Battle and warfare

Written by Peter Deák

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As a home to many past conflicts and positively plenty more to come, there is a separate culture attached to combat on Progonos. Some might argue that it is not simply a culture, but something that was etched into the blood of the people, a natural bend towards taking up arms for the right cause. Certainly not everyone is instantly capable of partaking in a bloodshed, but usually, they find it easier to cope with afterwards, and in a relatively short matter of time.

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While the first signs of an organized military had already materialized at some places of the world, it can be said that warcraft is still at its first baby-steps on Progonos. While primitive tribes are aware of how to rely on the terrain or the weather to gain an advantage over the enemy but most of the time all they do is charge head-on into the enemy lines, trusting in their large numbers and ferocity. Lacking any discipline, quality equipment, knowledge of the enemy, and an urge to prove themselves as unbeatable on the other hand usually get them in trouble against a larger force.
The armies mustered by most of the states are only a little different from them, but certainly not any better. The majority who are recruited during wartime are people who have not seen too many seasons of war if any at all. Still, one of the universal laws of the civilized world is that all adult male citizens are compelled to take up arms and report at the garrison building should their home would launch an attack, or come under attack. This is how they ensure to have accurate manpower and to emphasize the importance of this, any sort of refusal leads to severe punishment. Not to answer the summon could lead to heavy fines, enslavement, or the exilement of the whole family, while deserters, saboteurs, traitors, camp thieves always face public execution when they are caught.
There is little enough time to properly train the fresh recruits, and the arms and armour they can afford are on the same level as that of the savages. Once in the fray, they fight in the same fashion as well. To balance things out, the idea of the civilized states was to have their men forged into a single body, to beat them into obedience so that they could follow the instructions of their superiors, and carry them out accordingly, without a moment of doubt or fear. They hope to achieve victory over the enemy by strategy, teamwork, resourcefulness and discipline. In these quickly built up armies, the more seasoned veterans obviously make up the backbone as they have the most experience on the battlefield. They are also charged with training the young ones but many are also awarded the rank of an officer over time so that they could lead their students after the training is done.

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Throughout the years, many attempts were made to up the stakes of the arms race, however, about a hundred years ago the city-state of Xondos changed the concept of the whole game by establishing what we may call modern warfare. They were the first to have a state-funded, properly equipped and trained, professional military with many specialist branches within to be fit for all types of combat, and the stories of their exploits have travelled far with the wind. Soon, almost everybody wanted an army like the xondosi, but due to the lack of resources, manpower, or other, only a couple had managed to come to its close proximity, such as Aeneia, Malekhad, Mestro, Shingar, Ariapolis, and the Kheon Empire.
Even to those who are not as versed in the ways of war, it is clearly visible that this rapid rise in arming is a sign of bad things to come, which is why many other nations do their best to somehow counter it. Beyond their veterans, some boost the ranks of their troops by recruiting mercenaries, which was always a popular method, especially in the South. The frequent wars over resources and territory made the use of irregular forces almost completely native to this region to this very day. Others prefer keeping up an at least moderate size of a warrior elite, banding together with allies, war machines, or -dare we say it- using sorcery.

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