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flow-or-crash · 7 years ago

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(Standing in front of the portal in uniform, she looks back. She might have told just a liiiiittle white lie, about going to Memeko’s tonight. Sure, she’ll be somewhere she knows, she’ll be safe.)

Never tried an interplanetary jump...

(If she does this right, she just won’t be at Memeko’s.)

...Well, first time for everything..!

(Entering the portal, she thinks back to yesterday evening...)

(Gathered in an audience hall, Hanabi stands firmly, tablet in hand, before the swords that have been called. A small wooden chest is sitting on the ground beside her.)

Thank you for your time, tonight.

The next sortie, rather than a typical dispatch to prevent revisions or to correct history, will be an infiltration to seize control of a stronghold that is critical to the Revisionists. We’ve been on defense for long enough, it’s high time we take the fight to them, and reclaim the peaceful future they’ve stolen.

(The tablet is then held up in the palm of her hand, fingers balancing its underside while a holographic model of the site is projected: a once-bright and opulent castle sitting atop a hill, now dark and foreboding, a blue aura rolling off of it in waves.)

The target is a fortress that was erected over the ruins of Azuchi Castle, near Lake Biwa. It is as if they have resurrected the castle itself, a perverse mockery of the history they seek to destroy.

(With the tap of the screen, the exterior of the model is stripped away, revealing the interior of each building and floor.)

However, it also means they were foolish enough to choose a castle which has a full-scale reproduction in the modern age. Floor plans were easy enough to access, with the right clearance, so we won’t be going in blind.

The procedures followed will not be unlike those taken to resolve attempts at revision of the Ikedaya Incident-- that is, procedures for indoor combat and night conditions. Tantou and wakizashi will comprise the first squad, but due to the scale of the mission and being in enemy territory, will be supported by a second squad of uchigatana.

The first squad will consist of: Honebami Toushirou as captain; Yagen Toushirou as second-in-command; Midare Toushirou, third; Namazuo Toushirou, fourth; Nikkari Aoe, fifth, and rounding off the first squad will be Imanotsurugi.

The second squad will consist of: Kasen Kanesada as captain; Horikawa Kunihiro as second-in-command; Izuminokami Kanesada, third; Kashuu Kiyomitsu, fourth; Yamatonokami Yasusada, fifth; and rounding off the second squad will be Nakigitsune.

I have selected you twelve for your strength, your experience here in this citadel and historical experience in such armed encounters, and the fact that you excel, or can move unimpeded, in conditions which will reduce the mobility, range, and overall effectiveness of all other types of blades.

Default to echelon formation unless inconvenient; you will need killing strokes. I will be going over these details once again before your deployment, and each squad will be given a copy of the floor plans.

Squad one will move first, scouting for Revisionists occupying the buildings in the castle town, and squad two will follow up behind while keeping an eye out for enemies. If there are any in those buildings, you are to take them out. From there, you approach the main keep. Fan out in pairs of at least two, clear each floor together, and move forward. Move quickly, quietly, and efficiently to overwhelm the enemy with stealth and skill.

Keep. Putting. Pressure on them. Infiltrate their defenses, and keep moving forward until the enemy has been destroyed and you have reached the top of the donjon; you will have a short window of time before enemy reinforcements inevitably arrive to try and take it back, and the barrier spell must be active before then in order to take the fortress for our own and keep pushing forward in future operations.

You will be equipped with as many gold musketeer orbs as possible; those who cannot will be given shieldmen or cavalry for increased protection. Before deployment, I will be entrusting Kasen with the crystal that holds the barrier spell, and instructions for activation. Like always, you will also be enchanted before deployment in order to temporarily enhance your abilities. I will also be placing myself in a trance to try and connect with either Kasen or Honebami, to watch over what happens.

(The small chest she has been holding on to is clicked open, revealing a stockpile of gold omamori kyoku-- a small gift from Mars, following the coronation.)

All of you, not just those assigned, take these now and keep them on you at all times. In the event that something should happen to any of you, these charms should take any fatal blows, and grant you enough energy to fall back and escape should you be overwhelmed. And if this should happen, you will fall back and retreat to the portal.

I have faith that each and every one of you will succeed, but I will not gamble with your lives. Overconfidence is tantamount to suicide, and though I like to believe our intelligence is valid, anything can change in the heat of battle, and this is their territory, not ours.

Deployment will be within 48 hours.

If there are any questions or concerns, I will hear them now, and later through the next two days in my office. If not, once you have taken an omamori you are dismissed,

and I wish you goodnight.

