The Araluen army, also known as the King's Army, was the force that protected and served the King of Araluen. It was made up of many different units, including the Ranger Corps and the Royal Scouts. King Duncan's army, which was drawn from the 50 fiefs of Araluen was very large, numbering thousands of men. The fiefs were required to keep a ready group of trained archers to fight in the army.
Ranger Corps[]
The Ranger Corps acted as an elite fighting force capable performing covert operations such as intelligence gathering, scouting, infiltration and assassination. They were capable of leading sections of the Araluan army during times of war and considered advisor even to the King of Araluen. They were highly skilled archers and knife throwers and were trained in the art of unseen movement. They were trained extensively in battle strategy, geography, negotiations and other skills. However, there were only 50 of them in the Corps at any one time (excluding apprentices), one for each fief, due to their specialized nature. Retired Rangers performed work for the Corps when needed, but would not fight in any official capacity if war was declared on Araluen.
Soldiers[]
The part-time men at arms made up the majority of the army. They were lightly armed infantry and the regimental commanders were the only mounted men in the units. They used spears, swords, pikes when in combat and were the primary combat troops of the Araluan army.
Usually deployed along a large front, and with missile cover from Rangers and Archers, they could be a troublesome enemy to face.
Archers[]
The Araluen army was unique by having a standing force of longbowmen. Araluen used them to devastating effect during battle, as they were the only large force of archers in the Hemisphere. A group of one hundred archers was stationed in Skandia to help defend them from attack, in accordance with the Treaty of Hallasholm[1]. Archers usually come in groups of two, the bowmen, and a shield man. The shield men guard the bowmen, but if attacked, can throw down their large shields and defend the archers using a spear.
Messenger Corps[]
The Messenger Corps, lead by Sir Vincent, were knights and soldiers who carrid messages across the battlefield to the commanders of the Araluan army. They acted as the ears and eyes of the King and his council during a battle. They wore minimal armor in order to move faster and used swords and daggers.
Royal Scouts[]
The Royal Scouts of the Army trained the archers of the Kingdom and were tasked with scouting out ahead of the army in a battle. The officers of the Royal Scouts came from nobility, making them almost equivalent to knights. Will was offered join their ranks at the end of Oakleaf Bearers, but he refused the offer, preferring to remain a Ranger.
Knights[]
Recruits that graduated from the Battleschools of the Kingdom were eventually rewarded with knighthood. They were the kingdom's elite swordsmen and there was only one knight to every ten soldiers. They fought with long swords, arming swords, axes, lances, and spears, generally favoring two handed weapons. All knights were trained as Cavalrymen, who rode on horses with lances.
Cavalry[]
Knights who chose to become Cavalrymen used the lance as their primary weapon. They were mounted on fierce battlehorses, which made them virtually invincible to Wargals, due to their fear of horses.[2]
- ↑ Oakleaf Bearers, Chapter 39
- ↑ The Battle of Hackham Heath, Chapter 39