Legions

A Legion was a standing army traditionally comprised of 10,000 soldiers.

They were backbone of the Precursor Empire and it's (apparent) successor, the Phoenix Empire. Both Legions were open for volunteers and conscripts, often being used to elevate oneself in society after their minimum years of service was over. (2000 years in the elven Precursor Empire, 20 years in the Phoenix Empire). This kind of standing army would not be seen until 400 years after the collapse of Jaher's Phoenix Empire.

The Precursor Legions served as colonial vanguards during the Precursor Empire's time and was largely lost during The Sundering; the Phoenix Legions of Jaher saw more activity in Jaher's wars of conquest against the Halcanni Eastern Empires and the Beastmen Empire of the east, eventually dissolving into the Successor Kingdoms.

Precursor Legions
The Precursor legions were established shortly after the Unification Wars that created the Precursor Empire. The legions were comprised of 10,000 soldiers each, with mages and archers forming the bulk. In place of armored heavy infantry mage-crafted golems were used.

Officially each legion was named only with their number, such as Ducaniel's 4th Legion, though each earned their own monikers, the 4th Legion's being the 'Viridian Legion'.

The Precursor legions saw

Legionaries
The legionaries within the Precursor Legions were wholly comprised of precursor elves, they were known to be to be skilled in all forms of war (given their supposed immortality, a precursor literally had a lifetime to master the arts -J), this allowed the army to be extremely adaptive to any combat situation. At the minimum each legionary was to be proficient in the sword and bow.

This 'jack-of-all-trades, master of all' mentality also extended outside the battle, each precursor legionary was a skilled builder, hunter, surgeon and craftsman amongst other things.

Specialization was rare give this mentality but those with the natural talent and personality were given specialized roles, such as mages, guardsmen and scouts.

Auxiliaries
During the Precursor Empire's colonial wars such as the War of Enlightenment the Empire allowed subjugated natives to act as support troops, using them for their genetic advantages the precursors did not have e.g. humans for their numbers and giants for their size.

More than likely these positions were in the frontline and vanguard, sparing precursor elf lives. It was not uncommon for a human or giant to be fighting alongside the expendable golem armies of the Empire.

Golems
Like the elves we know today, the precursor elves had low fertility and thus were unable to recoup major losses in the field as quickly as their enemies: every life was sacred. Prompted by the devastating loss of life during before the legion's conception during The War of Broken Chains the skilled mages of the Precursor Empire created golems to serve as frontline soldiers and general labour workers, it was not uncommon for an entire battalions of golems to be standing alongside a legion of 10,000. Golems often stood the same size of their precursor masters though larger ones were created during the War of Subjugation to counter the giants.

The lost arts of golemcrafting were arduous and long however, and they were phased out during the final years of the precursor colonial wars in favor of the readily available (and sentient) natives.

The golems used in domestic purposes, mostly in Halwes, were eventually possessed by Ducaniel and made to kill their masters, eventually becoming the first shot that started the War of Two. While its goal of spreading widespread chaos was successful, integration into Ducaniel's armies were foiled when the remaining magisters employed a Halwessi-wide magical blast that destroyed animated life.

Some traces of golems found all over the world have unwittingly been used for inspiration or parts of art pieces, rituals, weapons or even worshiped as deities themselves.

Equipment
The Precursor legions first saw combat against dragons which might suggest the emphasis on ranged combat, notably magic, javelins and the iconic elven weapon: the bow.

In its later years in the wars beyond Halwes such as the War of Ages in Haless the legions still employed the heavy focused on ranged weaponry, though the guerilla-style Halessi jungle-combat and the dwarven tunnel skirmishes brought to use the shorter composite bow (which would later be adopted by all of Haless, most notably the centaurs).

Each legionary was equipped with the minimum of a sword and bow, shields found early use against the dragons but was phased out when golems were used as frontline defenders. Against the giants in the War of Subjugation spears and horses were used. The precursor swords were long and thin, scholars suggest it is the forebear of the katana we see in Haless today.

Legionaries wore what we would call today as plate armor, though lost precursorcraft of smithing or minerals allowed a degree of movement and weight as if one was wearing nothing at all.

