Life of an Arkland Soldier

The soldiers or Arkland are not pressed into service. In fact, when recruitment by a banner opens, typically the Lord Commander receives more applicants than he or she can handle. This is because the life of a soldier in Arkland is sought after by most of the commoners as a life in which they can earn greater pay, prestige, and even a possible shot at land ownership. Being a soldier pays well, it brings prestige, and it brings excitement.

## Life in a Barracks

The banners of Arkland are typically housed in a barracks and operations complex set-up by the nobility. This compound creates the central operations and training ground for the banner. There, soldiers will live, work, and train. It also acts as the main center of logistics and operations for the entire group. Thus, Officers and Lord Commanders have offices in the barracks.

Not all soldiers live in the barracks their whole career. Although, most do. The career of a soldier pays well enough to afford retirement, and this is intentional as a banner needs a way to remove the aged population who, over time, become less effective at fighting. The promise of retirement is huge for the commoner and is one of the major reasons why they enlist to a banner in such numbers. It would be after retirement age that a soldier would settle down and possibly establish a home and raise a family. During their service to a banner, while living in a barracks, there is no place to raise children. The retirement age is quite young, usually at or around the ages of 35-40.

Officers, Lord Commanders, and most Sergeants also do not live in the barracks, instead maintaining homes nearby. These individuals are often dedicated to the banner, and being in positions of leadership, often do not retire. Even in older ages, their wisdom, battle skill, and leadership skills see them staying with the banner for longer times. They may choose retirement, though, whenever they wish. Having a home outside of the barracks also means that they are more free to raise families whereupon their spouse is usually in charge of the home while they are either working or away at war.

Inside the barracks, besides the basic necessities of a main eating hall, sleeping quarters, and other facilities, there are usually large parade and training grounds. The barracks is generally surrounded by a defensible wall, looking more like a small fortification than a place of training and work. Furthermore, there are areas open to the public during market time in which local merchants will come and ply their wares to soldiers on specified market days. Market days are seen as a relaxation day and occur once a week. Here, soldiers interact with the populace who are invited into the barracks for all sorts of reasons, mostly around selling goods to the soldiers or simply for entertaining them. Soldiers are also free to take leave at least once a week to visit a nearby village or city, if there is one nearby, but for the most part, soldiers are expected to stay near the barracks throughout the rest of the week.

Training and education are a daily part of the routine of a soldier. Education usually takes place in the mornings where soldiers are not only taught literacy and mathematics but also trained in battlefield tactics, strategy manuals, languages, and the other sorts of training a soldier might need. A banner invests heavily in its soldiers as any given soldier, once ready for battle, is expected to be able to take control of the battlefield at any time. This reliance on a superbly trained soldier is a part of the military doctrine of Arkland as they rely heavily on martial and strategic prowess rather than raw numbers to win engagements.

Training is usually an afternoon activity. Soldiers are assigned to battle groups, designated for specific battlefield tasks. This is usually either infantry, cavalry, or archery, and subsets therein for more highly trained or specialized versions of those generic groups. Soldiers rarely stay inside one group their whole career, able to request a change of group after some years. The is encouraged so as to keep the entire army well trained in all facets of war such that losses may be replaced quickly when in need. However, when apart of a particular battle group, those soldiers typically bunk together, eat together, and live together. Often, soldiers have pride around their battle groups, and will playfully chide or harass those from other groups. When apart of a battle group, the others in your group are you battle brothers, and you will live and die at their side. As part of military doctrine, this is very important to the command of an Arkland army as all soldiers need to feel that the soldier standing next to them on the battlefield will gladly give his or her life to save another.

Aside from education and training, soldiers also have other jobs outside of just their military function. Around the barracks, soldiers are also responsible for upkeep, with some soldiers having the duty of cleaning while other are in structural repair or engineering. Some soldiers may be responsible for the care and maintenance of weapons while still others are responsible for the preparation of meals. Outsiders are not brought into the barracks to fill these positions as it is seen as the duty of soldiers to maintain their fighting strength and not to rely on others to care for them. Furthermore, while on the march, there would be no one else other than the soldiers to care for each other, and as a result, although soldiers may often chide their fellow soldiers about their jobs, especially those on latrine duty, all actually see any soldier in the banner as a critical part of the entire function of the banner and thereby critical to their overall survival.

## Becoming a Soldier of Arkland

The first step to becoming a soldier is to apply for the job. Applicants need be young as a banner would never hire someone for whom all the effort and money spent on their training might result in only a few years of service before retirement. The only exception to this would be if the banner had need of a highly skilled worker for whom a ready supply of applicants doesn't exist, such as a specific type of engineer or physician. A person applies in person, by traveling to a barracks and answering a set of questions which detail personal history, outlook, personality traits, and basic questions about why the person wishes to serve. Typically, unless in a time of war, recruitment is held annually during the Recruitment Faire which is held at the barracks. The Lord Commander will have issued a certain number of jobs to be filled and any specific jobs that need to be filled by skilled individuals. Since it is not expected that all applicants are necessarily literate, there is no paper application.

