35The following morning Botan shifted on the bed mat hearing a small "Mysk~" from Myskel. His eyes slowly opened and he saw the light coming from the window.
"Get up, flower boy." Mira said enduringly as she shook his shoulder.
"Huh?" He managed.
"Got a surprise for you!" Mira shouted.
"Breakfast first." Cetus cut Mira off. The man was cooking food and seemed awkward in the role. He had likely never made food for someone else and now was doing so for his daughter and the Evergreen. So he did his task slowly and with much anxiety.
There wasn't much talking. The whole bunch was quiet during their short, slightly burnt meal. All but Myskel who gleefully ate the small pancake balls. Botan was well-mannered enough to eat the food without complaint. Botan worried Mira would be vocal in not liking the food. He didn't imagine her liking it would be even worse.
"This is sooo good! mhm~mhm." The small girl said, one hand always at her mouth to keep the food from falling out.
"Is it?" Her father questioned.
"Yup! I never got to have warm food before. It tastes so much better!" She exclaimed in delight.
Botan and Cetus looked away from her and towards each other upon hearing that. They said nothing but they nodded like they had.
After their brief breakfast, Botan was walked to the front door, being dragged by Mira by the hand.
"C'mon, you'll love this!" Mira said as Cetus opened the front.
Mira pulled Botan through the door outside and Botan found about a dozen heavily armored soldiers. They stood near a large steel carriage so big his own cart was sitting inside it with plenty of room on both sides.
"Who are…?" Botan tried to ask.
"They are our town's Hail squad. They have our military's best mounts and vehicles." Cetus offered.
Seeing his confusion one approached. "The honor is ours, Evergreen. I'm the commanding officer, Saul. We are 3rd squad, 1st division, 4th platoon, Hail Branch, Armored Regiment. Ya'see, Hail Branch is Ventus' most advanced military branch. We were formed by Prince Typhus, whom I've been told you are trying to reach. Well, it just so happens we were going to depart to the capital in three days for equipment repair. But hearing the Evergreen has business with our Dark Genius, we've changed plans and will be offering you traveling assistance to the capital." The large man offered his hand.
Botan paused a moment, considering.
"With their vehicles, you'll reach the capital in 10 hours as opposed to 3 more days on foot." Cetus added.
At that, Botan nodded. "In that case, I appreciate it. Pushing that cart from one country's capital to another's has been a hell of an exercise." Botan reached out and shook the man's hand.
"Mysk~!" Myskel agreed.
The man accepted his hand and gave a firm shake. "Excellent. We leave as soon as you are ready, Evergreen."
At those words, Botan turned to Cetus and Mira, crouching down to be at the latter's level. "Um, so what's next for you two?"
"We have a military academy here in town." Cetus said with audible optimism.
"Military academy? Is it dangerous?" Botan asked.
"No, no. It'll be a long time until she'll ever get the chance to place in our ranks. In the meantime, it's the only formal education available in Ventus. The only other formal education on the continent is the Grand Library of the Eld Empire. Mira will have many chances to not enter the military if she doesn't want to. Or try landing a sweet specialty job like I have." Cetus assured Botan.
"And you can afford that?" Botan asked.
"Perks of the job. They'll pay for her education since I'm military." He said smugly. "Ventus takes care of their soldiers." He added.
"Assuming I can meet the requirements to begin with…" Mira sounded less sure.
"What are these requirements?" Botan asked, mirroring her tone.
"You can join with either high enough entrance scores or possessing combat capabilities. But she can try several times and I can tutor her when I'm not working." Cetus tried filling Mira with assurance.
"...Well that's pretty simple then. You two." Botan called to the two dutiful brewing newts that sat next to the door of the home, empty plates near them to show Cetus fed them at some point. They perked up and walked up to him.
"From now on, she'll be your boss." He pointed to Mira.
"Huh?" That was all Mira could say.
They looked at Mira, then back at Botan, then walked back to their plates and scratched them.
"I'm guessing that means they'll stay as long as you feed them." Botan said aloud.
"You realize those bastards have 4 stomachs, right?" Cetus said with a half-hearted sigh.