#((just linin out what'll happen w the whole offensive thing #i had fun doing research on stuff #i didn't know there was a sengoku theme park or that there were replicas/reproductions of azuchi #present and past hana are available to interact btw!!#i'll be doing another post continuing present hana

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dearestjaemin · 7 years ago

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tou-ken ran-bu, let’s answer!

so i was checking out saniwa status updates and one of them mentioned a questionnaire. “sounds fun let’s look for it” and I found oosayo’s post about it

it was posted a year ago but shush

Touken Ranbu Questionnaire

1. who were your first uchigatana and tantou?

- kashuu kiyomitsu and maeda toushirou! i loved kashuu because of hanamaru s1 <3 i feel a little bad that maeda isn’t my favorite tantou but i adore his scouting lines HAHAHAHA ASERASENI??? CHILD WHAT R U SAYING

2. which starter sword was your second or third choice?

- oh god this is hard???? mutsunokami and manba for feelings. hachisuka for the stats.

3. what’s your dream team?

- what. does a level 99 kiwame iwatooshi count. kashuu, fudou, ookanehira, horikawa, hotarumaru and and and gokotai.

4. what’s your saniwa anniversary? how long have you been playing?

- every 22nd of april, but havent celebrated it yet! 301 days!

5. would you spend money on touken ranbu? have you already?

- i yes. ive spent money on merch and ingame.

6. what username did you pick for the game?

- momoi satsuki in kanji haha-

7. what’s your favorite map if you have one?

- 7-4 bcos my tantous are 10/10

8. who was your first rarity 3 sword?

- kakaka!

9. who’s your favorite sword?

- kashuu kiyomitsu. period.

10. favorite clan?

- HOW DARE YOU??? um i love kunihiro bros so much.

11. who’s your least favorite sword?

- oh god is this even real. jirou?? only bcos i dont like his art in game ;;

12. which troops do you try to smith the most?

- musketeers and shieldmen!!!

13. do you play the pocket or desktop version most often?

- pocket!!!!!!!!

14. how many swords do you have? (excluding doubles)

- 63!!!!

15. are you watching the touken ranbu anime?

- yep!!! in love with hanamaru soooo much

16. which sword is most like you?

- i relate to iwatooshi bcos I EXIST IN CAPSLOCK WHEN IM IN IT but also kashuu bcos i am so himedere HAHAHHA

17. who’s your secretary sword?

- right now...??? monoyoshi!!!

18. what do your teams look like?

- teams 2 - 3 are full of lvl 99 swords for the expedition. team 1 is tantou team bcos 7-4 ftw

19. what level is your highest leveled sword at?

- 99 L M A O

20. if you could change one thing about touken ranbu, what would it be?

- I NEED TO TAG MY SWORDS AS FAV OR SMTH OR GET A PRESET TEAM??? OR JUST STOP MAKING ME CLICK THE MAP WHEN THE FIGHT ENDS INSAKNSAK

21. what background are you using in your citadel right now?

- um it’s either the oni bg or the sakura. i forgot.

22. do you use all your help tokens or do you hoard them?

- i use them a lot for repairs and stuff idr like waiting but i have a lot for some reason ouo;;;;

23. do you have any kiwame swords? if not, which ones would you like to get to kiwame status?

- yes. 8 of them sweats.

24. was there a particular sword that got you interested in touken ranbu?

- kashuu. period. ok and maybe iwatooshi bcos he’s fucking strong

25. how many of your swords have gone into awakening mode? which was the first? (other than your starter sword)

- um. most of them???? i dont rmr ;;;;;

26. if touken ranbu got an english version, but you’d loose all of your progress until now, would you still use it? (would always know what your swords were saying, what Konnosuke is saying, be able to know where everything is without the wiki, ect)

- i’d play two files. im not giving up my progress. if i only have to play one game, fuck the english translations. HAHAHAHA

27. do you have a favorite type of campaign or event?

- i super love vot!!!! and battle regiment bcos fast paced 10/10

28. how do you feel about the most recent new swords?

- i LOVE THEM I NEED A KENSHIN???

29. would you recommend touken ranbu to a friend?

- yes, but i dont know how???? bcos it’s in japanese??? and people don’t understand its beauty until u start playing????

