The Confederate armies contain the most potent forces in the world. Sorcerers of daimonic power and stature capable of levelling companies with a word and a gesture; Warbeasts of this world and others, reputedly including enslaved dragons and orcs.
Confederate armies are modelled loosely on the Cargan legions. The main difference is that the higher officer ranks are reserved for sorcerers rather than nobles.
Confederate soldiers are infamous for their low morale. Serving under unworldly egotists of great power and questionable sanity, surrounded by dangerous beasts and lethal contraptions, may be the main reason, another is likely to be the general high standard of living in the Confederacy, which makes a martial career less attractive, and the low status of warriors compared to sorcerers.
Having a weak military tradition, the Confederates try to entice warriors from the east and west to work as mercenaries. It is universally agreed among the other nations that the Confederacy is a vile abomination which should be crushed, that it verges on the dishonourable to serve them at arms, and that it is certainly a peril to body and spirit alike. Still, the pay is sufficiently high that the Confederate army contains a large portion of mercenaries. The high pay in turn leads to perpetual complaints among native soldiers that foreigners are given preferential treatment.