King: Form up and get ready to learn!
Knox: Here we go again.
King: I'm actually really glad you guys wanted to hear more about the Arcadian Legions. I actually enjoy creating worlds and the groups within. I don't know, I just enjoy it. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
Inspiration: N/A
/\
The next world was set to open pretty quickly, but King popped in at the last second, "Ten-hut!" His crown was replaced with a canvas military cap with his crown seen as a pin on the front. "Time to get those learning caps back on! Back to Arcadia for a special lesson!" He disappeared as the screen opened again.
The screen turned white with the symbol of Arcadia, the dual arcs with a sword set parallel to the two, set in the center. A banner flowed down from the side reading, [King's World of Remnant: Legions of Arcadia].
The scene changed to show a map of Arcadia as King's voice played, "Arcadia, being beyond the Kingdoms, requires constant defense by a dedicated force. In other settlements, this often means hiring huntsmen or submitting themselves to a Kingdom's military presence. Arcadia, however, took matters into their own hands."
The map was soon covered by the familiar white and gold banner.
"The Principality of Arcadia utilizes a professional military force. Said force acts as the defensive force of the nation as well as any expeditionary corps needed. For their relative size, they are the premier fighting force on the continent of Anima. However, to outsiders, the Arcadian military can be rather strange."
Yang got a little bored this time. She'd hoped to learn more about the actual family or the people living in Arcadia. She wasn't nearly as interested in military stuff.
Ironwood, on the other hand, was actually rather invested.
The map changed to show a picture of the Atlas military with Ironwood standing before his troops.
"In places like Atlas, the break down is easy. The General is at the top and the branches split into three: ground forces, air forces, and naval forces. Though, Atlas doesn't really utilize a dedicated navy being a landlocked nation in the tundra."
The scene changed again to show a picture of the Arcadian banner.
"Arcadia, on the other hand, divides their military into groups called the Legions. Said Legions are divided again into Companies of Specialization. Now, unlike in say Atlas, the Legions and Companies of Arcadia are significantly smaller than one would think by the titles. It breaks down like this, you have Legions, which all act and operate in completely different ways. For example, the Third and Fourth Legions do not act anything alike. On the other hand, you have Companies who operate similarly to other Companies in their Legion, but not for any other Legions. A Company in the Third Legion will have the same command structure and operational manuals to any other Third Legion Company."
Yang groaned, clutching her head, "This is hurting my head."
Winter was the one to try to mitigate the issue, "Think of it like branches in Atlas. You have the soldiers and the pilots. Soldiers fight on the ground and pilots fight in the sky. They are, as such, divided with separate commands who best understand their particular fighting style."
"No, I get it, but it's weird to hear out loud."
"Going over every Legion and Company will be too long for my time here. So, I'm going to skim over the more… standard Legions. I'll at least go over the banner and maybe a uniform along with what they do, but some of them are really obvious as to what they do. Now, let's get going."
A white banner fell over the scene with the familiar symbol of Arcadia with the central sword replaced by a number 1. A ribbon underneath it read [Alta Stare], which Jaune informed them meant 'Stand Tall.' A uniformed soldier was placed to the side, his white uniform accented by gold. Not exactly great for camouflage, but it wasn't supposed to be.
Winter raised an eyebrow, "Is this a dress uniform or something else?"
"First Legion, the Royal Legion. This is one I get to skim since it's three companies, the Honor Guard, Paladin's Guard, and Core Guard, all focus on defending Arcadia and its people and seem like the stereotypical defenders. The only things worth mentioning are what each Guard specializes in. The Honor Guard stand in defense of the Arcadian bloodline and is the only Legion Company who don't have a defined uniform; instead adopting the family colors of whoever they are tasked with protecting."
Sienna thought back and nodded, "So, that's why Cassius wears read and gold instead of the basic uniform."
Jaune nodded, "Yep. Beatrice…" He paused, remembering who he was talking about, "I mean… Lian's family colors are red and gold. So he has to wear his armor to match."
