The making Of The StormBlade's(TheStromBlade's Live On) Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Civilians (Phylakitia con)

Along with the Scholars were the military, police, merchants, guards, and vigilantes. Pickpockets, *Thugs, Borgia messengers, and Stalkers were all tired of Woo's fancy high taxes and the ungodly mean ruling of their ruling. So they all got together with the ones they trusted the most and began to send word and proof of how Woo, Fancy, and others were abusing their power. The military was the one who started everything rolling.* A **soldier** is a combatant serving in the military. Their fundamental duties are to defend their community and conduct warfare against the enemies of their leaders. Before the widespread creation of police forces, civilian enforcers of the law and public order in cities were invariably maintained by soldiers, in which capacity they were commonly called guards. Because they are almost always necessary for the survival of a people, soldiers have been ubiquitous throughout the history of civilization. In service to a state, in which case they constitute the state's military, they are the individuals entrusted with the legitimate use of force by the government. Not limited to national armies, they have also been recruited, trained, and fielded by unconventional groups with military arms, such as rebel factions and, most prominently, the transnational secret organizations of the Templar Order and the Assassin Brotherhood. It was known for mercenaries, particularly during the Italian Wars, to form themselves into armies.

     In response to the diverse demands of war, militaries throughout history have typically organized their soldiers into hierarchies with a transparent chain of command and specialized units suited to different combat situations. For the protection of the most vital people, like the state rulers themselves, special elite teams of the highest caliber were frequently established, with infamous examples being the Swiss Guards of the Papal States and the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire. Aside from the broader categories of infantry and cavalry, common, narrower specializations before the advent of firearms included lightly armored skirmishers like the Athenian peltasts, powerful yet sluggish brutes, frontline pikemen, and professionally trained archers and crossbowmen.

      Standard classifications: While soldiers across human hybrids' history have varied immensely in their training, equipment, and technology, specific types have been employed almost universally. Among these is the division between infantry, cavalry, and artillery, denoting foot soldiers, horse riders, and siege weapons. Infantry, in turn, may take the form of close-ranged combatants, such as pikemen or sworders, or long-ranged support, such as archers, crossbowmen, and snipers. Militaries often categorized their infantry units into light, standard, and heavy infantry. Still, the authors of database entries for the Animus and the Helix. These devices allow users to live past individuals' memories, usually identifying enemy soldiers as falling into the basic generalities of regulars, brutes, agiles, and seekers.

      *Regular:* Regulars are the standard unit of infantry in militaries. As the backbone of their forces, they constitute the average in their capabilities without specialization. They are serviced with the most standard equipment of their army, be it a sword, spear, musket, etc.

     *Brute:* The aptly-named brutes distinguish themselves with their bulky, sturdy physique. Frequently utilizing heavy weapons like battleaxes or bastard swords, these combatants rely upon their great strength to overpower their enemies at the cost of speed and agility. Brutes are not a uniform type of soldier but constitute a common stereotype of any non-elite, heavy infantry embodying these traits, with units as diverse as Spartan hypnotists, Byzantine Almogavars, and British grenadiers falling under this label.

        Agiles: Lightly armored soldiers serving as scouts or trackers are also known as agiles because they forsake standard military equipment for maximum mobility. In combat, they are trained to engage foes with flurries of swift attacks and rely on evasive maneuvers to compensate for their little to no protection. Their survivability was contingent on their skill; agiles were almost always the most athletic of their forces, with some, as was the case among Borgia guards, even being trained in parkour. While the relatively mundane British scout was a typical example of agile, ancient warriors like the fearsome Cult of Kosmos scions and the Ptolemaic predators also filled this role to an extent.

      Seekers: With stealth being a hallmark of Assassin operations, their agents frequently nicknamed enemy soldiers in charge of scouring hiding spots "seekers." Seekers throughout Assassin's history shared little commonalities beyond this, varying wildly in their equipment and training. As classified by the Italian Brotherhood during the Renaissance, the seekers were armored spearmen. At the same time, those designated by the Chinese Brotherhood of the Ming dynasty wielded light swords and carried shuriken. The trend continued into the 19th century when the Parisian Brotherhood recognized experienced fencers equipped with crowd control tools like flash bombs as their enemy seekers. Regardless, seekers have invariably been soldiers of more extraordinary martial skill and military authority than regulars, brutes, and agiles.

