Newlyweds on a battlefield
The eleonian army is considered the largest and best trained military forces in all of Leanor and has been known as such for a very long time. In its history, it has fought a lot of important battles, many of which Eleonis has won. One of the most notable in relatively recent history is, of course, the Great War. In all its greatness, the eleonian military naturally also has a couple of issues. Wherever there are groups of people, myths and superstitions also emerge.
The eleonian soldiers are no exception. A soldier in love is generally not much of an issue, it can even be a motivation for a soldier to fight as hard as possible in order to come home to their loved one. It is, however, considered frightfully bad luck to bring a newly married soldier on the field of battle. This is attributed to the assumption that the first few months of marriage are quite an adjustment in the way of life and therefore makes for a distracted soldier who would be of little use in a battle and might even negatively influence the outcome of said battle.
According to this superstition, the only thing worse than a newlywed soldier would be one with a pregnant wife, especially if it is their first child. Because of this, soldiers are strongly discouraged from getting married in case of an impending war. Of course, it is not always possible to predict all contributing factors, so sometimes people will keep their marriage or a pregnancy secret to avoid frightening the rest of the army. It does also make a difference wether the particular person is a common footsoldier or someone higher in the chain of command. Where with a common footsoldier, the threat is seen as insignificant, a newlywed commander is seen as a real problem. Therefore, secrecy is particularly common in these ranks.
There is, however, no proof of this actually posing a threat. In recent times, fewer soldiers believe in this myth. Particularly younger soldiers consider it a silly, old-fashioned superstition. Still, even Ionathar Angeleos, who is known to not believing in old superstittions, kept his marriage to Mireanda Aorelis during the War of the Lions secret to assure that his army would follow him to victory instead of fearing defeat all through the second battle of the Angeleor Fields.
The eleonian soldiers are no exception. A soldier in love is generally not much of an issue, it can even be a motivation for a soldier to fight as hard as possible in order to come home to their loved one. It is, however, considered frightfully bad luck to bring a newly married soldier on the field of battle. This is attributed to the assumption that the first few months of marriage are quite an adjustment in the way of life and therefore makes for a distracted soldier who would be of little use in a battle and might even negatively influence the outcome of said battle.
According to this superstition, the only thing worse than a newlywed soldier would be one with a pregnant wife, especially if it is their first child. Because of this, soldiers are strongly discouraged from getting married in case of an impending war. Of course, it is not always possible to predict all contributing factors, so sometimes people will keep their marriage or a pregnancy secret to avoid frightening the rest of the army. It does also make a difference wether the particular person is a common footsoldier or someone higher in the chain of command. Where with a common footsoldier, the threat is seen as insignificant, a newlywed commander is seen as a real problem. Therefore, secrecy is particularly common in these ranks.
There is, however, no proof of this actually posing a threat. In recent times, fewer soldiers believe in this myth. Particularly younger soldiers consider it a silly, old-fashioned superstition. Still, even Ionathar Angeleos, who is known to not believing in old superstittions, kept his marriage to Mireanda Aorelis during the War of the Lions secret to assure that his army would follow him to victory instead of fearing defeat all through the second battle of the Angeleor Fields.
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