"Meanwhile, the Paladin's Guard is tasked with defending landmarks like the Paladin's Court, hence the name. The Core Guard are the more common type of guardsmen you could find in any Kingdom."
The banners swapped to show a similar style of symbol with both arcs set with II set in the center. The colors, however, were swapped to a black base with blue arcs. The banner beneath this one read [Spare the Morning of the Night's Monsters]. The man in uniform showed to be adorned in dark canvas with black camouflage. This man also had his cap removed to show a pair of canine ears.
Blake, and most the current and former White Fang in the room, was rather interested to hear this one.
"Second Legion, The Night Watch. Similar to the last group, they are the usual guard group. However, they are tasked with defending and patrolling Arcadia at night where the Core Guard covers the day shift. One interesting note is that, thanks to their excellent night vision, most of the First Company Night Patrol units are made up of faunas, while the Second Company Radar Units are a bit more mixed."
Blake nodded to herself. It made sense, and a certain part of her thought it was actually best. Sure, it looked like faunas and humans were divided in the first company, but the faunas were just better for seeing the dark. So, it was really a merit reason.
"Just a neat little factoid."
The banner changed again to show a sky-blue background with a white bird with wings spread to either direction. The letters were stitched directly into the background in a dark color. Above, it read, [The Raptors' Legion], and below read, [Talon's Ready]. The uniformed man this time was covered in a pilot's attire with his helmet resting under his arm.
"Third Legion! The Raptors! The aerial combat legion tasked with securing the skies or the swift destruction of intended targets. They are called the Raptors in refence to their various ships. The Companies of the Third Legion divide up based on their need in the sky. The First Company pilots the swift escort fighter, the Eagle. Second Company pilots the Falcon, a modified fighter outfitted with a new, faster engine and an arsenal of interception weapons including: flares, interceptor missiles, targetter scramblers, and a hard light protected under belly. Third Company, the Owl, is made up of crew members for the bomber of the same name. Finally, the Fourth Company flies the Arcadian Hawk Intelligence Craft, designed to observe and document all information with its effective range."
Yang laughed a little at the names of the Companies/ships, "Why name them after birds? I get they fly, but why birds?"
Oobleck adjusted his glasses before giving his guess, "If I had to hypothesize, each is likely names for their specific roll. Eagle is likely named for the birds' strength and sense of pride, the Falcon is known as one of the fastest birds alive during a divebomb to intercept their prey, and the Hawk is often used as a hunting bird in areas like Vacuo."
"Okay, that all makes sense. But why owl?"
Jaune replied with a straight face, "Because pigeons aren't raptors."
Yang had to take a moment for that one to register, but she got there. "Please tell me that's a joke. If it is, it was a good one, I'll give you that."
Jaune shrugged, "That's the joke my dad always used."
"Next up is Fourth Legion!"
The banner changed to a gold backed cloth with silver arcs. The uniformed example was dressed in combat fatigues dressed for fighting in the mountain areas found on the continent. He looked more like what one thinks with the word solider. A banner formed underneath the whole scene rather than on the banner, [Boots on the Ground, Soaked in the Blood of Evil].
Yang raised an eyebrow, "That's a bit darker than I expected."
"Fourth Legion is the Arcadia's ground-focused combat force; the Army, if you will. This Legion is divided into only two companies: the core Army and the Supply Corp. The Army is the largest Company in all of Arcadia, but that's likely because the other Legions are divided up more than the Fourth. They have the usual Army trappings: infantry, cavalry, armored units, and battlefield artillery. But we're not here to discuss stuff that you can already guess, so we're moving on."
Ironwood felt a little cheated. He was interested in hearing about exactly that, but he had to sit back and watch as the information he wanted moved on. Then again, he could probably guess what they had.
The banners swapped again to show a flag of cobalt blue with a seafoam anchor set in the middle. The ribbon underneath it read, [No Land Too Far, No Sea Too Deep].
