Marshal of Calanthi

Calanthi was founded when a group of nobles banded together under the Son of Duke Bracken, XII, pooling their resources and sailing to the North Coast of The Great Sea. Between to great rivers they found extensive grasslands which they could farm and form a new nation. But first, the hunters that wandered this land had to be pushed out so the wilderness could be tamed for the farmer.
Calanthi, like The Old World, was going to be a feudal monarchy where men won fame for their families that would last for generations. But to attain that goal, there were battles to be fought and wars to be won. The resources of a few dozen rich men wouldn't achieve that through force of will. A Champion had to be found among their ranks that could lead the men in battle against their enemies. But prowess in battle and a mind for logistics wasn't the stuff a great noble was made from. Noblemen had to have a talent for diplomacy and administration. How do you reward a great hero without giving him a job he will hate or a task that he is destined to fail? You give him a noble title for a champion, The Marshal.
The Marshal is the commander of military forces on a great scale. It requires an understanding of the technology and tactics that will be used in battle by your side and the enemies. This permits the Marshal to design training programs for the recruits. It helps the army order the right equipment for the tasks ahead. The Marshal has to be able to form a strategy for the war. He has to be able to read a map so he can see where the enemy will be strong and where they are weak. He must be able to know where the enemies supply lines are so they may be disrupted and broken. So he must have a good knowledge of the enemy which is gained by fighting on the front lines. So the Marshal has to have battlefield experience. And the Marshal must have the respect of his commanders so they will do as they are bid, and this is another trait gained in combat.
The Duke didn't know who would be his Marshal when they left for the North Coast. This would have to be learned as he read about the battles, and visited the units to see about their morale and hear their opinion of their commanders.
The title of Marshal is also not a title that includes hereditary title. A good commander comes from experience, not from bloodlines. A good commander can be trained as from father to son, but it also requires some innate ability. The administrative talents for running a barony can be learned in a book. The requirements are written into law. But being a leader on the battlefield includes more than you can read about in a book.
The army is strongest when the Marshal has experience in battle. During extended periods of peace it becomes a different job of managing the resources and men for drill. And in these periods the title of Marshal is awarded for something else besides battlefield performance. But the Marshal leads the army and answers to the King no matter what season.
The first Marshal of Calanthi was a knight, Sir Alexander Zyltar. A large book would be needed to describe the great deeds of Sir Alexander during the war with the nomadic orcs of the southern plains. Sir Alexander, as Marshal of the North Coast (the name given to the area of Calanthi after the First Landing, before it was formed into a nation) fought the Orcs that had almost everything going for them. They had the numbers. They knew the terrain. They didn't have long tenuous logistics line for supplies. And the Orc culture, to the extent the men considered it a culture at all, was a culture that celebrated strength, warrior spirit and hunting success. Marshal Zyltar had steel and he had strategy.
While the Orcs were extremely numerous, they had a very loose societal structure. Each clan operated independently. There was an annual period of councils in the spring where the clans would meet and discuss their individual situations. But there was no routine messenger service among them and no regular interaction at all. The clans roamed the plains as they followed herds to satisfy their need for food. They were experts at living off the land. But they didn't stay in one place to build a barn, or construct roads or do anything that would lend permeance to their style of living. So although the Orcs had the numbers, the Marshal was able to face them in smaller groups and defeat them.
The Marshal's other advantage was that his back was to the sea. The Orcs had an endless sea of grass to retreat into. So when enough pressure had been applied by the men, the Orcs seemed to fade away. The men had to win or die, and this gave them deep motivation. Marshal Alexander Zyltar's name will live forever in the accounts of the Founding of Calanthi as The Marshal of The North Coast.

Specific accounts of Sir Alexander Zyltar's actions may be found in The Brother of All Knights.