Griffon Guard

The Griffon Guard are the protectors of the Elven Empire and the trade routes of it's allies. These mighty armored warriors practice a combination of deadly martial prowess mixed with fierce arcane magic. Those who join the ranks of the Griffon GUard are wizards who have undergone some martial training and possibly been granted the title of Eldritch Knight or Arcane Archer.

=Structure= The hierarchy Griffon Guard is as below:



High Warlords
The 3 High Worlds are the commanding Generals of the Griffon Guard. Each Warlord's commands nearly six thousand five hundred men separated into two brigades or 'Hosse' in elven. These brigades are each commanded by a Marshal. Each High Warlord has two marshals that report directly to him.



Marshals
The six Marshals command each brigade of the Griffon Guard and reports directly to a High Warlord. Each Marshal has over three thousand men at his disposal. He has four captains that report directly to him.



Captains
The twenty-four Captains are the commanding officers of each battalion, referred to as 'Ranko' in the elven tounge. The battalions are just over eight hundred men strong. Ten Lieutenants reports directly to each Captain.



Lieutenants
The one hundred and ninety two Lieutenants delegate their commands to 10 subordinate Okontor Sergeants. This makes up a company, or 'Harain' in elven, and is one hundred men strong.

Okontor Sergeants
Each Okontor Sergeants is responsible for managing the okontor of their squad, or 'Kainen Okontor', a ten man group, and the smallest grouping in the Griffon Guard.

Okontor
Nine okontor (Sworn Rider in common) report to each Sergeant.

All commands are evenly distributed to the higher ranking commanders (4 Captains report directly to a single Marshal). In times of crisis, the Elven Empire may assign direct control over the entire Griffon Guard army to a single High Warlord, temporarily promoting him to Supreme Warlord. While elves consist of the majority of the Griffon Guard, half-elves have been known to climb ranks in the Griffon Guard.

=Rai Tau=

The Rai Tau has no direct control over the Griffon Guard, as the Griffon Guard recognizes only the authority of the Elven Empire. There have been instances, however, of the Elven Empire directing the Griffon Guard to do exactly what the Rai Tau wants.

=Additional Reading=

Griffon Guard is the professional army of the Empire. They also serve as the field agents of the spy network of the Empire. Captains of the Griffon Guard investigate organizations threaten the security of the Empire and its citizens. They are also known for exploring the unknown territories of Andermane.

Current numbers of the Griffon Guard: 19,425

The Griffon Guard formed shortly after the Empire formed. One of the first things the Elven hero and now King Alen’ato enacted was the imperial army. Alen’ato summoned his griffon riders and began selecting his commanders. The first three he made Warlords to represent the command areas. One would represent the kingdom of Ep Reca, the second would represent the kingdom of Sando Mauton, and the third warlord would represent Tytha.

After the Slaying of Syloc the Griffon Guard would continue to lead the armies of the elves south into new territory. Over time, many different changes to the structure of the Griffon Guard were enacted. It wasn't until the King of Aelion, King Mithiel, was charged by the Elvenn Empire did the final shape of the Griffon Guard take shape.

This is King Mithiel’s Griffon Guard reformation:

All elves regardless of their blood line or rank in society may apply for initial training in the Imperial Griffon Guard. They may join as young as 70 years of age; the Initial training is at least 25 years long, but can be longer. Initiates are required to train in sword and magical use. They must wear unwieldly 'training' armor while casting, running and combating to better prepare them for any situation. Initiates are also required to use the bow and must pass several challenging obstacles in order to remain an initiate. All Initiates will be fed, and housed and will be grouped into mock Kainen Okontor but not allowed to call themselves such, so they are known as Kainen.

High Warlords are responsible for funding these training camps.

Initiates receive no pay for their training, and if they fail to meet the harsh training and scheduling demands of the Onto (trainer or drill sergeant if you will) they will be asked to leave.

For those that endure 25 years of training and have been deemed worthy invited to the Trials of Okontor. This is a series of endurance and skill challenges and has become something of a public spectacle. Tents and venues pitch up around the trial grounds as a miniature carnival is held. Ep Reca has built an illustrious stadium to host these events. The initiates compete in archery, melee, endurance, and magical dueling competitions. Based on a scoring system and the needs of the ranks that need to be filled, initiates are chosen to compete for the prestigious honor of becoming an Okontor. Okontor already in service may be challenged for their positions if there are no vacant slots. There is only room for the best in the Griffon Guard.

Every 50 years an Okontor can challenge his Lieutenant for that position. The competition comprises of a archery of moving targets, a melee, and troop management. Both LT and Okontor split the LT’s Kainotor, commanding 50 men each, and engage in a series of war games and simulations. These initial events contain no direct combat and mainly focus in strategy and resource management. At the end of the initial trials, a large scale war game between the two will determine the final outcome. Captains, and sometimes Warlords, are the judges of these matches and determine who is fit to better lead. Regardless of the outcome a challenger may only challenge once every 50 years. Likewise a Lieutenant may only be challenged once every 50 years.