Wars are traditionally fought in the summer, from the 15th of Stekk to the 28th of Haust. After this, all civilized people want to be indoors, preferrably at home, and should there be no clear victor, the armies will usually dig in for the winter, to battle anew next spring. Mercenaries are contracted for this duration, and levies often expect to be allowed to go home before the first day of winter.
Among the troops of the Frankish lands, warriors with rather diverse motivations are found... There are four kinds of fighting men – militia, soldiers, mercenaries and brigands/raiders.
Militia are non-professional warriors. Some of them are part of a longterm, formalized structure, like the citizens’ militias who form the main wartime defense of most towns and cities, and take part in drills on a semi-regular basis. Others are totally raw troops, levied upon demand by their lords. Militia are generally speaking lousy warriors, but may carry the day due to superior numbers or due to a tenacity stemming from the fact that a mercenary only fights for his wages, a militia member often fights for his home, family and future. Militia are usually lightly armoured, and rarely carry swords (which are damned expensive) – typical armaments are polearms, spears, maces, axes and bows. Many towns have laws demanding that every adult citizen is able to arm himself to defend the city.
Soldiers are professional warriors, artisans of war who earn their living from their weapons. Soldiers are usually in the employ of a nobleman, a prince or a city, and tend to be fairly loyal to their master, who has trained and equipped them. Soldiers earn far less than mercenaries, but they are paid whether or not they have to risk their lives, their life expectancy is better and they are somewhat respected by the populace.
Mercenaries are freelance soldiers, often referred to as dogs of war. Like soldiers, they are professionals, war is their craft. Unlike soldiers, they are not in permanent alligance to any lord, rather following their commanding officer. Mercenaries, though of very uneven quality, are generally speaking the most skilled warriors. They are also the most fickle, quick to abandon or turn upon their employer if their wages are not paid. Mercenaries are organized in free companies, each of which is led by a captain and number from 20 to 200 men. Mercenary captains are usually of noble blood. A mercenary fights for his wages, and his wages are good. While his life expectancy is less than a year, a mercenary who survives one to four years of war may retire a rich man, unless his vices has gotten the best of him.
Brigands and raiders are truly freelance warriors, fighting for loot, without any discernible higher purpose. They are sometimes coerced into working as mercenaries, or they may proclaim their fealty to a ruler on their own initiative, if it seems prudent.
In addition to warriors and officers, an army includes support personel such as packers and teamsters, accountants and cooks. A prudent general will also bring along wizards, augurs, priests and scouts.
Warriors risk life and limb on a regular basis, and in return, they expect to be paid, fed and sheltered, and not to have to worry about the trifles of life.
It is a generally accepted fact that one can not send a soldier off without someone to cook, clean, dress, heal and otherwise look after him. Most of the support services are not formally part of the army, but tag along anyway. Such camp followers are extremely important, and sometimes outnumbers the combatants. Such people include cooks, armourers, servants, prostitutes, peddlars, fortune-tellers, gamblers, tailors, loot merchants and the wives and children of some warriors (who may in turn double as cooks, servants, prostitutes, peddlars etc.) Militia hardly ever bring families along, but it is quite common with mercenaries. All told, an army is much like a nomadic township.
The obvious source of loot is the equipment of fallen enemies. Weapons and armour often outlast several users, and whereever there is armed conflict, there is also a ready market for looted armour, weapons and horses. Supply trains are also worth a lot of money, and anybody who captures enemy supplies can expect to be richly awarded. Mercenaries usually expect to be allowed to loot any settlement which they capture, and must be paid or threatened effectively to forego this privilege.
It is considered both barbaric and wasteful to kill captive gentlemen (typically cavalry or officers) as their relatives are usually willing to pay a generous ransom for their release. Elité companies (famous mercenary companies, royal guards, etc.) often have formalized and well-known policies for ransoming their members. Many warriors have made their fortunes from holding captives for ransom. It is considered extremely crude to hold non-combatants for ransom, but it is often done by mercenaries anyway.
Clemencians, Haramesh and pirates of all kinds are infamous for selling captives into slavery. It is considered unacceptable by all others.