​Battlefield Role: Light Infantry
Weapons: 3 Eldarian Handaxes and a heavy round shield.
Outfit: Brigandine vest over mail, reinforced leather vambraces and boots. As Eldara's climate is cold, they usually wear warm outfits.
Skill level: Proficiency at melee combat and at axe throwing. They are also trained in carpentry, able to repair shields, build defences and craft pikes using nothing but their axes, which double as tools.
Affiliation: Eldara
Doctrine: Athena's Way of the Warrioress
Strengths: High versatility, agility, maneuverability, and courage.
Weaknesses: Their relatively low armour means they are quite vulnerable without their sturdy shields.
Eldarian Axemaidens
The Eldarian Axemaidens are the very backbone the Eldarian Army. Those fierce blondes are light infantry units, quite hard to subdue due to their formidable reinforced shields, which they often craft and reinforce all by themselves thanks to their outstanding carpentry skills. You heard it right, they are as good carpenters as they are good soldiers, and that's because Eldara's barracks actually teach the Axemaidens much more than just fighting.
Young eldarian recruits often seek the military service as Axemaidens because of how they receive free education from the State. They become professional full-time soldiers in times of war, but in times of peace, Eldara's numerous light infantry regiments receive part time jobs working at carpentry shops and shipwrights to earn some extra cash. Well-paid and highly dignifying jobs that foment industry as much as it helps the commoners. And for Eldara's Army, this investment on non-military skills not only makes those unit's upkeep much cheaper, but also provides a rather useful set of abilities that can be put to good use on the eve of battle.
From repairing their own damaged shields, to crafting pikes for their own use, or building wooden palisades, traps, entire forts and even planting sharpenned stakes on the ground to counter cavalry charges, their axes are just as valuable as tools as they are valuable as weapons. Actually, the Eldarian Handaxe is crafted in such a particular way that enables it to also be used as a throwable projectile too. An Axemaiden can therefore hurl the first axe at the charging enemy lines, wreaking havoc amongst their foes' numbers before the actual combat even starts.
Once their first axe is hurled, they already draw a second one and raise their shields to stop the enemy weakened charge, receiving them with another axehead straight to the skull. In most cases, they'd be already formed up in a solid Shield Wall to put a stop to the enemy advance altogether. Thanks to an excellent combination of teamwork and good use of their shields, they can stand shoulder to shoulder in a tightly packed formation, holding their ground against much heavier infantry units, while their fierce handaxes can very well shatter enemy shields and damage armour alike, making Axemaidens highly effective against heavily armoured foes.
What they lack in armour on themselves, they make up to in versatilty, speed and maneuverability, moving swiftly all around the battlefield to capture and hold any crucial spot that may benefit their general's strategy. The Axemaidens are fast enough to chase down enemy archers and crossbowmaidens, as well as fierce enough to bring down enemy assault infantry. They can hack off the hafts of enemy pike phalanxes, use their curved axeheads to put enemy shielded units off guard and even crush the enemy rear lines by hurling axes over the front lines' heads. Their versatility is by far their most impressive trait, so although they may not be the best warriors in any particular single way, they are an amazing jack-of-all-trades to have in any army. They can take good care of themselves, doing relatively well against almost any foe they might face on the battlefield. Many opponents already underestimated the deadliness of the Eldarian Axemaidens because of their humble origins and lack of armour, regretting very dearly for it.