Welcome to the Codex! Every Friday, we will focus on one topic from one of the upcoming books, or one of the books that have been published. The Codex will review what is commonly known about that topic in the world, even if just at a scholarly level. There will still be mysteries, but if you are interested in learning more about something you read in the book or in another blog post, the Codex is the way to go.
Today we'll take a look at Mathlyrian Warshifters, a powerful force in Mathklyrian society and a major element in Ghostblood.
Mathklyrian Warshifters are the greatest generals and tacticians of the imperial army of Mathklyr.
Candidates are chosen from the ranks of common soldiers, often shortly after entering the army, once their instructors realize their potential. Instructors can forward the candidacy of soldiers in their ranks to enter the Academy of Warshifters and Military Studies; Imperial recruiters covertly evaluate the candidates and invite the most promising to the Academy. Each year's crop of candidates is trained together, with no contact with the candidates from previous or later years.
Training in the Academy includes extensive studies of strategy and tactics, logistics, military history, geography, logic, espionage and stealth. They also include extensive studies on the secret chronicles of the Warshifters who ever lived throughout Mathklyr's history, learning from their mistakes.
Additional training is practical in nature; the Academy has unlimited funds by order of the Emperor, and enough manpower to allow the students to stage mock battles in the extensive Academy grounds. These mock battles are set up to replay famous battles of old, in which the students take on the role of competing generals to see if they can change the outcome; alternately, they are set up to allow students to explicitly challenge each other.
The most important part of training, however, is not explicitly mentioned to students, who are expected to stumble upon it themselves. A few months after induction, students are subtly encouraged to plot against each other in order to discredit each other or have each other expelled from the Academy. In fact, students are unofficially allowed even to stage attempts on each other's life, knowing however that if they succeed in killing a fellow student and are found to be responsible, they will be executed. This part of the instruction forces the students to become ruthless, perceptive, strategically skilled, imaginative, and careful about danger, bordering on paranoia. It also ensures they become cold and detached, so that emotions will not cloud their judgment in battle. Eventually only one student - the last surviving one, if even one survives at all - is formally awarded with the title of Warshifter.
Mathklyrian Warshifters combine the millennia-long military experience of a warrior culture with the bright minds of master tacticians, to produce a fearsome warrior and leader. It is said that entire battles have been won by the Imperial Army of Mathklyr when the foe learned that a Mathklyrian Warshifter personally led the army. It is also said that Mathklyrian Warshifters never lose battles of any kind, and that they are just at ease on the battlefield just as much as amidst court intrigues. More than a few Emperors have been Warshifters themselves.
Warshifters are made minor nobles upon graduating, and are the only minor nobles who can routinely advise the Emperor (albeit primarily in matters of war). Emperors traditionally have donated lavish gifts to the Warshifters, due to the danger that one might defect - and there are only a few Warshifters alive at any given time, given the grueling conditions of their training and the stringent requirements to be trained, to begin with.
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