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Originally posted on Library of Erana:
#Graphicnovel #Horror Character Name: Travis Malone Which book/world do you live in?: Hell Bent Tell us about yourself: Well, I’m pretty damn hard to kill, for one thing. Also, I’m part-monkey. Both of those…
Welcome to this week’s edition of Lisa Burton Radio. The only show that interviews the characters from books you love. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and today, my special guest is Cautious Craig, who recently took a vacation to Cape Town, South Africa. “Welcome to the show, Craig. You look so smart in your suit and tie but what is that funny noise and what are you sitting on?”
“Hi Lisa, thank you for having me over for a visit. I chose this tie myself. Dad said I shouldn’t get the one with aeroplanes all over it but I really like aeroplanes, especially after our holiday to Cape Town. Mom made me bring Willy with me for the interview. Willy is only three years old and he is very naughty and spoils everything. I am sitting on him and have my hand over his mouth so that he…
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Arilyn Moonblade (Matt Wilson)
First of all, I did go into details about the Mercenary Life back in December of 2015 HERE.
Yet, I can’t leave them out of this weekly topic because they are a big factor when it comes to big military encounters. Kingdoms, villages, armies, and individuals hire these people for jobs. The reason is because they can do more than a regular army. As much as they hate to admit it, mercenaries can skirt treaties and certain laws to put a quick end to hostilities. Many try not to get involved in deals that require unsavory actions, but the career has always had a soiled reputation. It takes a lot of work for a mercenary to become know as an honorable agent instead of a less subtle assassin or expendable goon.
There are two big mercenaries in the Legends of Windemere series. One is Delvin Cunningham who had an easier time establishing his reputation. This is because he was trained by a respected teacher and he took a risk in his mercenary career. While it was known that he could be tough and intimidating, Delvin never took jobs that harmed innocent people. He demonstrated that he had a conscience and would say no to orders even if it put him at odds with his team. After a while, his friends learned to trust his judgment because they would see their own reputations improve. Better jobs with a safer and higher exposure level came to them.
Now, Delvin would not be able to do this without the other mercenary who came before him. Selenia Hamilton began at a time where women were soldiers, but those that went mercenary tended to be thieves and casters. She grabbed the entire mercenary world by the face and dragged it into her vision. This is why they have a central town for communication, more respect as a profession, and an overall leadership in Ralian known playfully as the Mercenary Royal Family. These four mercenaries aren’t related, but they have earned the King, Queen, Prince, and Princess titles, which helps them with jobs. Selenia did this by starting with a small group and making an impact then amassing the biggest mercenary army history had seen to that point. Tzefira, the current Mercenary Queen, probably has her beat in numbers. These large armies are expensive to hire, but are seen as important factors in war because you don’t want your enemy to be the one to get them. On the plus side, there aren’t many mercenary armies out there. Five or six at most.
This unaffiliated faction certainly makes an impact, but they do lack one thing that the armies have. They need conflict to survive. Most mercenaries have no second job or government paycheck. If a mercenary takes on a guard position then they are made stationary, which makes it harder to find freelance work. They may do this in large cities, but it puts the other job at risk. So many become seasonal or find easy sources of money like thievery or underground fights. There’s also no easy retirement with most mercenaries either dying, retiring due to injury, or crossing a line that gets them put in jail. Selenia is an exception since she quit to start a school, but her reason for quitting was a major loss that haunts her to this day. So, there is a higher risk of mental trauma when you’re a mercenary.
In regards to the three ‘Powers of the Land’, I would put the mercenaries in the middle of the other two. They get involved with the armies of Windemere and possess a similar role when it comes to battles. Yet, they’re freelance and move about like the third force that will be mentioned on Friday. This is why a mercenary can easily move into one of the other two categories.
Source: Late May Giveaways & Offers
Might & Magic Army
Moving on to the land powers of Windemere, this category is easier to divide and explain than sea and air. The reason is because they get involved in a lot more events and they’ve been around for longer than the other two. Sky travel is fairly new and naval battles came after people had been fighting on the land. So there has been a longer time to fine tune the various systems and establish similarities between them. For example, there is a similar hierarchy in every army even if the titles and duties differ.
Another reason an army will come up more often than the others is because of the protagonist connections. Many warriors were soldiers or guards, so they have that kind of training. There is the fairly common ‘savant’ hero who appears after training alone or with an elder. Yet, that elder might be a former soldier and you get a sense of the military system by how they operate and talk. As long as they have a personality that is. Even if a hero isn’t from that world, fantasy authors always use guards for something when a city is introduced. It could be as innocuous as talking to the guy at the gate or more complicated like getting arrested for a bar fight. The army, which tends to include guards who could be considered the reserves, is around in some fashion when the navy or air forces might never come up.
In Windemere specifically, most armies are similar and differ mostly on tactics, weapons, and special forces. A reason for this is because there have been numerous global events that caused a global unification of military might. So the various races learned from each other and adopted ideas that they liked. Barbarians still charge in screaming, but now they have javelin throwers and use a squad system in some battles. Dwarves open a battle the same way, but many of them use an armored wall technique or boulders that they can send down a hill. These tactics aren’t all that is used, but it shows that the races have learned from each other. In fact, the armies that use basic and straightforward strategies tend to be those of warlords or anyone trying to conquer. I guess after so many events nearly wiped every one out, the races of Windemere have a great love of defense. Although there is one group that goes against that, but they’re tomorrow.
Now, I did mention special forces, which is a big variable. These would include your casters, battle priests, paladins, griffin riders, shock troops, and whatever else would be more than your average soldier. Many times these are area or racial specific. For example, halfling armies tend to have a small squad of thieves who sneak around to take weapons from enemies and sabotage things. They are the only people who do this because it suits their natural abilities. As far as area, you don’t have to look further than the Gaian griffin riders. Without the mountain, they wouldn’t have those because the griffins wouldn’t have anywhere to stay.
So, armies definitely have an influence and role in Windemere stories. Nearly every civilized race and society has one. There is one exception to this. The elves don’t have their own army. One can find them in the military of other kingdoms and even species if they live there. The reason for this is because the elves have no central government, so they wouldn’t have their own military. It’s a small wrinkle in the world that nobody really pays attention to. It all comes from them starting as a demon-corrupted species that conquered the world. They refuse to create their own central government out of fear of being a threat once again. In fact, one could say the Hejinn (first elves) are the ones responsible for the current army systems.
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Don Massenzio Today, I’m very excited to feature Darlene Foster as she sits down for this weeks edition of a Perfect 10. Please enjoy. If you want to check out past interviews, you can find them in the following links: … Continue reading
Legends of Windemere 