On Land: The standing "army" of Maladon is principally an infantry force, mostly made up of conscripts drafted for life. These are supported by light and heavy chariot units. The heavy chariot units are considered the elite force. These were made up of the temple forces of Sharkan known as the Skull Guard. Since the overthrow of the Theocracy forces are slowly being rebuilt.
Infantry Organisation: The lower levels are the same as that of Telorthen Ty Taros to the north. The smallest unit of infantry is a file and consists of ten soldiers, nine file members and one file leader.
Five files make up a company, the senior file leader commanding the company as company commander. Some companies have added a seperate company commander and the senior file leader then becomes his executive officer.
Ten companies gathered together under a single command form a battle. The Maladon battles are much larger than those of Telorthen Ty Taros due to the poor quality of the mostly conscript troops A battle is considered to be a strategic formation, whereas the company and file are considered tactical formations.
Formations above battle, termed armies are sometimes assembled depending on need.
Infantry Types: The infantry of Maladon consists of light archers and medium and heavy infantry types.
The light infantry consists of unarmoured troops typically armed with a shortbow and a quiver containing twenty arrows. For close in protection they carry a mix of daggers and shortswords.
The medium infantry, which makes up the bulk of the infantry, wears armour consisting of a leather jerkin, leather arm and leg greaves and a leather helm. They also carry a shield for additional protection. They are armed with spears and shortswords, which are supplemented by daggers.
The heavy infantry wears armour consisting of a rigid leather (or in some units bronze) breastplate, with iron or bronze arm and leg greaves and a reinforced leather helm. They also carry a large shield for additional protection. Weaponry is the same as that of the medium infantry.Chariotry: The chariot force of Maladon is divided into light and heavy types. It is organised similarly to the infantry.So ten light chariots, with twenty crew make a troop. Ten heavy chariots with thirty crew also make a troop. Five troops make a squadron and so forth. The heavy chariot force is considered the elite of the army.
Chariotry Equipment: The light chariots are similar to those of the ancient Egyptians but are of somewhat more rugged construction. They require a two horse team trained to operate together. They carry a crew of two, the driver and a warrior. The two crew are armoured as for the medium infantry. Weaponry carried by the chariot consists of javelins, with a quiver for reloads, a shortbow and a quiver of arrows and shortswords in case of hand to hand fighting. Some crews have been known to hang shields from the chariot and use these if required to fight on foot.
The heavy chariots are somewhat larger and carry a crew of three, the driver and two warriors. The chariot is normally pulled by a four horse team, limbered side by side. The two warriors are armed and armoured identically to their light chariot brethren.
Artillery: Maladon maintains a small cadre of engineers specialising in the construction and use of catapults and other seige equipment. The crews for such equipment is drawn from the infantry at need and is operated under the supervision of the cadre. The cadre itself is a hired mercenary force.
At Sea: Maladon is not a major naval power, but like the other nations around the Sea of Shareale the nation does maintain a navy. Like the army the navy is a full time force paid for by the taxes raised in the designated ports of the country, apart from the officers though most crews are made up of conscripts with the rowers normally convicted prisoners. There were rumours that some of these vessels may have been crewed by undead and several vessels vanished when the Theocracy was overthrown.Naval Organisation: Because of the widely varying contributions provided by the ports the naval organisation is more adhoc than the army. Each port has an "admiral" in command of the contingent of the navy based there. Above this is the lord high admiral who commands the fleet.
Currently four port towns and cities contribute to the navy. The
four ports are;
Umberik, Cor Tlan, Edlin and Adthen Kor
The Ships: A number of different types of warship are operated by the navy, these are similar to the older vessels used by Telorthen Ty Taros but are in much poorer shape on average. They can be broken down into a number of types as follows;
Dispatch Boats - These are about 60 feet long and are similar to the ancient Greek Pentakonter, they are fast and used for reconnaisance and the carrying of messages and intelligence. Currently the navy operates 3 reserve quality and 5 average quality dispatch boats.
Biremes -This type of ship still makes up a significant percentage of Maladons total fleet. The vessels are about 70 to 80 feet long and have two banks of oars. The rowers are exposed and may wear light armour for protection. They are very slowly being replaced in service with Triremes. Currently Maladon operates 9 reserve quality and 9 average quality Biremes.
Type I Triremes - These are the oldest Triremes in Maladons navy, though still newer than the Biremes. These vessels are 75 to 80 feet long and have three banks of oars. The rowers are exposed and may wear light armour for protection. Currently Maladon operates 8 reserve quality and 10 average quality type I triremes.
Type II Triremes - These are the newest warships in Maladons fleet. They are somewhat longer than the Type I Triremes with about 120 rowers. They are also somewhat faster than the type I. All the Triremes belonging to Maladon are ataphracts so rowers are exposed and may wear light armour for protection. Currently the navy operates 6 average quality type II ataphract triremes.