30. if you could make your own sword and have it put in the game, what would they act/look like? what would their Thing be? (aka the Thing they mention every other line)

- id want them to be like souza or juzu, like reaaaaally pretty. catchphrase? a cute “let’s kill!” line hihi

#touken ranbu

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star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 7 years ago

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Fallen Valkyrie, pt 1

Summary:��The Valkyries were the shieldmaidens of Valhalla, leading the glorious dead into the meadhall of the afterlife. So long as she remain pure, the Valkyrie remains invulnerable and immortal. Eira Sigbjornsdottir is a powerful healer with a secret. And then she catches the eye of the crown prince of Asgard. Pre-Thor. Author’s Note: While I work on the end of Cover You in Oil, I thought I’d tempt you with a little love story I wrote a while back. PLEASE... I need feedback to know if any of you want to continue reading this. And if you want tagged and you aren’t, let me know, and if you are tagged and you’d rather not, let me know. (Does that all make sense?) Tags: @youdonebeengarthed @auduna-druitt @outside-the-government @samaxraph99 @distinguishedqueenofbooks, @anyakinamidala @dirajunara @anotherotter @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @feelmyroarrrr Word Count: 2111

It was a night like so many others in Asgard, of feasting, and drinking, and celebration. The princes and their companions had returned, victorious, from a skirmish in one of the outer realms. No one other than the warriors ever really paid much attention to where, just that the palace was being opened and the mead would be flowing freely. For those who didn’t find the lure of battle so compelling, the celebrations always were compelling in their own right. It was a chance for all of Asgard to glimpse the royalty, and sometimes even rub elbows with them.

While Fandral was the most likely to spend time amongst the common Aesir, Thor was the prince most likely to greet them. He always spent an earlier portion of the evening spending time with the soldiers who were out celebrating. It was there that he met Eira, the sister of one of the shieldmen who was lost in the battle.

“You are Jarni’s sister, are you not, Eira?” He held her hand steadily. She nodded and dipped her head. Thor noticed that her hands were rough and callused, which confused him. Jarni was not a commoner, but the son of a nobleman. His sister should have been leading a life of leisure, not one that would leave her hands hardened by work.

“Yes, Highness.” She couldn’t make eye contact. Eira’s father had been a great warrior as well, and gone to Valhalla while she was still young. Her mother had raised Jarni and her on a small estate granted her as a widow by the Allfather himself. As a result, Eira had only been to the palace a few times, preferring to stay away from court, and instead honing her healing skill when not busy with her other obligations. She was uncomfortable meeting the crown prince.

“I am sure you must be saddened by your brother’s death, Eira Sigbjornsdottir. Jarni was the bravest among us, and I can assure you he feasts in Valhalla tonight.” He squeezed her hand. She nodded again, tears springing unbidden to her eyes.

“Yes, Highness. I know he shares great stories of battle with our father tonight,” she agreed, finally looking at the prince. His smile was compassionate and yet she could see that he didn’t truly understand the pain of her loss. He truly believed that she should feel joyous that her brother’s death had been valorous enough to warrant eternity in Valhalla’s halls. He saw her tears, threatening to overflow her lashes, and impulsively pulled her into his arms. He rubbed her back.

“There now, ástin mín. Do not shed tears, but be strong.” His words were soft, and Eira stiffened at the endearment. She pulled away and dashed her tears with the back of her hand.

“I have strength aplenty, Highness. But the loss of Jarni is fresh and even a Valkyrie might mourn the death of a beloved brother.” She was stiff and formal, bowing and excusing herself from his presence. Thor tilted his head thoughtfully as she wove through the crowd. Her copper hair was loosely braided and tied carelessly with a frayed strip of green linen. Her figure was trim, draped in layers of soft, worn linen. She had clearly not taken time with her appearance before coming to the festivities, and while grief could be counted for some of her carelessness, Thor was intrigued. Even Sif took efforts with her appearance when it was time to celebrate. He turned to Fandral.

“What do you know of Jarni’s sister, Fandral?” He interrupted Fandral, who was flirting with two blonde girls. Fandral smirked.

“Jarni said she was a healer. Said once that she could raise the dead, if she had the mind to,” he offered with a laugh.

“It is no small wonder that she is so distraught by the loss of her brother then,” Thor murmured to himself. Sif sauntered over, a mug of ale in her hand. Following Thor’s gaze, she shook her head.

“Watch that one, Thor. She will lead you to your death,” Sif advised. Thor turned sharply.

“What mean you, Sif?” He demanded. Sif’s eyes widened at his tone.

“A woman who cares not of her appearance? I’ve never met one. If she is as comely from the front as she is from behind, she will lead you on a merry chase, and you will be none the better for it,” Sif explained with haste.

“But you said she will lead me to my death.”

“A figure of speech,” Sif clarified.

