Difference between revisions of "Dominion Era/Tretallë (Military)"

Latest revision as of 23:30, 21 February 2016

Dominion Era Tretallë
Bone Elves
Istfet, The Strangers, Invaders, Deathriders
Imperial Standard of the Tretalleri Dominion
Land of Origin
Continent of Origin	Termalttë
Homeland	Teýrivellë
Capital	Ifatallë Cselvë
Racial Lore
Language	Tretalleri
Characteristics	Tretallë (Characteristics)
Culture	Tretallë (Culture)
History	Dominion Era
Government	Tretallë (Government)
Military	Tretallë (Military)
Stats	Tretallë (Stats)
Racial Relations
Allies	None
Enemies	Elledynnë
Neutrals	None

The military discipline of the Tretallë is unmatched in the world of Sekhar. The indisputable masters of cavalry warfare, facing the Tretallë in open combat is a fool's errand, one certain to end in massacre. Though the resplendent reputation of the Tretalleri cavalry often overshadow its militia, the Tretallë are arguably just as deadly on foot as they are mounted.

Star-steel

Because they are a people so viciously opposed to all things arcane, the weaponry of nearly all high-ranking officials of the Tretalleri military are crafted from a special metal called Elledtrillë, known in Dominean as Star-steel. This metal is renowned the world over for its ability to dampen and nearly-nullify and magical effects that it comes into contact with. The customary full armour of the Pale Imperator is forged entirely of Elledtrillë, effectively rendering him immune to arcane magic. In addition to this, most if not all Tretallë possess some minor trinket or piece of armour made of this special metal, heightening their resistance to the arcane.

In terms of actual weaponry, the Tretallë foot-militia prefer to wield spears and shields. The cavalry, in contrast, prefer their wickedly sharp crescent-bladed swords made of ordinary steel alloyed with Elledtrillë along with their ordinary steel lances that are used and discarded after the first charge. Due, however, to the military expertise of the race, pikes and swords are not unheard of among the foot-soldiers.

As a result of the corrosive hatred that the Tretallë have for the High Elves, and no other races, High Elfin Tallbows are an object of loathing, especially if they possess silver trim. Tretalleri archers use longbows, but prefer crossbows, leaving long-range warfare in the hands of the more-than-capable siege weaponry that always accompany the Tretalleri legions.

Military Hierarchy

At the head of the Tretalleri military is none other than the Pale Imperator, though more often than not, his is simply the face of the military, with the Prince of Lances taking on the actual duties that are necessary for the command of the Tretalleri Military. Directly below the Prince of Lances, who rarely, if ever, rides into battle himself, is the Council of the Lords General, a council of high nobility military leaders who are distinguished from the rest of the force by their bone-tipped Elledtrillë spears with ivory hafts that generally serve the function of displaying rank rather than any practical purpose. The Lords General are also possessed of helmets adorned with seven raven feathers and the regnal symbol of the Pale Imperator if he is incumbent.

The Tretalleri military is divided into two, the bulk of the army which is known only as the Legion, the Darrassi, as well as the portion of the military dedicated to conquest, the Fleet of Bones, the Erelitallë. These two branches of the Tretalleri military might are led by the Grand Lancers and the Grand Admirals respectively.

From this, the military hierarchy of the Tretallë returns to uniformity, with the next lowest officer to the Grand Lancers and Grand Admirals being the Trevessi, the commanders. These commanders head the Myriads, groups of five or more Charges. These Charges are led by Sergeants, Trevissi wand are comprised of 5-10 Flags which are in turn under the command of Flag-Lieutenants. These flags are the smallest unit of the Tretalleri military, comprised of 20-50 men at most.

While the commands of the highest ranking officer on the battlefield are mostly binding, any ranking official of the military may, during the heat of battle, especially in crises situations, decide to take a drastically different plan of action based upon the legal doctrine of Necessary Insubordination. Whether or not this ranking official takes is penalized is dependent on the consequences of the Necessary Insubordination. That is, so long as it does not prove to be destructive to the original plan, and so long as it does not cause any unreasonable loss of life, the ranking official that is to blame for the Necessary Insubordination shall not face a year of punishment with only necessary respite for every man in the officer's charge that paid the ultimate price.

