Lein Cavalry

The cavalry has always been a crucial part of warmaking for the Lein, a feature inherited from their old power base being situated in the northern plains to the south of the river Kiranava. As a result, after their reunification of the Empire, the Lein dynasty's army for the first time incorporated cavalry tactics into their army on a massive scale.

Organisation and Types

The Lein, having had extensive experience of the extremely fluid and mobile style of warfare employed by the northeastern nomadic tribes as well as the powerful charges of heavy cavalry from the western lands, made sure upon their founding of the Lein Dynasty to incorporate their experiences into the Imperial Army at large; in the reforms and reorganisation of the army, therefore, new tactics and training ended up in the creation of the two cavalry types.

The heavy cavalry of the Lein was known as the Steel Cavalry (Itrani] Kan'agun Garagos), and though it was not as heavily armoured as the scale-covered Iron Horse cavalry of the western kingdoms it was both far more mobile and far more versatile. Armed with recurve bows that could go through the scales of their adversaries at 80 paces, as well as lances and the formidable Bukaraya, a curved heavy cavalry sword, they were also well-armoured with chain mail, and their horses with hardened leather and mail. Their versatility allowed them to engage heavier targets by first softening them with a barrage of arrows, and then a full-tilt charge, and it also allowed them enough speed to run down enemies.

The lighter, raiding cavalry of the Lein, highly influenced by the nomads, was known as the Winged Cavalry or Flying Cavalry. A revolutionary addition to the army, though influenced long ago by Lein imitations of nomad tactics as they ruled their northern fief in the Nar Dynasty, they wore light armour and made use of the same composite recurve bow, known as the dom bursang or "short bow", that the nomads used extensively. Besides this they also carried lighter swords which were basically more curved versions of the Ezrikes for close combat, though their normal response at coming too close to enemy lines is to escape.