Veldtpatroler
A veldtpatroler is the lowest-ranked type of scout in the Torch of Tygrar. Their job is to patrol the most remote reaches of the Torch's territory, which often puts them into conflict with wild animals, bandit camps, or the Pack of the Black Claw and the Prostomurakhim.
Veldtpatrollim are usually sent out either in groups of two or three footsoldiers or as a bankhur-and-rider pair. They are typically quite young—service as a veldtpatrol can start as early as seventeen years old, and the average age of a veldtpatrol is twenty.
Veldtpatrollem are infamous for getting lost or killed in battle. A few get so lost they end up settling with one of the other nuél-orokh clans; several bands of the Beacon of the Skylands and the Swiftwater Legions have quite a few members that trace their lineage back to a lost veldtpatroler on one side or the other. Others are thought to defect to the orokh clans, lured in by the promise of protection, order, and a homemade meal.
Those who serve admirably as veldtpatrollem for seven seasons are promoted into the higher ranks of the Torch, although a less-adept veldtpatrol might spend several years in the position. Veterans of the veldtpatrollem tell (questionably true) stories of their time fondly, despite the low status and difficult work involved.
"Your father was a veldtpatroler I met out near Spargell, stuck in a ditch somewhere in the rain. Handsome man—very, very handsome—but not worth much of a damn beyond that. We split up a month or so before you came along. He must have been incredibly lost to have gotten this far east. May he keep getting lost to this day."
—Lieutenent Gerel Tsuv, Willow Battalion, Regiment of the Eastern Front
Veldtpatrol Jokes
It is a common pastime among Torch veterans to tell jokes and stories about veldtpatrollem, either as exaggerated stories from their time serving or humorous anecdote ascribed to a cousin, a friend from one's unit, or merely a generic veldtpatrol. In these, the veldtpatrol is usually portrayed as slow-witted, prone to dangerous or stupid decisions, easily defeated in combat, or needing their bankhur to assist with basic tasks.When my cousin was a veldtpatrol, he rode through a town where a salesman in the market sold magic glasses that would let him see perfectly in the rain. He bought them happily, but returned the next day and threatened the salesman if he didn't give him a refund for the broken glasses. "These glasses do not do what you said at all!" my cousin yelled. "I could see perfectly well when I put them on today, and it is sunny!"
A veldtpatrol was seeking to cross the river back to Tygrar, and came across a . "Sorry, soldier, but I'm not sailing on these waters today," he said. "There are a whole herd of 'Ngaragola bathing around these parts, and I don't want to risk my boat or our lives." "Well, that's alright," she said. "I'll just hop across those big, smooth, black river rocks I saw over in that estuary!"
Q: Did you hear about the veldtpatrol who tried to slay a hydra?
A: She cut off one of the heads just fine, but then got confused trying to count how many of them were left.
Q: Why do veldtpatrollem give oral reports to their sergeants?
A: They'd record it on string, but bankhurim can't tie knots with their paws.
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