Overview
The su'ndari have always had a tradition of citizens providing labour for the province in which they provide be it military service or provinicial structure construction and maintenance. Each province is in turn responsible for answering the summons of the Empire during times of need.
The exact amount of time each individual adult must spend in service varies from province to province but it is generally a week a year in the established provinces bordering the untamed expanses. Kaffoan women are excused entirely.
Colonists in Kassoa are currently required to provide a months worth of time each year.
If a youth does not attend one of the military academies where a martial education is provided in exchange for their full time military service until the age of 21 then they serve their required time in militia training. On the mainland this militia training is almost exclusively focused in crossbow use due to the relatively low training time required to make it useful during an attack.
The military academies take students at the age of 14 and train them to a professional standard in weapon use and military discipline before sending them to the militaries in academy squads.
Once an adult reaches the age of 21 they may fulfill this duty by hiring another person. It is the responsibility of the House to ensure that this service is performed and each house either maintains full time soldiers to fulfill this demand or hires a member of one of the military Houses to perform the task on their behalf.
As Kassoa requires a month per adult at this point in time each dedicated military member of a House enables eleven others to avoid military duty.
It is the duty of the individual and their house to provide appropriate equipment for this military member. The minimum required varies from town to town but it always includes a weapon and shield.
Each House fields one or more Companies of ten men under the command of a Company Captain. These companies are in turn formed into battalions made of 10 companies under the command of a Battalion Leader. A military House might field a Battalion all by itself but Houses with less of a military specialisation tend to form battalions made up of clusters of allied Houses. In marginal provinces and villages where the Houses are incapable of fielding a full ten individuals then it is the companies that are formed of allied groups.
10 battalions are formed into a division under the command of a Battalion General and 10 divisions are formed into a corps under the command of a Supreme Sommander. The ranks of General and Supreme Commander are political posts granted for terms of service through the vote of the council of elders.
The rank structure is thus:
10 men form a company under the command of a Company Captain. (usually House specific)
10 companies (110 men) form a battalion under the commander of a Battalion Leader. (usually allied Houses)
10 battalions (1110 men) form a division under the command of a Battalion General (Political Post)
10 divisions (11110 men) form a corps under the command of a Supreme Commander (Political Post)
Outside of war most provincial militaries only hold a handful of divisions. Kihoa for example is known to maintain two divisions of cavalry, two divisions of infantry and five battalions of elite guards.