Tactics
The general strategy of the Precursor legions was to kill the enemy before they even reached the precursor lines. If however this did not work the enemies of the legion would be faced with animated golem defenders as well as any native auxiliary they could muster. Overall the Precursor legions often fought defensively, as the enemy had no choice: get close and fight or die in a flurry of arrows.

In its first colonial war: The War of Subjugation the precursors fought against the giants who were stronger and larger than them, this led to the creation of larger golems as well as the adoption of skirmisher and horse tactics whose goal was to immobilize the giants.

During the War of Enlightenment the legions adopted a more guerilla-style approach, abandoning their longbows for short composite bows (which would later be adopted by all of Haless, most notably the centaurs). Golems had problems in the jungle environment of Halwes and were easily ambushed, however they still maintained use as guards and decoys.

In the War of Ages golems saw heavy use to essentially overwhelm the dwarven tunnels, this eventually backfired on the precursors when the dwarves learned to create golems of their own; powered by engineering alone, the dwarven constructs were immune to any spell that rendered animated life void.

Origins under Dragon Rule
The legions of the Precursor Legions originated from the old Dragonguard, an ancient corps of slave soldiers during the Rule of Dragons, a time where the precursor elves were slaves under their draconic rulers.

The Dragonguard was a standing army used to contain and quell slave revolts, as well as to fight and die in the squabbles between the ruling dragonlords. They were the first to be taught magic by their masters, as well as the only elves allowed to use and carry weaponry. Later, they served as leaders of the rebellion that freed the elves during The War of Broken Chains.

The early Dragonguard was actually an umbrella term used to refer to the elite soldiers that served under the divided dragonlords, though the term would be officially coined after the unification into the Precursor Empire.

Unification
As new elven kingdoms were created, those that served under their respective elite corps (their respective Dragonguard) formed the bulk of the nobility and upper class. The dragons they served under soon became the heraldry for the families that ruled the Precursor Kingdoms.

The Dragonguard under Venaan, a minor elven ruler from central Halwes, served under him as his personal legion during the Unifications Wars.

Precursor Empire
After the unification Venaan established the Precursor Legions, with those that served under him becoming the First Legion. In peace time the Precursor Legions served as the military police in Halwes, as well as serving as the forward guard of colonial endeavors. During the Colonial Wars almost all the legions were deployed overseas, either fighting the beastmen of Haless or the dwarves and giant kingdoms of Halcann.

The legions eventually retreated back to Halcann after King Aenarion's Call for Inward Perfection though some were lost in the retreat or otherwise, such as Ducaniel's 4th Legion.

Due to The Sundering it is assumed that most of the Legion fell, with only a few making surviving in the elven Remnant Fleet which itself took a similar military-led approach.

New Legions
The New Legions were created by the Damerian Republic General Harinwel ta'Sarea after decrypting some old precursor manuscripts at Silmuna University. The 'Old legions' had 10,000 men while the 'new legions' had 5,000 or under. The new legions were catered to Halcanni thinking, favoring heavy infantry rather than the lost arts of golem-making. The bulk of the legions were comprised of elves, humans and orcs though some dwarves and halflings also joined. After Harinwel's death the development of the New Legions fell largely upon his successor Jaher, who used them to conquer Cannor and establish his own Empire.

Rise of the Old Ways
With the increasing threats against the Republic the elven general Harinwel turned to the past and sought the help of the Silmuna University Dean and sorceress Ilmindis Silmuna, with their efforts they managed to decipher precursor manuscripts and training manuals that would solidify the Republic's rule and determine the world's history altogether.

Phoenix Empire
Under Jaher the Legions, now known as the Phoenix Legions, were spread across Cannor and beyond. He used them effectively against the Harimarians during the Phoenix-Harimar War favouring strong defense and powerful magical artillery to defeat the agile and lightly armoured Harimarians.

Successor Kingdoms
Over time the legions were disbanded, with their generals and commanders establishing themselves as the new nobility. Subjugated kings and emperors, mostly in the east, were displaced by new elfblooded military commanders. The 'New Legions' in the west made peace with the newly formed Jexisian Empire and established themselves as petty autonomous kings under the young Jexis' rule.

The kingdoms we see today can trace their origins back to the Legions that came to settle in their lands, their passed down heraldry is testament to this.