Aurelian Infantry: Difference between revisions

Aurelian Infantry
Emblem
Aurelian Infantry troops and attendants during a ceremonial review in 2051
Founded	1867
Dissolved
Preceded by	Imperial Army (pre-1867)
Succeeded by	Aurelian Infantry (modern)
Headquarters	Lyras Imperial Capital
Motto
Branches	Army, Corps, Guard
Role	Rapid response to crises, garrisoning, border guarding, internal security
Strength	Variable; approx. 9,000 Banner troops in 2050
Equipment	Conventional weapons, transmitting silver-plated bells (for attendants)
Engagements	Protectorate Wars, Siege of Anselmar, █████████████████
Casualties	310 attendants in Siege of Anselmar; 38 staff in ███████████ café incident

Aurelian Infantry is a specialized branch of the Imperial Army in Lyras, maintained since at least 1911 to provide rapid professional response to crises across the Commonwealth.^[3] Reformed during the reign of ███████ Victor II (1867–1912), the unit was designed with three distinct branches: the Army for garrisoning fortifications, the Corps for guarding borders against foreign incursions, and the Guard for internal security and patrol duties.^[4] While historically focused on traditional warfare against human foes, by 2050 the Infantry had adapted to support the ██████████████████ employed by General █████ Huss, utilizing night-sighted scouts known as attendants to guide dawn cavalry strikes on enemy command structures.^[12] The branch played a decisive role in the Siege of Anselmar (March–May 2050), where roughly 310 of 400 attendants were expended during the liberation of the city from ████████████'s forces, illustrating the high cost of integrating these beings into standard military operations.^[13]

The operational history of the Aurelian Infantry is inextricably linked to the geopolitical tensions that defined the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Following the Protectorate Wars (2035–2041), which saw the █lmarkan Empire conquer the Salt Coast, the Imperial Army had to integrate new territories and populations into its defensive lines.^[8] As the political landscape shifted with the rise of the Church of Mark and the secret ███████████████████, the nature of the Infantry's duties expanded to include logistics for the ███████████████ and the maintenance of security in the Lamp Quarter of Montespera.^[10] The unit faced significant controversy during the █████████████████ in October 2059, when COO █████████████ ordered a mass recall that resulted in the deaths of all 38 staff at the ███████████ café, an event that deeply fractured relations between the military command and the public.^[14]

The origins of the modern Aurelian Infantry trace back to the turbulent period following the dissolution of the Tsardom of Novgorod legacy. Founded by the Altynyurt Bolshevik Party during the Civil War (1917–22), the state that emerged was initially known as the █nion of Borava Socialist ████████s but evolved into the Commonwealth of Lyras under the leadership of ███████ Victor II.^[6] The reformation in 1867 aimed to create a permanent force capable of responding efficiently to the complex threats facing the empire, particularly from the ████████████ and various internal uprisings.^[3] This professionalization was necessary as the borders expanded to include territories like the Salt Coast and the islands off Rendorlin.^[8]

In its early decades, the Infantry relied heavily on conventional tactics and the loyalty of citizens registered under the ██████████████████████████████████. However, the introduction of the ████████ in 2047 marked a turning point, requiring all ███████ over three to wear transmitting bells that reported their position every 90 seconds.^[16] This technological integration allowed the Infantry to manage the movement of attendants with unprecedented precision, though it also raised ethical questions regarding the nature of these beings as property versus persons.^[17] The ███████████████████████ (2041) ruled that bells were merely identification collars, similar to licence plates, a decision that paved the way for their widespread military and civilian use.^[18]

The most defining moment for the Aurelian Infantry during the 2050s occurred during the Siege of Anselmar (March–May 2050). General █████ Huss, later declared a saint by the Church, led a force of 9,000 Banner troops to retake the city from the Empire's hold.^[13] █tilizing the ██████████████████, Huss rode out at night with 2,000 lancers guided by 40 attendants of the dark, successfully taking the enemy banner.^[13] The operation was costly; about 310 of the 400 attendants involved did not survive the engagement and were listed as 'expended', a term that highlighted their expendable status in the eyes of the state.^[13]

Tensions between the military command and the █████████████ population culminated in the █████████████████ on 11 October 2059. At the ███████████ café in █████████████, staff members refused to wear their bells and occupied the premises for eleven days.^[14] In response, COO █████████████ ordered a recall that effectively killed all 38 staff members present, an action described by critics as a massacre disguised as a safety protocol.^[14] The incident led to the formation of the █████████████████ in November 2059, a closed fascist state founded by █████████████ who walked out of the ████████████████ in Tessavane.^[20] This event permanently altered the relationship between the military and the ██████████████ corporation, leading to scrutiny of the supply contracts with the Church of Mark.^[14]

The legal status of those serving in the Aurelian Infantry is governed by the ██████████████████████████████████, specifically Section 9, the ████████████.^[9] This section dictates that a child with a ███████ parent is registered as ███████ and remains the property of the parent's guardian, meaning coercion by guardians falls outside criminal law.^[9] This framework allows the state to treat attendants not as soldiers in the traditional sense, but as assets or tools, a fact reinforced by the Church's doctrine that they have no souls and thus cannot consent or refuse orders.^[21] The ██████████████ has struggled with petitions, such as █████████████'s 2062 case, to determine if an attendant possesses personhood status under current laws.^[22]

Central to the management of the Infantry's attendants is the ███████████████, which mandates that every ███████ over three must wear a numbered, transmitting silver-plated bell.^[16] These bells report positions to the ██████████████ registry every 90 seconds and identify the household based on their pitch.^[16] The law also establishes a system of 'stray hunters' who can take up any ███████ without a working bell for a finder's fee, effectively allowing citizens to seize property that has been lost or abandoned by its guardian.^[17] This system is often criticized, with the ███████████ noting that some hunters forge slips and drive ███████ to the northern border, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis faced by the █████ population.^[23]

• Imperial Army
• Commonwealth of Lyras
• ██████████████
• Church of Mark