>Me> Most foot-soldiers in Malkioni lands are from the Farmer Caste. Serfs
> > with weapons is a bad thing, but not all Farmer-castes are Serfs.
>The Loskalmi raise a militia from the farmer class, but its only there
>for defence.
So does every other Malkioni country.
>They have full-time soldiers for the actual arse-kicking,
Just to keep things on track, the issue is foot-soldiers. Professional cavalry is not in debate here.
>but the fact that they've got so many of them,
I don't see this myself. The number of foot-soldiers in Loskalm is large due to the impending War to end War. However foot-soldiers are still common among other Malkioni nations and have been for quite some time. It's not as if they were an unseen abomination considering that the first Malkioni soldiers fought on foot.
>and give them privileges above what the 'proper' farmer
>class get is a cause for tension with other Malkioni.
I'm not so sure. Foot-soldiers are known throughout Malkionism and the Loskalmi would just simply give them the usual privileges. AFAIK there is a dispute over whether they should belong to the soldier caste (like the Atroxi do) or the farmer caste (as the Tanisorans do). There are a number of pros and cons about either approach (the soldier caste solution implies that even the lowest grunt can become a knight while the farmer caste solution reinforces the division between cavalry and infantry).
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