Athelian Armed Forces

The **Athelian Armed Forces** is the collective name for the military forces of Atheldael and its occupied territories. The army in its current state took shape following broad military reform in the wake of the U.L.S.S invasion of Aldendael in 4E 244. It is famous for its naval supremacy and disciplined infantry forces, and sectioned into four main divisions: the Royal Silver Fusiliers, the Royal Gunnery Corps, the Royal Cavalry Brigade, and the Royal Naval Forces, each of which has their own internal structure.

## Organisation

Following a similar trend to previous military forces of the Elven Empire, the Armed Forces consist of professional troops in a standing army, who are often considered one of the most collectively well-trained and well-equipped militaries in Ygdren. Conscription is rare, and generally only happens in times of great need. Professional soldiers, known as regulars, earn a monthly wage and must partake in regular training and frequent deployment.

### Structure

The armed forces are divided into four main divisions: the Royal Silver Fusiliers, the Royal Gunnery Corps, the Royal Cavalry Division, and the Royal Naval Forces, each of which has their own internal structure.

#### Royal Silver Fusiliers

The Royal Silver Fusiliers (often called *Greycoats*, on account of their uniform) are the main infantry division of the armed forces. They are a derivation from the Silver Hand, previously the standing military of the Elven Empire. As of 4E 776, a standard fusilier is generally equipped with a smoothbore musket and a bayonet as their primary arms, the use of which replaced the standard pike formation favoured previously. Aside from this, a fusilier is also equipped with a lock shield (the name deriving from the shields ability to lock with adjacent shields to form a cohesive wall), magically enhanced and designed to withstand direct gunfire up to a limit. They wear very little armour, as this is deemed to expensive to equip and likely to cause lessened mobility. Other standard equipment generally involves a sabre, dagger, or axe for close combat. Specially trained war mages are also a standard part of infantry divisions, providing support in open combat.

#### Royal Gunnery Corps

The Royal Gunnery Corps are the main artillery division of the armed forces, though they typically also train their own infantry as part of a general squadron. The corps specialise in the application of field cannonry of varying poundage, typically 8 to 12 pounders. A field cannon is generally operated by a crew of three, with additional personnel bringing fresh ammunition and providing support. Cannon crews are supported by grenadiers, specialised infantry provided with muskets and satchel charges, who were trained with the purpose of storming breaches caused by artillery as well as providing defensive support to cannon crews in the event of close combat.

#### Royal Cavalry Brigade

The Royal Cavalry Brigade is the cavalry section of the armed forces, and the smallest in size of the four parts. It consists largely of light cavalry and dragoons, as the use of heavy cavalry or cuirassiers is not particularly favoured in Athelian doctrine. A standard cavalryman is equipped with a sabre, lance, and pistol, whereas a dragoon is generally equipped with a musket in place of the lance.

#### Royal Naval Forces

The Royal Naval Forces, or simply the *Royal Navy*, is the prime naval force of the armed forces and the largest in terms of number of personnel. Originally only serving on seaborne ships, it has since evolved into a more flexible force that is trained for both sea and air combat, following the invention of sky ships in Zandaran. Cadets often begin their service purely on seaborne ships, and are promoted airborne service thereafter. A standard cadet typically has very little combat training, though will eventually be trained in the usage of naval cannonry. Instead, training focus is on sailing and coordination with crew-mates.

Hand-to-hand fighting is instead left to marines, a specialised infantry division trained as part of the naval forces to support crews in ship-to-ship boarding. Standard marine equipment includes a sabre, axe, one or two pistols, and in some cases a blunderbuss. Marine squads will also often have war mage support to counter any opposing spellcasters.

### Ranks

The assigned ranks and positions of the Athelian military differ greatly between the four divisions that make up the total armed forces. Generally, it is left to the discretion of the division in question to determine said ranks and their positional standing with respect to each other. This can often cause dispute when the divisions must interact, since it is unclear in some parts which rank would be higher than another.

Below are the ranks of the respective units of the armed forces, split by division and in descending order:

 General
 Warmaster-General
 Warmaster
 Captain
 Lieutenant
 Sergeant
 Corporal
 Fusilier
 Recruit

 Admiral
 Commodore
 Captain
 Lieutenant
 Midshipman
 Navy Gunner
 Cadet

 Marine
 Ensign

 Brigadier
 Gunnery Major
 Gunnery Sergeant
 Grenadier
 Field Gunner
 Private

 Lieutenant-Colonel
 Second Lieutenant
 Lance Corporal
 Cavalryman
 Holt