[X] I send my family a substantial sum: fifteen crown a month. (-15 Income)
Fifteen gold crown is nothing to laugh at; it is more than the average Tierran tenant farmer makes in a year. Any of your ordinary Dragoons would likely kill for that sort of money.
Still, your family comes first, and you decide to send that considerable amount home every month.
You fold up the letter again, reach for your pen, and begin drafting a reply….
-
Weeks pass and turn into months. The burning heat of the Antari summer turns into the mild breezes and heavy rain of autumn.
Staff Sergeant Lanzerel puts his plans into motion. Over the following days, you see a few more of your men wearing freshly-sewn sergeant's and corporal's stripes.
The improvement isn't dramatic; the new NCOs are still the best of a bad lot, but you do see some small changes for the better here and there.
Discipline: 33%
Morale: 38%
Loyalty: 38%
-
Then, one day not a week after the first killer frost of the winter, you are summoned to the army's headquarters building. Waiting for you are four men bearing the sigil of the Order of Saint Joshua and a large, carefully padded box.
The liveried men—Seekers of the Red—take an hour to undo all but one of the multiple seals warding the box. The last one is carefully warded, a banetrap designed to fatally incapacitate any who touches it except you. With some difficulty, the Seekers assist you in undoing the last safeguard. Then, the box is opened.
Inside, mounted upon a wooden cross-shaped stand, sits a full suit of gleaming plate armour and a padded arming doublet to absorb heavy shocks and prevent chafing, complete with maille patches to cover gaps in the plate. Next to the armour is a second stand carrying a finely made broad-bladed longsword in a black leather scabbard. To your baneblooded eyes, both are marked with intricate patterns of acid-etched runes, glowing with the pale blue light of the Bane.
They are the armour and weapon of a Knight of the Orders-Militant, and you know full well that both have been tailored to fit your body exactly.
In a closed room, the four Seekers—servants of the knightly order which the King inducted you into nearly a year ago—help you put on your armour for the first time. The process takes another ten minutes, but the armour itself is surprisingly comfortable. Save for the claustrophobic darkness of the heavy plumed helm, you could almost feel as if the armour was a second skin, one which renders you impervious to most mundane weapons, including musket fire at any range beyond fifteen paces.
It is only when you are fully clad head to toe in a skin of enchanted steel that the Seekers present you with the sword—your sword. Your gauntleted hand fits the leather grip perfectly, and the blade draws from its scabbard as smoothly as silk in a summer breeze.
The instant the sword clears its sheath, the runes on the blade flare with a sudden intensity. Then, as your banesense begins to tug at your mind and edge your vision in green, the blade bursts into brilliant orange flame.
The sword's balance is perfect, and the heavy blade feels deadly in your hand as you take a few experimental swings, facing away from the four religious servants. You feel agile and powerful as you handle the massive sword one-handed. You barely feel the weight of the armour at all.
You know of the power of bane-hardened armour and bane-runed weaponry from personal experience. The former provides phenomenal protection, and the latter can penetrate even bane-hardened armour, let alone comparatively trivial obstacles like stone, wood, or people. However, you have no doubt that your enemies would know this, too; going into battle in a big, clanking, shining suit of armour with a flaming sword in hand might as well be an open invitation to your enemies to try to kill you first.
With that in mind, how often do you plan on using your new knightly equipment?
[] I shall go into every battle in armour with my new sword.
[X] I shall decide on a case-by-case basis.
[] I'll continue wearing my Dragoon uniform and sabre; thank you kindly.
Indeed. Although there will be situations where a flaming sword and bulletproof plate may prove useful, there are also ones where such assets become hindrances; a loud, obvious suit of armour would certainly not help if you needed to ambush the enemy or sneak about.
You make arrangements to have the armour added to your allotment of personal baggage, to be carried with your squadron's pack animals on campaign.
-
In the first month of 608, a convoy of warships carrying the ensign of the Royal Tierran Navy sails into the ice-scudded waters of Noringia's harbour. Onboard are replacements for the line infantry, new guns for the artillery, and most preciously, a score of bright young officers in the grey-green tunic of the Royal Dragoons.
Out of the twenty, Cazarosta's Third Squadron is to receive seven. Another six are bound for Lieutenant-colonel Keane's First Squadron. The remaining seven are for your own Sixth Squadron. After being the sole commissioned officer in a squadron of nearly two hundred men for nearly a full year, the relief you feel as your new subordinates report in is palpable.
Unfortunately, of the seven new officers you receive, not all are suitable. Only three are lieutenants fit to command the five troops that your squadron is divided into. The remaining two troops will have to be commanded by cornets: bright, newly minted boys with a life of potential but precious little experience.
With each section of your command now led by its own officer, your men begin to show improvement very quickly. Over the next few months, your squadron becomes better drilled and more spirited; and even begins to redirect any resentment over punishments and long exercises from you to their new junior officers.
Discipline: 49%
Morale: 53%
Loyalty: 53%
You also take the time to appoint a personal servant; the commanders of infantry companies and cavalry squadrons are permitted to retain an enlisted attendant, or 'bat-man,' to see to your personal needs in exchange for easier duties and a substantial pay bonus. You pick out one of the more loyal of your men, Corporal Marion, to serve in this purpose. You soon find that having someone else available to shave you, see to your uniforms, and prepare your tea makes life much easier.
As the seasons turn once again and your officers settle into their duties, you find yourself facing another decision. When you were the only commissioned officer in the squadron, you led the entire unit as a unified command. Now, with each troop led by a commanding officer of its own, you must choose which troop to accompany into battle should you ever be deployed separately.
In addition, the commanding officer of the troop you pick would be the one most likely to be at your side on the field. You spend some time going over your officers' strengths and weaknesses. The two cornets commanding their own troops are too inexperienced for the job, which leaves your three lieutenants.
First, there is Lieutenant Sandoral, commander of 1st Troop, a lanky figure with a stooped back and glasses. Every day, he reads lines of Kian philosophy and M'hidiyossi poetry to his men before they drill. One would think that such a habit would make him an object of ridicule amongst his men, yet the Dragoons under his command seem to respect and even almost like their soft-spoken, bookish officer.
Second, there is Lieutenant Blaylock, commander of 3rd Troop, a powerfully built young man who joined the army after he had been thrown out of Aetoria's Royal University for duelling. Abrasive and often crude, you must admit that the young man is an exceptional swordsman, a crack shot, and a gloriously skilled equestrian.
Lastly, there is young Lord Renard, or rather, Renard d'al Findlay, the Duke of Cunaris's eldest son and commander of 4th Troop. He is slim, dashing, and possesses a personal magnetism that even you find hard to resist. His aristocratic upbringing has made him eloquent and a fine horseman. He is also, unfortunately, profoundly dense.
Which troop do you decide to attach yourself to?
[] 1st Troop, under Lieutenant Sandoral.
[] 3rd Troop, under Lieutenant Blaylock.
[] 4th Troop, under Lieutenant Findlay.
