cohort. These eighty men are the elite guards of the Council and the Emperor, unmatched by any who stand in their way, these are without a doubt, the eighty strongest and most powerful men to be a part of the Empire and for good reason. Each Royal Legionary is the equivalent of countless scores of lesser brethren. They are said to be beyond human, immortal even though this may or may not be fact, as they are forbidden to remove their armor or to reveal their identity to anyone after the're chosen, not even the Emperor himself knows the names of his most loyal. There are several greuling tests each Legionary must pass once a year, to ensure they remain at their pique condition, failure to complete the test would almost assureadly result in death, though no Leigonary to date has failed, perhaps because the humiliation of death is worse than death it's self, though none can be certain. Each Legionary posesses the magical potential of an archmage and excells at using said power in battle. On top of that they're adept swordsmen, graceful and precise in every movement they make. Over the ages stories have surfaced of the First Royals, deeming them to be souless automatons, meant for no other purpose than to faithfully serve the Empire, butchering anything that gets in their way with a unflinching effeciancy that borders on cruelty. On top of all that, their gear is unmatched by any other. Mithril plate mail adorns their body, enchanted with numerous spells and seals in order to increase mobility and strenghthen the armor even more. This is topped with a cape, it too is magically enchanted, easily withable to stop a direct hit from a crossbow. To top it all off, they wield mithril swords which flash with scarlet flames easily able to cleave a suit of steel armor in half, and even able to penetrate mithril, given enough force. Simply put; to fight one of these men is to experiance hell, nevermind the fact that there's eighty of them close at hand nearly all the time.
Last edited by Rutabega on Wed May 26, 2010 2:53 am; edited 8 times in total
Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:18 am
