The Dragon Mother Company Last updated: 1998-01-29 In the text everything within {} is comments by the author. Given the increased raiding activity of the Trowjang amazons, the emperor Ga Dong Ah {Godunya} has seen it necessary to set up an all female army unit to combat the fierce woman warriors. The ordinary army units have proved worthless against the amazons since they greatly fear their reputation for cruelty against captured males. The only exception are the dragonewt troops from the settlements on Fanzai , but these are too small and too valuable to be used for this purpose. Ga Dong Ah has mused on the matter with Archexarch Seven Dragon and Wisdom and then instituted the Dragon Mother Company. All members of this unit are mothers who are either unmarried or widowed while their children are small. The choice of mothers as warriors is based on two things: a woman who has given birth is acquainted with severe pain and thus less likely to panic when receiving her first wound, and a warrior who has a family to return to is highly motivated to survive. The barracks of the Dragon Mother Company are very different from other army quarters: in addition to the normal sleeping quarters and exercise grounds there is an extensive park, playgrounds and a school for the children. Those children who show good progress in their studies are groomed for a future in the imperial administration. Those who show a more practical bent are apprenticed to craftsmen and farmers when they are old enough to leave their mothers (usually at about 12 years of age). The company numbers roughly 500 women at the time. They have their headquarter in the Modaings province on Hum Chang and half the troop is always there, while the other half (on a rotating schedule) man various outposts along the coast and on the other islands in order to respond quickly to raiding activity. Speedy response to raids is highly important, so the Dragon Mothers are trained in riding and the sailing of swift vessels. They do not however normally fight from horseback. Since women are generally somewhat smaller and physically weaker than men, the weapons of the company are somewhat different from those of the normal army units. Instead of the heavy halberd used by normal infantry, the dragon mothers use a new invention called the dagger-axe. A dagger-axe looks like a dagger blade or spear point mounted crosswise on a long haft. It is lighter than a halberd, but can never the less deliver a powerful blow {this is based on a real wolrd chinese bronze age weapon, which is thought to have been an important military innovation which helped bring the Shang dynasty to power in the 16th c. BC}. They also use common spears and their crossbows have a newly invented mechanical device which make them easier to pull. A finely crafted bronze dagger-axe head Magically, the dragon mothers are trained in the common mystic magic, but those who show good spiritual powers are introduced into deeper secrets of draconic nature, to provide emergency magic of a more powerful nature. The company works under the overall supervision of an exarch commisioned solely for this purpose. Unknown to most people, including some exarch peers, the commander is a woman, the first female exarch known. She is known as the Hooded Exarch since she wears a hooded robe to conceal her sex. The emperor thinks that the novelty of a female fighting unit is new enough. If the fact that the commanding exarch is also a woman became commonly known, the support for the company might decrease. In fact, the philosophical ground for the creation of the company is somewhat dubious and relies on a generous interpretation of a very obscure text from the time of the emperor Shang Viang {Shavaya}. The Hooded Exarch and her aides tour the empire once every two years to recruit new warriors for the company. The single mothers who show an interest are put to a difficult test over three days and the best candidates are invited to come to the headquarters and start their training. They are trained for one year before bing released for duty. After half a year those recruits who have changed their minds may leave without incurreing any penalty. Those who stay remain in active duty until the age of 45. Should a dragon mother have another child she will be exempted from normal duty during the pregnancy and the child's first year. She will instead act as an instructor at the headquarters. Here is what Red Tiger says about the dragon mothers: "I think the Dragon Mother Company is a fine example of the clearsightedness of our sublime ruler. They are obviously of great use against the barbarian raiders from the Amazon Island. Some conservatives whose vision does not reach as far and deep criticize the use of women as soldiers, referring to the divine order created by our great teacher Ah Tang Tze {Aptanace}. However, does not the path of insight lead to the revelation that all things are as one? When we have seen through the illusion of outward appearance, the worlds merge into the greater truth. I would not question the wisdom of the emperor." Back! Send email to nilsw@ibm.net