Blackthorne Military

The **Blackthorne Military** refers to the armed militia sworn to the service of House Blackthorne. Members of the army are often referred to as "Stormtroopers" owing to their home territory, the Thunderlands. The vassals of the Blackthorne family also have their own militias who are recognized as also being part of the larger western army, especially in the days of the Old Senate where the Western army was regarded as a singular unit. The institution was first established in its modern form by Lord Jason Blackthorne in the 280s.

In 1014AE, this army is considered to be among the most powerful forces in the Isles of Aradia, boasting highly-trained troops with cutting edge equipment and formidable numbers. They have been honed in numerous conflicts through the centuries with their rivals in House Knox and Brecilidia, as well as skirmishes against opposition in their colony islands. There are over 100,000 soldiers within the army.

In 1086AE, the military has undergone substantial changes; under the Aradian Royal Army act of 1016AE, commissioned by Queen Talia I, House Blackthorne's personal army was integrated with the Everglow City Guard and various other House militias, with the predominant number of noble house armies traded for the creation of a centralized national military. The remaining "Stormtroopers" exist, in highly reduced numbers, as the western-native chosen fighting force of the family; though their numbers are far reduced. Following the 1077 Revolution, the Aradian Royal Army and the Blackthorne Military were split into two fully separate institutions. Their estimated numbers range from three to eight hundred.

## Ranks

#### Infantry Rankings

* A Cadet is a new joiner to the army that has not yet completed their training in full in order to recieve the rank of Private. They are trained by Sergents, who are also responsible for their promotion once their onboarding is complete.

* The Private is the most base rank of soldier in the army and represents the rank with the highest population, the common rank-and-file soldier. They are soldiers who have completed the vigorous military training required of new joiners to the army. Upon achieving this rank a Cadet will be assigned to a Corps within the army based on their aptitude-artillery, ranging, etc. Once assigned they are subdivided into squads/platoons organized under a Lieutenant.

* The Lieutenant is a rank given to distinguished Privates who are granted command over a squadron of fellow soldiers numbering perhaps 20 or 30 units. They lead their assigned group as a peer while taking orders from a Captain.

* A Captain issues orders to numerous Lieutenants, with the number varying per Captain; some command up to a hundred Lieutentants, in turn commanding hundreds of troops. This is considered a prestigious rank and those who achieve it are recognized as highly respected, capable both intellectually and martially.

* A Sergent is an alternate path concerned with training Cadets and respresents an alternative route to promotion for Lieutenants.

#### Officer Class

* A Commander is a field leader who can command up to several thousand troops and is recognized as the lowest tier officer, answering directly to a General. Lowborn Captains can earn the title of Commander after a full decade of service, whereas lower-tier members of Noble Houses who have received a knighthood (such as a family's heir, brother or cousin) are automatically granted this rank upon taking to the battlefield.

* Generals are the main leaders of the army, co-ordinating tactics and leading troops in the field, delegating orders through the Captains and Commanders below them. Lowborn Generals are often more elderly figures past the age of forty as the role is only awarded for exceptional service; however, every highborn Lord/Head of House is granted this rank when they take to the battlefield.

* The Storm-Marshal is the highest achievable military ranking and is given to the recognized "leader" of the army, issuing commands to the Generals. The only higher authority is the Monarch/Head of House Blackthorne itself. Following the establishment of the Royal Council, the term has been used by the Warmaster; during the Aradian Civil War and the Pirate War, thr Storm-Marshal title was given to Ser Arianne Wildthorne. During the Brecilidian Rebellion, it was used by Prince Edmund Blackthorne.

## Notable Units & Corps

#### Cavalry

The Blackthorne Heavy Cavalry is considered by many to be the finest mounted troop unit in the realm, and their skills have been instrumental to the family's military successes. Knighthood is a prized ideal in the West, from its aesthetics to the combat form of sword-on-a-horse, and the soldiers who walk the path are drilled to an extremely high degree by some of the greatest talents in the Isles. They are extremely swift, co-ordinated, tactical, and well-equipped with thick plate armor and twelve-foot lances. Many high western Lords often join in with and lead cavalry charges.