“Are you sure? Her hands, they were rough, like yours. Her gait is not ladylike. Her carriage is strong. She could be a shieldmaiden.” Thor was deep in thought. Sif looked at his tankard.

“Your tankard is empty, Thor. I will fetch you more mead. You need not concern yourself with Eira Sigbjornsdottir tonight.” Sif took the tankard and headed to the mead cask to refill it. She prayed Eira would make herself scarce for the rest of the night. While she was waiting to fill Thor’s tankard, she saw Loki, and waved him over. He rolled his eyes and joined her.

“Have you really stooped so low as to become Thor’s mead wench, Sif?” Loki gave a pointed look to the tankard in Sif’s hand.

“Your brother would be better in his cups tonight. He is pondering a woman.”

“Your jealousy knows no bounds, Sif,” Loki snorted. Sif flushed and squared her shoulders.

“Do not speak of what you do not understand, Loki. We’ve all heard the tales Jarni told of his sister, Eira.”

“The healer,” Loki prompted.

“The healer. Jarni swears had she been present when her father died, she could have healed him.”

“She is talented then,” Loki shrugged.

“She would have been a child. And yet Jarni insisted she would have been able to heal their father. Do you remember Sigbjorn? Do you recall how he died?” Sif’s questions were pointed.

“If I recall correctly, his head was separated from his shoulders. Not something a healer could mend,” Loki nodded in recollection.

“No. Not something a healer could mend. But Jarni was certain. Said he’d seen her heal worse.”

“We both know that is not possible, Sif. It is commendable that he have such blind faith in his sister’s abilities, but I cannot even fathom an injury worse than decapitation. Such wounds cannot be healed.”

“A Valkyrie can raise the dead.” Sif was blunt. Loki burst out laughing.

“You think Eira Sigbjornsdottir is a Valkyrie? Are you mad?” Loki’s laughter was filled with mirth, which relieved Sif. He could have been scornful, but seemed genuinely amused instead. When he laughed, the tension lines that seemed to always be present were replaced by laughter creases, and he looked younger, and carefree, she thought.

“I’m sorry. Have you a list of all the Valkyries, Loki? Perhaps we could check?” Sif raised an eyebrow in challenge. Loki settled himself, barely.

“You know I have not. Sif, you know Thor’s eye is prone to admiring a pretty girl. Perhaps you are reaching? I know you bear feelings for my brother.” His words weren’t intended to insult her, but Sif felt slighted just the same. She refilled Thor’s tankard and restrained from rolling her eyes.

“Let us not discuss my feelings. There is something about Eira that makes me nervous.”

“That red hair and pretty figure would make me nervous too, were I in your shoes. Fret not, Sif, Thor’s dalliances never last long.” Loki glanced across the room and saw something that interested him more than soothing Sif’s wounded heart. He walked away without another word. Sif set her jaw and glared at his retreating back. She stormed back to Thor, and thrust the tankard into his hand with such force that it sloshed over the top of the mug. She then retreated to the balcony to fume in private.

“—There is something about Eira that makes me nervous.” Eira overheard Sif speaking. She ducked behind the mead casks, trying to avoid notice.

“That red hair and pretty figure would make me nervous too, were I in your shoes. Fret not, Sif, Thor’s dalliances never last long.” Eira tried not to gasp as a male voice she couldn’t identify tried to reassure Sif.

Eira stood frozen in place; still pressed to the wall behind the mead casks, heat rushing into her cheeks. Mortification. Utter, sheer mortification. The mere thought that the crown prince might find her attractive was terrifying in the extreme. She struggled to catch her breath. She wracked her brain for what might have attracted him. She hadn’t bothered taking pains with her dress for the celebration. She deliberately chose a worn tunic and hangarok, and hadn’t even combed her hair, preferring to leave it in the loose braid she favoured while working.

She forced herself to move from the alcove behind the mead casks and head toward the doors. There were sick back on her mother’s estate that needed tending. She glanced over her shoulder as she darted through the doors and slammed into someone. She raised a hand to steady him.

“My apologies. I was not watching in my haste.” She excused herself and tried to dart around the tall figure. His hand reached out and grasped her shoulder, stopping her. She turned to face the man she’d nearly bowled over. He was as tall as the crown prince, but narrower through the shoulders. His dark hair accentuated the pale cast of his skin. As she met his eyes, she noticed that they changed from blue to green. Her own eyes widened in recognition and she tried to pull herself free from his grasp to curtsey.

“Highness!” She breathed in apology. She couldn’t quite get free from the hold he had on her, but she tried to curtsey regardless. He raised an eyebrow.

