Legions of Terror

The Legions of Terror are the standing army of the Dread Empire of Praes, under the nominal command of Dread Empress Malicia but practically speaking commanded by the Black Knight. There are currently fifteen of them in commission, thirteen of which have been granted a *cognomen*.

## Purpose

The Legions of Terror are expected to be the defensive and offensive force in all Praesi wars as well as serve as garrisons in strategic locations during peace time. In recent years this has meant garrisoning major Callowan cities, as a force independent of the local Imperial Governors or the ruling Callowan noblility. The average legion consists of four thousand legionaries, although this has been known to vary.

Catherine states that the purpose of the Legions was the conquest of Callow, with every aspect tailored by Amadeus to counter a Callowan threat.

## Hierarchy

The ranks in the modern Legions of Terror are as follows:

### **Marshal**

Marshals of the Empire carry the authority to command several legions as well as their own personal one, and are usually assigned to historically troublesome borders.

### **General**

Generals of the Empire command a full legion, which is to say four thousand soldiers.

### **General Staff**

Officers of the general staff are often referred to as senior officers, although they are not the only members of a legion to carry that distinction. They serve as the direct subordinates of the commanding general or marshal and carry high authority within their own scope of command.

#### *Staff Tribune*

Staff tribunes are responsible for all personnel assignments within a legion, as well as coordination with Legion recruitment camps to ensure the legion's numbers remain as mandated. Grievous breaches of Legion regulations with broad implications will be brought to the staff tribune. Traditionally, they are considered the highest ranked among the general staff.

#### *Senior Sapper*

Senior sappers are responsible for a legion's entire sapper corps, a wide spectrum of authority that contains combat sappers as well as engineers. While those sapper detachments will be under the direct command of other officers, the senior sapper has the responsibility to ensure the state of goblin munitions and the readiness of siege engines.

#### *Senior Mage*

Senior mages oversee all magical activities inside a legion, handling the magical defences of fortified camps and operational scrying. Mages inside a legion are divided into tenths and assigned to the ranks under field officer command, but for some major operations they may be pulled out and grouped as a task force for ritual or mass magic purposes. Senior mages are the only members of the general staff that are expected to fight on the battlefield if needed.

#### *Kachera Tribune*

Kachera tribunes organize scouting operations for a legion and generally handle the processing of gathered intelligence. This informally extends to the cultivation of local informants and the interrogation of prisoners, through torture if need be. They are often in contact with Imperial spy networks to freely share and receive information, although this is not universal.

#### *Supply Tribune* (Quartermaster)

Supply tribunes, colloquially known as Quartermasters or Scroungers, are responsible for the entire supplying of a legion. This involves both rations, equipment and goblin munitions - the last of which they coordinate with the senior sapper for. The post involves much interaction with the Imperial bureaucracy and all its foibles.

### **Legate**

Legates are the highest-ranked field commanders in a Legion of Terror, commanding a *jesha* of two thousand legionaries each. There are typically two legates per legion, but this has been known to change when battlefield casualties forced conflation of legions.

### **Commander**

There are four commanders per legion, each of them commanding a *kabili* of a thousand legionaries. Commanders answer directly to a legate but are often sent in the thick of the action to make judgement calls out of the sight of their superior officer.

### **Tribune**

There are five tribunes per *kabili*, each of them commanding a *cohort* of two hundred legionaries. Of those five tribunes, the one in charge of the cohort under the direct authority of the commander will be known as the senior tribune, and will be considered acting commander until relieved should the previous commander die in battle.

### **Captain**

There are two captains under every tribune in a *kabili*, each commanding a *company* of a hundred legionaries.

### **Lieutenant**

There are five lieutenants under every captain in a *kabili*, each commanding a *line* of twenty legionaries. That line is expected to be able to split in two if operation necessity demands it. This is considered the lowest of official ranks, with sergeant appointments being too fluid to qualify as true officers.

### **Sergeant**

Sergeants serve under every lieutenant in a *kabili*, each of them functioning as the effective second-in-command for the *line*. Should the line ever be split, the sergeant will serve as the commanding officer of one of the resulting *tenths* of ten legionaries.

### Camp Followers

Though not an official part of the legions, there are usually about as many camp followers, merchants and servants trailing in their wake.

## History

The organization was merely known as the Legions until the reign of Dread Empress Triumphant, may she never return, whose frequent use of demons led to the Legions being rechristened as the Legions of Terror. Until the Reforms implemented during the early reign of Dread Empress Malicia, orcs and goblins were not allowed to serve as full legionaries. They were expected to provide their own arms and armour and were officially designated as auxiliaries.

Under the reforms, greenskins were allowed into the Legions as both soldiers and officers. Goblins served primarily as sappers, scouts and crossbowmen. Orcs served as regulars, heavies and occasionally mages. Ogres served as shock troops. Orc wolf riders and berserkers were also folded into the Legions, being used as shock troops. It is further noted that the Legions were the first military on the surface of the continent to practise a combined arms doctrine.

Mage doctrine was also heavily revised in the reforms, focusing on quantity over quality. Mages no longer stood in the rear for massive rituals, instead serving in the ranks as healers, artillery and communications via scrying. The spells that they are expected to learn prize simplicity and versatility, much to the disdain of Praesi highborn, who see them as cheap half-mages. That is not to say that they forgo rituals entirely, with the mage corps being observed casting rituals occasionally.

Goblin engineering plays a key role in the Legions. Goblin steel is used to make much of the equipment used by the Legions, such as weapons, armour, ammunition and shields. Goblin munitions are also extensively used in the Legions, to the extent that should munition levels fall below a certain threshold, the Legion would be crippled. Goblin-made crank crossbows and siege machines are also fielded by the Legions, boasting the greatest power, range and rate of fire on the surface of Calernia.

Cavalry is considered the greatest weakness of the Legions of Terror by most, as the Wasteland is nearly devoid of horses and Callowans preferred butchering their own herds than let the Legions have the horses. The only two major cavalry forces in the Legions are the Orc wolf riders of the Sixth and the one thousand horse riders of the Thirteenth. Despite that, the Legions are well trained in repulsing cavalry attacks, specifically the Knights of Callow, the heaviest cavalry on the continent.

## References

1. ↑ Book 1 - Chapter 8: Introduction The official roster of soldiers for a legion was four thousand fighting men, I dredged up from my most recent readings, though the *Praecepta Militaria* had stated there were usually about as many camp followers, merchants and servants trailing in their wake.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/chapter-seven-sword/
3. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/chapter-53-manoeuvring/
4. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/chapter-2-invitation/