Silkmaidens

Battlefield Role: Light Amphibious Infantry

Vessel: Amphitritian War Galleys

Weapons: A very sharp khopesh sword and a sturdy oval shield.

Outfit: Silkmaidens are clad in several layers of silk, which although expensive, is also a very strong, resistant and light fiber.

Skill level: Proficient in light and sharp melee weapons.

Affiliation: City-State of Dione, in the Amphitrite Bay

Doctrine: Amphitrite's Way of the Seafarer

Strengths: Silkmaidens are very agile and highly effective against light infantry units.

Weaknesses: Their blades are largelly ineffective against heavy armour.

Silkmaidens are typically mustered from the diligent middle classes of the Amphitritian City-State of Dione. Their home region is the biggest producer of Silk and Cotton of Arandolia, so they use their decent personal wealth to clad themselves in several layers of Silk as armour. For them, silk is a relatively cheap commodity and also an uncannily strong fiber that protects their bodies rather well from sharp and piercing blows, while also making them more agile than most warriors because of the light weight and great flexibility of it.

As their weapon of choice, they tipically wield curved khopesh swords that are amazing at cutting through flesh and bones. All this makes their overall gear so light that those soldiers perform really well in naval battles, which led Dione's Navy to largerly employ Silkmaidens as marines on the city's military fleets.

They are also shielded to further enhance their defense, painting their own bodies in nice oceanic patterns and tattoos. On the other hand, they are stupidly weak against heavy infantry opponents. Their light and sharp curved swords can't damage through heavy armour, much less counter blows from heavy weapons such as great swords and axes.

All in all, Silkmaidens can cut down lightly-armoured opponents like butter and are fast enough to chase down enemy archers. So a wise general must use their speed and agility to their advantage, avoiding the heaviest enemy troops while charging at more vulnerable targets.