Botan went to stand again but Mira threw her arms around him and wrapped him in the tightest hug she could manage. Botan had to admit that making sure Mira passed through the Blue Gate and made it safely to her father was the first time he really felt like a hero since he got here. He knew he had helped others but in those cases he either did the task someone else could have done or made too many mistakes along the way.
With this, there was nothing to take away from the feeling of pride swelling within him. Something that nursed his many misgivings. Maybe he'd hold his head a little higher now? Or at least not doubt himself as much.
He returned the hug and promised to visit her when he could. He changed his Holy Flower into a large pin to hide it when he reached the capital, placing it over his heart. With that, he left with the armored squad and made his way to the capital of Ventus, Halcyon. They moved along the roads easily inside two large metal carriages. A bump in the road every few minutes was the only thing keeping some of them from drifting asleep, Botan included.
The inside of these carriages reminded Botan of modern cars in some ways. The driver was in their own encased section, having windows and a metal door on either side, as well as one to enter the back. The carriage required no mounts to pull it, instead they must push the cart themselves up to a desired speed. Once done, the carriage maintains that speed through a combination of unknown technology and motion magic. Only losing speed on turns, and not much. They only had to push the carriages back up to speed twice more on their trip.
The back was built like a truck bed, even possessing the risen section on either side that allowed the wheels to remain flesh to the rest of the carriage. Yet these spaces were large enough for Botan to stand without him meeting the roof overhead. Botan rode in the carriage which housed his cart. Alongside it Botan saw dozens of broken pieces of equipment; from heavy armor, shields, weapons of various kinds, and various small components whose purpose was not obvious.
To pass the time Botan made small talk. "You said you were bringing things to Prince Typhus for repairs. This seems like weeks of work." Botan inquired.
"And the other carriage has even more. I'd say we got what would probably take 2-3 months worth of repairs here. Well, if anyone else was handling the repairs but Prince Typhus himself." Saul added.
"What? He handles all repairs himself?" Botan found that ridiculous.
"All of Hail and Thunder Branches, yes. Most of it is too labor intensive or too complicated for anyone else." The driver responded from the front.
"One man, by himself?" Botan was now imagining a member of royalty working from dawn to dusk every day. Not what he imagined when he heard about Typhus.
"He's more than a man, as you'll learn soon enough." Saul said, speaking like he was complimenting his own family. Will sounded the same way when he boasted of his talent.
"And he's never alone. Always surrounded by those five women of his." The driver added.
Botan hated to admit, that made him more than a little jealous. He couldn't manage to interest one woman, yet this guy has five at once?
"One of those is his sworn knight, the Dame Arabella Beaumont. Do not conflate someone like her with the rest of his girls." Saul said with a slightly sour tone.
"Oh come now. He looks at her the same as he does to that witch Asher Windemere or that priestess Varsha. He has his hands around their hips all the time, Beaumont included." The driver snickered.
"But he'd never be foolish enough to marry either. That dancer Rithma Lasakk would be fine for lesser men, I hold nothing against her. And that young girl, Lady Veda is out of the question only for her age. That's why the king so desperately wants his son to marry Dame Beaumont." Saul argued.
Botan listened, but found one thing odd having just left Mosden recently. "Can the king not force him?" Botan asked.
Saul had been all smiles, but he frowned for the first time when he heard that. "...This is not Mosden. This is Ventus. No father can compel their son to marry. Nor a mother do the same to their daughter." Saul answered.
"And the prince knows it. That's why he continues to rent many rather than buy one."
The men collectively laughed, Botan himself bore a smile and Saul noticed. "He nearly got you laughing?"
"No. It's just that I wasn't in Mosden long, but I saw the heartache that their marriage traditions cause. I'm just glad Ventus isn't like that." Botan admitted. Saul's smile returned.
"Yeah, you don't need to worry about fathers throwing their daughters at you, Evergreen. Just got to worry about the daughters that throw themselves! Haha!" That did manage to get a laugh out of Botan. Myskel seemed annoyed at them all and stuffed her head down Botan's shirt collar to drown them out.