“Eira Sigbjornsdottir, I presume?” His voice was smooth and low. It was the voice of the man who had been speaking to Lady Sif. She felt her face colour in embarrassment.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Eira fixed her gaze on the floor, refusing to meet the scrutiny of his eyes.

“Please. I am Loki.” His free hand took her chin and tipped it up so she was forced to look at him. He tilted his head as he inspected her face. Her jaw was strong, her cheeks high and coloured quite pink at the moment, which set off her hazel eyes, making them appear more brown than green. A few loose strands of hair swept across her forehead, accenting the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and cheeks. He smiled. She was intriguing; he could understand what Thor was distracted by.

“Of course, Highne—I mean, Loki.” She flinched at the error, and averted her eyes. Loki dropped his hand from her face.

“I’ve made you uncomfortable, Eira. I apologize,” he offered. “And for your brother as well. I am sorry for your loss. Jarni spoke highly of you, you must have had a close relationship.”

“I should have been there.” She sounded defeated, and something very like sympathy tugged at Loki’s chest.

“You couldn’t have saved him, Eira. He died gloriously, like your father did.” Loki didn’t want to be crass and come right out and say Jarni’s death had eerily mimicked his father’s, but Eira seemed smart, and deserved to know that she wouldn’t have been any help.

“I could have comforted him,” she shook her head.

“It was over in an instant, Eira.” His voice was soft, and he allowed his hand to run down her arm. He was startled by his response to her. Was this what Thor had felt? Like he needed to comfort and protect her? No wonder Sif was uneasy. Normal women didn’t elicit responses like this unprompted, not from him. It felt almost as though there was some sort of magic woven into her grief. He allowed his own magic to unfurl from his fingers, and probe Eira’s aura. She was unreadable, but undeniably powerful. Her eyes snapped back to meet his, as though she knew what he was doing.

“I could have been a comfort to him,” she insisted. Loki relaxed. She hadn’t caught him using his magic to look deeper into her.

“How?” Loki was curious. Eira sighed.

“I could have brought him home.” Her voice was quiet. Defeated.

“He’s gone to Valhalla, Eira.” Loki tried to be gentle, but Eira was either simple or mad with grief.

“I know.” With that enigmatic response, Eira turned and escaped the hall. Loki stood pondering her rejoinder for a few minutes as she disappeared down the dark corridor leading outdoor.

#avengers fanfic #avengers fanfic with OFC

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dekster184-blog · 7 years ago

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SECRET WARS part 2

The Final War

THEY CAN'T EVER WIN. THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE. - THE SHIELD is the only thing that protects the more civilized areas of Battleworld from the ZOMBIE HORDES, DEATH MACHINES, AND ANNIHILATION WAVES. - Anyone who annoys Doom gets sent to The Shield. Anyone who gets sent to the Shield deals with ABIGAIL BRAND. - Miss America, Lady Katherine, Kang the Conqueror, Leah Shieldmen, the Endless Summers Company, Leonardo Da Vinci and a cast of thousands will fight to the death to keep Battleworld safe. But don't worry, Kieron Gillen is writing this book, so I'm sure everything will end happily for everyone. - "Imagine NextWave as a tragedy," says Kieron, if anyone asks him about it. Well, THAT certainly doesn't sound ominous... Hey look, THANOS is here! That's always a good sign! Just kidding, of course, that's terrible news and everything is darkness. The biggest battle conceivable. Heroes rise. Legends fall. No one lives forever. THIS IS THE SHIELD!

Secret wars #5-6

Published: August - October 2015

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Penciller: Esad Ribic

Cover Artist: Alex Ross

Siege Vol 2 #1-4

Published: July - October 2015

Writer: Kieron Gillen

Cover Artist: W. Scott Forbes

#secret wars #2015 #marvel #marvel comics #comics #event #siege #jonathan hickman #esad ribic #alex ross #kieron gillen #w scott forbes #color #senglish #superheroes

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idiotxwizard · 6 years ago

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I love this medieval weapon/armor discourse, but as a reenactor, I must point out the clear point here. That is, there’s a reason wars were fought in units!! Heavily armored knights were nobility, who could afford fancy armor and horses. More often than not, they were captains or generals, only really fighting the mounted knights on the enemy side. The real winner is a few lines of well-trained shieldmen, with lines of equally well-trained spearmen/short swordsmen between them, like a Roman phalanx.

If a fight is anything other than one-on-one, the shield-to-stabby ratio is critical. I have seen, in small melee, three gifted, acclaimed knights taken down by two very good shieldmen and one equally good spearman. They had trained as a unit, and knew exactly how to cover each other’s weaknesses. Those same fighters one-on-one were alright, but nothing great.