With the advent of gunpowder weaponry growing increasingly popular starting with the Aradian Civil War, Queen Talia and her Warmaster Ser Arianne Wildthorne began ordering the deployment of a form of Light Cavalry with less dependence on knightly armor and weaponry, and more on firearms. The Cavalier was a troop unit that emerged during this war that presented a synthesis between the old form and the new, and were regarded as a decisive key in their victory over the New Senate Rebels. They wore lighter gear, carrying two flintlock pistols and a heavy slashing weapon (and usually a concealed Misericorde as a sidearm). The tactic for this new cavalry charge was for the Cavalier to fire one gun at twenty paces from impact, the second at five, before drawing their melee weapon for the collision--this could be a polearm like a glaive or halbred, or a heavy-set broadsword. Once on top of them, the light cavalry would trample the enemy lines while cutting foes down on both sides. Beginning with the Brecilidian Rebellion, some Cavaliers began to wield the even more lethal Kraft .45 six-shooter revolver which allowed them to fire multiple times before their switch to melee.

Another popular adaption of the classic blackthorne cavalry in this period was the Dragoon, a type of soldier who would use their horse only for mobility, regularly dismounting to fight on foot as well as on horseback with wheellock weapons. They were cheaper than conventional cavalry and members of the nobility were not often among their company; the Dragoons remain a part of modern house militias but their number is more often comprised of mercenaries than of House soldiers.

## Reputation

The Blackthorne Military are feared among the Aradian populace for their unusual aggression and savagery, displayed not only to enemy troops but also towards non-combatant civilian populace. They have been known to engage in violence, murder, theft, extortion, sexual assault and torture. There have been many known cases of a travelling Blackthorne force descending upon a town in order to camp, only to drain its resources dry, often fighting with the villagers and leaving only a smouldering ruin in their wake by the time they leave. The army enforces little in the way of conduct in these cases, and the command structure often turns a blind eye to war crimes committed by its soldiers, with the unspoken internal environment among the soldiers even encouraging such acts. Some heads of House have been known to stoke this behaviour in their soldiers in order to terrify enemies into submission, or else to allow the men to "work out" their aggression or hone their cruelty for later use on the enemy. Under the eye of Arianne Wildthorne, heavy penalties were introduced for abuse of civilian populations, with perpetrators facing court-marshal and even execution by firing-squad. However, when her great-nephew Edmund assumed command of the army, these reforms were brushed away and the terrorizing of civilian populace again became heavily encouraged.

Due to the notoriety of the Blackthorne army's viciousness, there has been speculation on the motivation behind the soldier's actions, Some eastern scholars attribute it to western secularity-as these men have no goddess, they have no moral guidelines, and fear no divine retribution for their crimes. Writing on the Blackthorne's scavenging of his Brecilidian homeland in 621AE, the scholar Meridion offered a different theory;

> *"These humans, these Westermen, they may hold no deity sacred, but that is not to say they do not believe in something; the true sociopathy of the House of Blackthorne lies in the mindset they drive into their men. They dress each soldier, be he highborn fop or pig-farmer, in heroic vestments that imitate their great hero; shining silver armor, shining steel swords. You are the Drakkenslayer, they tell their commoner infantrymen, you are a Storm King of old. You are a hero. Heroism lies in aesthetics for them, the appearance of chivalry, not its philosophy. Go forth, the Blackthornes tell their men, go forth into the world and show us your heroism, show us how many men you can kill, how many settlements you can burn, how many lives you can destroy, how much earth you can salt. The Westerner will see his enemy do these things and he will decry it; in his mind, there are no bad actions, only bad sides. How can his murder, looting, raping and pillage be evil? He is a Hero, on the Hero's side."*
>
>