Coco tapped her foot, glancing toward Yang, "That more what you were expecting?"
Yang nodded, "Pretty much."
The uniformed figure was shown dressed in dark colors, but solid colors. Another standing next to him was dressed in solid white. Their attire was typical of navy uniforms some, mostly Atlassians, would find familiar. Though, their style was used for their sky ships and the like.
"The Fifth Legion stands as the Navy of Arcadia. Companies are divided based on where the sailor is stationed. First Company mans the Battleships, Second mans Carriers, Third mans the Destroyers, and Fourth Company mans the Submarine corp. Unlike in Atlas, Arcadia needs to command the waters with Argenti set on the shoreline and Aurum being a large island. Other than that, standard fair for Navy troops."
Neptune let out a little groan thinking about the vast sea among Arcadia's landmass. He could never imagine being a navy guy, that was for damn sure.
"Now, we get to talk about the less common and stereotypical military forces in Arcadia."
The banner swapped to show an impaled Grimm head with a sword holding it up from a curved arc at the base. The ribbon beneath this one read, [Make the Grimm Learn to Fear].
"Legion the Sixth! The Huntsmen Corp."
"Huntsmen?" Ruby blinked, confused. "Wait, there are Huntsmen… working for the military?"
Glynda sighed, "Wouldn't be the first time." She gave a sideways glance toward Ironwood.
"The members of the Sixth are actually made entirely of licensed huntsmen rather than military forces. They register as defenders of Arcadia and report directly to the Arcadian military. As you notice, there's no uniform, because every Huntsmen dresses differently. They aren't actually treated as military personal, but must report to a military superior."
Winter shrugged slightly. "It's not too unlike Atlas in that regard."
"So, not a lot to talk about. Next up!"
Tai tapped his heel against the ground, "Alright. Here comes the one from the last version."
"Legion Seven… Oh boy, here we go."
The banner swapped to a black background with a golden angel silhouette with a ribbon underneath with the motto of the Seventh written on it, [Forgiveness, Absolution, Salvation].
Weiss was a little surprised, "Hold on, the flag is different. The angel doesn't have a sword."
Ruby looked over the banner, "Oh yeah! And the angel is a different color."
King took a breath. "This'll be fun. Okay, the Seventh Legion is the first one I get to spend some more time on. This one is so different it's crazy. First off, the Legion is more a religious group than a military one. And a result being that each Company is a separate entity altogether, complete with separate colors and a slight change of the symbol with each. The Seventh Legion is often called the Arcadian Chapter of the Golden Light. This is a holdover from the era from before Arcadia, from the Church of the Golden Light. That said, the Church was defuncted in the era of Julius and now stands more as a guiding force for the soul. Religious iconography and wording are still prevalent in the members though."
Qrow groaned a bit, "This is just confusing."
"The current banner is for the First Company, or the 7-First. These are the Chaplains of the Arcadian Legions. Without any actual Church these days, they're more like War Chiefs who sing the praises of justice and other similar ideals. Chaplains are often found integrated among the other Legions acting as both spiritual guidance and reinforcement. The Chaplains, raised from initiates of black, soon earn their dark armor and golden colors. Initiates are allowed to ask to join a different Company, however, and those colors change as a result."
The banner changed slightly to give the angel its sword.
"The Second Company, the 7-Second, is the Inquisitor Corp. Inquisitors are similar to the Chaplains in their ideals but take things into their own hands. Trading gold for silver, Inquisitors often work in small groups or even alone."
Ironwood nodded, "That at least explains the change of banner. They have different ways to approach different goals, while having a similar base of ideals."
The banner swapped again to a black angel on a white background.
"Finally, the Third Company of the Seventh Legion. Truth be told, these aren't soldiers. Rather, they are the spiritual guides, councilors if you will. Their job is to, essentially, keep the rest of the soldiers sane."
Ironwood couldn't help but sigh, "A sad state, but one that can happen all too frequently."
"And that's the Seventh. On to the next!"
