Military of the Commonwealth

Organisation
Military service is at the very centre of life for many in the Commonwealth. While some regions of central and southern Hana are generally peaceful, anywhere on the coast of the Wailing Sea or bordering the Red Waste is always at some measure of risk. Northern Hana and Lonin face the Terror more directly. Violence is part of life. Even those houses which exist in relative safety take the collectivist outlook shared across much of the Commonwealth and sending aid to those in danger is held in high regard.

Much of any army of the Commonwealth is comprised of nobles. Given that about one in ten of all people in the Commonwealth is a noble, though, this simply does not have the same connotations as elsewhere. Noble troops are not necessarily the elite of an army. Presented with an army from the Commonwealth, an onlooker from outside might struggle to determine who is a noble and who is a commoner in service to a wealthy house.

The Commonwealth's military is entirely outsized compared with its relatively small population - by some reckoning, it is the least populous part of the empire. It is sustainable because it is so deeply embedded in the culture of Hana and Lonin, and because of aid that flows from elsewhere in Elthos to hold the Terror at bay.

Soldiers from Hana, with its rugged country and dense forests, tend to be mostly foot soldiers, with the land being generally ill-suited to raising horses. Wealthy noble houses still maintain contingents of shock cavalry. Lonin is mostly tundra and taiga, but the Whitewater Plain is good country for horses, and, helped by the aid that comes from Hana and elsewhere in the empire, the armies of Lonin have many light cavalry to patrol the vast lands south of the Terror, as well as a strong core of fabulously well equipped shock cavalry.

Besides professional soldiers, every settlement in the Commonwealth can rely on a formidable militia.

The Commonwealth maintains a navy, funded by the Crown and headquartered in House Fletza's home, to ward off raiders from the Wailing Sea.

Doctrine
The military of the Commonwealth has more experience than anywhere else in the empire and counts among its number some superb officers. There is no single preferred approach to a battle. In the wilderness of Hana, tactics might resemble those of Dyrians, with infantry taking a strong position while skirmishes harry the foe over rough terrain.

However, most fighting in the Commonwealth takes place in Lonin. The nature of their eternal foe in the Terror and the fact that the enemy might very well fight to the death rather than routing, as would be expected of any normal enemy, imbues Commonwealth officers with considerable caution. If they encounter a strong enemy force, they will prefer to send for reinforcements and shadow the foe rather than engage it right away. Meanwhile, they evacuate villages, continue to wait for help, and refrain from engaging until they are certain of a victory with as few casualties as they can reasonably manage. While villages may be relinquished, fortifications are not, and if a fortress comes under threat, soldiers are expected to hold it until help arrives. Fortunately, threats from the Terror significant enough to truly threaten a fortress are rather rare.