Rules of War
"It is not a soldier's way to kill. That is not your job. Your job is to take the field, go where I tell you when I tell you. If I tell you to occupy that hill, that is what your job is. If I tell you to take those supplies or burn them, then that is what you must do. There will be people on the other side, people who have a job, too. Their job is to stop you. When they do that job, they may try to kill you or they may not, that's up to them. If you kill them or not is up to you. It must be personal, a choice you have made.
"Why this choice? Because you will have to live with that choice. I cannot ask you to kill and I won't ask you to die. I will only ask you to do your job."
~Edler Gantor
The Rules of War boil down to seven virtues.
1. Purity - This is an tradition against despoiling the enemy, burning their crops or harming their civilians.
2. Temperance - When foraging for supplies, an army is expected to take no more than they need.
3. Will - The central tenet of war in the Maecodian style, will is the focus on the drive to win and the concentration on the reasons to fight in the first place. It is also the central focus of attack.
4. Diligence - Every man is expected to do his duty.
5. Mercy - A defeated enemy is not to be despoiled, any more than their civilians. A prisoner can be ransomed, arrested, robbed, sold, or indentured but they shouldn't be further harmed.
6. Satisfaction - Honor must be satisfied; if specifically challenged on the field a soldier is expected to respond. This is most often a part of the champion battles during the Valley of the Shields.
7. Bravery - Courage is a central theme in human art, poetry, and prose. A warrior is expected to never consider their own life before they consider their comrades'.
History
The rules of war in Maecodia have developed naturally over time. The fiercely independent settlements of the humans have fought with each other over scraps of dirt since the Rape of Tilane, growing more insistent as resources were actually harvested and developed. At this point the rules are just background culture, everyone knows them but none really bother to question them. Breaking them often will give someone a reputation as either a coward or a savage, and not much more thought is given.
The rules have developed this way for several practical reasons. First, the population of humans has always been somewhat endangered, particularly where they are free. They simply can't afford to be slaughtering each other wholesale on a constant basis. Secondly, there is a need to preserve the very things that they are fighting over. A farm is no good to anyone if an overzealous balatar burns it to the ground. Spitefully burning it will only result in escalating spite later, and everyone winds up living on an ash heap regardless of the winner. Third, more profit can be made from taking prisoners and accepting terms than provoking a savage partisan campaign.
Components and tools
Embodying these virtues, particularly when inconvenient, will often earn a warrior tangible honors such as titles and medals, or extra shares of booty.
Participants
These tenets are accepted as virtues for warriors, soldiers and militiamen.
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