User:Nightstar The Bright

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Hello everyone, I am Nightstar The Bright. I really enjoy reading Brandon Sanderson’s books, sometime after I read them all I began editing the Coppermind.

Notable pages I created or heavily edited.

! The following text is a collection of the information about the Alethi military !

Military[edit]

Chain of command
Unit Soldiers Typical Commander
subsquad 6–8 sergeant
squad ~25 squadleader
platoon ~50 captain/captainlord
company ~100 companylord
battalion ~1000 battalionlord
division ~2000 general
army — highprince
In companies made solely of lighteyes, the rank "lieutenant" is used as the equivalent of sergeant.

The modern Alethi military is one of the strongest armed forces on Roshar with well over 100,000 troops[1] and over thirty Shardbearers.[2] The army employs most of its troops as spearmen and archers, as well as a very small amount of cavalry due to the rarity of horses on Roshar;[1] only the officers wield swords because, according to Vorin traditions, the sword is regarded as a lighteyed's weapon.[3] Soldiers are usually trained in one or two additional Skills, i.e. horse grooms.[4] Under most circumstances, military service is voluntary, though the leaders of the army has the right of conscription for darkeyes that do not provide an essential function to a community (e.g. a town's only surgeon) when they feel there is need for additional troops.[5] It is extremely rare for a darkeyed soldier to rise higher than the rank of squadleader.[6] Lighteyed officers that have the command of a branch of the army are usually referred by their duties (e.g. cavalrylord, infantrylord).[7]

Despite Alethkar being a monarchy, the king has very little actual say in how the military is run and does not directly command any force other than the 250-strong King's Guard. The troops are sworn to and led by their individual highprinces.[2] In that sense, Alethkar army is not truly a unified army, but a loose coalition between ten smaller armies. Indeed, even in wartime, there is constant in-fighting between the highprinces' armies,[6] and cooperation between the highprinces themselves is seen as a weakness;[8] this is bolstered by the tenets of Vorinism that say the purpose of life is to prepare in order to join the Heralds in the fight to regain the Tranquiline Halls and Alethi belief that everything is a competition in life.[9]

Because of the immense size of the army and the difficulty of travel, compounded by the poor supply line infrastructure of Alethkar,[10] Soulcasting plays a vital role in supplying the army with wood, metal, food, and many other necessities, as well as being used in building fortifications. The king controls most of the Soulcaster ardents; in fact, manipulating the highprinces with his Soulcasters is one of the ways that the king maintains a control over them.[9]

Recently, in an effort to truly unify the kingdom, Dalinar Kholin has been appointed as the Highprince of War by the king. This title was used in Alethkar before being fragmented into ten princedoms when each highprince was given the ultimate authority over one aspect of the governing of the kingdom. On paper, this gives Kholin authority over all war-related activities.[11]

The Alethi military is currently one of the major military forces fighting against the Fused Invasion, most notably during the Battle of Thaylen Field and the Emuli Campaign.[12][13][14] Although many more battles and skirmishes were fought between the two armies between 1173 and 1175.[citation needed] They also led the Evacuation of Hearthstone in early 1175.[15] They are currently centered around and stationed in Urithiru.[16]

Uniforms[edit]

Higher ranking officers are distinguished by knots on a cord across the epaulette, with the amount of knots and their colour signifying their military rank, and their rank in the Alethi caste system.[17][1][18][7][19][6][20][21] White knots indicate a citizen officer, that is a sergeant or squadleader;[17][1][19] red knots indicate an officer of seventh dahn;[19] and gold knots indicate second or third dahn;[7][19] It can also distinguish between low captain,[21] captain,[22][23][24] captainlord,[25] lieutenant,[26] sergeant,[27] and battalionlord.[28] Soldiers without authority bear no knots.[18][19][21][29]

Exact uniform varies between armies, usually coloured to signify the banner they fight under.[19][20][30] Some men choose to further personalize their uniforms with embrodiery or colourful scarfs.[31] Uniforms are always worn with an undershirt alongside the uniform itself.[32]

Armaments[edit]

