Banner Structure

*"My soldiers are well trained, disciplined, fighting men and women, each of which is capable of killing multiples of your men, of assuming command of a battlefield, and of intricately planning the strategies of war. You will not beat us through force of arms alone. Killing our leadership will do you no good as another will instantly and effectively rise into its place. You cannot out drill us, out march us, and certainly not out equip us. In fact, the best bet for all us of us, myself included, would simply be for you to turn around and march your forces back into the city, and I, and my soldiers, will all simply pretend like none of this ever happened."* - **Lord Commander Marc Deslys negotiating an end to hostilities between a city mayor of Grandia and merchant in a port of trade.**

## Structure of a Banner

In charge of a banner of soldiers is a Lord Commander. This position is both a political as well as military position. Lord Commanders are initially hired by nobility upon doing so being granted some land and title, thus making them lords. It is then the job of the Lord Commander of a brand new banner to begin construction of a barracks and to recruit soldiers. Once established, the Lord Commander is most often replaced by an Officer of the banner. His or her money, parcel of land, and title are most often passed down to children or family.

Underneath the Lord Commander are Officers. The rank of Officer is given to those soldiers who have shown great skill and experience over time in service to the banner. Officers sub-divide the forces of a banner into multiple, manageable areas. Some Officers are in charge of logistics and equipment while other Officers are in charge of divisions of the fighting force. It is therefore typical to find one or two Officers who are directly in charge of the infantry based fighting forces within the banner, an Officer in charge of the archers, and an Officer in charge of the cavalry group should the banner have cavalry.

Still beneath Officers are Sergeants. Sergeants are the most directly responsible for the discipline and orders of the rank and file soldier within a banner. Sergeants are typically given command of a small number of soldiers, usually less than 20. Sergeants are the main relay for orders which are given by Officers and ultimately by the Lord Commander. They are directly responsible for overseeing that orders are carried out. During times of peace, this may be orders of construction, training, marching, or any number of assorted missions that the Lord Commander may issue.

Beneath Sergeants are soldiers. These individuals make up the bulk of the force of a banner.

## Areas of Office

Officers are promoted to oversee established areas of a banner. Most banners maintain a similar structure, but they are not all identical. The typical areas of office are the Office of Soldiers, responsible for all aspects of personnel, the Office of Education, responsible for the education and tactical training of soldiers, the Office of Engineering, responsible for the maintenance and construction of the barracks, weapons of war, and of training soldiers in construction needs, the Office of War, responsible for military training, battlefield readiness, and issues of battle, the Office of Politics, responsible for the outreach of the banner as well as managing the day to day interactions between the banner and their noble charge, and finally, the Office of Leadership, responsible for command issues.

These positions can vary in number, and even different positions may exist within a banner. The Office of Leadership is most often held by the Officer who is considered the most likely next in line to be the Lord Commander. This is because the Office of Leadership oversees the rest of the offices, ensuring that the business of the entire banner is running smoothly.

Banners issue signet rings to their Officers which dictate their station. Although the exact shape, color, and design of rings change, the most common symbols used are the pike, Office of Soldiers, quill, Office of Education, hammer, Office of Engineering, sword, Office of War, the symbol of Arkland, Office of Politics, and the crown, Office of Leadership. The Lord Command also wears a signet which contains the crest of the banner.

## Rising in Leadership

Being a soldier is a career path. The ultimate goal of such a career path is achieve the status of Lord Commander which can elevate a commoner into a position very close to nobility. As a way of upward movement, competition between soldiers to become a Lord Commander is fierce. Thus, competition to move up in the ranks of soldiers is also fierce. The ranks of a banner are often made up of very competitive, smart, skilled, and athletic individuals. With that competition and natural talent, the forces of Arkland are very strong and are self improving as the competition between soldiers drives them all to greater heights.

Achieving the position of Sergeant is done both through experience and through demonstration of skill. Further, a certain amount of training is required as all soldiers of Arkland are educated in the fundamentals of battlefield strategy. When one faces an army of Arkland, it does not face an army of ants controlled by a queen but rather an army of queens controlled by the smartest, most gifted queen among them. Once trained and thereby eligible, it remains for the soldier to demonstrate the capabilities which would warrant promotion. During peace time, this may be through martial training, but it is more often simply through a demonstration of ability and intelligence in accomplishing assigned missions.

To move from being a Sergeant to an Officer requires being hand picked by the Lord Commander. It also requires that the position of Officer either become vacant or a new one created. Thus, it is rare. Positions are naturally vacated on death or retirement, whichever comes first. Most Officers will never see their dream of being a Lord Commander come true before age forces them to retire. That being said, the position of Officer makes one powerful and wealthy as Officers are well paid by the Lord Commander to encourage them to achieve. Thus, the selection of Officer is often a political one as much as it is a skill based decision as favor with the Lord Commander is required. This often propels Sergeants to want to stand out, and many Sergeants are quite determined to be noticed.

The promotion of an Officer to Lord Commander is the direct decision of the noble family which funds the banner. However, more often than not, the decision actually comes from the previous Lord Commander. In the absence of death of the previous Lord Commander, the Officers will generally decide. Historically, this has led to some interesting practice as every Officer wants to be Lord COmmander. Some dramatic duels between Officers has been on record to decide who will be the next Lord Commander.

 Return to Arkland Back Story

--Neil (talk) 22:10, 15 October 2016 (AST)