The Royal Armies internal matters

Part of a series about the Royal Armies.

See also:

Each of the Royal Armies has recruits of all kinds and specialities, but varied terrain and duties across Arginet mean each Army has a reputation for being good at certain things. Banter both within and between armies about the relative quality of their troops is a staple of Army humour, with varied and unflattering nicknames for every division.

Almost every recruit signs up to the Armies for a set period of time (typically at least two years), after which they can either remain with the service or honourably retire to civilian life. Most choose to serve for longer as the Armies allow greater chance for advancement than almost any other walk of life in Arginet.

The three Armies

Given the difficult terrain and the amount of uninhabited land it is unsurprising that the scouts of the Army of the North are the best in Arginet, known for vanishing into the Northlands for weeks on end without contact until they appear out of the trees to assist a merchant travelling the Northern Pass. The beasts of the interior mean their heavy infantry are also fairly good, as their other main duties are defending villages and guarding those who travel the roads.

In the South the land tends to be fairly open with only small pockets of wilderness so the Army of the South mostly deals with human threats: bandits, peasant unrest, noble family squabbles that endanger the populace, and (before the Breaking) pirates and invaders. Heavy troops tend to take a sideline here as threats need fast responses and fast talking to navigate. Unsurprisingly the Army of the South has the highest proportion of cavalry as well as younger children of noble families - though saying to their faces that they use family connections to smooth things over is a sure way to have a duel on your hands.

The Army of the Centre has to deal with everything from guarding the Midland Road to dealing with mercantile chaos in Aulin and are considered the most versatile of the Armies. A regiment must have the flexibility to change tasks overnight, the ability to work with their Northern or Southern compatriots as necessary, and the fortitude to deal with threats from any quarter. The heavy infantry of the Army of the Centre, not restricted by speed or terrain, make up the solid backbone of the Army and are (reluctantly) acknowledged to be essential when the worst happens even by the other Armies. Since the Breaking they’ve become even more important, holding the line against strange rift creatures when they didn’t even know what they were fighting.

Chain of command

Commissioned ranks

The Armies maintain a handful of academies (such as Royal Military Academy Fiveways) whose purpose is training officers for command. Officer candidates are trained rigorously in combat and leadership skills and given a thorough instruction in military organisation, strategy and tactics, at the end of which they are granted a commission.
A certain level of education and leadership ability is required to join an academy, so although people of any background can enrol the system favours the wealthy or noble-born. A few people gain academy places or commissions through bribery or patronage; how acceptable this is considered to be depends very much on the branch of service concerned.

General: Each of the three Armies - North, South, and Centre - is commanded by a general. All three are members of the Royal Council and report directly to the Crown, and when a general dies or retires it is the Crown who selects their replacement. Insignia: a crown.
Colonel: Several colonels, each having command of a regiment, report to each general. Insignia: crossed swords.
Captain: The basic unit of the Armies is the company, which comprises fifty to a hundred troops commanded by a captain. Each company usually has a distinct identity and is often raised from a single area, but it may include people from different branches of service. (It is possible for a PC to be promoted to the rank of Captain for successful service.) Insignia: three gold bars.
Lieutenant: Each company has at least one lieutenant to assist the captain in their duties. They may be given command of a platoon - a detachment of troops from the company assigned to a specific task. (PCs who are Army members may start with the rank of Lieutenant.) Insignia: two gold bars.
Ensign: The most junior commissioned officers are ensigns; almost all academy graduates start at this rank. They are expected to learn the duties of company command and assist the captain and lieutenants directly, but may also have particular roles such as carrying the company standard. An ensign is sometimes given command of a squad of up to ten soldiers. (PCs who are Army members may start with the rank of Ensign.) Insignia: one gold bar.

Higher ranking officers may have a personal guard no bigger than a single squad over whom they have direct command. This often includes people who have served with them since joining the Armies.

Enlisted ranks

The majority of soldiers within the Armies have no commission, and are expected to concern themselves more with the practical and physical aspects of soldiering. There are no particular requirements for joining as an enlisted soldier but recruits are expected to have a degree of fighting ability or some other skill directly useful to the army.