They talked a fair bit. When they stopped due to the carriages losing speed to regain their speed, they broke for a few minutes to stretch their legs and eat a little. They tried to convince Botan to let them push and have him watch them, but they couldn't exactly make him not help and he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
…
Halcyon (Ventus Royal Capital)
…
Before he knew it, the capital was within sight. What caught his eye immediately was the sky, it was completely clear. Clouds had occupied the skies above nearly the entire time he'd been in Ventus. Yet in Halcyon, clouds seemed to avoid them. It was like someone cut the clouds away or held them at bay like water with a dam. The city itself was enormous, easily three times the size of Mosden's capital city of Weldroe.
The city rested at the end of a large valley. Homes dotted the bottom of the valley becoming closer and closer together as they moved towards the center of the town. Businesses and other commercial buildings were among carved stone roads at various levels up and down the sides of the valley cliffs. Just as with the previous town, most of the buildings further away from the center of the city were rounded to reduce the damage from storms, yet for some reason, as they moved towards the center, buildings seemed to have no cautionary designs that helped against the storms.
Where the two sides met was a castle that matched Mosden's if you considered the giant tree as part of the structure. Then again it was fully carved out of the valley, making it hard to tell how large the interior was. The inside was literally a man-made cave system. Along the peaks of the valley were several large structures. Each one so big and beautiful that they could each serve as a major monument.
A bump was felt that lasted a bit longer than Botan expected. He turned to Saul for answers.
"We're at the front gate. They have to inspect us and what not. They'll keep us an hour at the least. You go one ahead."
"I assume this 'Dark Genius' is in the palace?"
"Probably in his own keep." Saul pointed to one of those huge monuments. "Several members of royalty have their own properties. That one is the Forge. Prince Typhus is there 90% of the time."
"Thanks for everything…" Botan took one step out, realizing it was once again just Myskel and himself as the entire party.
"Mysk~" On cue, Myskel rubbed his chin with her head to break him from any sour mood.
So instead, he thought to do something about his problem. "So, uh, Sir Saul. Does Ventus have any mercenary companies or adventurers' guilds? Like how Arden has the Ivory company and Eld has the Champions of the Golden Sea?"
"No need to call me 'Sir', you're the freak'n Evergreen. And not really. Mercenary companies are illegal to operate in Ventus. Only the Ventus military is allowed to field a fighting force… That said, we have a system where civilians and the former military to take up subcontracts to complete certain tasks for the state." Saul began.
"So, exactly the same thing but Ventus gets to own and control it?" Botan wanted clarification.
"Yeah, basically." He answered with a light laugh. "The Ventus military is the best structured in the world… but it's over structured. We gotta fill out paperwork for every damned thing. We have to record what monsters and enemies we kill, including accurate EXP values." Saul said with an exhausted smile.
"Death by 1000 paper cuts." Botan nodded at his explanation.
"Yup. I have literally spared monsters or ignored escape slaves just to avoid the paperwork attached to it, and I am not the only one. The bureaucracy is so bloated that it has become cheaper and more efficient to let civilians make some money doing our lesser tasks. Hence, the Contractor's Office. You'll see it if you take the western road to the Forge. Hope that helps!" Saul waved Botan off.
Botan paused when he heard Saul mention slaves so casually. He knew Ventus had slavery. Both them and Eld. Though, they did it differently from one another somehow.
"My~My~Mysk~" The noise was accompanied by Myskel tugging on his ear with one of her tiny claws. She always seemed to know when he was thinking too pointlessly to let him drown in what-ifs.
"One thing at a time." He said under his breath before pushing towards the west road to the Forge.
As he pulled the cart, he saw a lot more people than he did in Mosden. He saw about a quarter as many people as he'd seen in Japan. The roads were more than 25' across, yet the streets were full of people. Those coming toward and past were preparing umbrellas, large disk hats, and hoods to prepare for the rain just beyond the capital. While those entering alongside him were soaked by were putting such things away.
"So, it's like this all the time? Halcyon… A fitting name for a city that never knows rain."
As he walked along the path he came across a large wooden building, well made but the only wooden building around. He could not read the sign. He could barely recognize the simplest words when he was in Mosden. But he already heard that unfortunately Ventus and Arden used their own languages. Meaning he'd only be able to read by the time he entered the Eld Empire at this rate.