Darkeyed soldiers are primarily trained in spears and axes,[7] with swords being used only by higher-ranking lighteyes.[3] Axes, however, are a nonstandard weapon usually only given to squadleaders and above.[6] Some soldiers use halberds, although how common they are is unclear.[33]

Foot soldiers were typically armored with steel breastplates, while archers were clothed with leather vests.[34] Ordinary foot soldiers have minimal armor, typically not wearing arm or leg guards.[34] Darkeyes in the armies of Brightlords tend to be dressed in leather armor.[35] Wealthier lighteyed soldiers wear far finer suits of armor, indicative of their status.[34] Armor is often marked with a rank insignia that indicated the dahn and military position that a person is a part of.[34]

The Kholinar Wall Guard wears steel breastplates and helms.[36]

Wages[edit]

Wages are based upon ones military rank and caste.[37] The average darkeyed soldier is payed five clearmarks a day.[34] Military slaves are paid less than half that of a darkeyed soldier, around one clearmark a day.[34][38]

Shards[edit]

According to official records, Alethkar possesses more Shardblades than any other nation on Roshar, with only Jah Keved coming anywhere close.[39] These Shards are used effectively in combat to overwhelm non-Shardbearer armies.[7]

During the War of Reckoning, their Shardblades were used in order to cut through chasmfiend chrysalises in order to harvest gemhearts.[40]

Knights Radiant[edit]

Following the start of the True Desolation, a notably large amount of their army is made up of Knights Radiant, primarily those of the Order of Windrunners and the Order of Edgedancers, with a smaller but still notable number in the Order of Lightweavers.[41][42] They are used effectively as a means of transport and combat against the Fused and Regals.[43][citation needed]

This shows how the bridges Sadeas' uses work. It looks like a technical blueprint, except for the rather dramatic interpretation of a bridge run at the bottom. The annotations on this drawing are done in women's script rather than English. In the top left of the drawing we have a faceless bridgeman drawn from the front and back. He's wearing sandals, short pants that go down to his knees and are tied with a rope, and a sleeveless vest with heavy padding on his shoulders. He has impressive calves. We also so the bridge four glyph here, resembling an arrow-shape with a circle in the tip piercing a lightning-bolt like line. There's also Sadeas' glyph: five vertical lines that start parallel at the bottom but then curve towards the center line at the top. It looks roughly like a tower, or perhaps a claw reaching upwards. Next we get several technical drawings of a bridge from different angles, as well as drawings of bridgemen carrying the structure. The bridges are more complicated structures then the flat boards I personally pictured. They look more like ramps. Shaped like flat trapeziums. There is a broad base at the bottom, the shorter deck at the top, and short ramps at the front and back connecting to the two. So anyone going over goes up a bit, then down again. It's in the space between the top and bottom that the bridgemans' heads go when they run. The bottom isn't solid wood, it looks more like the rafters under a roof. Planks stick horizontally out of the side of the bridge at regular intervals. These are used to shove the bridge forward when it has been put down. There is a small diagram explaining how a bridge run works in five steps. 1: a straight run to the edge of the chasm 2: put the bridge down 3: push the bridge across 4: bridge is now fully across 5: bridgeman run back towards the rest of the army for cover. Finally, the third bottom of the page has a large, dramatic but not very detailed drawing of a bridge run. On the left is a formation of Alethi soldiers. They wear Roman-style armour: conical helmets with straight nose protectors, shoulder armour made out of several pieces of metal, metal breastplates, heavy skirts that go to below the knee, and sandals. Their breastplates are hard to see because they are all carrying large rectangular shields with Sadeas' glyph on them, forming a solid shield wall. They all have long spears. In the middle of the scene the bridgeman have their bridge halfway across the chasm. They and the bridge are peppered with arrows from the Parshendi on the other side of the chasm. The bridgeman at the back are still pushing but the ones at the front have all been shot and are draped over the bridge and the handles. One is plummeting onto the chasm. Several are running away from the bridge only to be felled by arrows. It's very dramatic. On the other side of the chasm the Parshendi are armed with short recurve bows. They have quivers slung along their hips. and are not standing in any sort of formation. Their helmets are simple skullcaps with long, wild hair coming from beneath. At the very bottom of the page is the glyph of the ardent who made this drawing. The centre of the glyph is an arrow shape similar to the bridge 4 one, but it has a circle at the base and two lines at the top, curving away from the arrow's point. It looks a bit like a mountain piercing the clouds.
by Ben McSweeney

Bridge Crews[edit]

For more information, see Bridge crew.

