| THE NINGO MILITARY
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The Ningo have always had a military since their independence from the Old Empire. Since the Night of Flames, they have lost access to much of what they once had, though have kept their knowledge of technology. Primarily an infantry force from the start, the Ningo have lost access to any form of mounted unit since the Night of Flames due to a lack of options for mounts. Since then their equipment has adapted, mostly making use of what could be scavenged to reproduced for the best quality of gear possible. With the signing of the alliance with the Two Rivers, raiding is likely to fade from existence entirely and the quality of work is likely to increase.
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| INFANTRY
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The Ningo make use of both heavy and light infantry, as well as archers. These have existed with varying qualities of gear since they first started raiding the Kingdom of the Two Rivers, though the style has always remained. The standing army, who serve as city guards during times of peace, consists of three types of units.
- Milites - The common soldiers of the army. They make up the bulk of the fighting force and also perform the more menial and arduous tasks such as guard duty, building fortifications, felling timber, etc. Standard issue equipment for milites includes; lorica hamata, a gladius/arcus/hasta (depending on role, spearmen use the hasta, archers the arcus, and a relative few use the gladius.), pugio, a scutum, galea, and greaves. Those armed with the gladius will also typically carry one or two pilum as well.
- Immunes - These are specialist soldiers, and so are not normally seen performing more menial tasks such as digging ditches or going on patrols. Immunes are experienced soldiers who also have at least one other specialty. Engineers, musicians, drill and weapons instructors, military police, carpenters, experienced hunters, and medical staff were among other such jobs. Immunes also received better pay than the regular troops. To become an immune, milites are required to serve in the army for several years before requesting specialist training. Once the request is granted they are known as discens, and receive the same pay as milites until they passed their training. Those that pass their training become immunes, those who don't pass, for whatever reason, remain milites.
- Immunes can be standard or heavy infantry as well. Heavy infantry have as standard issue; lorica squamata, greaves, galea, a spatha, pugio, scutum, and will also be equipped with either a pilum and gladius or two pilum.
- Immunes that act as standard infantry will have: lorica segmentata, greaves, galea, scutum, pugio, and will also have either a spatha or hasta. Some may also possess one or two manica. Those armed with a spatha will also normally carry one or two pilum.
- Auxilia - These are the auxiliary soldiers of the Ningo military. These are normally individuals who are in training to be full soldiers and are beyond the skill range of prefects, or individuals who are not trained military, but who have skills making them suitable to act as such. Experienced hunters and raiders are examples, but not the limit. These soldiers typically act as reinforcements to the army proper. They also serve well in more atypical fighting methods such as guerrilla warfare. Standard issue equipment for auxilia in times of war includes the same equipment given to milites, only auxilia will normally make use of the cetratus instead of the scutum. Some auxilia prefer to equip themselves for more specialized warfare, or for equipment that better suits their personal fighting style. These individuals are still auxilia, only they employ non-standard armor and weaponry.
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| SIEGE
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The Ningo have always had knowledge of different types of siege engines, though as they are best known in Felaguria as raiders. There are no accounts of their use. Ningo in fact rarely use siege engines at all, as they only have value during siege operations. The only time in confirmed history siege engines were employed by the Ningo was during the War for the Abundant Lands, though no Felagurian records support this. In times of war, where siege warfare is suspected or known to take place, the engineering corps of the Ningo military is placed in charge of mass production, frequently prefabricating siege equipment to facilitate its transportation. The siege engines produced depends upon the suspected or known requirements of the war. During the War for the Abundant Lands, primarily scorpios and a few onagers were produced. It is possible at least a few aries were produced, though the only evidence is among the Ningo in the form of iron ram heads. These ram heads may or may not have been in existence prior to the Landing, so their use is open to debate.
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| PREFECTS
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While the military acts as the city guards and standing army of the Ningo, prefects are assigned to more civil matters. Prefects have very little military training, though they often step up to act as a defensive militia in times of war when the population of city guards is diminished. Primarily, the prefects serve two roles. They enforce the laws of the Ningo among the populous and also see to the safety of Ningo settlements. This is done by looking at structures while on patrol for any obvious signs of damage. Such damage is then reported and crews can be brought in to make any needed repairs or maintenance. The other task assigned to prefects is to act as a fire brigade, dealing with any structural risks that could lead to a fire, and also putting out any fires as quickly and efficiently as possible. To these ends prefects have the authority to arrest citizens, even nobility or royalty, if there is suspicion of laws being broken. They also have the authority to order civilians to assist in putting out fires, also in helping to arrest or leading to the arrest of suspected criminals, though prefects will not put the lives of civilians at unnecessary risk. All Prefects answer directly to the High Prefect who oversees all Prefects in a district. The High Prefects answer directly to the Grand Prefect.
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| ARMY RANKS AND STRUCTURE
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- Patrician/Praetor - Commander of all military forces, the Patrician holds this position when he/she wishes to have an active role in the military. When the Patrician doesn't hold an active role in the military, a Praetor is chosen by the Patrician to hold that position.
- Legatus - Legion commander
- Tribune - second in command of a legion.
- Senior Centurion - Commander of a cohort.
- Centurion - Commander of a centuria
- Optio - Second in command for a Centurion or Senior Centurion
- Decanus - Commands a contubernium
- Immunes - Experienced specialists
- Munifex - Basic soldier, fully trained
- Tirones - New recruit, a novice
- Contubernium, squad of 10 soldiers
- Centuria, unit of 100 soldiers or 10 contubernium
- Cohort, unit of 500 soldiers or 5 centuria
- Legion, unit of 1,000 soldiers or 2 cohorts
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| ARMOR OF THE NINGO
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Galea
This is the standard issue helmet for the Ningo army. Made of steel, it is rounded to cover the top of the head with a broad sloped fringe fanning out from the base of the skull to help deflect blows away from the head and neck. Broad cheek flaps protect the cheeks and the sides of the head while still leaving a gap so one can hear orders clearer. A ridge crosses the front of the helmet horizontally above the brows to add extra deflection for the face.