He did what he could to determine its function. Outside stood several people, mostly men, clad in various armors and holding weapons. None were as uniformed or well-maintained as Saul and his squad. They were all looking at various papers and postings, some with illustrations of monsters.
"This has to be the Contractor's Office. Okay, I should ask around for potential party members. Maybe find some as permanent members." He thought.
He approached and looked at the board, only the pictures and a line with numbers gave any insight as to what these jobs were. "I guess that's the level they recommend?"
Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
"Heya. Couldn't help but notice you can't read. Need some help? " A nice voice offered.
"Yeah, that'd be… Um. Yeah, I'd appreciate it. How'd you know?" Botan's sentence died in a fire when he took a look at the girl talking to him.
She had the same dark skin as all those in Ventus, yet Botan saw it was far smoother than any he'd seen. She wore a natural smile, not the forced ones he'd seen a lot lately. It was the kind of smile you'd give someone you already know. Her hair was blonde, a little more tame than the greens and blues he'd seen among those in this country. But it was more than made up for by her eyes. A slight amount of pleasant pink to catch your eye, then an alluring purple to draw you in further.
Initially, he didn't seem to notice that she wore clothes far finer and far more modern than those around them. A purple raincoat, athletic shorts and a clean white shirt. The thing that would have caught his attention were very modern shoes, had he noticed them initially. It wasn't until his eyes went exploring her elsewhere that Myskel saved him with a small headbutt. "Mysk~!"
"I meeeeean, you were looking at that page the way my eyes glaze over when I study. That and, you clearly aren't from around here." She gestured with her hand before noticing Myskel and coming closer. "And I'd have known about something this cute if it lived anywhere near here~!" Her hand easily moved around Myskel's face and ears, conquering her with each touch. In a mere moment she was putty in this girl's hand.
"Ah… I guess I do stick out a lot. I um, I'm just traveling and am looking to do a few jobs while I'm in town, maybe find some people to party with."
The girl quickly looked around and then eyed Botan a bit more. "How many do you have in your party? You don't seem to need much help, judging by all those monster materials you have."
"Oh, uh, Just me and Myskel, can't forget her!" He corrected himself.
"Mysk~!" Myskel chimed in.
"Just the two of you? And you can't even read Ventusian?" The girl asked with anticipation.
"Um, yeah?" Botan answered.
"That's perfect!" The girl exclaimed with visible enthusiasm. She threw her fist upward immediately.
"Huh?" Botan and Myskel both tilted their heads to the side in confusion.
"Um, listen… I have been trying to join a party for a while. I use a spear and I'm level 22. I might not be much, but if you complete jobs with me I promise to do all the reading and take none of the rewards. I just want to level up and explore." She offered, looking at him expectantly.
"..." Botan pretended to consider her offer. Inside however was- "DO IT! SAY YES BEFORE SHE REALIZES HER MISTAKE! But she is way out of my league. SO? SHUT THE FUCK UP AND SAY YESSSSSS-"
"I could agree to that, under two conditions." Botan said, holding up two fingers and trying to appear calm.
"Those being?" She squinted and crossed her arms. She acted like she knew what was coming.
"You take your half of the rewards and instead help me learn to read Ventusian for one. And secondly, wait until tomorrow. I gotta go see this supposed 'Dark Genius' and that'll take up the rest of the day." He explained, lowering each finger as he spoke.
The girl seemed surprised at his conditions. In a good way. "Oh… Yeah, that's more than fine. Do you work for him?" She asked, eyes slightly narrowed.
"Hm? No, just got some rare materials and wanna cash out where I can, y'know?" Botan supplied, already more friendly now that they were on the same page.
"Y-Yeah, totally." She put out her hand. "My name's Nimbus."
"I'm Botan." He shook her hand.
"Well then, Mr. Botan, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?" She asked.
Hearing her call him 'mister' hurt. She only looked two years younger than him, maybe three. But that put a weird barrier between them. "I want money and materials, same as most people. Though, I'd also like to see some of the monsters you can only find in Ventus." He answered.
"Why do you want to fight monsters that are common here? That'll be worth less money and materials." She furrowed her brow and looked good even when she was mad.
