Cavalry of the Arathi Highlands

The Arathi Highlands consists not only of mountain chains and valleys, but of broad regions of open steppes and rolling plains. While these lands are cold and relatively infertile, they allow for excellent use of cavalry, and the people of the Highlands plains have developed a distinct culture of horsemanship - one often neglected in the focus on shield-walls and mountain passes that characterizes foreign accounts of the Arathorian forces.

## History

### Recent Years

In the Third War, a band of hobelars and hussars serving under Baron Heinrich d'Fiendeyrr attained some international prestige for ranging out into Scourge-occupied territories to burn bodies and deprive the undead of resources and reinforcements.

## Broad Categories

### Hussars

The Arathorian Hussars are the most feared cavalry of the Central Steppes. Riding light horses, but in heavy armour, the Hussars focus on shock and terror as their tactics. Brutal charges with lances and sabers are the order of the day for the Hussars. Many a noble son of the North has served in a Hussar regiment, and to do so is a mark of pride. Many of the Hussar regiments also function as excellent horse archers, as the Steppe nobles emphasize both horsemanship and bowmanship.

### Mounted Knights

Distinct from the Hussars - though occupying a similar role - are the Highland knights. Like their cousins in Stormwind and Lordaeron, the Knights of the Highlands ride into battle on great barded war-horses, wielding lances, swords and hammers with great skill. However, due to the relative difficulty of raising good heavy war-horses in a land where good pasture is sparse and there are vast distances to cover, the Knights are rarely seen outside of the more prosperous farming basins and valleys.

### Hobelars

The lightest of the Highlands cavalry, the Hobelars ride the strong and spirited steppe ponies into battle. These ponies, while small, are nonetheless swift and capable of carrying riders for long distances - endurance being their most valuable trait on the steppes. The hobelar cavalry act primarily as skirmishers, flankers, and logistical terrors, plunging behind the lines to strike at caravans, villages, and poorly defended rear echelons. Often, the hobelars fight with ranged weapons, and few carry lances - but few neglect to carry at least a saber. Underestimating the fighting spirit of these lightly armed Northmen has proven disastrous for many enemies, especially the Syndicate.

## Equipment

### The Saber

   One of the few universals in the Highlands cavalry is the sabre. Aside from some of the Knights - who insist on using 'proper' swords - the majority of the cavalry utilize sabres of various forms. The most typical form is a two foot long blade of reasonably flexible steel, curving backwards towards the tip and with additional weight at the end to maximise cutting power.

These sabres are often useless for stabbing, but are designed to slash and hack through flesh and armour alike, and when coupled with the momentum of a speeding horse, they are utterly devastating. Similar designs are now coming into use among the cavalry of Stormwind and the Forsaken, as the lethal efficiency of the Highlands saber becomes more broadly known.

### The Lance

A routine sight among the Highlands handful of knights and its proud hussar regiments, the lance used in the Highlands differs markedly from those seen in Azeroth and Lordaeron. With wood at a premium in the Highlands and good shafts of ash and yew particularly rare, the Highlands lance evolved over the years into a distinct form. The majority of those wielded by the Hussar regiments utilize a hollow steel shaft rather than a wooden one, often with additional weighting at the tip and the butt for balance purposes and additional striking force. With the most frequent enemy of the Hussar regiments being troll warbands, the common favour towards a narrow tip was discarded in favour of a glaive-like extended blade used to amputate limbs and open larger wounds on the charge - with the added benefit of helping prevent lances from being lost inside the enemy. Knightly lances continued to follow the same pattern as those of their peers in other states, as the Knights primary enemy remained the heavy cavalry of opposing armies and fine chiselled points are preferable for piercing enemy armour.