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Cetratus
The cetratus is an elliptical-shaped shield to provide extra protection for the wielder, with a steel-lined edge and a shield boss.
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Scutum
The scutum is a large rectangle curved shield made from multiple sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather, usually with a spindle shaped steel boss along the vertical length of the shield. The edges of the shield are also capped with steel.
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Greave
Greaves are simply sheet metal protecting the legs, attached to a leather lining and strapped to the leg.
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Manica
A manica is a type of steel arm guard, with curved and overlapping metal segments or plates, fastened to leather straps. They are typically worn along with standard lorica segmentata, to provide added protection to the arms for those who see more intense combat.
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Lorica hamata
A chainmail shirt, lorica hamata is the standard issue armor of the Ningo as it provides protection to the torso and upper arms.
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Lorica squamata
Lorica squamata is a heavy shirt of scale mail made from steel used by Ningo heavy infantry. Protection is concentrated around the torso of the individual with the customary groin protection that is one of the hallmarks of Ningo armor styles.
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Lorica segmentata
Worn by elite and veteran members of the military and some nobles. The plates of lorica segmentata armor are soft iron inside and steel on the outside, making the plates hardened against damage without becoming brittle. The strips are arranged horizontally on the body, overlapping downwards, and they surround the torso in two halves, fastened at the front and back. The upper body and shoulders are protected by additional strips ("shoulder guards") and breast- and backplates. The form of the armor allows it to be stored very compactly, since it is possible to separate it into four sections each of which collapse on itself into a compact mass.
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| WEAPONS OF THE NINGO
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Pilum
The pilum (plural pila) is a javelin commonly used by the Ningo army. It is generally about 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 millimeters (0.28 in) in diameter and 60 centimeters (24 in) long with pyramidal head. The shank was joined to the wooden shaft by a socket allowing the head to easily come off after sticking into a solid surface. The socketed head makes it hard to recover a pilum and throw it back at Ningo forces, in addition, this same quality makes it stick easily in shields and people and nearly impossible to remove afterwards. The narrow shank of the head also means that on impact it will typically bend, making it even harder to return fire.
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Gladius
At roughly two feet or sixty centimeters in length, the gladius is a relatively short sword with a broad hacking blade with a sharp point on the end for thrusting. A single-handed weapon, the gladius is a fairly common sight among Ningo soldiers as it is a steel sword with a wooden hilt used by many of the soldier types as a primary or reserve weapon.
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Hasta
A hasta is a spear about six and one-half feet (2 m) in length, with a shaft generally made from ash or similar hardwood, while the head is made of steel.
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Pugio
A pugio is the dagger used by Ningo soldiers. It is a sidearm. It has a large, leaf-shaped blade 18 to 28 cm long and 5 cm or more in width. A raised midrib ran the length of each side, either simply standing out from the face or defined by grooves on either side. The handle is also made out of metal, the tang is wide and flat, and the grip was riveted through it, as well as through the shoulders of the blade.
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Arcus
The arcus is a composite bow, made of horn, wood, and sinew held together with hide glue used by the Ningo.
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Sagitta
Sagitta is the Ningo name for arrows are used with bows, and the Ningo make use of a wide variety of arrowheads based on the need. Among military archers broad head arrows and armor piercing arrows are the most common.
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Spatha
The spatha is a longer sword than the Gladius with a broad, straight blade. The spatha is used by heavy infantry, officers, and front-line soldiers. It is a one-handed sword and is typically 91-1/2 centimeters or three feet in length.
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| SIEGE WEAPONS OF THE NINGO
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Scorpio
A crossbow-like weapon manned by a single person, it favors precision and is capable of surprising power for its size. Capable of cutting down targets up to 100 meters away with precision or up to 400 meters away without. With precision sacrificed, the scorpio can fire up to three or four bolts per minute.
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Onager
The onager's framework is made out of two beams of hardwood which curve into humps. In the middle, they have quite large holes in them in which strong sinew ropes are stretched and twisted. A long arm is then inserted between the bundle of ropes. At its end it has a pin and a pouch. It strikes on a huge buffer with a sack stuffed with fine chaff and secured by tight binding. When it comes to combat, a round stone (often clay balls with combustible substance such as oil, in them, which explode on impact and burst into flames) is put in the pouch and the arm is winched down. Then, the master artilleryman strikes the pin with a powerful blow from hammer, and the stone is launched towards its target.
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Aries
An immense beam, similar to a ship’s mast, with one end covered with iron and shaped into a ram’s head; hence its name. It is suspended from another beam like a balance arm by cables around its middle, and this in turn is supported at both ends by posts fixed in the ground. It is drawn back by a huge number of men who then push it forward in unison with all their might so that it hits the wall with its iron head.
For protection, a battering ram is suspended in a mobile shelter called a testudo. Such shelters would provide the men within protection against missiles and incendiary devices. They were constructed from a framework of strong timbers with planks and wicker hurdles on the sides. The entire shelter would then be covered with a fireproof material such as uncured hides. When possible, the shelter should be fixed to the ground while the ram is being used to both prevent skidding, and strain on the axles from the weight of the moving apparatus. This would also increase the strength of the impact on the walls.
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