"I mean, I want to fight rare monsters too. I just mean that I want to get experiences I can't get anywhere else, y'know? I want to see all that I can." Botan answered a bit more thoroughly.
Botan must have said the right thing because her eyes and smile grew larger. "...Not planning to stay long?" She asked.
"I got a lot of places to be." Botan replied, not wanting to reveal too much.
"Sounds cool… So where have you been?" She asked.
"Oh, just Mosden." Botan said, sure that would disappoint her.
"What's it like?" She asked eagerly.
"Huh?" Botan failed to grasp that normal for him wasn't normal for others. He may have thought of Mosden as the default or 'Starting Zone', but it was wild and unbound. It was a place with the highest mountains as well as great subterranean oceans. To most people, Mosden was the peak of exploration.
"W-Well it's just I've never really got to go anywhere and I want to explore the world…! That probably sounded stupid." Nimbus swayed back and forth, her hands fidgeting.
Instead of responding right away, Botan pulled out his notebook and sat down on a bench, patting for her to take a seat next to him. She wordlessly did so and she turned to the first page.
"This is what Mosden's capital of Weldroe looks like." Botan showed her his first several pictures of the town. From a building's rooftop, then three from street level, then one from the hill outside of town.
Nimbus' eye grew wide and leaned in a bit. "Streets of water, homes of marble, gardens on their roofs. Just like they say. So that's what they meant." She said like she was whispering a wish to someone.
Before she knew it she was the one turning the page while he commented.
"That's the castle. That is the Ygg Tree. Just so you know, it's secretly a monster." He whispered back.
"Wait, the famous Ygg Tree that protects the Mosden royal family is a monster?" She unconsciously kept whispering in confusion.
"Yup, top secret stuff. It stays perfectly still most of the time, but I've seen it move." Botan said completely seriously.
"That's called the wind." She said, losing the whisper in her voice.
"I've seen evidence it's over level 50." He said while holding a [Scrying Marble].
Nimbus forgot about those, she barely ever got to use them. "Okay… Then what's it doing there being still for? Why?" She tried believing him but it just felt so absurd.
"That's what I'd like to know!" Botan said with exasperation evident in his voice.
Nimbus couldn't help but laugh at him. While she wasn't convinced of something that outrageous, she heard in his voice that he believed it himself if nothing else.
Nimbus turned the page again, this time to the garden he first started at. "Oh, where is this?"
"Oh that's where I got was s-got lost." Botan stopped himself. She already agreed to go with him, but all he could think of was Iris and how she felt pressured due to him being the Evergreen.
"How far from Weldroe is it? It looks so well-maintained. Surely someone maintains it." She asked, hearing him cover something up.
"Oh, it's like a 20-minute walk from the front gate." He supplied.
"...You got lost on a 20-minute walk?" She pointed out to him, her eyes narrowing.
"I really appreciate how many roads Ventus has." Was his only counter-argument.
She felt something was off with what he said, then it hit her. "Gotta say, you speak Ventusian really well for someone who can't read it. I don't think it'll be that hard for you to learn."
"What can I say? You give me paper and I just draw on it, hehe." He tried his best to cover for himself.
She turned to the next page and saw Weldroe's last appearance in its pages from far away.
"Oh wow. The palace looked big, but it looks really small here, um, no offense." She commented, saying whatever she thought and apologizing afterward.
"Don't worry, that's just what it looks like with the entire city in sight." Botan felt nice that she was comfortable enough to just say what was on her mind.
She turned the page again to see a large hillside, a large wooden wall, a small village, and a few people.
"Wow, where's this?" She asked, wiggling in excitement.
"That's Lokkansted. A small village just north of Weldroe." He said, his smile lowering enough that she'd have noticed if her eyes weren't glued to the sketch.
"Wait, I heard of that place… Lokkan sells monsters?" She tried recalling.
"Raises, but only rents them out. The guy is a big softy." Botan flipped to the next page to see Lokkan, Orf, Betty, and Knob. Three of them were now dead, causing Botan's eyes to stop smiling altogether. Only his lips managed to maintain his smile.
"You are telling me that buff and scarred-up man is Lord Lokkan? He could throw me over the west gate, ha!" She laughed at the idea.
