Homyn that fail the Academy’s entrance exam serve in the Lunar Brigade for a minimum of two years. Brigadiers are charged with protecting
Io’s moons and quelling the occasional vassal uprising. While Brigadiers might be on the left side of the bell curve as far as smarts go, they are masters at leveraging the products of the intelligentsia toward warfare.
All their spells are brewed by the Academy’s top alchemists and every brigadier receives their own familiar from the warlocks at the College of Dreams upon enlisting. Countships also predominantly tend to come from the ranks of Brigadiers over those of Professors.
Life of a Brigadier
For most Homyn, their their sixteenth birthday is a day of great celebration or great disappointment. On this day, exactly half of
Io’s young population receive notices from the Committee of Brigadier Generals welcoming them to the esteemed ranks of the Lunar Brigade. While admission into the Lunar Brigade is generally seen as an unfortuitous event in the life of a young Homyn, mainly because of the rigorous nature of the job and the mortal risks that accompany some assignments, certain young Brigadiers do find joy in the life that their society has laid out for them.
The day-to-day lifestyle of a brigadier varies widely depending on which the moon they are stationed. As of this volume’s publication, the Lunar Brigade currently has a presence in fifty of
Io’s estimated ninety-nine moons. These moons range from peaceful spheres that have been under Homyn hegemony for centuries, to recent acquisitions whose vassal governments tend to be tumultuous but ultimately stable, all the way moons pending annexation, which are inevitably where the most volatile assignments are located. Brigadiers whose assignments place them in the former end of this spectrum carry out duties similar to local constables; stamping down interracial disputes, fending off occasional spots of vassal resistance, and even stopping ordinary criminal activity. Those assignments that fall on the latter end of the spectrum, however, more closely resemble the iconoclastic Brigadier of the copper frog novels; dashing spell-slingers fighting for civilization and survival amidst the harsh environs of hostile moons.
Military Capabilities
To describe the typical military and weaknesses strengths of a brigadier would be akin to describing a typical moon in
Io’s orbit. The Brigade, by necessity, is a creature of both diversity and versatility. One constant from the early days of the Brigade’s history is that alchemy and the brigade have come to be very comfortable bed fellows. The Brigadiers increasingly see themselves as the living tools of the Homyn intelligencia and nobility, since the imbibification they practice literally changes he chemistry of their body to accommodate to their society’s needs. On one mission a brigadier might be lighting fires with his fingertips over the grasslands of Topaz, and the next might be riding on a gust of wind over the ammonia seas of Yag'Vannoi.
Organization
Like any military, Brigadier culture is heavily influenced by rank. Every brigadier serves a year as a draftee. Those that show promise may be promoted to an officer position for the remainder of their services. Brigadiers that stay on longer than they are required may find additional positions of responsibility open to them. The most esteemed being the coveted position of Brigadier General; an officer who is charged with the safety of an entire moon. Many Homyn pursue careers within the Brigade because the monarchy typically select new Counts from its ranks when a new moon is annexed or a noble line extinguishes. Unlike the typical draftee, higher ranks of brigadiers are tasked with more weighty decisions such as the spell composition of their units, negotiations with vassal leaders, and other strategic decisions necessary for their moon’s defense.
Native Relations
Finally, no discussion of the Lunar Brigade is complete without mention of the vassal races they are sworn to protect. A common misconception about the Brigade is that it serves as a generalized Homyn army. Technically, however, the Brigade’s jurisdiction is limited to the protection and enlightenment of the vassal races. Many brigadiers treat the vassal races with contempt or look down on them as second-class citizens. Additionally, vassals do comprise a small segment of the Brigadier population, though the monarchy only culls ten percent of vassal citizens into its ranks rather than the Homyn’s fifty. The practice of brigadiers keeping fallen vassal gods as pet familiars, has often been criticized as a deliberate attempt to drive a wedge between the protectors and their charge and prevent a situation where the brigade might join in a vassal uprising against the nobility.
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