Gernivians

The Gernivians are the special warfare force of Authorania. They are made up of most of the male population of Sovenshire.

History
The force that are called the Gernivians today were originally established as a militia in the Authoranian city-state of Sovenshire. It was common in the early eras of Authorania's history for their city-states to form militias that would serve alongside the Authoranian military.

When Authorania plunged into the Dark Era, Sovenshire was one of seven city-states that seceded from Authorania to form their own country. The militia that was active in Sovenshire became the official army of Sovenshire.

Originally, service in the Sovenshire Army was purely voluntary, this made their force small and inadequacy for defense. After an attempted invasion by Sossia, the Sovenshire Army was in shambles and service became mandatory to recuperate lost soldiers.

Shortly after the failed invasion by Sossia, Sovenshire underwent a cultural shift, from a small and peaceful society to a society obsessed with warfare. This cultural shift was sparked by politicians and writers who began pushing the agenda that Sovenshire citizens were the descendants of Gernivius, the God of War, which make them great warriors.

This cultural shift began the tradition of male citizens serving an active role in Sovenshire's military for their entire lives. Sovinshirian men are groomed from birth to join the military and most will go through military training through their schooling.

When Sovenshire rejoined Authorania after the end of the Dark Era, the Authoranian government did not disband Sovenshire's military and instead integrated it into their military. The Authoranian government gave the name "Gernivians" to the force, due to their loyalty to Gernivius.

Today, the Gernivians serve Authorania by being their special forces branch. The relationship between the Authoranian military and the Gernivians are unique for the Gernivians are technically a militia in all but name. The Gernivians are controlled by the King of Sovenshire and the Gernivians follow their own rules and regulations. The Authoranian King is the official leader of the Gernivians, although he only uses this power during times of crisis and traditionally lets the Gernivian leadership have all the control.

Name
The Gernivians are named after Gernivius, the God of War. This name was given to the Gernivians by the Authoranian government after they established the Gernivians as their special warfare branch.

Selection and training
The Gernivians selection and training is considered the most unique in the Mortal World. Selection to be a Gernivian is administered by a group of Sovenshire's elders when a male child is the age of 6. The elders would administer a series of tests to determine if the toddler would be fit to be a Gernivian.

First, the elders would inspect the toddler for any physical imperfections. If the toddler is weak or looks unhealthy, the child would be rejected. Next the elders inspected if the toddler was mentally healthy. This test has been administered since the toddler first entered school a year prior. If the child was not mentally sharp or was mentally disabled, they were rejected.

If the child did pass all the tests, the child was sent to a training camp named Sencerluus where they would undergo vigorous and challenging training.

The first 7 years of the child's life at Sencerluus was spent teaching the child basic and useful life skills, such as speech, writing, math and science. For these first 7 years, the child was allowed to go home to their parents every day.

At the age of 13 the child would pass onto the “Sep Met Torrum” phase of training in which the child would live at the Sencerluus camp and would undergo physical and mental training. The children would learn war tactics and maneuvers and would constantly be forced to challenge each other. At this phase of education, only the strongest would survive. Weaker children would die at the hands of their fellow students. Children would learn independence as well as teamwork as they would form their own groups and face other groups. The children would learn to survive in the wilderness alone by learning how to hunt, prepare traps and prepare food. They would learn which plants were healthy and poisonous. Poisonous plants could be used to poison tips of arrows or spikes in traps, hindering their enemy.

At the age of 16, the students would undergo their final test in which they would be released deep into the Forbidden Forest and would have to find their way back home. The students that made it back alive would be accepted as Gernivian Warriors.

Any child who was rejected for military training or failed out of their schooling at Sencerluus would enter the population as commoners, farmers or tradesmen. Due to how high Sovenshirians value their military, rejected men are often ostracized by society and rarely take up important positions in Sovenshirian society, like government jobs or important management positions. These Sovenshirian men rarely move up past the lower to middle class.

Ranks
The Gernivians are officially supposed to follow the rank structure of the Royal Army of Authorania, although they rarely do and they instead follow their own rank structure.

The Gernivians' rank structure is simple: normal soldiers within a squad, battalion, regiment, etc. do not have individual ranks and they are all seen as equal to each other. Leaders of squads, battalions, regiments, etc. hold the rank of Captain (equal to Serient within the Authoranian Army). The only Gernivians that follow the Authoranian Army's rank structure are Generals. Exceptional Gernivian Captains are often promoted to General Minor and they follow the ranking structure for Generals within the Authoranian Army. Gernivian Generals often lend their services to the Authoranian Army and coordinate with their Generals. To the Gernivians, becoming a General is the highest honor and Gernivian Generals are held in a higher regard than the King of Sovenshire himself.