      Archers were a mainstay of human armies before they discovered firearms. These bowmen were vital to the defense of cities and fortresses. Their ability to attack from afar with hails of arrows allowed them to soften invasion forces before a confrontation. The principle remained the same in smaller-scale skirmishes: ranged units supported their comrades engaged in mêlée with the enemy.

      While the bow was the weapon of choice for this role through much of human history, advancements in technology eventually led to them being superseded by those that could deliver greater firepower. The crossbow was widespread among Crusaders in the 12th century, but the Chinese, who invented the repeating crossbow, had already implemented it as early as the 4th to 3rd century BCE. Although it was heavier and had a shorter range, it boasted superior penetrating power. However, it did not phase out the bow, an eventuality that came with the advent of firearms. In conjunction with archers and crossbowmen, the Ming dynasty fielded hand cannon g, guards while the Papal States introduced arquebusiers at the beginning of the 16th century; with more extended range and greater lethality, these marksmen were the precursors to snipers, whom the French and British Assassins later nicknamed "watchers." Even when ranged weapons became the norm of all military units due to the indisputable superiority of modern firearms to mêlée weapons, the role of run support did not disappear; the distance between enemy combatants in engagements only widened. Snipers who could fire from distances far above their archer predecessors have come to fulfill this position in modern warfare.

    Military ranks: Soldiers are typically organized into hierarchies within their militaries, which define the chain of command.

      Medieval armies: European and Saracen armies from the 12th century to at least the 16th century were roughly divided into four ranks signifying an increasing level of combat training and experience. Invariably, the higher-ranking soldiers were more heavily armored and better equipped than their subordinates, regardless of the state fielding them. Even top-tier officers, however, fell under the command of the noble, official, or private individuals who either recruited or were tasked to defend them.

      Soldier:  Egidio Troche, Most regular soldiers fighting in the Crusades, lacked commanding authority and were commonly referred to simply as "soldiers" without qualification. To avoid confusion, these soldiers were called "Militia" by the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins during the Renaissance. Their rank was not bearing one, and their inexperience and lack of discipline meant they were especially vulnerable to deception and low morale. It was not uncommon for Militia to be led astray from pursuit or battle by the sight of loot on the ground, a weakness that the Assassins sometimes exploited. Regular soldiers were provided only the minimum protection standard, given their low status. Every Crusader soldier was equipped with chain-mail armor and a surcoat, while their Saracen counterparts protected themselves with lamellar armor. Likewise, European soldiers of the late 15th to early 16th century donned brigandines, yet these regulars were not afforded helmets in these cases. After Gaia and Night went to one of the battlefields, she saw how the lower rank Soldiers were treated. Angered by this,s she beheads her general and order that all ranks of soldiers be fitted with the same armor as her high-ranking ones.

     Sergeant: Moderately better trained, sergeants were of a rank above regular soldiers and were usually not placed in charge of large operations. Instead, they might assume the leadership of squads. Nonetheless, on one occasion during the Third Crusade, a Templar sergeant led a force of at least several dozen soldiers to sack a village by Alep. In addition to essential equipment, sergeants were serviced with light helmets, which could identify them. While more disciplined than the average soldier, sergeants were still often susceptible to breaking ranks at the sight of superiors being slain. Historically, the Assassins sometimes referred to soldiers of this rank as "Elites" despite them bearing a low position and never constituting an elite force.

     Commander: Generously known as Leaders, Commanders were among the most seasoned soldiers. As the lieutenants of captains, they were entrusted with command positions in their absence, and their presence could be vital for maintaining morale and discipline among their troops. For identification, their enhanced armor was characterized by a fully enclosed helmet, such as the iconic Crusader great helm.

     Captain: In the Middle Ages, captains were the officers with the most significant authority, absent elite forces such as the Papal Guard and the Janissaries. At other times, they were synonymous with their military's select units. Although still subordinate to the individual they rendered service to, whether a state official or even a private individual, they comprised the highest command of armies and could be called to a council of war by their commander-in-chief. Among Crusader armies in the 12th century, the role of captain was filled by full-fledged knights. Such was the case among the troops of the Knights Templar. These knights were by far the most exceptional warriors of their society, having honed their swordsmanship through a lifetime of training, and could prove a match for even elite Assassins.