Separate from the ranks of subordinates to the Prince of Lances are the Irrë and the Orrë, the eyes and ears of the Prince of Lances and the Council of the Lords General. They are a network of informants that are in charge for providing intelligence about the state of affairs in the many war camps that the Dominion has strewn about its purview. In addition, they are charged with informing the higher officials of any unrest or disciplinary infractions that occur within the ranks. They are trained meticulously for the work that they do and often perform their duties so fast that any offence is very promptly handled.

The Deathriders

The Deathriders are the pride and joy of the Tretalleri military. Though they are vastly intimidating on foot, their name hails from their ancient roots as an elite cavalry unit from a time when the Tretallë were yet to be united under the banner of the Dominion and the sovereignty of the Pale Imperator. It was during these days that the elite cavalry of the Kingship of the Bone Trees were given the name of "Deathriders" by the neighbouring city-states, and since then, the name has stuck.

The Deathriders are armed not only with their terrifying, screaming blades forged with Elledtrillë edges but also their unflinching steeds. Their vicious training enables not only them, but also their horses, to shrug off most non-lethal blows. They are beasts upon the battlefield, unmatched by none of the existing mounted forces during the reign of the Dominion. In fact, they are capapble of running down entire armies with their wicked weapons.

The training to become a part of the Deathrider elite, however, is no easy task. It is no secret that not just anyone can be a part of this proud unit as the training required runs long and often bloody. Only the most dedicated of existing cavalrymen are even offered the chance to take part in the requisite training to become a Deathrider. This training is without doubt brutal and unfortunately, lethal, at times.

The Dragon-blooded

Called Khirilacrë in Tretalleri, and the Dragon-blooded in Dominean, they are the pinnacle of achievement in Deathrider training. Their warhorses are replaced, in rather brutal fashion, with the most docile and most vicious of Drakes that can be bred from the Grand Drakes captured from the Shrouded Peaks.

Some of the Deathrider elite would consider becoming Khirilacrë an abominable and cursed things, but it is often these that are denied the chance to ascend to begin with. Because the bond between warhorse and rider is ingrained so deeply in the Deathriders, the act of butchering one's horse to feed to the hatchling one is given to become Khirilacrë is, to many, a violation of this most sacred pact between beast and man.

The Hunter Corps

The Hunter Corps, known in Tretalleri as the Talfinttë, are one of the most vital parts of Tretalleri conquest strategy. They are invaluable in making sure that the military campaign of conquest goes as smoothly as possible. Their primary purpose is to track down and kill any survivors of battles that the Dominion has not been able to capture and compel to spread misinformation to surrounding areas instead of inconvenient truths.

As with any such organization, the Hunter Corps is not perfect. There are times when survivors have slipped through their grasp. As the purview of the Dominion expands, however, more and more peoples with different abilities are integrated into the ranks, and as such, the Hunter Corps is the best organization of its kind—not that there exists a similar organization anywhere in the world during the time of the Hunter Corps. The fact that they are armed with javelins and hand crossbows and accompanied by great hounds only helps them to achieve their purpose better.

Conquest

The Tretallë are indisputably the masters of conquest and the mightiest empire that the world of Sekhar has ever seen in its recorded history. Though their martial prowess is nigh impossible to surpass, due to the fact that they are driven by what they take to be a divine imperative to spread the Dominion across the land, as opposed to bloodthirsty conquest, the Tretallë are also blessed with wisdom uncommon to most imperial races: that is, that the only reason that conquered peoples would remain within the purview of an empire and not revolt against it would be that they found being within the empire more advantageous than being without whilst still maintaining some modicum of control over their lives and their governance.

The Dominion stretches far beyond its heartland even during the Dominion Era, where the West is largely unexplored by the Dominion. The Dominion has colonies in all the explored world, save for the harsh desert environments of the far reaches of the North where the riders of the Tretalleri army are nigh-on ineffective.

The Dominion follows a strict procedure when it comes to their conquest or peaceful annexation of other realms. In order to properly scout and understand the culture of the peoples whom they wish to add to their empire, they first send the forerunners, the Urallë. More often than not, dealings with these other lands are peaceful, entire kingdoms integrated into the Dominion with little fuss.