Recruitment Faires are a big, cultural event for surrounding towns and villages. Becoming a soldier carries with it an excellent job, pay, and prestige. As such, young men and women who wish to become soldiers, once they reach an adult age, will all travel to the Recruitment Faires of local banners. Competition is fierce. In times where the number of applicants is far exceeding the number of available positions, applicants may also be asked to complete physical fitness tests, tests of intelligence, or even to compete against each other in mock, martial battles using blunted weapons. The entire faire will be overseen by the Office of Soldiers.

Once a recruit has been accepted, they are expected to report back to the barracks within a fort night. They have that time to prepare themselves for the soldier's life, say good-bye to friends and family, and to gather their things. Restricted in space, soldiers do not have much room available to them for personal goods, being issued a foot locker for storage which is kept near their bunk. Such attachment to personal trinkets is frowned upon within a barracks as it is clearly established that the banner wants you to see your fellow soldiers as your new family and to ultimately, forget your old one except for perhaps your immediate relatives.

Recruits will begin training the next day. They will start with a rigid education program, especially for those who lack literacy. They are also assigned their first battle group, which is almost always infantry unless the recruit already brings substantial skill with them in terms of archery or horse-back riding. For a recruit to be considered a soldier, and thereby receive the subsequent salary and prestige, typically takes a period of four to six months, depending on the person's aptitude.

Graduation for recruits occurs once a month, in a very small ceremony that is generally only attended by the Office of Soldiers and mandatory for other recruits. At graduation, a recruit receives the Soldier's Pendant, which signifies their station and on it is the crest of the banner. Most soldiers do not wear their pendant publicly, keeping it safe, but typically on Market Days or while visiting towns, soldiers will wear them such that the general populace may know of their station.

## Promotion

Promotions to Sergeant are the first to come, if ever, and are granted to those who have displayed exceptional skill and loyalty among soldiers. A banner will only maintain a certain amount of Sergeants, depending on its size. Therefore, to earn a promotion also requires that a position be open. Often, many soldiers believe themselves fit for the role and so will apply with the Office of Soldiers to fill the position. Ultimately, it is the Office of Soldiers that is responsible for such promotions, but they are typically made as part of an agreement between all Officers and the Lord Commander in the banner. Also, to rise to the position of Sergeant may require a certain skill set to replace the existing Sergeant. Thus, soldiers are keenly aware of who the older Sergeants are and often tend to angle their training and career towards the path with the oldest Sergeants. For example, should the Sergeant's position be in charge of a training archery groups, it would be wise for soldiers looking for a promotion to steer themselves towards the archery group.

The promotion from Sergeant to Officer is done solely by the Lord Commander. Such a choice is often not very easy as all Sergeants likely display aptitude to a high degree in one or many areas. When an Officer's position is vacant, it will be for a certain position within the barracks, and as such, the choice of Sergeants may get narrowed down some as the Lord Commander may have a short list of Sergeants who will best fill the role. Should the Lord Commander be unable to decide directly, there may be a contest between Sergeants, should they choose to participate, to decide a victor. Thus, duels are a common means of determining a new Officer as are tests of intelligence.

Finally, the promotion to Lord Commander can effectively only be made by the noble house which funds the barracks. Most of the time, this choice is left in writing by the existing Lord Commander, and all Lord Commanders generally have their current selection in mind already written into a will should their position become vacant due to death. A noble is not required to follow the will of the previous Lord Commander, and they are not even required to pick from existing Officers. Thus, the position could be filled by an outsider. Such things are rare, however, as the obvious blow to morale caused by an outside promotion often damages a banner beyond repair. Though, should a Lord Commander be found to be particularly incompetent or displeasing to the noble house, it may also be assumed that the underlying Officer structure is equally as incompetent and warrant outside intervention.

## Retirement

Retirement happens either by choice, death, or force. A retirement by death is obvious. A retirement by choice is when a soldier feels that they can no longer be of service and wishes to leave the banner. Any retirement before an appropriate age is highly frowned upon and is only truly allowed when a soldier has displayed incompetence. Should such an early retirement occur, the soldier is required to give back the Soldier's Pendant. Otherwise, retirement after an appropriate age is done through ceremony, the soldier keeps his or her Soldier's Pendant, and returns to the civilian world a war hero.

A retirement by force is rare but happens when a soldier displays an unacceptable level of incompetence. This can occur within the ranks but also can occur should a soldier so strongly displease the funding noble family that the family demands retirement. A forced retirement is treated as an early retirement, and the soldier is stripped of the Soldier's Pendant and will receive no severance nor retirement.

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--Neil (talk) 18:25, 21 October 2016 (AST)