Dawn military concerns

Very few things provide as many opportunities for glory as warfare. Drawn to glory as it is, it is unsurprising that Dawn prides itself on its martial traditions.

Knights are those nobles who dedicate themselves to a martial life. Groups of Knights from a noble house will fight together in battle, supported by the house War Witches. They are expected to serve as living banners to the men and women who fight beside them, exemplifying the glory of Dawn to friends and enemies alike. Not all knights deck themselves in a harness of plate, but every knight looks for opportunities to fight their foes toe-to-toe. Not for the Dawnish knight the cowardly ambush or the subversive flank - they smash their foes down through might of arms and force of will.

To be a knight is to direct your quest for personal glory to the service of country and empire. The competition to be seen as the most brave, the most glorious, drives Dawnish knights on to greater and greater feats of valour. Warriors of no other nation, they say in Dawn, have this understanding of what it is to serve, and of its rewards. Great deeds that will echo down the ages. When the Empire calls with glorious enterprise, it is the knights of Dawn who - with the greatest of courtesy - push others aside to respond.

This makes the knights a fearsome foe on the field. Each will be endeavouring to push forward the furthest, to face the fiercest enemy, to fight the most powerful foe. The successful general of the Empire is one who can deploy their quest for glory successfully.

Beside the Knights, the Dawn currently maintains three armies to fight in the Imperial wars and has provided four in better times when Imperial fortunes allowed. The rank and file soldiers are eager yeomen, seeking opportunities for glory. They are led by the most capable nobles available who share their soldiers ambitions. Few Dawn generals will lead from the rear. While there is some glory in a well-planned battle, nothing compares to the glory of a lord or lady who leads their troops to victory. As such most yeomen have an abiding respect for their military leaders, born of shared ambitions and shared dangers.

Great swords or sword and shield are the most common weapons for Knights on the field of battle, while yeoman are usually equipped with axes, halberds or spears. Missile weapons are rare, and regarded with some suspicion. Despite their obvious uses, it's difficult to see anything glorious in shooting an enemy at thirty paces. Archery is seen as a fitting contest of skill, rather than a glorious weapon of war.

Knighthood is not the only calling for the nobility, there are talented noble craftsmen, mages and legislators, but so many nobles are Knights that the word Knight is sometimes (incorrectly) used to describe anyone connected with nobility, regardless of their martial skills. This helps to make the name Knights-errant slightly confusing. These are men and women engaged upon a Test of Mettle, seeking to prove their glory. Technically they are not nobility, since they have not yet proven their worth and the term is used equally to describe anyone looking to prove themselves, not just warriors. However they are usually the sons and daughters of noble houses and as such they are generally forgiven for assuming such airs and graces as will one day be their right, and they are often engaged on a Test with a martial aim.

Some Knight-errants enjoy the life of high adventure so much that they continue the lifestyle after passing their Test of Mettle, declining the political life of a house noble. Questing Knights, as they are usually known, usually form a tight knit group with other, similarly minded Knights, and often dedicate themselves to some great quest or higher cause that they know can never be completed. Such groups are often perpetuated through the generations as newly ennobled Knights join the ranks to replace losses. Such groups are usually distinctive, perhaps a unique code of honour that every member must swear or an Eternal patron to whom they swear loyalty.