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Nightstar The Bright
Joined 5 November 2023
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Regular spearmen wear special skirts, which are appropriately named spearmen skirts. It is forbidden for spearmen, even squadleaders, to wear trousers, although this rule isn’t taken very serious; respected soldiers won’t get into trouble for breaking it.{{book ref|sa1|47}} They also wear leather caps and they don’t seem to wear any arm or leg guards.{{book ref|sa4|108}} Wealthier soldiers, or those in professional armies, may wear proper steel breastplates, steel caps and chainmail.{{book ref|sa2|2}} Archers generally wear leather vests,{{book ref|sa1|57}} while heavy infantry wears thick steel armour.{{book ref|sa1|4}}
Wealthy lighteyes often wear steel plate armour. At least some lighteyes decorate their plate armour to resemble Shardplate. Some lighteyes prefer helms with open visors to helms with closed visors.{{book ref|sa3|3}} Some lighteyed soldiers also decorate their helmets with bird plumes.{{book ref|sa3|11}} High ranking Brightlords may sometimes have a shieldbearer with them.{{book ref|sa1|24}} The Alethi also have access to a number of sets of [[Shardplate]]. While the natural color of dead Shardplate is slate-grey,{{book ref|sa1|12}} it is extremely common among the Alethi to change the appearance of one's Shardplate by painting it or adorning it with decorative details or even gemstones.{{book ref|sa1|12}}
==== Weaponry ====
Most of the Alethi soldiers are equipped with spears, both longspears and sometimes shortspears,{{book ref|sa2|81}} and shields.{{book ref|sa1|47}} The Alethi also use maces,{{book ref|sa2|6}} polearms, pikes and halberds.{{book ref|sa3|11}}{{book ref|sa3|73}}{{book ref|sa4|77}} Pikes are often used alongside large rectangular shields.{{book ref|sa3|73}} The Alethi also use truncheons when they don’t want to kill.{{book ref|sa3|73}} The Alethi are skilled in the use of bows, of which most are shortbows. Despite this, longbows are also used.{{book ref|sa3|3}} Most soldiers can’t choose what weapons to wield themselves; their weapons depend on their position in the army (e.g. spears for spearmen and bows for archers). Some higher ranking soldiers however, like squadleaders, are allowed to choose weapons.{{book ref|sa1|47}}
Only lighteyes wield swords, although almost never as primary weapons, because according to Vorin traditions the sword is a lighteyed's weapon.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} These swords include both longswords and shortswords.{{book ref|sa4|35}} One handed swords are often wielded with small round shields.{{book ref|sa3|73}} Alethi heavy infantry, which always consists of lighteyed men, carries heavy and impact based weapons such as maces, they also often carry square steel shields.{{book ref|sa1|6}} Due to Vorin cultural ideas women can’t be armed, even scouts are only allowed to wear knives.{{book ref|sa3|70}} The Alethi also have a number of [[Shardblades]], these blades are used effectively in combat.{{book ref|sa1|56}}
=== Strategy ===
Each of the Alethi armies has it’s own strength, with the [[Kholin princedom|Kholin]] army having the best heavy infantry, the [[Roion princedom|Roion]] army the best archers and the [[Sadeas princedom|Sadeas]] army the fastest bridges, at least during the [[War of Reckoning]].{{book ref|sa1|24}}
====
The Alethi employ a wide range of tactics. One popular tactic that is often used by the Alethi is the hammer and anvil tactic.{{book ref|sa3|3}} The Alethi are also practiced at executing a fake rout, often leading to an ambush.{{book ref|sa4|41}}
The Alethi infantry is usually employed in large block like formations, these blocks can get very large, with some of them being five thousand men strong.{{book ref|sa4|64}} These standard spearmen blocks engage enemies as much as to position them as to do harm.{{book ref|sa3|26}} The Alethi infantry blocks are also extremely mobile, far more so then infantry blocks from other militaries.{{book ref|sa4|47}} The Alethi infantry uses their shields, forming a canopy of sorts, to protect from arrows and throwing spears.{{book ref|sa3|26}} For most of Alethi history, due to lack of horses, light infantry was used to harry enemy armies.{{book ref|sa3|52}}
The Windrunners are used to launch aerial assaults on the enemy, defend the Alethi armies against other [[Surge of Gravitation|lashing]] surgebinders and aid in conventional ground attacks.{{book ref|sa4|64}} Besides this, the Windrunners scout the surrounding landscape and aid in moving troops, mostly generals or other high ranking officers, around.{{book ref|sa4|111}} The Edgedancers are mainly used as medics, with their use of the surge of Progression the Edgedancers can heal anyone in a matter of seconds. In contrast to these surgebinders, the Lightweavers don’t enter combat, instead they serve mostly as spies.▼
{{sidequote|All wars are games. The greatest kind, with the pieces lost real lives, the prizes captured making for real wealth! This is the life for which men exist. To fight, to kill, to win.|The [[Sadees|Sunmaker]], who shaped modern Alethi militarism{{book ref|sa1|24}}|side=right|size =300px}}▼