TL;DR: shield vs. armor means nothing in a large scale battle. Focus on your fighting bros, learn each other’s weak points, and find the best way to make them work.

me dual-wielding: OOOOOO AAAAAA SHIIIIT I BET THIS LOOKS SO COOL WOAOAAAAA

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fang-and-dagger · 8 years ago

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Damion’s Past, Part XVI: In the Dark

The military brass of SI:7 High Command seemed bound and determined to get Damion killed, it seems. Seated beside two of his platoon mates in a muddy, water-logged trench, he thumbs carefully over his set of orders, hand-delivered by a Baradin courier mage. The combat had reached a minimum after what felt like nothing short of absolute hell, and the lull gave him an opportunity to downshift into his Human guise.

“It can’t be that bad. I doubt there’s even anything locked away down there anymore - it’s been decades since anyone’s checked that prison,” Timothy Pershing, a fresh cadet from Westfall chimes in.

With a grunt, Damion rises to his feet, and quickly scoops his rifle up, slinging it over his shoulder, “Pershing, I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Pausing, Damion’s verdant hues scan the faces of his squadron. The light drizzle was washing mud and dried blood from their faces, but the look in their eyes spoke of the horrors they’d seen the last few days.

“We’ll be heading to the prison in two hours. Get yourself fed, dress your wounds, go find a nice bush to relieve yourself in, and let’s get going. Move out!”

“Aye, Sergeant!” His squadron calls out to him in response, scrambling to go about their business at the nearby base. As the young men scramble to ready themselves, his thoughts drift back to Carissa. A pang of guild twinged within him, realizing how worried she must be for him. Shaking the thought from his mind then, he hauls himself out of the trench, rainwater squishing beneath his mud-caked boots as he marched back to base.

After an hour of marching through the dilapidated cobblestone streets, and over the rusted bridge connecting Tol Barad peninsula together, Damion and his men finally reach the entrance of the underground prison system. Turning to face his squadron, his voice grew stern, “Alright, I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve absolutely no clue what’s beyond this door. The prison could be empty, or we could very well have some company down there, but we came here to do a job and deliver our findings back to High Command.” Motioning to the two shield bearers of his squadron, Pershing and a man in his late twenties, Avery Winston, “Shieldmen, take point. Arcanist Moongale and Cleric Northgrave, with me.” Moongale, a recent Highborne volunteer, and Northgrave, a Priestess-turned-Battle Cleric join him on either side.

Taking in a deep breath, Pershing and Winston push the heavy iron doors to the prison system open, and step into the darkness that lies within. Following the pair, Damion, Moongale and Northgrave remain at the ready. Murmuring a brief spell, Moongale conjures an orb of flame over their heads, offering them enough light to see what lies in front of them.

Keeping his rifle aiming down range, he steadies his breathing, listening to the sounds of their surroundings. Years of rain and humidity had caused leaks to form in the roof of the prison, streams of water dripping continuously into puddles, congregations of small weeds growing around them.

A pair of rats scurry behind the wall to a single prison cell, spooked by the outsiders. Tensing his jaw, he could practically feel his body growing numb with hyper-sensitivity to the sounds, sights and smells of the downtrodden prison halls.

Turning right, the corridor widens a bit, and rows of barred cells appear, some with their doors open, others still shut. Just as the group moves past a locked cell to their right, an oversized crocolisk trapped within the cell lunges forward, snapping heavily at the rusted iron bars, causing all five of them to duck and cover to the left. Instinctively, Damion squeezes the trigger to his rifle, the round striking the large reptile between the eyes.

As the shot reverberates through the ‘seemingly’ empty halls of the prison, the sound triggers a flock of bats to swarm out toward the exit of the prison, and consequently, over the heads of the five soldiers.

Once the bats had cleared, the group rises to their feet, eyeing each other warily, before their hesitant steps carry them deeper into the depths of the Tol Barad prison...

@householt

#Damion's past #Cataclysm #Tol Barad

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afishtrap · 8 years ago

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This article argues that advances in drilling techniques and the use of muskets—essential ingredients of the famous Military Revolution paradigm—were central to Korean military reforms following the Imjin War of 1592–1598. Drawing on recent work in East Asian military history that argues that guns also wrought deep changes in non-European ways of war, we use the Korean military of the Chosŏn dynasty, a fascinating nexus of Chinese, Japanese, and Dutch influences, as a case study to compare East Asian tactics with European ones. Using military manuals from the seventeenth century, we show that European drilling regimes—centered around musketry units—had striking analogues in Korea (as they also did in China and Japan). The very fact of these similarities in such far-removed societies should point us toward caution in making pronouncements about a “Western way of war,” making clear that there is a need for a truly global military history.

