| Imperial Legion
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Leaders: Aaric Barca
Admin: Julie
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| Description
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The Imperial Legion is the primary fighting force for the Empire.
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| Membership Requirements
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Guardian provides the military for the Empire, a citizen army that is, for the most part, held in reserve. Every Guardian citizen, male or female is required to serve six months in the legions. Usually, this is done at some point between the ages of 18 and 21, though in rare cases, it may be done as early as the age of 16, or as late as 22. Most who serve at 16 are the children of nobles or career families, where connections may be called upon to find them a place.
After the mandatory training, citizens have two choices. They may return to their lives, now as reservists. The second choice is to sign up for three more years of service. During these three years, they will receive further training either as soldiers, or as military professionals. Many citizens take advantage of this opportunity to get training as masons, smiths, builders, healers, or engineers, which they can then take back to their home villages.
Once the three-year term is complete, legionnaires may choose to continue as career soldiers, join the reserves, or join the auxiliary legions. As members of the auxiliary legions, they will serve for two months out of the year for the next fifteen years, with practice one weekend per month during the remaining ten months.
During the six months of mandatory service, those who are ill-suited to traditional service may find themselves assigned to intelligence, healing, or engineering corps. They are still trained in at least one weapon and the basics of formations, but the perception is that there is no sense in wasting valuable skills.
Exemptions from service are allowed for those with trades that cannot be left for a week (such as blacksmiths or healers), or those whose responsibilities to family are too demanding (such as single parents or those caring for elderly relatives). Disabled veterans are of course exempt from service, and those wishing to avoid the mandatory six months of training may apply for exemptions on an individual basis. While it is possible to avoid service, doing so for frivolous reasons is frowned upon and seen as dishonorable.
Traditionally, only Guardians have been allowed in the legions. It is the isle of Guardian and the ducal family who provide financial support for the legions through taxes or personal wealth. Part of the expense is offset by the use of the legions for public works projects, such as the construction of roads, bridges, and fortifications throughout the isle. Citizens from other isles who wished to join the legions were required to swear to the isle of Guardian. Recently, however, citizens of other isles have been allowed to join the legions on the condition that they swear to obey their commanders for the term of their service.
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| Hierarchy
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- A Decurion commands a Decuria of 8 legionnaires and 1 Optio, for a total of 10 soldiers.
- A Centurion Primus commands a Centuria of 10 Decuria and 1 Centurion Secundus for a total of 102 soldiers.
- A Tribune commands a Cohort of 3 Centuria, for a total of 307 soldiers.
- A Legate commands a Legion of 3 Cohorts plus 1 Elite Centuria for a total of 1024 soldiers.
- A General commands an Army, which is any collection of forces larger than a Legion.
The Duke of Guardian is traditionally the dux of the Imperial Legion, responsible for oversight of all legionary forces.
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| Grid Relations
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{{{grid-relate}}}
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| Significant IC History
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Coming soon to a wiki near you!
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| Members
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| The member pages of this faction are located here.
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| Resources
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Generally, the Legions comprise:
- 4 Career Legions (~4,000 soldiers)
- 8 Auxiliary Legions (~6,000 soldiers), rotating duty every two months
- 2 Novice Legions (~2,000 soldiers), comprising those going through 3-year military training
- 5 Training Legions (~5,000 soldiers), comprising those going through 6-month military training
At present, all Auxiliary and Novice Legions have been called to active duty.
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| Career Path
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- Basic Training, 6 months. Every Guardian undergoes basic training. At the end of Basic, a Guardian can choose to join the reserves or continue in the Legions.
- The Reserves are made up of those who have served 6 months in basic training or 3 years of training and then chosen to join the Reserves. They can be called upon for service at any time. They practice with a local unit one weekend a month, and spend one week a year in training.
- The Auxiliary Legions are made up of those who have served three years in the Legion, then chosen to join the Auxiliary. They are on duty 2 months per year for the next 15 years, and train one weekend per month during the rest 10 months.
- The Career Legions are made up of those who have devoted their lives to the Legions. They generally retire after 15 years of service.
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| Training
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The six months of mandatory training are usually just long enough to teach citizens the basics of the gladius, pila, archery, and moving in concert with others. In order to keep these skills from getting rusty, every citizen will practice with their village one weekend out of every month and travel to the nearest legion outpost for a week out of each year. This period is seen as a vacation by some, an imposition by others, and better than another week at home with the family for still others.
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| Troop Types
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The basic uniform is the same for all troop types. In summer, soldiers wear a red tunic, sandals, and a light cloak of their legion's color. In winter, they wear a red tunic with a woolen shirt beneath, woolen trousers, boots, and heavy cloak of their legion's color.
Infantry: Approximately 60% of soldiers are infantry.
- Armor: a plumed helmet, a lorica segmentata (banded mail) and a 'skirt' of hard leather strips reinforced with studs. During war/action, add a vambrance (arm guard) on sword arm and a greave (shin guard) on shield leg.
- Shield: a round buckler during peace (diam. 1 foot) or a scutum during war/action (4.5' by 2' rectangular).
- Weapons: a gladius (shortsword) and a dagger. During war/action, add two pila (javelins).
Archers: Approximately 25% of soldiers are archers.
- Armor: a plumed helmet, a studded leather 'skirt' and a cuirbouli (hard, boiled leather) cuirass. Also a bracer (wrist guard) on left (bowholding) arm. During war/action, add a vambrance (arm guard) on sword arm and a greave (shin guard) on shield leg.
- Shield: a round buckler during peace (diam. 1 foot) or a scutum during war/action (4.5' by 2' rectangular). Archers' scuta have a (detachable) spike in the bottom, allowing them to just jam the shield into the turf and then use it for cover while they shoot.
- Weapons: a long bow, a gladius (shortsword) and a dagger
Cavalry: Approximately 15% of soldiers are cavalry.
- Armor: a plumed helmet, a studded leather 'skirt' and a lorica segmentata (banded mail). During war/action, add a vambrance (arm guard) on sword arm and greaves (shin guards).
- Shield: a round buckler during peace (diam. 1 foot) or a kite shield during war/action (long, teardrop shaped).
- Weapons: a cavalry saber and a dagger. During war/action, add a lance.
Marines: Marines are those infantry and archers assigned to ships. All trained units receive at least some familiarity with shipboard combat, but some units make a specialty of it.
- Marine Infantry: Like infantry, but armor is cuirbouli cuirass (easier to swim)
- Marine Archers: Like archers, but scuta are usually lashed to the railing rather than nailed to the deck.
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