The Royal Dragons

The Royal Dragons are composed of the most elite soldiers to ever grace the army of The Hinami Empire. To even be considered for their training regime, a soldier must have served for at least 5 years in the general infantry, been present at either The First Siege of Yozhuan Castle or The Invasion of Ichiba Bay, and have received a minimum of 3 Distinguished Combat Awards from superior officers.
Each soldier is given the best custom-fitted armour in all of Amatsu and the finest weapons masterfully forged by Mori Hikaru. Due to the extremely important nature of their role, the training is extreme and many have died before completion. Upon being selected for the training regime, 49 new recruits are assigned to a unit leader and for the next 6 months, they will be training and living together.
The structure for the training regime goes as so; Month 1 is to be spent learning advanced formation fighting, Month 2 is to be spent in near-starvation doing basic training (marching, sparring, encamping), Month 3 is to be spent in the charred wasteland of Mount Immolate practising survival and tough conditions, Month 4 is to be spent in the frozen mountain range on the border of Seki and Yamasae, Month 5 is to be spent marching 35km each day and the worse the weather the heavier the equipment load, finally Month 6 is to be spent bonding with the other soldiers in the unit, performing 12-hour trial guard shifts and getting full comprehensive military education. Once the training regime is completed, each soldier in each unit is awarded The Royal Dragon Seal personally by the Emperor of Amatsu and given a 3 day rest period before starting active duty. In order to keep each unit fresh on their abilities, every 2 years the training regime is to be retaken but only lasting 3 months instead of the initial 6 months excluding the 12 hour trial guard shifts.
During the day, 6 Units are assigned to guard and patrol the palace grounds from midday until midnight where the other 7 units will take over until the day shift starts again. Due to their extreme training, every soldier has grown accustomed to their 12-hour shifts in heavy gear, any soldier not accounted for or found sleeping at their post is to be immediately dishonourably discharged from service and sent to work in the prison mines for 3 years. Any soldier who goes through this process is never to be accepted into a military division more elite than the general infantry. The unit leader of any soldier who fails at their duty is removed from their post and sent to the prison mines for 6 months, this is done to properly encourage the officers to train the unit thoroughly and make sure there are no cracks. Only the commander and the most elite soldiers are awarded the Gilded Black Dragon Katana by the Emperor of Amatsu himself. This is one of the greatest achievements a soldier can gain within Amatsu.

Composition

Manpower

650 in active duty with 200 in reserve

Equipment

Each soldier was outfitted with the very best armour and weapons forged and crafted by a legendary blacksmith under the employment of The Hinami Empire

Weaponry

The first and second line of of each squad were equipped with a shortened Naginata and heavy shield, with the other lines having the Black Dragon Katana.

Structure

The 650 active soldiers were split into units of 50 and spread across strategic positions in the capital city

Type

Infantry

Founding

4113

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Decorated/Honored

Used by

• The Hinami Empire