The Alyssean Legions

"'Upon my honour and life I henceforth swear my mind and body to the Empire and its Emperor. My victories are his and his are mine. Glory to Alyssium! Glory to the Emperor!' - The Legion's Oath."The Alyssean Legions, the Legions, or Winged Ranks is the main armed force of the Alyssean Empire and thus its greatest military asset. It operates under the guidance and authority of the Emperor himself and the current Militant. With its quality training, and rigid discipline, the Legions are considered one of the best armies ever assembled in Reman and later Alyssean history. The primary mission of the Legions is to preserve the identity and lands of Alyssium--as well as act as a bulwark against the enemies of the Empire, and when needed, as a weapon against said enemies.

The patron deity of the Alyssean Legions is Alend, Corvus God of Combat, Justice, and Trade. The Legions are based out of the Soldiers Quarter within the City of Alyssium itself, but, there are multiple HQ-Points throughout Alyssium and it's client kingdom of Ostan.

The Legions are widely regarded as one of the best forces in Luminus--though they fell on hard times following the Year of the Lost during which they lost 6 full Legions due to various factors. Though, under the Emperorship of Marcus Valentus, they have since regained their pride.

Overview
The Legions are divided into structured and disciplined military units--the largest of which is the Legion itself, which is further divided into 9 units, known as Quingenti, of 500 Legionaries themselves (infantry and archers) and a 10th unit of 500 cavalry (250 light and 250 heavy). Each Legion is led by a Legate.

Each Quingenti is broken up into 5 Centuries, with each Century being lead by a Centurion. The Centurion of the 1st Century of each Quingenti is titled as Senior Centurion--and thus leads the whole Quingenti while still being subservient to the Legate.

Each Century is broken up into 5 Squads of 10, each squad is lead by a Captain with the Captain from the 1st Squad titled as Senior Captain and put in charge of all the Squads while still subservient to the various Centurions.

Legions are identified by their number and cognomen--such as the 1st Legion, Lupos. Each Legion possesses a proud history and sub-culture--which allow for Legions to become more tactically viable the longer they're in service.

There are a total of 15 Legions--meaning there are 75,000 Legionaries active at any-one-time--making the Alyssean Legions as a military organization one of the largest standing armies in all of Luminus. Such a size is accomplished by multi-race recruitment--with races such as City Elves, Aether and even immigrants from other Tarot Pact nations making up portions of the Alyssean Legions--though, the Alysseans themselves have always made up a majority.

Equipment
The equipment of the Legions is rather obvious for an army of its type. Each Legionary is equipped with; a falcata, a curved tower-shield, a medium-level crossbow, and a spear. The armour itself is very standard between races--with the shoulder-worn pelt being standard issue, but not required.

The open-helmet, known as the Apertum being standard issue--however, the semi-closed, known as the Quasi and the enclosed helmet, known as the Claudi--are things that an individual Legionary has to pay for in order to get.

Rank is distinguished by a disk worn on the left shoulder--the disk containing one of three markings (sword for Captain, Shield for Centurion, and Wings for Legate) with the number of the Legion below the marking.

Training
Each recruit for the Legions, before applying, must have served 2 years within the Auxilliary--the secondary army of Alyssium which acts as the guardian of the cities and the general police--as well as be at least 20 years of age. From there a recruit will spend a further year training within the one of the various HQ's of the Legions during which they will be trained to carry the full weight of their equipment as well as built roads, bridges and forts. Following this, they will be assigned to a squad within the recruit-pool and then to a Legion.

Each recruit--and later Legionary, is to train to maintain a 'boxers' physique--muscular, but not too much so. Even aside from that the recruits are trained in two main martial arts; Alyssean Armoured Kickboxing (a form of Kickboxing developed by the Alysseans to be used while in full Legionary armour) as well as a form of martial arts that relies on the use of their shield as a battering ram--and their spear as a precise tool--called Hastam Belli.

With these tools in hand, it's no wonder the Alyssean Legions are widely regarded as Luminus' best military force--though, Bavarnia and it's own army often dispute this claim.