Introduction To The Armies of Adel

For most people in Adel, a stay in the military is a respectable, character-building experience – mostly because no large conflicts are currently ongoing. Most military groups allow a person to serve two years and then decide whether to retire from service, or make a career of it. As such, almost every village and every town has plenty of men and women who’ve picked up blades and loaded bullets for their nation once in their lives, and each nation has many more who remain, ready to give their blood for the honor of their nation and the protection of their people. Military characters are an archetype that can yield great stories within Adel, and in this article we’ll look in brief at the armies of the Five Nations, and the unique character of each army and some of its foundational ideas as institutions and emblems of their nations. These are not the only military forces in the world – the smaller powers of the eastern and western seas have their armies, some of which may even be able to stand against the forces of the continental peoples, should they ever come to blows. But the five nations are the most iconic.

Andaliel: The Army of the Republic

Founded right alongside the nation, Andaliel’s Army of the Republic was quickly tested as it sought to grab and hold as many of the seceding lands of the North and unite them into a cohesive whole against the Aptoan Empire, the heartland of which Andaliel stood dangerously adjacent to. This they succeeded in doing, more through the revolutionary words of the founding mothers and fathers of Andaliel, whose new form of government promised the people a voice and agency in the affairs of their rulers. Soon, The Army of the Republic joined Vedaria in ending the Intolerable War, and the Aptoan Empire with it.

The Army of the Republic is one of the strongest military forces in the world. Many innovations are tested, many sacred rituals performed, many inventions discarded, within its ever-improving structure. They have a mandate to serve the people of Andaliel and their representatives, and each of their actions must be formalized by acts of law in the Exalted Congress. Andaliel prides itself on its military being composed of its people – unruly perhaps, and sometimes boastful, but good spirited. Like all of the nation’s institutions, Andaliel’s military is meant to represent the people it serves, and to work alongside them.

The main doctrine of the Andalian army is to Fight As Necessary. Andaliel is known for its reluctance to put lives at risk, and they will use only as much force as needed, and only if other avenues of resolution fail them. Their commitments of boots to the ground and the equipment to carry battles is slow and metered. As part of the doctrine, Andaliel is also less reluctant to try out experimental equipment than most states – sometimes a new and unheard of approach is necessary to reduce the bloodshed on all sides. That being said, like all Adelians, they are quite leery of new technology, and the Congress is much quicker to condemn it should something go wrong than they are to adopt it if it goes right.

A secondary doctrine for Andaliel is to Get Back Alive. It looks bad for any congressperson and the Exalted Congress in general if a report comes back with hundreds of deaths in a military engagement. Every Andalian soldier is told to fight bravely but not foolishly. All of them wish to live and wish to return home. A battle should not end by sacrifice. If suicide is needed to win, then Andaliel is happy to lose – their soldiers will scatter, regroup and return to fight another day. Some might see the Andalians as cowardly and self-interested, but they believe that life wins battles, not death.

Vedaria: The People’s Revolutionary Armed Forces

Perhaps the strongest (and at least certainly the largest) army in the world, Vedaria’s PRAF (sometimes called just that, the “Praff”) was formed during the early stages of the Intolerable War. The PRAF were, in fact, the ones to start the war – the revolutionary movement that began the resistance against the Aptoan Empire, and created a continent-wide battle against the oppressors. The PRAF were the only army to fight the entire conflict, allied first with Sargasso, who later bowed out due to internal troubles, and then with Andaliel. The PRAF lost billions of souls so that the world at large could be free of Aptoan oppression. They do not often mention this horrible fact – but they do expect it to be honored by all.

The PRAF had no formal charter or constitution, but since the ascension of Magdalena Keehl to the status of Vizier (dictator), have been bound into a formal Constitution she and her council drafted. In it, the PRAF answers to the people of Vedaria and is commanded by their “caretaker,” Magdalena herself. The PRAF’s mission is the protection of the peoples, lands and assets of the Vedarian state. Not only that, but the PRAF is also “duty-bound to assist any true and honorable movements of the people, across the world, against imperial oppression, should aid be called for” – a statement that has upset many governments, though it has been seldom used thus far. Magdalena, as any true Vedarian, intended it a reference to history.

The PRAF’s commanding Doctrines are straightforward. Their chief belief is to Insure Complete Victory. The Vedarian army will steamroll over any enemy they are set against with as much force as can be brought against it, and with little care towards the pains and needs of their enemies and the allies of their enemies. This is not to say they will be brutal just for the sake of it, or that they are savages who are against diplomacy, or tactically inept. But Vedaria will always find the most efficient way to secure the objective – whatever that objective may be, and regardless of the conditions set against it.

A secondary objective is to Showcase Vedarian Power. The Vedarians were once a downtrodden people, mere slave work for an Empire that thought them worthless desert folk. Now that they are one of the most powerful and advanced nations in the world, they want you to know. Morale and image are always a secondary concern for the Vedarians, but they are a concern. If you can instill awe and terror into your enemy, and pride in your troops, you must do so. If you can out-think your opponent, if you can out-talk your opponent, you must show what Vedaria is capable of to all beholders. If you fail, and it is inevitable that you will fail sometime (Vedarians don’t fool themselves about these things), you must fail gracefully.

Emderuer: The Imperial Guard

The oldest military group in the world, the Imperial Guard served the ancient and fallen Aptoan Empire – a fact everyone would rather forget. The Imperial Guard, and its nation, have lost the heights of power they once knew, and are shadows of their former selves. This is a happy state for the world at large: since the height of power of the Aptoan Empire was a time of crushing despair for almost all of the rest of Adel and its people. The Imperial Guard was broken and defeated to destroy the Aptoan Empire, and this is a fact they perhaps have yet to overcome, a history that they have not come to terms with.