Bridge Crews were a very important part of the army during the War of Reckoning, serving as an expendable workforce that carried bridges to help soldiers cross over the large chasms between plateaus. They also acted as canon fodder for Parshendi bowmen, as to direct attention away from more trained and valued soldiers.[44] Due to this, bridgemen had a very high mortality rate, with around half a crew dying per run.[45]

Each Bridge Crew was made up of 35-40 men, which were lead by a Bridge sergeant, who reports directly to the Brightlord in charge of the crews.[1][18] Each crew has an internal leader elected amongst themselves known as the bridge leader, who has no official authority outside of that which his crewmembers choose to give him.[46] Members of bridge crews were typically payed five clearmarks a week, given on the third day of every week.[47][46][34]

The bridges used by Torol Sadeas's army are typically eight feet wide and two feet thick, with supports on both sides extending its width to sixteen feet. They are also thirty feet long, and allowed one to set up 8 men per column and 5 men per row.[48]

While not on bridge runs, they are typically used as cheap manpower to preform undesirable duties at war camps, such as chasm or latrine duty.[34]

Not all highprinces made use of bridge crews, with Dalinar notably refusing to make direct use of them. He instead makes use of bridges on wheels, pulled by chulls. Due to being heavier and pulled by chulls instead of people, movement is significantly slower, but Dalinar makes use of it regardless as it results in a major reduction of casualties during plateau runs.[7]

Eventually, Sadeas' Bridge Crews were bought off of him by Dalinar for his Shardblade, who granted them freedom from slavery and promoted them to a battalion.[11]


For the Alethi, being a leader is essentially the same as being a general. Officers wear something called an officer’s coat, which is long and meant to be unbuttoned. War banners mark divisions, battalions and companies, they are used to organise an army.[49] During the True Desolation, warfare began to change. There are far fewer large scale formations, those are far to easy to disrupt. Instead men spend their time in protected warcamps, occasionally making a sudden surge to claim ground and shove away the enemy. During this time battles changed from decisive engagements to several month long fights.[50] The Alethi quickly adapted to warfare against the Fused and Regals. When there is an abundance of Shanay-Im the humans lock their shields together into a canopy, protecting from lances and spears, aside from that the humans have learned to use water to render the stormforms power unusable.[51]

  1. ↑ a b c d e The Way of Kings chapter 6#
  2. ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 5#
  3. ↑ a b The Way of Kings prologue#
  4. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 28#
  5. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 44#
  6. ↑ a b c d The Way of Kings chapter 47#
  7. ↑ a b c d e f The Way of Kings chapter 26#
  8. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 54#
  9. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 15#
  10. ↑ Stormlight Three Update #4
    — Arcanum - 2016-10-20#
  11. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 69#
  12. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 115#
  13. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 19#
  14. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 112#
  15. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 1#
  16. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 116#
  17. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 1#
  18. ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 17#
  19. ↑ a b c d e f The Way of Kings chapter 46#
  20. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 58#
  21. ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 67#
  22. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 25#
  23. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 83#
  24. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 117#
  25. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 63#
  26. ↑ Oathbringer interlude I-14#
  27. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 6#
  28. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 40#
  29. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 23#
  30. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 116#
  31. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 44#
  32. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 59#
  33. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 77#
  34. ↑ a b c d e f g h The Way of Kings chapter 27#
  35. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 108#
  36. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 82#
  37. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 2#
  38. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 4#
  39. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 23#
  40. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 12#
  41. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 3#
  42. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 20#
  43. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 9#
  44. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 32#
  45. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 9#
  46. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 14#
  47. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 11#
  48. ↑ Bridge Run Interior Art
  49. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 27#
  50. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 43#
  51. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 42#
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