Sergeant: Promoted from the ranks for competence and good service, sergeants are responsible for many of the practical concerns of a company, and are usually more experienced than the ensigns from whom they technically take orders. Those who distinguish themselves are occasionally given the opportunity to train for a commission and gain promotion to Ensign or even straight to Lieutenant. Each company has several sergeants. They may support a company officer (captain, lieutenant, or ensign) or be given independent command of a squad. (PCs who are Army members may start with the rank of Sergeant.) Insignia: one white bar.
Private: The bottom rank of the armies, and the most numerous. Most people join at this rank and must work their way up through courage, discipline, and persistence. (The degree of responsibility given to private soldiers is low, so PCs who wish to have full Army membership should not choose this rank.)

Internal disputes

One thing all soldiers have in common is discipline. Hierarchy is more important for the Armies than for any other faction and each stage of the hierarchy is expected to be followed by those below. In return for this obedience those above provide for them and accept responsibility for their mistakes.
For example: A carter may be the one to take insufficient swords to a unit and a logistics private may have calculated it wrongly, but the sergeant who gave those orders will takes the punishment as they failed to check the numbers were correct. This won’t stop the logistics private getting hell from the sergeant - but they won’t get the official punishment.

Official punishments are set and given by the direct superior officer in the chain of command. In the example above the logistics lieutenant punishes the sergeant, but the infantry sergeant who didn’t get enough swords only knows the details about the sergeant and has no say on what the punishment is, though they or their superior can attempt to lean on the lieutenant to give a harsher punishment. That said an officer who lets their troops off too lightly too often will face their own series of questions.

Disputes between individuals or groups causes mistrust, and the damage to fighting strength this produces is considered utterly unacceptable. Matters of this nature are settled by duels in order to get things dealt with cleanly, letting out all the anger so that soldiers can get on with their duty. Duels must be non-fatal, not leave permanent damage (such as mutilation or amputation), and are advised to have a medic in attendance. The duel is not considered over unless all participants have nothing more to add physically or verbally, though this may mean pausing for healing mid-fight. As all grievances are considered void at the end of the duel, this encourages fighters to air everything, including things they might otherwise have kept hidden such as secret affairs.
The higher the rank of the disputants, the more formal the duel. Challenges between different ranks are possible, but unusual, and the greater the difference in rank, the more exceptional. Disputants are also expected to exercise care in choosing where to hold their duel and to consider how it will affect the reputation of their unit.

Oddly, the nature of the military means that this tends to work and the fighters generally leave with no resentment towards the opposite party and occasionally go to duel a third after new information comes to light. After a duel ends the matter is officially resolved and any further actions taken against someone for the same matter are considered not only punishable but highly dishonourable, risking expulsion from the Army.

She panted, wiping blood from her mouth and fire still coiling in her chest. The slimy paper pusher opposite her looked just as battered from their repeated visits to the floor, using their spear to hold themselves upright.

“Are you done?” said the medic from the side, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
“I’m done.” the pencil pusher said, “I can’t be bothered, let’s end this.”
She said nothing, her hand balling into a fist, her other tightening around her sword. Hatred seethed in her mind, the duel was meant to get rid of that, to stop the simmering resentment, and yet this little asswipe still made her blood boil, but she couldn’t say, not in public like this.

The medic looked at her gritted teeth, “You’ve got more to add?”
She heard footsteps and the soft voice of her Sergeant behind her, “She’s got more.” the voice quietened, “I know you Mel, this is bigger than division insults and swiped bunks, what’s got you tied in knots?”
“Can’t say, not in front of this crowd.”
“You want it to not be said at all? For the bastard to get away with it?”
“... No sir.”
“Then you know what to do. Things left in darkness fester, rot spreads. If you want to kill it, you need to drag it into the light.”

She straightened and sprinted forward before the pencil pusher had time to react, her sword keeping the spear out the way so she could punch him squarely in the face, bringing her knee up to hit his gut, “That’s for Jack, you slime.”
“Wait, what’s Jack got to do with this?” One of her squadmates piped up from the sidelines as the paperpusher paled.

“This sorry excuse for a cowpat dated him once.” She said, kicking his arm out from under him when he tried to stand, “Nice dinners, walking late at night, keeping it quiet like Jack asked ‘cos he’s shy.”
The paper pusher tried to lunge for her, Mel’s sword slapped the blade away. “And then he finally charms his way into Jack’s pants, except as soon as he gets what he’s after he ups and drops him.” Her eyes blazed with fury, “The fuck is your problem you asswipe?! You know how much that hurt him?! He didn’t sodding move for two days!”

The paper pusher jumped to his feet, looking round nervously as the crowd watching the ring started to growl. There were no friendly faces now, even those of his own squad looked disgusted.
One of them lifted their hand, “May I join the duel? I’ve suddenly got something that needs settling…”