Andrade, T. & Kang, H. H. & Cooper, K. "A Korean Military Revolution?: Parallel Military Innovations in East Asia and Europe." Journal of World History, vol. 25 no. 1, 2014, pp. 51-84.

Barriffe describes this method as the most commonly used manner of firing and counsels its use especially when an enemy is charging one’s formation. As the enemy gets closer, the reloading soldiers stop advancing between firings, causing the entire formation to begin to cycle backward as each rank takes up its new position at the back of the formation after firing (Fig. 3). In this manner the musketeers end up behind the pikemen, who can prepare to receive the charging enemy with their pikes. This method also ensures that the musketeers can continue to fire even as the enemy gets closer. These diagrams show how pikemen and musketeers served mutually supportive roles in seventeenth-century European armies.

The Germans, French, Swedes, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, Russians, and so on similarly published their own manuals or translated Dutch ones. Dutch drill instructors were sought throughout Europe, spreading these techniques far and wide. Instructors were in high demand because the techniques required intensive training. Previously, foot soldiers found safety in large, tightly packed formations: big squares of men bunched together to protect themselves against cavalry. But musketeers had to spread out to be effective. They needed to form long, thin ranks five or eight or ten men deep so they could concentrate their fire and avoid being outflanked by cavalry. As Geoffrey Parker notes, “changing a pike square perhaps fifty deep into a musketry line only ten deep inevitably exposed far more men to the challenge of face-toface combat.”10 It was vital that all the soldiers keep doing what was required of them—firing, moving to the back of the file, cleaning out the muzzle, loading powder, tamping, adding the bullet, tamping again, aiming, firing—and doing all of this with a burning fuse, which they had to keep away from their powder in order to avoid blowing themselves and their neighbors to bits. In battle, they had to carry out these difficult steps while under fire or while cavalry were bearing down on them. Only so long as each man kept doing his job could they act in concert and avoid being routed by enemy forces.

[...]

After the Ming consolidation in the late 1300s and early 1400s, continental East Asia settled into a period of relative peace, and Chinese innovation in gunpowder weapons slowed, but that didn’t mean that East Asia ceased being a place of military innovation. Just as continental East Asia relaxed into the Ming pax sinica, Japan devolved into an extended period of internal warfare, which became known as the Warring States period (Sengoku jidai 戦国時代) and lasted from the mid 1400s to the early 1600s. In the middle of the 1500s, harquebuses were dropped into this cauldron of violence and were quickly taken up and adapted.18 Harquebus units became a core of Japanese armies.

The historian Stephen Morillo draws parallels between Warring States Japan and early modern Europe, discerning similar processes of military innovation in each. The warring lords of Japan wanted to maximize the power of their soldiers and minimize their cost. So, just as in Europe, they began eschewing mounted samurai in favor of footmen armed with spears and bows. This required an emphasis, as in Europe, on discipline and drill. “The infantry,” writes Morillo, “could face down and defeat elite cavalry by depending on numbers, discipline, and the cohesion and mobility that training and discipline conveyed.”19 These infantry units were armed not just with Japan’s famous swords, but also with harquebus muskets. Some claim that Japanese musket forces even developed musketry volley fire independently. Historians have argued for its use in the famous Battle of Nagashino in 1575, but many scholrs have disputed this claim more recently.20 Thomas Conlan writes that it is very unlikely that volley techniques were used in 1575, but he does adduce clear evidence of the practice from 1615.21 As we will see, Korean sources point to Japanese use of musketry volley fire in the 1590s. Whether it was developed as early as Nagashino or not, the Japanese and the Dutch invented and used volley fire more or less contemporaneously. Within a span of approximately two decades, volley fire had become an important tactical maneuver in Europe as well as East Asia.

Japanese musket-based bellicosity was exported to the East Asian continent on a small scale in the mid-sixteenth century, as part of the Wokou Crisis, when Japanese mariners often described as pirates (they were, in fact, considerably more than pirates, benefitting in many cases from support offered by Japanese lords) ravaged the coasts of Korea and China. In the mid-sixteenth century, the Chinese developed an effective response to the Wokou, thanks in part to the genius of the famous general Qi Jiguang. To fight against the Japanese, Qi reorganized his forces, eschewing cavalry units and adopting instead infantry units armed with various weapons and drilled to work in tight formations, with different types of units mutually supporting each other. He placed a special emphasis on drill, and it was his troops’ ability to act cohesively under fire that made them so effective. They became known as Qi troops and were renowned in China.22

[...]

