Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier

Overview

The Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier is the primary textbook on military strategy and tactics in Creation. Predating the formation of the Realm, it is a highly respected authority both there and in Lookshy. It is written in High Realm.

Even with all the weapons and tools from the First Age, one of the best tools that established the military might of the Realm is the famous book The Thousand Correct Actions. It is attributed to one of the Immaculate Dragons: most often Mela, the Immaculate Dragon of Air or Hesiesh, the Immaculate Dragon of Fire, or sometimes Pasiap the Immaculate of Earth... amongst Dragonblooded, assertions on its provenance are often tied to the elemental aspect of the speaker. Whatever Dragon may have penned it, it is not included in the canon of the Immaculate Texts, though the Immaculate Order does not dispute its origin from an Immaculate pen.

The book details a thousand ways for a commander to husband the strength of his troops and make use of their discipline and ability to maximize results on the battlefield. All aspects of military life, from espionage and small-unit tactics to individual training exercises and encampment procedures, are detailed within the book. The book places high value on the spirit and discipline of troops, and condemns reliance on gaudy tools such as summoned spirits or magitech.

The Thousand Correct Actions is a massive tome when assembled in its entirety. Traditionally, senior officers carry the complete manual while the junior ranks carry heavily abridged versions. If correctly copied, the complete manual contains a number of encoded Charms and sorceries specifically of use to military officers and their armies. Since the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the book has fallen into disfavor in the Realm, much to the chagrin of older outcastes and even Dynastic officers.

The most abridged version of The Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier is meant for mortal and civilian consumption, produced by woodblock print. It contains wisdom sufficient for the enlisted or conscripted mortal soldier, distilling the Five Elemental Wisdoms of the martial era in which it was originally recorded. It is the responsibility of every soldier who owns one to study his Thousand Correct Actions daily.

Printed copies of the Thousand Correct Actions that are issued to soldiers are not annotated except by the soldiers themselves. Copies of the texts printed for civilian readers, however, often include such annotations to explain nuances of translation or obscure minutia regarding military life for which the civilian likely has no frame of reference.

Every graduate of the House of Bells receives a complete copy of the Thousand Correct Actions along with their Bellsword to mark their graduation. Graduates of Pasiap’s Stair who take the coin receive an abridged version bound in scarlet leather marked with the bronze seal of the Realm, and any Legionnaire promoted or appointed to the rank of Scalelord receives a printed abridged copy as part of their uniform.

Contents of Note

Wind-Carried Words Technique (charm)

Elemental Bolt Technique (charm)

Enfolded in the Dragon's Wings (charm)

Tireless Footfalls Cadence (charm)

Flight of the Brilliant Raptor (spell)

Raising the Earth's Bones (spell)

Maxims on Legion Tactics

Maxims on Legion Logistics

Instructions on building battering rams (ranging from light ten-man logs to a massive ram 100ft long and weighing 4.5 tons, requiring 200 soldiers to swing).

Instructions on building onagers (torsion engine catapults for use in sieges).

Selected Quotations

Every campaign, every battle, every maneuver must have purpose. In this, training matters not, equipment matters not, deployment matters not. An army with purpose defeats an army without.

The Colossus is the heaviest of the warstriders, and a commander must understand its employment. Forged of jade, it is slow and ungainly, but powerful, and thus its use should be clear: to employ it in melee is foolishness deserving of immediate death. It is a weapon for use in two roles, and nothing more: to wrestle with the greatest of Behemoths, and to break the walls of cities.