The banners swapped again, finally showing a new design. This banner was white with a set of red arcs in the center. Beneath the arcs was a red, cross-like symbol. The solder to the side was dressed in a standard military uniform with a medical vest, small medical mask, and supplies at his side.
"Eighth Legion! The Arcadian Medical Corp! Obviously, this is another pretty standard Legion. Their mission is dressing the wounds their fellow soldiers and, if necessary, extracting them to a hospital. Each Company focuses on different layers of the battle. First Company are front line medics, focused on patching up more minor injuries or extracting patients. Second Company operate the field hospitals to patch up soldiers who can still be tasked with fighting. Third Company, however, man the war and veteran hospitals in Arcadia proper. More doctors than medics."
"Hold on," Nora interrupted, "What's the difference between a doctor and a medic?"
Ironwood thought back to recall the words his former commanding officer used to explain it. "Medics focus on stabilizing the soldiers, either to continue fighting or until they can be extracted. Doctors are the ones that focus on actually fixing those issues."
"Oh~! That makes sense."
"How many more are there?!"
The number 1 suddenly appeared.
"Really? Cool. Let's go!"
The banner changed to a solid black background showing two blood-red arcs in the center.
Mercury raised an eyebrow. He remembered this symbol from that hitlist book in the theater's library.
"Oh."
The soldier suddenly appeared to show a man in a long, dark trench coat. He was unassuming to a fault.
"Oh boy, here we go. Ninth Legion, the Dark Legion. These soldiers focus on something less… direct. Every member of the Dark Legion specializes in getting behind enemy lines and breaking something important."
Blake and Ilia couldn't help but find this certain Legion to be right up their alley. After all the time they gathered under the White Fang, they had plenty of experience with this type of work.
"First Company is the Espionage Corp, grabbing important intel and returning it to the home base. Second Company is the Sabotage Corp, going in under cover and breaking the physical items of war or defense. Third, however, doesn't break trust or engines. No, they break the chain of command."
Sun tapped his chair, "What the heck does that mean?"
Mercury chuckled for a bit, "Assassins. A professional Corp of assassins."
"The Third Company have a series of targets, all found within the Dark Ledger, a book of the 100 most wanted, most dangerous criminals and psychopaths on all of Remnant. Hitting targets that can't often be reached by normal means, they hunt down the worst of the world and bring them in, dead or alive. And given the nature of these figures, most often 'alive' simply isn't possible."
Everyone had to take a little moment to really process that Arcadia had a professional assassins' guild!
The banner fell off and showed the map of Arcadia again.
"And that's all of them! Not including any of the pseudo-companies of settlement militia units trained by the Arcadian Military Academy. They're not actually part of the Arcadian Military, though they are trained by it and have connections within it. These include, but are not limited to…"
As each militia was listed, the village lit up on the board, each nearby to the continental section of Arcadia.
"Verdant, in the forest nearby; Lavana, the southern fishing village; and Silo Flats, on the Silo Flats. All pretty self-explanatory."
Ren couldn't help but smile. "It is rather nice that they help to train the nearby settlements."
"That said, there's also two other units that are a little… odd. Too small to be Companies, but also not held down by a home like the militias. These are the Steel Mounted Corps," a picture of a man atop an armored motorcycle appeared to the side of the screen. His attire was made of light, leather armor. A submachine gun and calvary saber were set onto either side of the bike, ready to draw and fight for mounted combat.
Yang couldn't help but laugh a little, "Oh my goodness! Arcadia has a biker gang!"
"Finally, that's the last of them. We've covered all the Legions of Arcadia! At least, for all the time I have for this today… Until next time."
The screen faded out and finally ended the lesson.
Ironwood couldn't help but feel a little cheated, but he also knew they wouldn't go over anything sensitive. Still, he supposed he at least learned something important. Something, unbeknownst to him, was learned by every military officer during both the Great War and the Faunas War. Arcadia may just be a better ally than an enemy.