Botan pointed to each of the others. "You also had Betty, the mom of the group. Every group needs a mom. Then there was Orf, the mischief maker and sweetheart. And then there was the backbone of his whole operation, Knob. I was told gate beasts are quite rare." He said, his smile completely gone now, replaced by a flat line.
"Huh, yeah they are quite rar-" She half turned to look in the back of his cheap wagon. Gate beast parts, and one of Betty's antlers were still easily identifiable. She realized the way he spoke about them, only Mr. Lokkan was alive.
"Something wrong?" Botan asked. She could hear something in his voice.
"No." She flipped the page again to see a half-drawn picture of a whistlewood tree and the first bit of color she had seen on these pages, a single drop of red. Botan flipped it quickly, and she didn't protest.
"Aww, who is this?" Nimbus asked.
"This is my latest drawing. That's a little creature named Mira. 50% Ventusian, 50% Mosdenian, 100% brat. The only time I had to draw her was when she was asleep. We traveled for a while together." He said, trying his best to regain his positive attitude.
"Why?" Nimbus asked while tracing the lines, they were many and so light. She could tell he cared a lot about her by the effort he put into it. It was the most detailed drawing yet.
Maybe Botan was getting better as time went on? Maybe drawing people he's connected with just brought something out in him?
"She had to reach her dad and she couldn't make it by herself. Wasn't that difficult. I was already heading the way so it was barely any trouble." Botan softly lied. A half lie. It was trouble but he didn't see it as such.
Nimbus turned the page again to see it blank, then took a moment to think. "How long have you been doing this? Adventuring, I mean."
"About a month. I-"
"All these adventures in a month!" She sounded more excited than shocked.
"Yeah, it's definitely fast-paced. Not for everyone." Botan said, closing his book and stuffing it back in his bag.
"Well, I'm not everyone." Nimbus said while standing, looking defiant.
"No, you don't seem to be." Botan admitted as he also stood. "I'm glad I was able to find someone willing to travel with me for a while. With that settled, I'll go see this rich nerd up the road."
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, um, what time do you want to meet up? If you get here late, all the best jobs are already taken."
"Um… To be honest, I'm unsure. I've not done any formalized jobs. All mine have been word of mouth or direct requests. How early are we talking?" Botan would be as honest as he could be with her, as long as it wasn't about him being the Evergreen.
"Lines start forming by 6 am, best to be here by 5 am if you want something good and not wait in line." She said, her tone was one of misery.
That was early even for his standards. "Oh, uh, yeah, see you at 5." Botan used that same miserable tone.
"Well… best go to bed early then…. If you do some tough jobs you can earn a fast pass to not need to come in so late." She tried cheering them both up.
"We'll see. I don't know if I'll be around long enough for that." Botan began moving back to the cart.
"...Okay." She looked like she had something else to say, but simply dropped it.
"Anyways, we'll see you tomorrow." Botan waved.
"We? Oh. Yeah, I'll see you and little Myskel tomorrow~." She waved back with more energy than he did.
They parted ways and Nimbus felt a pep in her step as she practically skipped along. "Finally! Just had to find a foreigner to agree! Now I get to have my own adventure! The first of many! If only this Botan stuck around longer." Nimbus slowly came to a stop as she realized. "Botan… Why do I know that name…?"
Botan made his way to the Forge with some pep in his step as walked up to the front of the large building. Two guards stood at attention at the front. Their armor was even more well-kept than Saul's armored squad, looking like they were forged this morning.
They eyed Botan, then his cart before speaking. "If you are here with contracted materials, present your contract, otherwise get lost."
"Uh huh. Well-" Botan placed his right hand on the Holy Flower on his chest reverting it to one of his weapon forms while the left reached into his pocket and retrieved his letter from Princer Raucer. "-I'm Botan Nakaya, the Evergreen. They should already know I was coming." He told them.
And they seemed to, as they stood firmer at attention as they opened the door. "Dame Beaumont will show you to the prince. The honor is ours."
Botan was completely sold on being treated this way all the time, but every once in a while? Sure! He took his first steps inside the Dark Genius' Forge, unaware of who he was about to meet and how their interaction would lead to world-changing consequences in the future.
