The military

The Aleran military is organized into legions similar to those used by the Roman Empire. Each High Lord is responsible for maintaining two full legions. Each legion has sworn loyalties to their High Lord, which causes issues when conflict arises between the First Lord and a High Lord.

The backbone of a Legion is its *legionnaires* - single infantrymen trained in the use of sword, shield and bow. Eight legionnaires comprise a single spear, ten spears form a single century—80 men. The centuries are kept in order by centurions—senior warriors.

There are four centuries in a cohort—320 men. Each cohort is commanded by the commandant or First Spear (the most senior commandant in the Legion). Every Legion has fourteen to twenty cohorts (4,000 to 6,500 legionnaires).

Centurions and commandants both carry a baton in addition to their standard arms, used to address ranks, enforce general order, or to lay out an uncooperative legionnaire.

While all Legions have heavy infantry units, most also have at least one cohort (320) of auxiliaries—scouts and cavalry. Each Legion attempts to have a century (80) of Knights at its disposal, however there are few knights around, making this seldom achieved.

In addition to the legionnaires, each Legion also has a support staff which includes blacksmiths, cooks, healers, valets, and other necessary personnel. An engineering corp is also present in each legion, consisting mostly of powerful earthcrafters overseeing construction of siege works.

## **Legion Ranks (lowest to highest)**

* **Militia:** Akin to farmers taking up arms.
* **Legionnaire:** Standard infantry of a Legion (a "spear" consists of seven legionnaires and their commanding officer).
* **Centurion:** A centurion is a singular soldier in command of a century of legionnaires (80 legionnaires aka. 10 spears).
* **Knights**: Talented crafters, used as elite troops and tasks requiring their respective discipline.
	+ Knight Ignus: Firecrafters, used for large scale attacks on massed enemies.
	+ Knight Terra: Earthcrafters, wielding massive weapons with fury-enhanced strength. Used as shock troops.
	+ Knight Ferrous: Metalcrafters, used as line soldiers as well as elite or shock troops.
	+ Knight Flora: Woodcrafters, used as scouts, rangers and long-range archers. During sieges they are teamed with a legionnaire shield carrier for protection.
	+ Knight Aeris: Windcrafters, used as aerial forces or messengers if haste is of the essence.
* **Commandant:** A singular soldier in command of a cohort of legionnaires (320 legionnaires aka. 40 spears).
* **First Spear:** Commanding commandant.
* **Tribune:** Commanding officer of a single area of the Legion.
	+ Knight Tribune: Commands the Legion's Knights.
	+ Legion Tribune: Assists the Captain in command of the Legion.
	+ Tribune Auxiliaris: Commands the scout and cavalry units.
	+ Tribune Tactica: Oversees the organization of fighting units during an engagement.
	+ Tribune Medica: Commands the Legion's healers, and is usually a watercrafter of high skill.
	+ Tribune Logistica: Manages the Legion's supplies and resources.
	+ Tribune Strategica: Oversees long-term strategies of the Legion.
* **General:** Commander of a Legion.
* **Marshal:** Commander of an Army (assembly of Legions).

Outside of the legions ranks are legionnaires trained in urban combat known as the color guards. These are specialized soldiers used to keep the order in prominent cities and are noticed by the show of colors on their uniforms, depicting the color of the Range they are stationed in. In the Fire Range these are seen wearing red, and are denoted as 'Redguards', similarly in the other regions you would have Whiteguards (Air Ranges), Greyguards (Metal Ranges), Azureguards (Water Ranges), Umberguards (Earth Ranges) and Eringuards (Forest Ranges).