Nor me, with either.
> Seriously, although I am very familiar with span of command theories
> of management, I suspect the forces at Whitewall function like the
> White Company of the 1360s:
>
> "The captain-general, who earned his position by means of respect,
> confirmed by election, presided over a well-articulated hierarchy of
> captains, corporals, and marshals. ... It was up to the skill of
> the captain-general to keep these restless particles together.
Agreed - at best!
Try reading Mary Gentle's "Ash" for another look at a mercenary company in the same period. Complete with female leader who's resented by some of the men (though Ash is *nothing* like either Kallyr or Leika), and a very graphic description of a city under siege.
> I suspect that there are many councils of war (maybe even a daily
> occurence) where Broyan meets with the 50ish warband leaders and
> decides what shall be done.
Would it help you to know that Kallyr refers to these meetings as "alynx-herding sessions"?
There's two things here, there's who you're sworn to obey (direct leader plus Broyan). That's simple. And there's who you respect enough to take requests from, who you're trying to impress, or want favours from. Influence. Almost all the people Kallyr "commands" come in the second category.
Looking at this structure from the bottom up - say Clan X has sent some of its warriors to WW, complete with their own leader. If the tribe they're in has also sent some of the tribal warband (with own leader), then the clan warriors will probably be influenced by the tribal ones, and want to be "promoted". Maybe. Depending on the personalities involved. Now suppose our warrior has some cult-specific ties, too - say she's a Vingan? If someone wants a Vingan-only group for one job, she'll be delighted to be pulled away from her clan and tribe and put in a specialist group for one job. Or will she? Which specific Vingan will be leading it, and how does she (and her clan, and her tribe) feel about them?
There's a huge spidersweb of influence and favours and negotiation going on here. It makes the inter-clan politics in a tribe look simple.
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