Divergent Legion

The **Divergent Legion** is the land based military of the Artus Empire.  As the primary defensive and police force of the Empire, the Legion has its roots in the various private armies and mercenary bands of the individual Avonstead city-states before the formation of the Empire, which more often than not primarily fought each other before their unification.  After the alliance between Estary and Dhrinragh that formally created the Empire, the Divergent Legion was created to integrate the various soldiers of the city-states, encouraging the protection of the Empire as a whole, rather than local municipalities and the individual lords and ladies of the Empire.

The Divergent Legion is led by the First Shield (who, as of 1,283, is Helm Tallstag), who reports directly to the Emperor or Empress of the Artus Empire.  The Divergent Legion’s mission is to provide stability and protection both within and without Artus’ borders, from threats both foreign and domestic.

# Mission

After the formal creation of the Divergent Legion, Baarathel Artus and the initial First Shield, Duldoc Nalmad, laid down the basic tenets of the Legion as:

* Providing the defense of the breadth and width of the Empire and its people, regardless of race or city of origin
* Maintaining safety within the interior of the Empire from hostile agents
* Maintaining the safety and security of the borders of the Empire from hostile foreign powers and entities
* Working on the behalf of the Emperor or Empress of the Artus Empire, through the direction of the First Shield, to combat the Empire’s enemies abroad.

# History

During the Avonstead city-state period, each of the most powerful city-states maintained armies to serve the respective leader of each city.  In addition, most of the city-states maintained an ebb and flow of intense rivalries in a variety of fields (martial prowess being one of them), and cool neutrality.  When Estary and Dhrinragh officially cemented their integration into a single administrative body, the newly minted Artus Empire had quite a task on their hands as they began conquering and absorbing the other city-states.  The upper echelons of nobility and royalty were one hurdle to get over (often placated through cushy new positions promised, and as always, gold), the armies were quite another.  Rivalries between the various city-states were at their most ingrained and violent with the armies.  In addition, many military commanders felt betrayed by the upper crust of nobility and royalty, with more than one rebellion cropping up during the Empire’s early years.

Baarathel and Duldoc, the military commander of Dhrinragh and the inaugural First Shield, worked on a system to transfer this fervent loyalty from singular city-states to the entirety of the Empire.

# Organization

The rank and file of the Divergent Legion are the infantry.

Hierarchy:

Squads are the bread and butter of the Legion.  Consisting of 18 members, the individual composition of each squad is variable, depending on the origin of each member.  Some are purely martial, others are a mix of arcane and martial, and some are fully arcane (although these are still exceedingly rare).

Companies are the next step up.  Within the interior of the Empire, companies are kept on a rotating defense schedule, moving from city to city (and transferring individual squads on a needed basis).  Smaller settlements (such as Arborro) tend to have smaller companies, while larger settlements (such as Valheim) have larger ones.

Battalions are rarely mobilized within the Empire proper: most issues of protection that crop up can either be solved through the efforts of individual companies (augmented by the presence of mercenary companies and individual adventuring parties).  From this point onward, these units tend to only manifest thanks to outside hostile forces.  At most times, battalions are split up over a given geographic area in the Empire.

## Administration

Dotted throughout the Empire are a number of coordination points, staffed by couriers and various arcane casters that can instantly communicate across long distances.  The higher up commanders, during times of peace, tend to administer their constituent units from these coordination points.

During times of open war, however, each commander (including the First Shield) is expected to lead from the front as much as possible.

As arcane wielders are starting to crop up more and more in the Empire, there is some crossover between the duties of the First Shield and the Chief Incantor.

# Logistics and Equipment

Depending on the individual soldier’s strengths (divine magic, arcane magic, martial prowess), said soldier will be provided with proper, high quality equipment to aid in their service.  Even all these years after the Empire’s founding, most weaponry is forged in Dhrinragh.