Apfelian Rangers

Battlefield Role: Light Infantry

Weapons: A single-edged falchion and a medium-sized round wooden shield with a sharp blade protruding from its rim.

Outfit: A green cape, an open helmet, segmented reinforced leather plates over the torso and a padded gambeson underneath it.

Skill level: Outstanding proficiency in melee combat.

Affiliation: Apfel Island.

Doctrine: Bellona's Way of the Warmaiden

Strengths: They are exceptionally well equipped, disciplined and trained, for light infantry troops.

Weaknesses: Overconfidence can lead them to take on battles they shouldn't.

The Apfelian Rangers are the steadfast protectors of the green orchards of Apfel Island. They were once a smalltime law enforcement militia designated to patrol the denser woodland areas of this fertile fluvial island. But during the last few years, they were utterly repurposed into well-armed and thoroughly trained military-grade units.

That's because the protectorate status of Apfel Island under the Royal Crown places every official military unit recruited within its territory directly under command of the Queen of Arandolia, rendering the current local countess, Lady Aurora Apfelgarten II, without any control over her own regional troops.

That's the way she inherited the control over the island, and much to her own angst, she just seems completely unable of legaly revoking the protectorate treaty in order to reacquire control over the Apfelian Army.

Seeing her own people's soldiers wearing the royal blue colours and serving an appointed general named by the Queen made Aurora II unable to sleep at night, till she finally came across a rather clever solution for her problems.

The protectorate treaty bounds the entirety of the standing army of Apfel Island in service of the Royal Crown, aside from two very specific exceptions: Countess Aurora's personal bodyguards, and law enforcement units.

That's when the Apfelian Rangers suddenly started to receive enormous investments from the county's coffers, both in armament, wages and trainment. As law enforcement units, the rangers proudly wear the green uniforms of Apfel Island and are actually under Countess Aurora's direct command, so she decided to contour the law that forbids her from having a standing army by completelly transforming the Apfelian Rangers from a crude vigilante militia to a top notch elite infantry regiment.

Wearing the best light armour available in the South, wielding the best swords available in the market and carrying special shields that double as weapons as well, the Apfelian Rangers receive top notch trainment from fierce retired veterans appointed by Aurora herself. Their regiments were expanded both in numbers and size, becoming just as large and numerous as the Queen's standard infantry regiments, while even better equipped and skilled than one.

They can, and will, fight toe to toe with any proper military unit, obeying no one else than their beloved countess who made them such proud and renowned fighters. In the end, Apfel Island continues to be a protectorate with no official army. However, it's quite clear how they no longer need the Queen's help at all for their defence.