Eternal Guard
The Eternal Guard as a whole are the armed forces of the nation of Valantar, who serve the Republic, not a president or Prime Minister but the Republic itself, their commander is chosen by the warriors whom they lead, and is not a life position, a commander serves the term of the Senate that they are raised during, once a Senate has been disbanded and a new one chosen, a new commander is chosen.
They are considered to be one of if not the best trained and armed armies on all of Hamanshiron, even the Wayfinders consider them well trained, if not seasoned, but many Valantarians serve first in the Wayfinders then return and serve in the Eternal guard, which is a lifetime commitment, a warrior of the Eternal Guard serves until they die. Even those that are retired serve as advisers and trainers and other non-combat roles.
Most of the Eternal Guard after joining never leave Valantar, and it has been this way since they were formed, only leaving during the Great Wars to fight on the battlefields they were fought on.
As long as there has been Valantar there has been the Eternal guard,
Composition
Manpower
There are roughly 60,000 Eternal Guard serving around the country, 10,000 are stationed in Valantaris while the remaining 50,000 are barracked in the other cities of Valantar.
Equipment
The regular Eternal Guard wear a under suit of leather with a chainmail hauberk over, plate greaves and braces it with a helm and a mask that covers the face, the only time the Guard remove the helm is in barracks, if they have a shield it will either be a buckler or a kite shield. Shock infantry remove the hauberk and replace it with plate, the heavy infantry remove the leather and combine chain and plate, light infantry wear just leathers and plate vambraces and greaves.
Weaponry
The Eternal guard Shock troops favour either axes or swords, either a pair of each or two handed versions, Heavy Infantry favour the Lochaber axe and the Pike or crossbow and pavise, and light Infantry favour the Longbow, other formations within the Guard have their own weapons of choice.
Structure
The Supreme commander of the Guard is the overall leader of the Guard and they oversee the deployments and every day running of the guard, and the many sections that make up the guard as a whole. They also oversee the auxiliary units of Valantar, the regional militias, the Senatorial guards and the Clan Bondsmen. Each section of the Guard is commanded by a General of the Guard, who has 4 commanders that are subordinate to him, each commander commands a battallion, they each have 4 Captains, who each command a company, under their command they have 4 Lieutenants who each command a platoon, they have 4 sergeants subordinate to them, each sergeant commands a squad of 15 warriors.
Tactics
The tactics employed by the Eternal guard is dependent on the enemy they face and the composition of the force sent to face the enemy.
Training
The Eternal guard training cycle is constant, there are 4 watches for each guard each day, sleep watch, guard watch, training watch, rest watch, every day that is their routine, no matter the time of day each watch starts or ends, they follow that structure, every single day. They are afforded 2 days off of guard watch every week, and even then they replace only the guard watch with a rest watch, they still complete their training watch. Every 3 months they get a week off to do whatever they want, most guards still train at least one watch of every day. They are dedicated and they are relentless.
Logistics
Auxilia
In times of war the Eternal guard are supplemented by regional Militias who are kept in ready condition, training every 2 months for 5 days, the militias are made up of craftsmen, farmers, traders, people that their every day life doesn't revolve around fighting or training to fight. They are also backed by the Senatorial guard, who are entirely separate from the Eternal guard and their upkeep is paid for out of the taxes taken from the wages of the members of the Upper and Lower houses, and finally the Clan Bondsmen, the warriors that each clan chief and clan sept chief pays to train to fight but also keep the peace and the laws in their holding this is not to be confused with Friecantaigh, his household guard who answer only to him, this is the traditional warrior caste of the clans, clan law is older than the laws of Valantar and clan law says that for every 50 member of their sept a sept chief must have 1 Bondsman, and a clan chief must have 1 Bondsman for every 100 members of their clan, Bondsmen in peace times are the police of the clan and sept holdings, ensuring the clan laws are kept
Recruitment
Recruitment into the guard is entirely voluntary, and it is a great honour to have a child become a guard, but they must go through a selection process that is grueling and made to separate those who are in it for honour or those who are in it to be an Eternal Guard, those who do it for honour will break before those who are in it to be in the Guard and serve their country. Many of the guard serve the Wayfinders for at least 1 five year hitch before returning home and joining up but many serve the Militias and as Bondsmen before hand too.
Type
Infantry
Overall training Level
Professional
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