.
[Otherworld Index]
Today we will be discussing the Ventus military, their ranks, divisions, and purposes. Firstly, squads are the smallest grouping, an individual party of 6. All groupings structure themselves in this manner to not suffer EXP penalties. A party of 1-6 will receive the same amount of EXP individually from a kill, meaning it'd be wasting EXP not to have a party of 6. However, at 7 members or higher, the total EXP 6 members would receive is divided up further.
Most ranks have a Second and First Class distinction, think of them as half ranks.
In squads, most members are the starting rank (Officer). One of these six members is the leader of the squad and is usually a rank above their fellow party members (Knight).
After the squads are the divisions. These consist of five normal squads and a sixth squad made of higher-ranking members. Five of these party members are each responsible for communication and issuing orders between those above themselves and one of the squads within the division (Lieutenant). One of them serves as the division leader (Captain)
After divisions are the platoons. These consist of four divisions plus a squad made of higher-ranking members. Four of these party members are each responsible for communication and issuing orders between those above themselves and one of the divisions within the platoon (Major). One of them serves as a second in command and direct assistant to the division leader (Lieutenant Colonel) and one serves as that division leader (Colonel).
Above them are Generals who can command multiple platoons at a time. The number they are trusted to lead can be anywhere from two to seven depending on history, rank, and achievements. They are equal on paper to one another but not in practice.
As for the different branches of the military
Rain: Entry-level general forces. The bulk of the army. With few exceptions, all those that occupy any of the military branches start in this branch. Twice a year they are tested and those that do well and wish to transfer to other branches can do so after receiving the necessary training. Those who enter military service are not only paid well, but when they exit the military they continue to receive their pay for a length of time equal to how long they served. If they die in duty, this money is instead given to whomever the departed designated in their signing papers and will continue to receive pay for that same length of time with a minimum of five years.
Fog: Stealth and recon specialists that often are sent to spy in foreign nations and in some instances terminate lone targets. They usually use ranged weaponry and do whatever they can to stay as removed from a situation as possible. They have also received heavy psychological training to not surrender information under torture or threat of death. They possess a badge to denote their rain, same as every other branch, however, they are not supposed to show anyone who isn't also in the military or a member of the royal family. Many members of this branch can spend their entire career in a foreign nation sending information back to Ventus and never taking a life.
Thunder: Information and communications specialists (Previously not its own branch of the military, but after Typhus' Voice Cannons and other inventions, one now needs specialized training to handle their more modern equipment). They are not meant to engage in battle, wearing more modern military uniforms than other branches. They are allowed to carry a weapon but are not required to. They have a central information center that serves as the base of their branch but the bulk of this branch serves in roles within other branches or operates Voice Cannons within towns throughout the country.
Hail: Those who manage, operate, and tend to the armored vehicles and/or armored mounts that make up the spearheads of their military. They consist of two regiments; Armoured, and Mounted. The Armored Regiment repairs and maintains the armored carriages and armored ships of the Ventus military. They raise, train, and ride several types of large monsters into battle, fully armored like a Cataphract. They wear the heaviest armor during military operations due to them not being expected to travel on foot.
Lightning: The true elites of the military. They must pass several trainings, such as at least qualifying for each other branch in some capacity. Those in important positions outside of leadership tend to be from this branch. Each member of the royal family can appoint one of their members as their sworn knight. The Gatekeepers at the four major crossings of the country's border are also of this branch. Those of this rank are well-rounded, able to use multiple weapons, well-versed in magic, and experts on several important subjects. Why not necessarily of higher rank, no Colonel or General has ever not belonged to this branch
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[Author's notes]
Introducing Nimbus, a wanderlust addict who wants to explore the world! She is silly, a bit derpy, and hopefully likable. She has more going on, as we'll find out soon.
Next chapter will be fun, Typhus is a character I've been looking forward to writing. Someone more important than most. He's roughly as important as the heroes, believe it or not. Next chapter, "The Vanguard of Paradise".
As always, open to suggestions. I have some opportunities for new monsters here soon between these monster villages, the upcoming wave, and a contract or two. So if you have any suggestions, let me know.