However, as is inevitable, there are others that resist annexation with all their might. For these peoples, the Dominion has a solution, the Ereiltallë, the Fleet of Bones. Swift and decisive military strikes guided by the information gathered by the Urallë. These strikes are meant to establish military supremacy whilst dealing as little damage as possible to the existing social, political and economic structures of other kingdoms of empires that the Dominion wishes to subdue. After this display of power, any of those willing to accede to the Dominion are integrated and even aided in rebuilding, whilst those who remain opposed are scoured clean from the face of the earth, all that grows in their lands burnt to ashes to make way for new growth over the remains of the fallen.

The Urallë

The Urallë are the Forerunners of any Tretalleri goal of conquest. They are comprised of the best spies and informants of the Dominion, responsible for the task of bribing and charming strategic individuals in order to weaken the hold of the local government. Though in the early years of the Dominion, diplomacy was rather difficult due to the nature of the Bone Elves and their rather strict discipline.

During the reign of the third Pale Imperator, however, the Dominion peacefully annexed the lands of the then-starving Seýfë people. Since then, the Dominion has had an invaluable ally in the Seýfë, who are a matriarchal race whose individuals are possessed of an unearthly beauty, capable of nigh-irresistible seduction but also vicious assassination if necessary. Since that time, it is the Seýfë, who are as dedicated to the Dominion as the Tretallë are, that put into motion the task of the Urallë.

The Urallë is a flotilla comprised usually of six ships: two of the largest ships built in the Tretalleri shipyards, the Khirigullë, The Dragon's Belly in Dominean, and four relatively smaller galleons. Each flotilla is spearheaded by an Admiral, usually of the High Blood, except in circumstances where the gathering of information is paramount to the Ivory Throne, in which case the Admiral is chosen from among the Azure Blood. Each flotilla is comprised of well over a thousand men, fully capable of defending themselves if the need ever arises.

In fact, there are a few recorded instances in the history of the Dominion wherein the Urallë were able to overwhelm and sack a target city prior to the Ereiltallë arriving. More often than not, these incidences were caused by Forerunner flotillas largely comprised of peoples new to the Dominion, who are yet unaware of the gravity of doing such a thing. Needless to say, all of these encounters never ended well and all parties involved in making the decision are swiftly brought to the justice of the Stranger for the imperial imperative of the Urallë is only ever to prepare the way for the Fleet of Bones, with whom the imperative to carry out the Imperator's Divine Right to Conquest is firmly seated.

The Ereiltallë

The Ereiltallë, the renowned Fleet of Bones, is the most impressive display of naval military might during its time. It was and is an object of fear and awe for any who so dare to even whisper about it. In a feat proving the clinical precision of the Dominion's conquest, however, each time the Fleet of Bones sets sail for new land, few, if any, know of its coming—even the best informed of individuals only ever hear of the whispered rumours about the Fleet.

The Tretallë are vicious in conquest when it becomes necessary for them to exercise their bare military might. One of the primary post-battle duties of the Hunter Corps is to ensure that no survivors other than the ones that have already been manipulated to provide only false information to any that would listen to them. Refusing or neglecting this vital duty is a severe infraction against the code of the Hunter Corps, one that is grounds for execution in Tretallë courts of law. As unnecessarily strenuous this task might be for the Ereiltallë, this dedication to secrecy ensures that the Fleet of Bones remains the most unknown and most feared naval power outside of the Dominion.

In truth, there is often more than one Fleet of Bones. At the peak of the Dominion's might, the greatest of the Ereiltâllë that were in service at the time, was crewed with well over 400 000 men, composed of 400 large ships, and almost triple the number of small ships and skippers solely for harrying coastal villages that resist annexation.

While the cavalry of the Dominion is almost entirely Tretalleri, the rest of its forces, and, in fact, a large portion of the Fleets of Bone are comprised of loyal soldiers from other Dominion lands, lending the Fleets a wide gamut of natural abilities and propensities to aid in the conquest of many peoples, regardless of their native terrains.