     Similarly, guard captains of the Italian city-states and Iberian kingdoms in the late 15th century were trained to be indomitable forces. Selected for their colossal stature, these soldiers were deployed by the Spanish Inquisition and the Spanish Rite of the Templar Order to lead campaigns, defend their palaces, and hunt their enemies with impunity. They clad themselves in full plate armor like knights and conventionally wielded greatswords. The Emirate of Granada also employed captains of this caliber, many of which protected the Alhambra, though their armor was comparatively light. Not all captains of this era were of this archetype, however. Those serving the House of Borgia were more standard, of average size and strength. Though professionally trained, they did not eclipse their subordinate comrades in martial might to the extent that Templar knights and Inquisition captains did, posing a little challenge for Master Assassins. When not commanding army divisions in battle, captains could be assigned other duties, such as overseeing the defense of a military zone in a city. Under the rule of the Borgia during the papacy of Alexander VI, Rome was divided into twelve districts, each under the supervision of a Borgia captain. Historically, the Templars were known even to deploy their captains as independent agents on covert operations.

       Military units: Classical Greek militaries: Hoplites: In the 5th century BCE, hoplites formed the backbone of the Athenian and Spartan armies. Gaia saw that the troops needed better armor, so she had the same armor made for these soldiers that her armies were fitted for. These citizen-soldiers were heavily armored in breastplates and greaves; donned helmets with grand, distinguishing plumes; and were always equipped with a spear and a large shield. Their gear facilitated their signature phalanx formation, demanding strict cohesion as a collective fighting unit. With this done, the Greek warfare in this era principally revolved around clashes between phalanxes, Gaiam, and night-sent fleets along with XXXX NakaBrokemStorm to help in the issues among the ones having spied for Woo and Fancy. Once these formations broke, the fighting could devolve into chaotic skirmishes between groups of enemies dispersed across the battlefield. Other units, such as skirmishers, sworders, and mercenaries, would become more significant in this environment.

      Supplementary units: During the Peloponnesian War, the Delian Leagues and the Peloponnesian League utilized light infantry needed to be more skilled than their professionally trained hoplites. The Athenian peltasts and the Spartan phalangites were examples of such basic soldiers, but they differed markedly in their equipment and tactics. Peltasts were provided with helmets, linothoraxes, pteruges, a round shield for protection, and a short sword as a weapon. In contrast, phalangites received little more than a long thrusting spear, a helmet, and greaves; they were typically entirely bare from the waist up and had little means in terms of defense. Although their light infantry differed, both factions fielded hypaspists and ekdromoi. The former was essentially the Greek iteration of brutes, for they were invariable of stocky build and relied on heavy battleaxes in battle. However, the ekdromoi were sworders fully clad in armor like regular hoplites. Despite this, they were trained to be swift, operating as light hoplites.

      Archers and cavalry: The Greeks used archers, but they had little cavalry before the rise of Makedonia. The Athenians were superior to the Spartans in archery, for their elite sharpshooters could perform incredible feats with the bow. A single sharpshooter could accurately target an area with a rain of arrows by simultaneously firing a cluster of hands in the air. These archers were well suited for the Athenians' more significant focus on defensive warfare in the Peloponnesian War.

          Spartan militarism: While the Spartans could not match the Athenians in ranged warfare, theirs was a wholly militaristic society. Whereas Athenian strategoi were popularly elected commanders-in-chief who played the dual roles of general and politicians, Spartan strategoi were veteran generals who always partook directly in campaigns. Without exception, the Spartans reared all male citizens from birth to devote their entire lives to being soldiers, for which they developed a reputation as the greatest warriors in all of Greece.

       Mercenaries: During the Peloponnesian War, the Greek poleis made prolific use of mercenaries. Coming from unfathomably diverse backgrounds and skill sets, the only trait these mercenaries had in common was their willingness to sell their services as soldiers to the various peoples and factions across Greece during their turmoil. Unlike the much later Italian mercenaries of the Renaissance era, they did not form themselves into their armies. Still, they operated more as roving bands or individuals, which could be likened to vigilantes, assassins, bodyguards, saboteurs, pirates, or even bandits, depending on their jobs. Notwithstanding this, they frequently doubled as bounty hunters, tracking down and killing individuals with prices on their heads. At times, these may even be fellow mercenaries. Among the most renowned mercenaries of this age were Exekias the Legend, a secret Sage of the Cult of Kosmos, and Kassandra, a Spartan exile who fought for Sparta at the Battles of Pylos and Amphipolis and was responsible for destroying the Cult of Kosmos. When serving in state armies, mercenaries were at their peak in the chaotic mêlée, which occasionally occurred near the end of battles when formations broke down. Mercenaries displayed their full potential as warriors in these moments, free to act without the constraints of military command.

