Military

The Trakorian powers - the Emperor, the Bodâk, high nobles and other actors - use a range of military forces to impress the Trakorian order on the world.

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MERCENARIES
Mercenaries, in the form of the professional armies of condottiers, and regularly hired for all sorts of tasks. The richest condottiers with the biggest armies might even get a contract with the throne itself, as is the case for many of the troops on Trinsmyra, as well as the force in Tricilve. For the most part, the policy is to try and not let any one of these troops grow to too large a size so it might flip the power and start extortion against its employers, and for the most part, that works. Still, the condottiers of Trinsmyra have grown powerful, as have a handful of others, particularly the pirate Admirata Vemsica, who rivals the Trakorian state navy in power.

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HIRDS
These are regular soldiers raised and maintained directly by the Bodâk. They are used for tasks that the ruling council does not dare to entrust condottiers with. In principle, a hird is responsible for the security of Tricilve, though a condottier has also been stationed there recently.

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CONSTABLES
These are local troops, often maintained by a neighbourhood to keep order in villages, as well as acting like city guards. They are also charged with tax collection. They only take part in military operations in times of utter desperation.

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MILITIAS
During times of war, commoners are drafted as conscripts and put through fast track training to defend the realm. Militias are under the command under the local condottier or hird commander.

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PRIVATE ARMIES
Nobles maintain their own men-at-arms. Those who live in remote areas are often allowed to maintain greater forces than those close to major urban areas, as they need to keep the peace there and protect commoners from bandits or black blood warbands. The nobles also have to provide the Crown with the support of these forces a month or two every year in exchange for tax relief.

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THE NAVY
The Navy is a Hird under the Mana Phena, but more and more condottiers have turned to ply their trade on the oceans, as Trakoria is a trading nation and dependent on naval superiority to connect its trade to the mainland, as well as maintain its hold over Marjura and other colonies (let alone connect the four islands). As a note, the navy has access to a series of different ships for various tasks:

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The Galbalon

These are huge floating fortresses that can be moved, but move very slowly. They are shock-full of marines, archers and war machines like catapults and ballistas and large enough to destroy just about any ship it encounters. Its hull is also covered in asbast, making it fire resistant. Thus, it’s invaluable for large scale naval battles. The navy has about a handfull of these in total and one is usually quite enough to protect a port on its own. The naval base of Karramak has two (aside from the other ships), making it nigh invulnerable to attack.

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Carracks and Caravels

These make up the bulk of Trakorian warships. Large and slower than medium sized ships, like barques, they pack enough punch to handle most naval battles on their own, at least during peace time and certainly when they have sufficient numbers. They are packed with archers and war machines, but nowhere near as powerful as the Galbalon.

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Dromons and Galleasses

These are lighter, galley-type ships, with lots of rowers. For the most part, they are used as lighter escort duty type ships, and mostly confined to the Trakorian sea, as they are not as capable of navigating the high seas as the Carracks and Caravels.

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Katremasses

These are the fastest and lightest ships in the navy. They are twin-hulled catamarans, and way too small to fight any warship, but fast enough to outsail them handily. They are used primarily as coast guard vessels, boarding traders to collect customs and inspect goods. They also patrol the coasts to hunt for bandits or smaller pirate ships and smugglers. Finally, they act as the messenger service within the navy, as no ship is as fast. They have a small crew, so if they were to encounter a hostile warship, even a small pirate vessel, they will keep their distance and let a heavier ship do the actual fighting.