Each highprince has his own martial philosophy.{{book ref|sa1|24}} Cavalry to fight shardbearers. Canopy from shields to protect from arrows. Middle is heavy infantry, then to the sides mobile, lightly armoured but fast, archer units is new tactics. Infantry will try to reach the sides but the heavy infantry will beat their central block. Standard spearmen blocks engage enemies as much as to position them as to do harm. {{book ref|sa3|26}} also light infantry as fast harrying forces due to lack of horses. Some officers take their children with them to war, although never to the battlefield. Instead they usually stay at the town that serves as the army’s long-term command post.{{book ref|sa3|52}} In recent years the Alethi also began to make use of smaller more mobile teams, which have their own tactics.{{book ref|sa3|66}} There is a known symbol for a truce.{{book ref|sa3|76}} The Alethi infantry blocks are extremely mobile, far more so then infantry blocks from other militaries.{{book ref|sa4|47}} Men rotate in and out of the front lines, for every five minutes you're fighting, you have as many minutes resting.{{book ref|sa4|49}} ▼
Cavalry to fight shardbearers.{{book ref|sa3|26}}
Sieges are rare in Alethkar, and often last only a short time. This is due to soulcasters, which make it impossible to starve a city out. Instead, the Alethi break down the walls quickly, seize the high ground to pound the city for a while or simply attack, attempting to scale and conquer the walls.{{book ref|sa3|19}}{{book ref|sa3|11}}▼
▲The Alethi are also excellent, by modern standards, at using their surgebinders. Windrunners are used to launch aerial assaults on the enemy, defend the Alethi armies against other [[Surge of Gravitation|lashing]] surgebinders and aid in conventional ground attacks.{{book ref|sa4|64}} Besides this, the Windrunners scout the surrounding landscape and aid in moving troops, mostly generals or other high ranking officers, around.{{book ref|sa4|111}} The Edgedancers are mainly used as medics, with their use of the surge of Progression the Edgedancers can heal anyone in a matter of seconds. In contrast to these surgebinders, the Lightweavers don’t enter combat, instead they serve mostly as spies.
▲{{sidequote|All wars are games. The greatest kind, with the pieces lost real lives, the prizes captured making for real wealth! This is the life for which men exist. To fight, to kill, to win.|The [[Sadees|Sunmaker]], who shaped modern Alethi militarism{{book ref|sa1|24}}|side=right|size =300px}}
New tactics
▲
▲Sieges are rare in Alethkar, and often last only a short time. This is due to soulcasters, which make it almost impossible to starve a city out. Instead, the Alethi break down the walls quickly, seize the high ground to pound the city for a while or simply attack, attempting to scale and conquer the walls.{{book ref|sa3|19}}{{book ref|sa3|11}}
==== Planning and army movement ====
==== Shardbearer tactics ====
Nets, ropes. Destroy the plate and then kill them with arrows. Shardbearers generally duel with eachother, without interference, or at least, until your lighteyes is losing.{{book ref|sa3|11}}
{{sidequote▼
|Plan every battle as if you will inevitably retreat, but fight every battle like there is no backing down.▼
|Highmarshal Halad{{book ref|sa3|29}}▼
|side=left|size=300px▼
}}▼
==== Bridge Crews ====
On the battlefield, runners are used to give orders.{{book ref|sa1|65}} Many leaders give speeches to their troops, these speeches are then recorded by a number of scribes, who are always women, and repeated to the rest of the army.{{book ref|sa2|81}} Horns are used to signal certain commands.{{book ref|sa4|64}} Aside from this, when it is dark stormlight may also be used to give certain signals, such as the signal to attack.{{book ref|sa2|81}} The Alethi, like the other Rosharan militaries, have become incredibly dependent on spanreeds for communication. They use them to gather information about enemy movements and to spread commands.{{book ref|sa4|41}}
War banners are used to mark divisions, battalions and companies. This makes a battlefield easily surveyable for someone who understands the system.{{book ref|sa4|27}} Most high ranking brightlords have their own personal glyphpair, which, like the name suggests, is usually made up of two glyphs.{{book ref|sa1|28}} These glyphpairs are often painted on war banners, which ensures that particular brightlords are easy to find on a battlefield.{{book ref|sa1|67}} There is a symbol, which every Alethi recognises, to indicate a truce.{{book ref|sa3|76}}
When the sound of battle is loud enough, a squadleader may decide to give his commands by banging his spear against his shield in a certain rhythm, with particular rhythms meaning particular commands.{{book ref|sa1|47}} Some troops, like a lighteyes’ personal guard, are trained to recognise certain arm gestures, which mean certain commands, such as to retreat.{{book ref|sa1|13}}{{book ref|sa1|28}}
▲{{sidequote
▲|Plan every battle as if you will inevitably retreat, but fight every battle like there is no backing down.
▲|Highmarshal Halad{{book ref|sa3|29}}
▲|side=left|size=300px
▲}}
==== Soulcasters and supplies ====
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