Royal Legions

The Royal Legions of the Holy Crown of Iadria, commonly referred to as the Royal Legions or the Royal Army, were the standing armies of Iadria loyal solely to the King in Ihenium. While most Dukes maintained their own levied forces, the Legions were a separate military branch, legally bound to the King rather than the local lord. The Royal Legions were founded by King Castor I, created as a deterrent to Ducal rebellion and external threats that could be called upon freely by the King. Although the Royal Legions existed in some form for most of united Iadria's history, they often fell into decline due to lack of funding or numbers. Each Legion was made up of up to three thousand soldiers, the bulk of which were infantry, but also included light cavalry and crossbow branches. King Lancelin I standardized the Legions with his Whitehall Reforms, which began the mass-production of Legionary armor and weapons, and introduced a compulsory levy that each Duchy was required to provide to the Legions.

History
The Legions were founded by King Castor I in 6A 51, in response to the wavering loyalties of several Duchies in the wake of King Jareche I's death. The King requisitioned a tenth of each Duke's men-at-arms, creating nine original Legions bolstered by civilian conscripts. Although this move was unpopular with the contemporary nobility, the creation of the Legions would prove to be a watershed moment in the unitary power of Iadria. With direct control of the Royal Legions, the ruling monarch of Iadria was far more able to maneuver against treacherous Dukes, who controlled much of the military power of Iadria through their ducal levies. The Legions saw their first major combat four years after their creation, forming the frontlines of King Castor's Wars of Eastward Expansion. Having undergone rigorous training and benefitting from royal funds, the Legions proved an exemplary fighting force, beating back each foreign army in its path with the aid of the Knights Jareche.

Equipment
Until the Whitehall Reforms of 6A 138, the Royal Legions were expected to provide their own armor, resulting in a varied, but generally lightly-armored force. With King Lancelin's establishment of royally funded mass-production arms factories, the Legions were entirely reshaped. The standard post-Whitehall Legionary was equipped with a basic chainmail hauberk, a basic sallet helmet, a sword, spear, or axe, and low-quality plate armor for his chest, shoulders, calves, and forearms. This suit of armor would become synonymous with the Legions over time, despite the amount of fully-equipped legionaries often varying based on the contemporary economy. By the time of the Epherian Invasions in 6A 715, many Legionaries were poorly trained and equipped, contributing to the war's disastrous Iadrian losses.