Before the Japanese invasion, Korea’s armed forces were largely unprofessional and inadequately drilled. Soldiers were often farmers, and their military duties were limited and temporary, based on rotations that accommodated agricultural seasons. Soldiers were also expected to provide their own weapons, horses, and living expenses. But starting in 1593, the year after the Japanese first invaded, the system was thoroughly reformed. At the core of the changes was a new central army known as the Military Training Agency (Hullyŏndogam 訓鍊都監), a professional standing army that employed salaried men living in the capital and enjoyed fiscal support from special governmental surtaxes. This army was specifically designed around musketeers and consisted mostly of infantrymen, which instigated a broader shift in the Chosŏn military from a cavalry-based to an infantry-based way of war.24 Throughout the seventeenth century, it also published drill manuals and served as a testing ground for new infantry tactics, including the musketry volley fire technique.25

The officers of the Military Training Agency explicitly adopted the techniques of Qi Jiguang, drawing on his military manuals, the Ji xiao xin shu 紀效新書 (The new book of effective techniques) and the Lian bing shi ji 練兵實紀 (The veritable record of troop drilling).26 Why Qi Jiguang? Not only was he the most influential military thinker in China, but also troops trained in his methods—the Chinese Southern Units—had played a direct role in beating back the Japanese invasion. They stopped the Japanese in their tracks, the very Japanese who had ripped through Korean defenses. So when it came time to reorganize the Korean military, the Koreans understandably adopted Qi Jiguang’s methods.

Inspired directly by Qi Jiguang’s New Book of Effective Techniques, the Koreans developed a new infantry, using the “control-the-ranks method” (Sogobŏp 束伍法). There were clearly stratified troop divisions that were designed to facilitate the recruitment and training of commoners. The basic unit was the squad (dae 隊), which consisted of eleven men. Three squads made up a banner (ki 旗), three banners made up a platoon (cho 哨), five platoons made up a company (sa 司), and five companies made up the largest unit, a battalion (yŏng 營). A direct line of command thus linked the higher officers to the closely knit squads of eleven. It was a significant departure from the old Korean line of command, which had only three hierarchies consisting of units of five (伍), twenty-five (隊), and 125 (旅). While the earlier system had ways to expand these hierarchies to cover armies as large as 12,500 soldiers, it was less stratified and thus less conducive to efficient relaying of command.27

Squads themselves could be of various types. One of Qi Jiguang’s favorite formations was known as the Mandarin Duck Formation (鴛鴦陣). It contained no firearm units, but rather consisted of several mutually reinforcing types of soldiers, each of which had particular abilities that complemented the others: two men with sabers and rattan shields (盾牌手), two men with multiple-tip bamboo spears (狼筅手), four men with long lances (長槍手), and two men with tridents or swords (短兵手).28 They were led by a squad leader (队长) and supported by a cook or porter who also coordinated logistical support (负责伙食的火兵). The squad was drilled in various maneuvers in which the specialists—the shieldmen, the spearmen, and the swordsmen—played precisely defined roles. Commoners were chosen for the various tasks, depending upon their abilities. Training and drilling were methodical and exhaustive.

[...]

Chinese and Korean commanders quickly realized how lethal the musket-armed Japanese were, a lethality they ascribed to Japanese discipline. In 1593, for example, Ming general Song Yingchang (宋應唱, 1536–1606) noted that the Japanese employed the musketry volley technique, writing that he feared the Japanese would “break into squads and shoot alternately against us (分番休迭之法).”31 In 1595, Korean King Sŏnjo shared the same apprehension, retorting to a scholar-official who underestimated the deadliness of their tactics that “if the Japanese divide themselves into three groups and shoot alternately by moving forward and backward, how can we fight back (若分三運, 次次放砲)?”

The allies recognized that Japanese victories were largely based on superior musket units. Praising muskets as a “divine weapon” (神器), King Sŏnjo became a zealous proponent. In 1593 and 1594, he repeatedly ordered Japanese captives to be kept alive so that Korean artisans could learn the Japanese methods of making gunpowder and muskets.33 In 1594, he went so far as to attempt to design a new musket that could supposedly fire rounds in quick succession.34 The fact that the Korean king himself attempted to design his own musket makes clear how highly the Korean government prioritized the development of musket technology and techniques.

#korea #military organization #early modern #europe #warfare #imjin war #research

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