      Cult of Kosmos: The soldiers of the Cult of Kosmos were the deadliest warriors in Greece at the time of the Peloponnesian War, superior to even the Spartan forces in combat expertise. All were uniformed in armor, complete with the grotesque mask molded into the visage of a fearsome man. Unlike state militaries of this age, their ranks were not limited to men. However, men and women were segregated between the three units of guardians, vanguards, and scions, where the latter was reserved exclusively for women but the former for men. These three units were analogous to the general classifications of regular soldiers, brutes, and agiles, respectively, and were standardized in their equipment. Guardians were of average stature, and each wielded a sword and a large shield, while vanguards were quite large and wielded a heavy battleax and a large shield. The petite scions were the only ones who did not carry protection, for they specialized in twin daggers, which they were trained to swing in mad, acrobatic frenzies. None of these units had bows, nor did their forces have regular archers among them. Due to the secretive nature of their organization, the Cultists of Kosmos rarely engaged in battles. They were deployed instead on covert operations, typically consisting of raids, abductions, and assassinations, striking swiftly and suddenly before withdrawing back to their bases. When not sent out for these missions, they were posted as guards for the Cult's leaders or garrisoned at the Cult's forts and camps.

      Greek and Roman militaries in Egypt: Ptolemaic and Roman soldiers stationed in Egypt all carried short bows as side arms but varied in their combination of other equipment. The most basic soldiers only had a simple sword and their bubble, while others took the blade in conjunction with a small shield, replaced the edge with a spear, or wielded a spear with a shield. The range of weapons their militaries' brutes utilized was also reasonably comprehensive, although they always carried a heavy gun, typically a battleax. Like the average soldiers, a regular brute was given a short bow as a secondary weapon, but brutes of greater stature were given javelins instead. Because every soldier had a bow, every unit could function as archers, but their militaries also deployed dedicated archers with long-rangedbubbless and little else. Two sub-classes of their archers were trained in the art of rapid-fire with a close-combat light bow and fire arrows,s respectively. While the former had no means of protection besides their armor, the latter wielded enormous, rectangular shields that they were trained to use offensively.

     Predators and supers: Two special units bolstered the power of the Ptolemaic and Roman forces in Egypt. These were the predators and the supers. Operating with guerilla-like tactics, predators shrouded themselves in hoods and masks and were exceptionally agile. All wielded twin sickle swords, which they swung at their enemies in chaotic flurries during direct engagements, but the better-trained and equipped predators were more prone to stalking their targets from afar with their bows and bombs. The most elite were entrusted with destructive firebombs, while those of a more intermediate caliber utilized smoke bombs instead.

      The colossal supers encased themselves entirely in layers of heavy armor, sealing their faces in great helmets and metal masks. They formed themselves into two distinct types: one who wielded a greatsword, a short bow, and a medium-sized shield, and another who wielded a greatsword, weapon, and a massive shield instead. Their numbers were small compared to the other military units, often stationed at forts and palaces. Still, they were juggernauts that could overwhelm their enemies through their ferocity, sheer might, and virtually impenetrable armor. Nevertheless, they were not invincible and ultimately could not live up to the skill of Medjay Night and his wife Gaia, founders of the Hidden Ones.

       Assassins: The Assassin state that emerged in 1090 under Hassan-i Sabbāh established several conventional military units even though the average Assassin was trained from birth to serve as a covert operative. These soldiers would be charged with defending their homes with their lives in the event of a frontal assault against the Assassin citadels, as was the case during the Siege of Masyaf in 1176.

Among these guardsmen were the Ceremonial Guard, who wielded glaives, and the heavy foot soldiers, who wielded swords. The latter was fully clad in armor. First, a hauberk over their robes, then a breastplate of scale armor with corresponding shoulder guards for added protection. A Persian-style *spangenhelm*, with a firmly-sealed, plated visor, masked their entire face. In contrast, the Ceremonial Guard donned little more than their people's typical robes and beaked hood, only wearing a red-rimmed cloak and a face veil for distinction. Aside from these two units, other Assassins would serve as ordinary soldiers when forced into open battle. Crossbowmen and archers handled their walls and lookout posts.