The Imperial Guard’s mission is, unlike the military forces of countries like Vedaria and Andaliel, to serve the Emperor. While in practice they behave to the subjects of the Emperor like Vedaria or Andaliel’s forces would, with the courtesy and respect befitting the citizen and circumstance, they are sworn to protect only the Emperor – and in times of hardship have been known to cluster around the Imperial capital of Kima, leaving outlying areas to their fate. The Imperial Guard boasts numbers, but not to match Andaliel or Vedaria, and their technology is a mish-mash of High Aptoan works (such as steam-powered machines) that most people consider detrimental to the world, and new advances (arcane engine machines and golems).

The Imperial Guard’s commanding doctrines are very focused on the protection of the Emperor. Their highest priority is Fortress Emderuer – the idea that a significant portion of the nation must be heavily fortified with a concentration of forces that would heavily rebuff any attack against the nation itself. Foreign policy works inward. This comes from the final days of the Aptoan Empire, when their territory had shrunk to only Emderuer’s lands. One can see fortresses, castles, outposts all throughout Emderuer, sometimes just a stone’s throw from a little village or a big farming village or even a city.

A secondary doctrine is the Preservation of The Throne. The Imperial Guard will, at all costs, fulfill what they consider their sacred duty to the Emperor. The cities could be burning, but the Palace guns will be manned, and swords will stand before its gates, ready to withstand any assault against their Head of State. Each soldier does battle at the behest and for the protection of the Emperor first, and his people second. It is a cruel reality, but it is how the Guard works. Each guardsman or guardswoman would gladly be killed so that the Empire would live on – or at least, so they say in taking oaths.

Sargasso: Order of the Seraphim/Sargassan Rangers

Sargasso has two branches of its military, though only one is expected to handle large-scale combat. Due in part to its turbulent history leading up to the Intolerable War, Sargasso has always had an army known as the Rangers – but this group was decimated during the Intolerable War. Since then, the Order of the Seraphim has taken precedence as the premier military and humanitarian force in the nation. The Seraphim are divided into five convents each of which have their own beliefs and combat doctrines. The Seraphim are smaller in size than other armies, but each Seraphim is more powerful than several soldiers.

The Rangers still exist but in a very reduced capacity. They are primarily a police and first response force, extant as part of tradition. During the reign of King Volg only men could serve in the Rangers – a very strange state of affairs for the Adelian people, and one which did not last long. Today, as with any other group (except the Seraphim), both men and women can join. The Rangers are not expected to fight alongside Seraphim, though they sometimes do so. They exist to perform tasks and take on missions until such a time as Seraphim can become involved, or where Seraphim are incapable of responding.

Aside from the Seraphim and the Rangers, there exists a third military power – the Royal Guard of the Church of Sargasso. Led by High Inquisitor Leidela Sixtus, the Royal Guard are direct protectors of the Queen of Sargasso. They consist of elite, handpicked Seraphim whom Leidela herself scouted, watched grow and ultimately inducted into the Royal Guard. Being part of the Royal Guard can be conflicting for Seraphim – it is an honor, the highest honor perhaps, but it also separates the Seraphim from those she has known as family and friends for most of her life. The only respite is that if the prospective Royal Guard has a lover among her fellow Seraphim, she can bring her along. But if her amours lay outside the convent, they must be discarded.

Due to this triumvirate of power, it is difficult to pin down attitudes and doctrines without looking deeper at the individual Seraphim convents, and at the history of Sargasso. Seraphim are not bound by any constitution, but they have a code of ethics and honor that each woman and girl seeks to represent to her people, giving them an ideal to strive for.

Periterim: The Periterim Response Corps

Periterim does not actually have an army, and never has since its formal secession from the Aptoan Empire. The Oligarchy of Periterim, supported by 30 or so extremely wealthy families, is a group based on the convenience of keeping and growing their wealth as a Nation over doing so as Individuals. When military need arises, the Oligarchy calls upon a group of contacts to various disparate mercenary groups. These groups request money, take to arms, and out of an unimaginable chaos of negotations, bidding and drafting of ordinances, a formal battlegroup is formed known as a Response Corps.

The Response Corps answers only to the pocketbook of the Oligarchs, and has more than once been formed for the express purpose of controlling or putting down the peasantry. Never can it be said that Periterim is the most comfortable of Nations, even for the mercenaries who do its work – so they are well paid to do so, or least, better paid than anyone else in the country is. Their loyalty is extremely fickle, but the Oligarchs have enough coin to throw around to keep them – for now.

The Periterim’s Response Corps’ primary doctrine is Make It Cheap. Periterim Mercenaries must strive to do battle as efficiently as possible and with as little a dent on the pocketbooks of the Oligarchs. This is because the less money they spend, the more money each soldier will get to keep at the end of the day. They must make do with outdated weapons, old vehicles, few repairs, and even less training. They don’t even get uniforms. This varies wildly from mercenary company to mercenary company, but overall they are all shabbily equipped. Some mercenaries take pride in fighting like this, calling it Skill Over Steel, but that is fairly laughable. In a straight engagement, the PRC loses to any other military power.

That is why the Periterim Response Corps believes you Never Fight Fair. Part of your limited resources must go into crippling the enemy. Small groups of skilled mercenaries must infiltrate, sabotage, assassinate and thieve their way to victory or at least, into delaying large engagements until more money can be secured from the uptight Oligarchs to support an actual face-to-face battle.  Many mercenaries have stories of their daring raids on enemy positions. Many more mercenaries have stories of how everybody but they were killed during such raids. Mercenaries tend to have a very high turn-over, and these tactics don’t always work, especially against enemies who expect the PRC – or enemies who fight this way too.