What is the life of a Garlean conscript like?

[Anonymous Xaela]

I assume it sucks, but how badly does it suck? I read that they have to kill something at least once a day. For anyone with a character who was in the army I'd love to hear your take on it.

 

What is the punishment tiers for not doing as told?

 

How much freedom do they have?

 

Does the food suck too?

[Valen]

It depends on where you stand in the Garlean hierarchy. Are you a pure blooded Garlean with a family history of strong military or political ties? Your military career is probably going to be pretty cushy and you'll probably end up reaching a relatively high standing within a few years as long as you don't prove to be grossly incompetent.

 

If you're a conscript from a conquered or annexed territory however, you'll probably have an uphill climb to make, for the first 10 years at least. Anyone who doesn't directly hail from Garlemald that completes 10 years of service in The Empire's military becomes a fully fledged citizen of the Empire, and gains all the perks that come with it. That also puts them roughly on the same ground as their pure blooded counterparts, and their progression throughout their military career (if they choose to continue from that point) will likely be more streamlined than it was prior to that.

 

However, you're probably more interested in what those first 10 years look like, and the truth is it varies between commanding officers. Typically speaking, foreign conscripts are tasked with the dirtiest jobs in the Empire. Since Garlemald isn't unbeholden to racism, most commanding officers will view their foreign recruits as pawns and cannon fodder, figuring that the ones who are competent enough to survive a trial by fire will actually be worth something. However some are more sympathetic and less inclined to throw their recruits into the meat-grinder.

 

In the end though, the Garlean military isn't really about being dicks to their soldiers for the sake of being dicks. Garlean culture is one that rewards success and has a very small tolerance for failure. If a soldier proves to be useful, regardless of where they came from, most commanding officers will entrust them with more and more important tasks. However, if they're either incompetent or otherwise unremarkable, they go straight to the front lines until they either die or make something of themselves.

 

As for punishment for insubordination. It once again depends. Unless the soldier who committed it was someone of notable standing, I'd imagine just a field execution, but the context of why they didn't follow orders and the result that ensued from their insubordination could also play a factor in their punishment as well.

 

Lastly, in regards to the food, I don't know. I imagine it would be a bit bland with maybe a bit of salt to bring some flavor out.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Valen