Navarr military concerns
Most Navarr have little interest in forming battle lines and engaging their enemies in a honourable battle. Their nature favours war through guile, sabotage and skirmish, they disdain heroic charges and single combat with enemy leaders, tending to regard these things as opportunities for battlefield murder when they arise. Better to lead the enemy into a trap.
Donning warpaint – often embelished with the stylised thorn motif that runs throughout Navarr art – before going to battle is an important ritual and most Stridings work together to paint each other. They are pragmatic about war, making use of any weapon they can wield, and are comfortable using poison when it will be useful.
“You can’t betray your enemies.”
Those Navarr who make a study of war are called Thorns. Leather and chain mail are favoured along with the ubiquitous barbed spear, which honours the original Spear of Navarr. Shields, when used, are narrow and fluted, barely wider than the wielder and often heavily decorated with the thorn motif. The Navarr consider surprise to be one of the most effective weapons to use in battle, so they are particularly wary of being caught unawares.
The Thorn philosophy is one of constant readiness, to be alert to the potential for attack at any moment. Ceremonially donning warpaint each day is a ritual that helps to ensure that they remain focussed regardless of where they are.
The military leaders of the Navarr are called Brands, for their habit of ceremonially branding a mark on to their skin when they are chosen. The practice is not ubiquitous, but the Navarr believe the Brand serves as a constant reminder of the need to consider the safety of others. It is customary for larger Stridings and Steadings to appoint a single Brand to take responsibility for defence and to lead the Thorns in battle. Whenever Stridings come together, the Brands select one amongst their own number to lead, but the Navarr are flexible in warfare, as in life, choosing which Brand they want to follow into battle where the choice exists. Brands are usually Thorns, but it is not unknown for a Navarr blood mage, a Vate, to become a Brand if such is their interest.
Unlike their political counterparts Brands are not known for their temerity and reserve. Archbrand Isabella, the most infamous Brand in Imperial History, murdered Mad Emperor Nicholas in 319 and is also responsible for codifying a lot of Navarri military doctrine. Known as the ‘Irrevocable Blow’, it attempts to educate the reader that war should be fought swiftly, without mercy or doubt.